>"The Moose is Loose" - Perhaps passing this along will help in the battle!
This might be a little tricky in Scotland. I only discovered recently that mouse rhymes with loose, not sure about louse (maybe that too). So the mnemonic could be misheard as: The mouse is louse - quite existential when you think about it.
Occasionally there are a few posts that point out errors and cause some amusement.
I do this from time to time - but I plead not guilty (too much) on the grounds that I tend to point out those with serendipitous linguistic felicities (or doubles entendres as the case may be).
What was that quotation about a narrow (rigid?) consistency being the sign of a small mind?
I do this from time to time - but I plead not guilty (too much) on the grounds that I tend to point out those with serendipitous linguistic felicities (or doubles entendres as the case may be).
I'm with shanks here. Another board that I frequent has occasionally had threads get badly bogged down by the Grammar Police. If it ends up being funny, however, I say, go for it. Of course, given the level of this board, if it's funny it was probably intended that way.
A few of us (including some of the most guilty – moi?), agreed a while ago that we wouldn't go around correcting each other’s errors. There were two reasons (a) Too many of us type this stuff rather rapidly, either early in the morning or late at night to be able to guarantee no typos or spelling errors.
Here, hair! I have been profoundly grateful that my typos (many CP-induced) have generally been overlooked - a gracious courtesy. It seems the most flak I ever got over a typo was for one I quoted, not one I made! Ænigma is way too idiosyncratic to be of any real use, so I have to rely on my lousy self-discipline to force me to slow down enough to read my posts before sending, and I hate depriving you all of my wisdom for any longer than is absolutely necessary.
hmm maybe i wasn't being to clear.. I most certainly did not mean corrections on this board! I mean when I help someone edit.. when I read an article.. should I even bother trying to correct others? Or will it just be a waste of effort?
I'm astonished (was going to say surprised until I remembered the apochyphal story about Noah Webster) that no one has surmised that many of the their/there, its/it's, etc. errors may simply be typos which are not picked up by SpellCheck or whatever accursed automatic proofreader one's software uses, since they don't cite as an error something which is a real word, albeit not the one intended in the context. May the inventor and the distributors of these programs fry in the bottommost linguistic hell. Even good magazines and newspapers are coming up with errors because of homonyms which escaped the automatic spell checker.
Regarding who should have responsibility for the lack of knowledge of grammar and spelling, it's ludicrous to say that you need a lot of time. When I was in high school (mid-50's) there was a list of the 100 most frequently misspelled words in English. Every Monday and Wednesday, a list of 10 of these was handed out and every Wednesday and Friday there was a quiz on the list last assigned. The marks on this quiz figured prominently in your English mark for the quarter, semester and year. When you got thru all 100, you started over again. And this went on for 4 years. I may occasionally misspel a word, not thru a typo, usually a word ending in -able vs. -ible, but never one of the old 'top 100'. And the best part was that going over the list and doing the quizzes only took 10 minutes twice a week.
Yep, Bob - that's the way I learnt top spell as well - much the same era as you, but several thousand miles to the east!
Learning by rote has limited use - but that is definitely one of them. The other is the times-table, which is one of the cornerstones of mental arithmetic.
Bobyoungbalt commented: When I was in high school (mid-50's) there was a list of the 100 most frequently misspelled words in English. Every Monday and Wednesday, a list of 10 of these was handed out and every Wednesday and Friday there was a quiz on the list last assigned.
And from the British English perspective, you were deliberately taught to misspell some of them - 'pon my honour, sir!
I don't think I want to go there, as that horse has been, I believe sufficiently flogged. For the record, I acknowledge the High Church, or Johnsonian spelling scheme along with the Low Church, or Noah Webster, scheme. There are these caveats, however: 1. English spelling has always been a mess, since the first woad-painted scribes picked up a seashell fragment, or whatever it was. 2. Dictionaries may prescribe spellings, but they are not official, since we have no equivalent of the French Academie. (and no one would pay any attention to it if we did.) 3. Current preferred spellings have been instilled into generations of scholars by the likes of schoolmasters with their canes impressing the minds (if not the bums) of their hapless charges, as well as the old maids who were the only primary-school teachers until recently in this country (USA). Neither of these classes are descended from the Cumean Sibyl. 4. Hence, I have to conclude that each individual's English spelling is either a matter of habit or of choice, like said Morning Prayer vs. Solemn Choral Eucharist. I suppose that if I moved to the UK, I'd have to learn to spell Englilsh style, ; I believe the Brits who come here learn our spelling.
>I suppose that if I moved to the UK, I'd have to learn to spell Englilsh style, ; I believe the Brits who come here learn our spelling.
I think Bob, that the Brits are coming around to the proper way of thinking. I noticed that Rhubarb spelled "defence" as "defense" in a recent post; I refrained from remarking on it until your note gave me a valid reason to do so.
I noticed that Rhubarb spelled "defence" as "defense" in a recent post
Fortunately my own spell-checker prevents me from lapsing into such abominations. As a matter of honour, I shall always favour the correct orthography, despite the extra labour involved. It is the key to my good humour, and a small gesture of my determination to support all the colours of English, be they ever so grey. Either that, or it's dementia caused by cooking in aluminium pots.
