Troublesome Expressions

[datedsoul]

sr71plt, thank you for bringing up "use" and "utilize". I think I actually even saw "Utilize the use of..." somewhere on this site. To me, utilize is a systematic, repeated use of a concept or method.

I use a truck to deliver goods. I utilize traffic data, previous purchase amounts, and other business metrics to ensure my delivery business is as efficient as possible.

[elfin_odalisque]

Originally Posted by MistressLynn

It doesn't seem like a word as short as OK/okay would be that difficult to get right. But I think back to my first stories and cringe because I didn't know this stuff either.

So true, but isn't the great problem the lack of etymology?

No-one knows where OK came from, so that framing grammar round it is a bit silly. OK cannot have full stops unless someone explains why and OK is onomatopecic so, surely, 'okay' (with or without an opening capital) or 'OK' are equally acceptable.

One can quote editors' preferences, but this hides behind the mystery of this ubiquitous word and, yet again, defines the difference between the spoken and written language.

[Bramblethorn]

Originally Posted by elfin_odalisque

So true, but isn't the great problem the lack of etymology?

No-one knows where OK came from, so that framing grammar round it is a bit silly. OK cannot have full stops unless someone explains why and OK is onomatopecic so, surely, 'okay' (with or without an opening capital) or 'OK' are equally acceptable.

One can quote editors' preferences, but this hides behind the mystery of this ubiquitous word and, yet again, defines the difference between the spoken and written language.

Etymology might tell you what the correct usage would have been when an expression first entered the language. But correct modern usage is a matter of convention, and you don't need etymology for that.

[sr71plt]

Using "okay" is fine in writing to your Aunt Hazel and it's certainly fine for posting to Literotica (as long as you are consistent). If you're writing for publishing in the U.S. market, the "okay" will get changed to "OK," because "OK" is the first-listed spelling in Webster's ("okay" isn't even listed on its own in Webster's). That's just the way it is in publishing. They take as much guesswork and style variation out of the mix as possible. When I provide guidance on Literotica, I'll maybe note the acceptible variations in general writing, but I'll usually urge following the U.S. publishing standards for U.S. writers (because what writer wouldn't like to be published in the marketplace--and with as little hassle as possible?).

[ReiDeBastos]

I'm waay late to this party, and haven't read through the whole thread, so pardon me if I am repeating some things already mentioned:

One I see time after time on LitE is "shuttered" when "shuddered" is what was meant. Lots of talk of people "shuttering" when they have an orgasm.

Someone already mentioned the waste/waist thing. Phrases like "he grabbed her by the waste" are just wrong on so many levels.

Is there a thread/topic here about OVERUSED expressions? LitE cliches, perhaps?

The eight-inch penis being...a big one, so to speak.

"Her nipples were like pencil erasers" is another.

[ReiDeBastos]

Another things which seems rampant on LitE is... well, the earlier-mentioned "altogether/all together" problem is an example. Others would include "door way" instead of doorway, sometime/some time, etc.

Is there a name for that type of error?

[WickedWendyDru]

I'm compelled to add "alright/all right" to the list. While I know that in Britain "alright" is gaining in popularity and is generally accepted as being proper, it isn't standard English. I've gone round and round on this with my authors (professionally and volunteer-wise) citing several different sources. I did relent with one who insisted it be used in dialogue because it scanned better, but I'm still not feeling quite right about that. In the end, "alright" is not "all right."

[MistressLynn]

Originally Posted by WickedWendyDru

I'm compelled to add "alright/all right" to the list. While I know that in Britain "alright" is gaining in popularity and is generally accepted as being proper, it isn't standard English. I've gone round and round on this with my authors (professionally and volunteer-wise) citing several different sources. I did relent with one who insisted it be used in dialogue because it scanned better, but I'm still not feeling quite right about that. In the end, "alright" is not "all right."

SR mentioned all right/alright in the thread titled "Some Spelling Demons" found here.

[MistressLynn]

Bump!

[sr71plt]

Originally Posted by Bramblethorn

Discrete vs discreet

"Discreet" = quiet, surreptitious. "Discrete" = separate, distinct.

Came to check if this one had been covered because I just encountered this in an edit. I have to look it up each time.

Anyone being hit with other unusual ones of late? I had soar/sore the other day.

[sr71plt]

Ran into two more of these in edits today: rendering "wares" (goods) when what was intended was "wears" (puts on) and rendering "weary" (tired) when what was intended was "wary" (watch carefully).