A colleague of mine has been using his whiteboard to catalog a number of improperly formed turns of phases. Several are common mistakes (e.g., moot/mute, tack/tact), but others are legitimate faux pas’s (can you pluralize that?). Here are five of my favorites:
- Hedge Case: This one I have to admit is my own (edge case being the valid phrase referring to scenarios that would happen very infrequently). In my defense, I think it makes sense on its own – such rare happenstances make up the periphery of the majority (much like a hedge around the yard). Maybe not.
- Defiantly: Granted this is a real word and has its place … but not as a substitute for the word definitely. My suspicion is that the co-worker who often uses this in his emails has been getting screwed by his own spell checker. I think he is likely typing definately which Outlook decidedly thinks is more similar to the topical misnomer than the intended adverb.
- Gambit: Working in a development department, testing is inevitable. But not matter how many times it comes up, ‘I’ll run it through the whole gamut of test cases’ is never what seems to come out of people’s mouths.
- Raft/Rash of Shit: To be honest, I don’t even know which of these is right – I’ve heard it both ways and I’ve attempted to research it to declare a clear winner, but to know avail. I cannot find a reliable source and either argument is an equally supportable.
- For All Intensive Purposes: This also is a phrase that I know I’ve used but have since learned otherwise (in case you were not aware, it should be ‘for all intents and purposes’). But it is hard not to say it the wrong way – it rolls off the tongue more easily and few people fault you for the error.
Feel free to share your favorite misuses of words or phrases. And for additional fun, check out this old FedEx commercial (this topic always reminds me of this):