. I noticed that Rhubarb spelled "defence" as "defense" in a recent post;
In deference to your defence of "defense", I sit on de fence on this one - it was probably one of my many typo's - I never learnt to touch-type and frequently have to post in haste.
leave the touch out? and do what just talk? or go post haste? oh no.. I want all the touch i can get. there are no errors, no mistakes.. just words we haven't thought of yet... dull minds might think there is only one way to spell a word... the creative mind knows there are many.. why the can be the or het or eht -- and since enigma seems to not have a much better sense of spelling than i do..
She of the word processor that botched a thousand characters said: why the can be the or het or eht ...
If you use Word with self-correct turned on, well, not it can't be. Word will unerringly fail to correct anything except the correctly. Word is The Word about words, so to speak. Well as far as Bill Gates and Micro$loth are concerned ... that's why I've turned the grammar checker, the speller checker and auto-correct off, and then use PageMaker just to be sure I'm not being Worded!
Talk of spell checkers reminded me of this poem...
Owed to Spell Checker
I have a spelling checker It came with my PC It plane lee marks four my revue Miss steaks aye can knot sea. Eye ran this poem threw it, Your sure reel glad two no. Its vary polished in it's weigh My checker tolled me sew. A checker is a bless sing, It freeze yew lodes of thyme. It helps me right awl stiles two reed, And aides me when aye rime. Each frays come posed up on my screen Eye trussed too bee a joule The checker pours o'er every word To cheque sum spelling rule. Be fore a veiling checkers Hour spelling mite decline, And if were lacks or have a laps, We wood be maid to wine. Butt now bee cause my spelling Is checked with such grate flare, Their are know faults with in my cite, Or non eye am a wear. Now spelling does knot phase me, It does knot bring a tier. My pay purrs awl due glad den With wrapped words fare as hear. To rite with care is quite a feet Of witch won should be proud. And wee mussed dew the best wee can, Sew flaws are knot aloud. Sow ewe can sea why aye dew prays Such soft ware four pea seas. And why I brake in two averse By righting want too pleas.
Wants pawn term, dare worsted ladle gull how lift wetter murder inner ladle cordage honor itch offer lodge dock florist. Disc ladle gull orphan worry ladle rat cluck wetter putty ladle rat hut, end fur disc raison, pimple cauldron ladle rat rotten hut.
Wan moaning, rat rotten hut's murder colder inset. "Ladle rat rotten hut, heresy ladle basking winsome burden barter end shirker cockles. Tick disc ladle basking tudor cordage off year groin murder hoe lifts honor udder site other florist. Shaker lake, dun stopper laundry wrote, end yonder no sorghum stenches dun stopper torque wet strainers."
"Hoe cake, murder," resplendent ladle rat rotten hut, end ticker lickle basking and stuttered oft.
Honor wrote tudor cordage off year groin murder, ladle rat rotten hut mitten anomalous woof. "Wail, wail, wail," set disc wicket woof, "evanescent ladle rat rotten hut! Wares putty ladle gull goring wizard ladle basking?"
"Aroma goring tumor groin murder's," reprisal ladle gull. "Grammar's seeking bet. Armor ticking air burden barter end shirker cockles."
"Oh hoe! Heifer blessing woke," setter wicket woof butter taught tomb shelf, "Oil tickle shirt court tudor cordage off ear groin murder -- oil ketchup wetter letter, end den, oh bore!"
Soda wicket woof tucker shirt court, end whinny retched a cordage off ear groin murder, picket inner window an sore debtor pore oil worming worse line inner bet. Inner flesh disc abdominal woof lipped honor betting adder rope. Zany pool dawn a groin murder's nut cup end gnat gun, any curdle dope inner bet.
Inner ladle wile, ladle rat rotten hut a raft adder cordage an ranker dough ball.
"Comb ink, sweat hard," setter wicket woof disgracing is verse. Ladle rat rotten hut entity bet rum end stud buyer groin murder's bet.
"Oh grammar!" crater ladle gull, "wart bag icer gut! A nervous sausage bag ice!"
"Oh grammar, water bag noisy got! A nervous suture anomalous prognosis!"
"Butter do small your whiff," inserter woof, ants mouse worse waddling. "Oh grammar, water bag mousy got! A nervous suture bag mouse!"
Daze worry on forget nut gull's lest warts. Oil off ear sudden, trolling offer carvers an sprinkling otter bet, disc curl an bloat Thursday woof ceased pore ladle rat rotten hut an garbled erupt.
I first saw it at the Exploratorium in San Francisco about the time that KFAT was given the KWSS of Death. I found it on the WEB somewhere a few years ago. The phrase Ladle Rat Rotten Hut had stuck in my brain. I even incorporated it into my version of Little Red Riding Hood by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
Hey there ladle rat rotten hut, You sure are quite the...
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Ænigma is way too idiosyncratic to be of any real use, so I have to rely on my lousy self-discipline to force me to slow down enough to read my posts before sending, and I hate depriving you all of my wisdom for any longer than is absolutely necessary.
. But I liked the title, so I posted it anyway.
