Attention Americans
One thing that really gets me is the misuse of words. In particular I dislike, rather intensely I might add, the use of irregardless when what is really meant is regardless. First, the word does not actually exist in a dictionary. Second, if it did it would have the exact opposite meaning to what people using it intend it to mean. The prefix ir, along with its close relatives in, il and im, meannot. So when you say irregardless you are saying “not without regard” when what you really wanted to say was with no “regards”.
However, that’s an old bugaboo. The one I’m seeing with increasing frequency, and from people who should know better, that is professional writers, is the use of loose instead of lose. The former means to slacken, set free, or not win, and the latter means to misplace. Loose, in any of its permutations, never takes on any of the meanings of the verb to lose. Similarly for transitive verbs it is (lose) losing not “loosing” (another non-word) and (loose) loosening. I only see this in American writers and its use is becoming increasingly frequent. It’s an appalling abuse of language and indicative of a failure in the teaching of language arts throughout the elementary and high school curricula.
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Comments
Comment from Doug Alder
Time: 2/1/2005, 6:42 am
That’s what I get for writing late in my day 
I’m a one handed typist and make a lot of mistakes. I usually scan for the most egregious errors (there is no spell checker in WordPress) but missed indicative.
Comment from Christine Upton
Time: 12/20/2005, 3:29 pm
You listed loose and lose. “The former means to slacken, set free, or not win.” Loose is not the opposite of win. A typo? Wow, I thought I had been wrong all my life, had to read and reread! Looked it up in my 6th grade Thorndike Barnhardt, and I’m sure you didn’t mean that as written. I enjoy your website, just found it today, looking for a favorite bumpersticker, dijon vu! Christine
Comment from Doug Alder
Time: 12/20/2005, 4:14 pm
Damn - thanks for pointing that out Christine - That’s exactly what it doesn’t mean, and what so many use it to mean, which generated this rant in the first place - That’s what I get for writing late in my day when I’m tired - I’m sure I meant to say. “he former means to slacken or set free, and the latter means to misplace , or not win. Loose, in any of its permutations, never takes on any of the meanings of the verb to lose. ” - definitely a typo
Comment from Penelope
Time: 2/1/2005, 12:39 am
Firstly, you may have opened a pandora’s box with this particular small rant, with which I entirely agree! Secondly, when discussing language use at all, checking one’s spelling is generally a good idea. “Indicate” indicates “indicative”. Thirdly, either something is the same or it is not, just as something is unique or it is not.
Lastly, you didn’t use “however” as a conjunction, and used two “ells” in “appalling”, for which I am truly thankful. It is also a pleasure to rot my socks a bit over this sort of thing instead of all the horrible, overwhelming stuff going on in our world.