The point is moot!

[Quest4fun]

My issue with "moot point" is that, at least in North America, it means two different things:
1) A debatable point
2) A point over which it is useless to debate

Yes and no. The point is debatable but it's useless to debate because it cannot be proven either way. In essence it's infinitely debatable therefore it is useless to debate. So both definitions complement each other. It's such a cool word.

 

[Master Mason]

Yes and no. The point is debatable but it's useless to debate because it cannot be proven either way. In essence it's infinitely debatable therefore it is useless to debate. So both definitions compliment each other. It's such a cool word.

Or the third variation, where you can argue it all you want, but the issue has already been decided.

In Law School the students hold Moot Court, where they pick sides and argue cases that have already been decided, same facts etc. They can then use the actual case to determine how they did and/or where they differed.

 

[crashbb]

Or the third variation, where you can argue it all you want, but the issue has already been decided.

In Law School the students hold Moot Court, where they pick sides and argue cases that have already been decided, same facts etc. They can then use the actual case to determine how they did and/or where they differed.

Yup - I had only heard this variation (my brother is a lawyer and participated in some Moot Courts) or the "no point in debating it" way (as in, "whether we should drive or fly to WDW is a moot point, since we cannot afford a vacation anyway").

No wonder people have such trouble with the English language.

Question (honest question, not a flame) - do the two meanings complIment each other or complEment each other? I always thought it was the second.

 

[Quest4fun]

Yup - I had only heard this variation (my brother is a lawyer and participated in some Moot Courts) or the "no point in debating it" way (as in, "whether we should drive or fly to WDW is a moot point, since we cannot afford a vacation anyway").

No wonder people have such trouble with the English language.

Question (honest question, not a flame) - do the two meanings complIment each other or complEment each other? I always thought it was the second.

It's complement.

 

[ntsammy5]

When you mean they are it's they're not their or there

 

[cteddiesgirl]

Thanks to the person that brought up the death - deaf example. That's one that's always bugged me. My own mom used to say death constantly. Even when referring to her deaf daughter. She couldn't pronounce deaf to save her life. And I'm the one who's supposed to have a speech impediment (born with cleft lip and cleft palate).

Another one that bothers me is axe for ask.
I am a data entry operator and a misspelling (and probably mispronunciation) that I often get is: clornated & caped licenes instead of clorinated & capped license. I have to copy and paste it in a notepad document because I have trouble typing out the misspellings.
I also get course instead of coarse (talking about gravel and dirt).

There are times when I can understand the multitude of foreigners I work with better than I can people that were born and raised in the U.S.

 

[Muffin]

I have to laugh whenever i see "wallah" in a post. The first time I saw that, it took me forever to figure out what the poster meant.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

I won't enlist the services of a realtor who uses the word "real-a-tor." There's no "a" in the big middle. If a person cannot even pronounce their profession, I don't have a great deal of confidence in them.

I also hate to hear people pronounce the word "mischievous" as “miss-CHEE-vee-uss”. It's “MISS-chuh-vuss".

 

[AuntPatti]

The one that drives me the craziest is wondering for wandering. When I see wonder used for wander (or hear it, for that matter), I just want to scream!

 

[Liberty Belle]

I have to laugh whenever i see "wallah" in a post. The first time I saw that, it took me forever to figure out what the poster meant.

That one gets me, too.

 

[Todd&Copper]

I have to laugh whenever i see "wallah" in a post. The first time I saw that, it took me forever to figure out what the poster meant.

In a related anecdote: my sister used to read many, many Archie comics as a kid, and they use the word voila fairly often (for a comic, anyway). She thought "viola" was what they were saying, so of course she used it in a sentence when talking to me about something and, being the total smart-*** that I was as the older sister, I tormented her endlessly about her voila/viola gaffe.

The "wallah" thing, though, threw me for a loop too. I thought someone was referenceing Walla walla, Washington or Wawa's gas stations.

 

[Muffin]

In a related anecdote: my sister used to read many, many Archie comics as a kid, and they use the word voila fairly often (for a comic, anyway).

How funny that you should mention Archie comics, that's where I learned the word "voila". They did use it a lot!

 

[Quest4fun]

In a related anecdote: my sister used to read many, many Archie comics as a kid, and they use the word voila fairly often (for a comic, anyway). She thought "viola" was what they were saying, so of course she used it in a sentence when talking to me about something and, being the total smart-*** that I was as the older sister, I tormented her endlessly about her voila/viola gaffe.

The "wallah" thing, though, threw me for a loop too. I thought someone was referenceing Walla walla, Washington or Wawa's gas stations.

AH HA!
Wallah = Voilà

I was racking my brain trying to figure this one out.

 

[O Hai]

This thread focuses on people who saying things incorrectly but think they're saying it correctly.

I have two friends who say "simular". Sim-you-lur.

 

[AKBAFB]

My cousin says "pitchers" when she's talking about pictures.

And I had to stage an intervention with my sister about her use of the non-word "irregardless".

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who is irked by these types of things. And, even better, now I have a few more misused words to look out for!

 

[mum4jenn]

OK...WHO are the rocket scientists who have something spelled incorrectly in their signature??????

 

[emer95]

I love this thread! I actually had quite a gaffe myself today. I was talking about Friday the 13th, and a friend of mine who is very "suspicious." Thankfully I caught myself and said, "I mean superstitious!"

Which brings me to a quote from The Office.
Michael Scott- "I'm not superstitious. But, I am a little stitious."

I have so many pet peeves like this, and I'm not able to come up with any!!

 

[Quest4fun]

OK...WHO are the rocket scientists who have something spelled incorrectly in their signature??????

Nobody here. They're out there though.

 

[Va-bear]

All I know is, if you dont know a word isn't a word, how are you supposed to know that you dont know?!

I can speak from sad, sad experience here. When I was a teenager and WAY too old to have this wrong, I was writing a paper on a typewriter (anyone remember those? ) when my sister falls on the floor laughing!!! Turns out, she had been reading over my shoulder when she read my MAJOR typo...problem was, I really thought I was right - it sure sounded right!! But, sadly, we are human beings NOT human BEANS!!! Who knew?!

 

[NotUrsula]

Don't forget that other man who has been in all our bedrooms ... Chester Draws.

(That would be chest of drawers for those not acquainted with him.)