Most Bizarre Errors You Constantly See

[Matt Dellar]

"Alright" is not a word, but it's becoming a word because people use it so much. I won so many bets in high school against kids who saw "alright" in subtitles on TV, but it only leaves me feeling bitter because none of them corrected it afterward, and now Google Docs even tries to tell me "all right" is wrong.

I know words change over time, but I can't stand the idea that this one in particular is changing because of pure, unintended ignorance. It's mostly harmless, but it makes me wonder how often catastrophic mistakes happen because of this kind of thing.

 

[Itdoesthatsometimes]

"Alright" is not a word, but it's becoming a word because people use it so much. I won so many bets in high school against kids who saw "alright" in subtitles on TV, but it only leaves me feeling bitter because none of them corrected it afterward, and now Google Docs even tries to tell me "all right" is wrong.

I know words change over time, but I can't stand the idea that this one in particular is changing because of pure, unintended ignorance. It's mostly harmless, but it makes me wonder how often catastrophic mistakes happen because of this kind of thing.

A phrase that plays with infinity, is just begging to be modified. Why alright is right is, because it stresses the actual meaning of the phrase all right. Why all right is wrong, is because it stress the infinitive. All right turns does not mean satisfactory turns.

 

[saluraropicrusa]

Or cassowaries, who can rip you open with a kick.

Never been a verified case of that happened AFAIK. Just like reports of wild Orcas trying to eat people.

I can't say I know of it happening, but as far as I know they've got a pretty powerful kick, and they've got wicked claws, so it's not such a stretch to imagine they could do significant damage. Just because orcas don't attack people doesn't mean they couldn't kill someone.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

A second of mine is that, ironically, one of the most commonly mispronounced words in the english language is 'pronunciation'.

Have you heard of this thing called 'dialect'? I'm not being sarcastic. It means that people in different locations speak in different ways and pronounce things differently. As a little off-topic fact, does anyone know that the American accent is closer to Old English than the English accent? When Americans are performing Shakespeare plays the rhyming and rhythm is more noticeable and accurate than when us English people do it. Just a fun fact

I speak the Queens' properly, like everyone should. Putting an extra letter in a word is wrong, however, and is not the result of people pronouncing it in a local accent. People pronounce 'pronunciation' wrong because they don't realise that it doesn't have a second 'o' not because locally it is said that way.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

For some reason everybody in League of Legends constantly type Thresh (A champion) as Tresh. Why? I honestly have never seen anybody else spell it correctly.

 

[Mydnyght]

Okay, I got a few.

The word "unique". Either it's unique or it's not unique. If there's something, just one thing exactly like it, then it's not unique. A little unique? WRONG. Very unique? WRONG. When I was working at a store years ago, one person asked me, "How unique is it?" I don't know how I resisted saying that that was a stupid question.

The word "comprise". Hell, you almost NEVER see this word used correctly. A group comprises separate items. A group is NOT comprised of separate items. Separate items do NOT comprise a group.

Decimal point AND cent sign displayed in the same price? NO, JUST NO. I see stuff like ".99c" (c representing the cent sign) frequently, and that just pisses me off! The first person to make that mistake seriously needs to get fucked.

Lastly, gas station prices where the "3" or "8" is upside-down. JESUS FUCK, I see that way too much! For the 3, little curve goes on top, and big curve goes on bottom! For the 8, little loop goes on top, and big loop goes on bottom! But no... They normally have the big curve or loop on top. And usually it's ALL the 3's that are set upside-down! At least they're consistent, but still, they're consistently WRONG! I'm glad that more and more gas price displays are electronic... I just hope they don't find a way to fuck that up too...

 

[rasputin0009]

Pretty much every time someone says the phrase "Evolution is just a theory".

Look up the term "Theory" in a scientific sense, then you may talk. Otherwise, I present you a dunce cap.

My very Christian best friend tried using that on me once when we were in debate over evolution. It's not his fault, he was once part of a crazy youth group (Young Life) that's leaders bashed anything non-Christian-like, and he was born stupid. Then he tried using evidence of "holes" in fossil records. I laughed.

