Revert
Revert is not a synonym for reply. It means to go back to the previous state.
I suspect this word became fashionable in the Civil Service because someone high up started using it erroneously. It trickled down the ranks and spread far and wide to the point that almost every civil servant I know uses it.
Irregardless
Unlike flammable and inflammable, irregardless and regardless should not be used interchangeably. Although the word exists, its use is generally discouraged. The wikipedia entry claims that it “seems to be moving in the direction of standardization” but no citation was given for that assertion.
Double confirm
To confirm is to confirm. You can’t double confirm something. What you can do is to double-check (or double check).
acroamatic
/ Friday, 13 July 2007*gasp* I think Siva said “double confirm” during Pasir Panjang Guides refresher.
Priscilla
/ Friday, 13 July 2007what about understooded? or understooded(ded)!?
i could not take it when EVERYONE was using “upgrade” when the garmen started using that buzz word to do up HDB flats. OMG even the macdonalds auntie/uncle started asking me whether i wanted to upgrade my value meal. that was the last straw.
uncle! auntie! don’t get your vocab from garmen can??
Lam Chun See
/ Saturday, 14 July 2007What’s wrong with these 2 phrases?
Very unique or quite uniqe.
Integral part of.
Lam Chun See
/ Saturday, 14 July 2007My pet peeve: At the end of the day. Just watch how many minister uses it.
acroamatic
/ Saturday, 14 July 2007@ Priscilla Understooded seems to be more playful than deliberate. I’ve not heard anyone use it when they meant understood.
Did you know that my flat will be undergoing lift upgrading soon? =P
@ Chun See You’ve discovered my weakness. I can’t explain the rules! Let me try…
If you say something is unique, then there is nothing like it. So, you can’t qualify its uniqueness.
You’ve got me on “integral part of”. I googled it and found that it is common. Merriam-Webster Dictionary’s example of the use of integral includes this phrase. I found a BBC article which uses “integral part of” too. What is wrong with it?
At the end of the day – that’s just cliche.
Victor, you and I (or is that ‘You, Victor and I?) should start an English language blog, highlighting common grammar and spelling mistakes.
Patricea
/ Sunday, 15 July 2007how about ’till’ and ‘until’; ‘into’ and ‘in to’?
(I had to take part in this one!)
Priscilla
/ Monday, 16 July 2007oh another one – truncation of words.
most people just don’t know the difference between it’s and its. and why cheap cd’s / cheap pizza’s is wrong.
and what’s with people pronuncing don’t as donch?? the acjc school principal used to say donch all the time and she never understood(ed) why everyone started sniggering whenever she said donch. of course, her exclaiming “i donch understand why you all are laughing” didn’t help either.
yarrh! i’m turning into a grammar/vocab/punctuation nazi!
‘at the end of the day’ is like a feng1 he2 ri4 li4 to me – overused and a typical trait of chao muggers memorising model essays to get good grades.
acroamatic
/ Tuesday, 17 July 2007Oh my, I’ve unleashed a monster!
Maybe we should continue what these guys started. I found out about them through a segment on Radio Singapore International. Shortly after they were featured, they stopped updating!