Bleeding ears breed scathing sneers and virtual jeers. Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to wax sarcastic in the name of grammatical perfection. Perhaps I'm a bit on edge as deadlines and graduation loom, but today I heard a writer misspeak in a way that is laughable and, also, sad. Writers, after all, are supposed to know words, right? Or, at the very least, they should actively (and constantly) consult dictionaries to resolve discrepancies.The culprit: A poor, unknowing, aspiring writer.
The crime: Word felony in the first degree.
She discussed coloring a story with narrative vignettes. In describing them, she meant to say anecdotes.
From Dictionary.com:
an·ec·doteBut, to my obvious infuriation (once again, I don't mean to be harsh, it's just one of those days), she said antidotes.
-noun
a short account of a particular incident or event of an interesting or amusing nature, often biographical.
[Origin: 1670–80; < NL anecdota or F anecdotes < LGk, Gk anékdota things unpublished (referring esp. to Procopius' unpublished memoirs of Justinian and Theodora), neut. pl. of anékdotos, equiv. to an- an-1 + ékdotos given out, verbal adj. of ekdidónai to give out, publish (ek- ec- + didónai to give)]
—Synonyms story, yarn, reminiscence.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
an·ti·doteNow who can provide an antidote for this vexing anecdote? It might be a Budweiser day.
noun, verb, -dot·ed, -dot·ing.
–noun
1. a medicine or other remedy for counteracting the effects of poison, disease, etc.
2. something that prevents or counteracts injurious or unwanted effects: Good jobs are the best antidote to teenage crime.
–verb (used with object)
3. to counteract with an antidote: Medication was given to antidote the poison the child had swallowed.
[Origin: 1400–50; late ME (< MF) < L antidotum < Gk antídoton something given against (i.e., for counteracting), equiv. to anti- anti- + dotón neut. of dotós given, verbid of didónai to give; akin to datum]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
1 comment:
Wow Harsh!
But you won me over with your prowess and style of writing. Funny I was once a great grammar man, but after 10 years living in Japan I have all but lost everything I once knew!!
So my current plan is to just keep writing my novel, under the guise of " I like stream of consciousness" and for go the grammar til it is all said and done. If you are looking for an example of the worst grammar published online feel free to check out my novel blog "Unfolding Pages"
Great post, sweet blog, will definately be back, keep up the vigilence! hehe
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