American pronunciation errors of words of fresh non-English origins is pretty common place. "Cache" is not "caysh" and "heifer" is not "high-fer". I'm surprised the word "genre" hasn't been butchered. I know English is a mutt of a language, but the most errors I noticed come from American speakers. I'm gonna blame it on the education.

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

- people who think "then" and "than" are interchangeable,

I came across something to this effect on imgur. Someone had posted;

"It's better to be pissed off then pissed on."

Someone swiftly replied;

"Ah. The importance of knowing the difference between "then" and "than"."

 

[PainInTheAssInternet]

Or the use of the identifier "feminist" by people apparently arguing for egalitarianism.

This.

People not understanding the set-subset relationship. It's possible to be both a feminist and an egalitarian. This is a lot like saying "I can't stand when people say 'Sub' when what they mean is 'Sandwich'"

You are creating a false dichotomy.

But that aside, My point was people mistaking feminism to mean equality. (It doesn't, not even gender equality. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask transvestites. )

I'll be sure to ask my Feminist trans friend in the morning.

The problem here is that you're taking the views of a certain set of feminists and applying it to all forms of feminism. While it's true that there are feminists who believe that Transgenderism is an affront to womanhood or whatever, there are those who disagree. Most of the trans-hating kind are associated with what's known as the 'second wave' from the 60s and 70s but the movement, like all others, is always evolving.

It's a lot like how 'liberal' used to indicate a belief in property ownership, laissez-faire economics, and generally all the things that would be called 'libertarian' nowadays, but today means something totally different.

If you believe in the equality of the sexes, then you are a feminist whether you're the Trans-hating kind or the Trans-friendly kind. Just like if you believe in individual liberty, then you are a liberal whether you're the Universal Healthcare and Welfare kind, or the Free Market and limited government kind.

Because focusing on one gender will bring about equality for all genders. As that is clearly what feminism is.

Clearly no problem with that. (Yes that was sarcasm.)

Did you know that when the abolitionists in America were trying to free the slaves they were only focusing on one race? How could they bring about equality for all races if they were only focusing on one race?

The answer is that white people didn't need freeing.

If I say 'We should free all these African slaves, man. I think we may be violating their rights and frankly it's disgusting', you probably wouldn't shoot back with 'Yeah well, white people got problems too man, sometimes they have to live on the street because they're homeless. I think you should be an egalitarian and help everybody man, not just that specific group you were talking about before'

your analogy is so screwed i can't even bring the words forth to show you how offensive that is...

I've already said this to a religious post that was turning hostile, so I'll respond to this thread. This applies to all of you and anyone who thinks about bringing it up in the future.

DO NOT BRING THESE SUBJECTS INTO THIS THREAD; FEMINISM, RELIGION, POLITICS OR OTHER HOT-BUTTON ISSUES.

I rarely use all-caps, so please appreciate how serious I am about this. I've yet to see a thread on these subjects that didn't descend into a hateful, bile-filled wasteland.

There are entire sections on this very site that permit if not encourage such behaviour. I'm not one of them and I don't want it here. Please go over to those threads if you're going to discuss this or start one of your own.

I intended this thread to be a light-hearted nit-picky thread.

A second of mine is that, ironically, one of the most commonly mispronounced words in the english language is 'pronunciation'.

Have you heard of this thing called 'dialect'? I'm not being sarcastic. It means that people in different locations speak in different ways and pronounce things differently. As a little off-topic fact, does anyone know that the American accent is closer to Old English than the English accent? When Americans are performing Shakespeare plays the rhyming and rhythm is more noticeable and accurate than when us English people do it. Just a fun fact

I speak the Queens' properly, like everyone should. Putting an extra letter in a word is wrong, however, and is not the result of people pronouncing it in a local accent. People pronounce 'pronunciation' wrong because they don't realise that it doesn't have a second 'o' not because locally it is said that way.

