Commas in Lists

Isn't that last comma in a list still required? Isn't it, for example: "Chris, Dan, and Dave", rather than "Chris, Dan and Dave"? Or has this rule fallen prey to the dumbing down of our language?

Ain't it ever gonna stop?

The Word: The case for Dictionary Day - The Boston Globe

The Word: The case for Dictionary Day - The Boston Globe

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Impact the World

"I want to impact people."
"He made a difference."

Is the first speaker a good person? Did the "he" of the second quote do something good? Impact is not always good: a boxer impacts his opponent. Making a difference is not always good: Hitler made a difference.

It seems that some folks figure that Legislatures need to pass laws. And it seems that it really doesn't matter whether the laws are good or bad as long as the lawmakers are busy "making an impact" and "making a difference".

Please don't "impact" me; I don't like being hit. And don't pass any new laws that "make a difference"; I haven't memorized all the old ones, yet.

-Ch

You Oughta Be Truthin'

I was amazed when I discovered (or rather was told) that there is no verb in the English language for telling the truth. Anybody want to take a shot at why?

The closest I have seen is a line in Nancy Sinatra's one-hit-wonder "These Boots Are Made For Walking":

You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin'
and you keep losin' when you oughta not bet.
You keep samin' when you oughta be changin'.
Now what's right is right, but you ain't been right yet.

I'll have to think about whether there is a single verb in English for staying the same.

Loose Lips, Sync Slips (or "Bout to Loose My Mind)"

Too often of late, I have been coming across this error as shown in the following quote about Hillary Clinton:

There is no reason to believe that the nomination is still not hers to loose.

This was not a typo because the follow-up sentence repeated the same error:

But she's clearly showing a capability to loose and lost the air of invincibility against which each of her fellow competitors have had to struggle.

A quick google will find "loose" being misused for "lose" even in headlines.

If this keeps up, umm-egos, I may loose my marbles.

What did that umm-ego mean?

This past Lord's Day I distinctly heard one of our umm-egos say something to the effect (is my credibility very high when I use the words "distinctly" and "something to the effect" in the same sentence?) that someone was equivocating when they tried to compare two things that this umm-ego thought could or should not be compared. Perhaps the word he was grasping for was "equating". I believe "to equivocate" means to hesitate between two positions or back off from a former position (but only tentatively). But I could be wrong. I am willing to express my lack of certainty. But perhaps* one of the umm-egos would like to come in here and defend himself or the other umm-ego, depending on which one comes forward first.



+"perhaps" is another of those words that appears to be falling out of favor.

The first to admit something.

When someone explains something about themselves (e.g. "I'm a hot-headed person..."), and they follow it up with the phrase "...and I'm the first to admit it", doesn't it stand to reason that they're the only one who's able to admit it?!? Another person can exclaim that so-and-so is a hot-head, but they're not necessarily admitting it for that person! They're merely telling, or gossiping, or informing. Only the one mentioning his/her personality traits can do the admitting.

I experienced this with a co-worker only recently, and his choice of words really had me thinking. I'm wondering what other turns of phrase seem to make little sense when scrutinized more thoroughly.