Lose and loose

What is the difference between stationary and stationery?
Stationary means 'fixed in one place and not moving' while
stationery means 'the paper and envelopes used for writing correspondence'

This one bugs the hell out of me. I can't believe the amount of places that sell "stationary"
 
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PMU said:
Neither. It's "Brimful of Asha".
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Oh the irony! There's me moaning about bad grammar while using bad grammar!

Mathepac, you have that eastenders accent down pat! In any case, that "r" thing has spread and i hear people using it all over the place. Even my 2 year olds use it from time to time. They're picking it up in creche from the "cool" 20 something people that work there. It's unstoppable i tell ya!

Anyway, in relation to the original topic, grammar is getting worse. I partly blame spell check, although it is handy from time to time. Education cutbacks certainly aren't going to help though are they?

ollie
 


But given the nature of the item, isn't stationery, stationary until someone picks it up ?
 

Octopus is a Greek word, or a Latinised greek work . If it was Latin it would be Octopi but it’s not so Octopuses (or, I suppose, Octopodes (spelling?)) is correct.
 
mathepac said:
Southern Ireland (as in Ireland but not Northern Ireland - even the Brits don't do this anymore, generally)
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That one usually does it for me - people referring to this country as some geographical abstraction.

The wife of a mate of mine is from Belfast and refers to their holiday home in Co. Donegal as being in The South (or Sythe as she pronounces it ). The actual location of the house is, geographically, further north that anywhere in the North, so how somewhere north of The North can be referred to as The Sythe is beyond me !
 
Teatime said:
True. The 'lose'/'loose' one drives me nuts too.
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My personal favourites are the signs you see in shops etc apologising for the 'inconvience' and a close second is definitely 'definately'!!
 
My favourite is virii and viruses.

As far as I know, virii is not a recognised word, yet it's often used in computer terminology.
 
When builders refer to "Joycing" i picture them up in the rafters reading Ulysses. I think they mean Joisting, ie: to put up joists.........

I think you're right Mathepac, i'll have to start pulling the plug on something like ben 10, or should that be ben ten???
 
It's random apostrophes that get me. People throw them in all over the shop. Why?!!!!

As for octopi, I like that word. We should really use it more often. Octopi with all their tenticli.
 
I tend to have the Homer Simpson-esque image of 8 pies in mind when I hear the word 'Octopi'.

Mmmm......pies.
 
What makes me cringe at the moment are "the green shoots etc and Ireland Inc.
 
AgathaC said:
My personal favourites are the signs you see in shops etc apologising for the 'inconvience' ...
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At least they weren't apologising for the "incontinence".

One of my favourites of all time was a nicely laminated sign in local shop's pastry section which requested customers to "Please use thong's to handle bun's". Not even on Craggy Island...
 
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