Ever been to Anguilla? They speak English, but their accents are entirely different. I wasn't aware of this and wasn't able to communicate with them until my stepfather informed me. I picked up on what they were saying pretty soon after that. Language is a fluent entity; as soon as it's established it changes. I've never believed there to be a "correct" method of communication, as long as you can effectively communicate you're fine.

Not sure how I feel about poorly-written messages on the internet, though.

 

[Uhura]

Bra sizing. It's amazing how an item of clothing this common is such a mystery to so many people.

No, cup sizes are not standard sizes. The volume of the cup in 28 D is completely different than the volume of a 38 D bra.
No, cup sizes don't stop at DD.
No, having a DD bra doesn't automatically mean that you have massive breasts.
No, you shouldn't measure your band size above your breasts.
etc.

I just don't get it.

 

[kurupt87]

That MI6 is not the name of the British version of the CIA, it's actually called the SIS.

I remember years and years ago in a Latin class when we were just chatting nonsense with the tutor and MI6 came up, I gave out my random interesting fact and one of the class nerds got all bent out of shape and called me a liar etc. I just laughed and conceded because he was getting so stressed, but I was and am correct.

 

[Batou667]

Decimal point AND cent sign displayed in the same price? NO, JUST NO. I see stuff like ".99c" (c representing the cent sign) frequently, and that just pisses me off! The first person to make that mistake seriously needs to get fucked.

Next time you see that, perhaps you should take the item to the cashier, give them a cent and tell them to keep the change?

 

[Batou667]

I'm sure he was called Adam after the first man (Adam and Eve), and I'm certain it was on QI! (So it must be true!)

QI is more entertainment than hard fact - the preface to the QI book says as much. Sometimes their research is a little less than completely rigorous.

The monster in Frankenstein is nameless but at one point refers to itself as "the Adam of your labours" when talking to Frankenstein, but that's not to say the monster is actually named Adam. In some of the stage adaptations the monster is literally nameless and billed as "_____________".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein%27s_monster

 

[EeveeElectro]

I'm sure he was called Adam after the first man (Adam and Eve), and I'm certain it was on QI! (So it must be true!)

QI is more entertainment than hard fact - the preface to the QI book says as much. Sometimes their research is a little less than completely rigorous.

The monster in Frankenstein is nameless but at one point refers to itself as "the Adam of your labours" when talking to Frankenstein, but that's not to say the monster is actually named Adam. In some of the stage adaptations the monster is literally nameless and billed as "_____________".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein%27s_monster

But Stephen Fry said it. You callin' Stephen a liar? Huh? Huh?!

Actually I tried to look the episode up on YouTube and couldn't find it but I'm sure I remember it being in an episode?! Unless they said he's sometimes referred to as Adam.

The only ep. I can find is from the G season where they mention his skin is yellow and not green like sometimes decipted.

 

[Batou667]

But Stephen Fry said it. You callin' Stephen a liar? Huh? Huh?!

Actually I tried to look the episode up on YouTube and couldn't find it but I'm sure I remember it being in an episode?! Unless they said he's sometimes referred to as Adam.

The only ep. I can find is from the G season where they mention his skin is yellow and not green like sometimes decipted.

I remember the episode. Yep, Stephen Fry brought up the monster's name as being Adam, as if that was the "correct" or definitive answer. According to Wikipedia though, he's wrong.

 

[Queen Michael]

The idea that "the Antichrist" is a thing that is in the Bible. It's not, people. The phrase "The Antichrist" is never used in the Bible. Yes, the words "anti-Christ are used, but as a concept, like "anti-abortion" or "anti-Obama." Not as the name of somebody.

 

[Launcelot111]

For some reason everybody in League of Legends constantly type Thresh (A champion) as Tresh. Why? I honestly have never seen anybody else spell it correctly.

Being a spelling pedant is one of my favorite things about LoL. I once saw someone spell smite with 8 letters. I can't even try to replicate it. In the meantime, I'm a Casopia main.

OT: People who spell definitely as defiantly. The two words have nothing in common, so I just have to hope this is all some spell checker run amok.