I decided not to include more examples of misused words because I thought the list was getting too long. I was just waiting for people to get to these! I love your dog whistle analogy! I, too, wonder if anyone else is catching these & if they are, why they are not correcting people. Have we become so ridiculously PC that we are more concerned about possibly hurting someone's feelings than we are of constructive criticism? I know you can't always correct people, your boss, for example, but they don't correct children in grammar school who say, "We be going to lunch." (Oh, the irony of calling it grammar school!)

My mom, sister & I all call each other when we hear an especially egregious misuse of a word and get a good laugh out of it. But sometimes it's just too sad to laugh.

So, come on people, let's start adding more misused words to the list! These might take some more thought than the simple spelling errors.

My reason for not usually correcting people has nothing to do with PC! It's simply too exhausting.

Language also evolves. Did you realize that using the word "nauseous" to mean "nauseated" used to be considered an incorrect usage? Similarly, using "media" as a singular noun was frowned upon. Now, those usages are considered perfectly acceptable. Who's to say what will be considered correct in future which is "incorrect" now? In fact — EVERYONE! For better or worse, language standardization (or standardisation, if you want to be correctly British) is a democratic process.

I do try to set a good example and I most definitely have my opinions! But I prefer to keep them (mostly) to myself. There are so many other (arguably more useful) ways to expend energy. But I agree with you about correcting children, and I do admire you for "fighting the good fight"! Rock on.

Nauseous instead of nausea is one of my pet peeves! I was not aware that common misuse had changed the definitions, I though it was still up for debate?

BTW, for those who do not know, when you say you are nauseous, you have just said you inspire nausea in someone else!

Nauseous should be used to indicate causing nausea and nauseated to indicate the subjective feeling of nausea.

The correct usage is:

"I'm nauseated," for when you're sick to your stomach & feel like you will vomit.

"The skunk's natural defense is a nauseous smelling spray to repel attackers" or "That perfume is nauseous (or you could also say nauseating)"

Do I correct everyone I hear, no, I certainly do not, because it's not my place! Can I bitch about it? Absolutely, and that's what made being able to post this discussion an opportunity I couldn't resist!

I agree it would be exhausting to correct everyone, not to mention they probably are so deficient in the subject to even follow the correction. (Maybe that's mean to say, but it's also true, in my not so humble opinion ) But, it is such a habit for me & not at all draining, to correct children's grammar. It's how they learned to speak in the first place & I guess you get so used to it, it's second nature.

It's a wonder anyone can learn a language at all with rules being so subjective. But, I am one who likes to know the etymology of words & find it helps with knowing how to use them. As for the possibility that the usage will change in the future, I don't have a crystal ball, so for now, I will stick to the current accepted usage & be a voice in favor of the current usage unless I believe there is a reason to change it. I am no cunning linguist, so I will leave the finer points of the philosophical debate to others. I just want to know what the heck someone is saying.

"There are so many other (arguably more useful) ways to expend energy."
I guess talking is not that energy consuming for me, as I go a mile a minute if allowed.

May I add that cloths and clothes do not mean the same thing?

You probably should because I've seen it too!

Phonics, people!!!

Just remember: a side-effect can negatively affect your health.

Please tell me that you're kidding.

Please tell me you did that on purpose.

That was the funny part, don't you think? Of 'coarse', I did it on 'perpus'! You think I'd spell homonyms correctly & not 'there'?




(Seriously, it was to be an ironic joke, too subtle? Anyway, if someone missed it, I did the above one here. At least you got it, that's something!)

lol! lol! I'm sorry for laughing, but that's way too funny.

Isn't that terrible, but I can see it happening!

But are they really homonyms?

I (extranjero) would definitely pronounce them differently.
Same as 'your' and ' your're '.

Yes, 'coarse' and 'course' are homonyms. They are pronounced exactly the same, but spelled differently. The same is true of 'your' and 'you're'.

Technically, they are all homophones & only words that are spelled AND pronounced the same are true homonyms in a linguistic sense. But, in a non-technical, general usage sense, homonyms refer to both homophones & homographs, (words that are spelled & pronounced the same, yet have different meanings).