Tag Archives: word usage

June 8, 2010 · 5:26 am

Snap crackle pop

They’re everywhere.   In your bowl of Rice Krispies.  In comic strips.  On Old McDonald’s farm.

What are they?

Onomatopoeias (and there is some question about whether that is its correct plural form) are words that sound like their meanings.  Oink, chirp, meow.  Wham, pow, boom.  Jingle, zip, splash.  Crunch, slurp, hiccup.

Originating from a Greek word meaning “word-making,” onomatopoeias are great tools for adding texture to writing or speech.  And kids love ’em.   As school lets out for the year, coming up with clever onomatopeias could be a fun summer game for your youngsters at home.

Wordies of all ages should enjoy these lyrics by Todd Rundgren.  John Prine recorded an otomatopoeia song as well but I don’t care much for it.

Onomatopoeia by Todd Rundgren

Onomatopoeia every time I see ya
My senses tell me hubba
And I just can’t disagree
I get a feeling in my heart that I can’t describe
It’s sort of lub, dub, lub, dub
A sound in my head that I can’t describe
It’s sort of zoom, zip, hiccup, drip
Ding, dong, crunch, crack, bark, meow, whinnie, quack

Onomatopoeia in proximity ya
Rearrange my brain in a strange cacophony
I get a feeling somewhere that I can’t describe
It’s sort of uh, uh, uh, uh
A sound in my head that I can’t describe
It’s sort of whack, whir, wheeze, whine
Sputter, splat, squirt, scrape
Clink, clank, clunk, clatter
Crash, bang, beep, buzz
Ring, rip, roar, retch
Twang, toot, tinkle, thud
Pop, plop, plunk, pow
Snort, snuk, sniff, smack
Screech, splash, squish, squeak
Jingle, rattle, squeal, boing
Honk, hoot, hack, belch…

Do you have a favorite?

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May 29, 2010 · 7:59 am

Not a mute point

Are there certain words that, when you hear them mispronounced, send you into orbit? 

I know there are because you’ve told me.

I have a few of my own.  I’ve already vented about Pulitzer and nuclear. 

At the risk of seeming snobbish, I am forever tempted to let people know when they’ve mispronounced a word but then, as I pointed out in one of my early posts, these suggestions are not always received as the gifts they were intended to be.

I decided to jot down a few of my own and then check them against a list of the 100 most mispronounced words and phrases in the English language.

This exercise led to a couple of findings:  First, I am not alone.  Most of my peeves, but not all, were on the list.  Second,  I pronounce a few words and phrases  incorrectly myself.

My initial list of pronunciation peeves included:

  • jewelry when pronounced jewlery
  • realtor when pronounced relator
  • espresso when pronounced expresso
  • nuptials when pronounced nuptuals

And yes! Sherbert is on the list.

The first source I consulted, yourdictionary.com, also includes on its list some irritating misuses, such as such as orientate and interpretate.  I was surprised administrate was not on the list.  I hear that one a lot.  How about supposably?  Reoccur instead of recur?  It’s a mute point, when it should be moot?

I was surprised slep was not on the list, as in I slep poorly last night.  Or I kep it a secret.  And I was really surprised not to find hunnert; you know, dial a one-eight-hunnert number.

There are also a few incorrect phrases that tend to slip by, so I like that they’re on the list:

  • blessing in the skies
  • carpool tunnel syndrome  (I suppose there could be such a thing)
  • doggy dog world
  • for all intensive purposes

 Words and phrases I learned I’ve been butchering for years:

  • Clothes.  I say close but just learned (and my son says it correctly), the th is pronounced.
  • Spit and image.  I always thought it was spitting image.  Huh.
  • Champ at the bit.  I know it’s champ but sometimes I still forget and say chomp.
  • Pernickety.  I’ve always thought it was persnickety. 

If I had any authority, I’d declare today National Correct Pronunciation Day.  As I’ve discovered, a refresher wouldn’t hurt any of us.  There are plenty of websites out there that highlight common and comical mispronunciations.  So I urge you to go out there and read.  Then send me your top pronunciation peeve and one mispronunciation you’ll own up to. 

Spread the word.  Raising awareness is the first step.

Word Nymph will take tomorrow off.  She’ll be clipping coupons from the Sunday paper.  That’s coo-pons, not Q-pons.  I don’t mean to be pernickety.

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May 27, 2010 · 8:06 am

Golden anniversary

Today is Word Nymph’s 50th blog post.  I never thought I’d have that much to say.

Milestones are good occasions to look back. 

In 50 blog posts I have learned:

  • Readers have as many peeves and curiosities as I do when it comes to language.  The ones they would like to explore further include “less” versus “fewer,” “use” versus “utilize,” “that” versus “who” and “that” versus “which,”  among others.
  • Most readers don’t take themselves or me too seriously, which is the object of the game here, though occasionally someone does school me with pronounced severity.
  • The search phrases leading to my blog (which I can see on the back end) are, shall we say, interesting.   I definitely underestimated the overall interest in anything nymphish.  Also, there are far more people interested in that silly mayonnaise commercial than I would have thought.  And far fewer people writing about it.  Hence, I might soon attain the title of Mayo Queen.  Thank you, Kraft!
  • I really shouldn’t blog before coffee.

Also on the occasion of this milestone, here’s what I’d like my readers to know:

  • If you see a typo in a post, check back later.  Chances are that it’s been fixed.  After the aforementioned coffee.
  • I appreciate your indulging this experiment of mine.  More than anything, your participation is what makes it fun. 

I hope you’ll stick around.

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May 15, 2010 · 8:39 am

Repeat redundancy

In my spare time I’ve been counting pleonasms.

Beginning with my own (that could be one), I am trying to become more aware of the human tendency toward redundancy.

Pleonasm is the use of word combinations that are unnecessary because the words mean the same thing, such as sum total or close proximity.  

Pleonasm isn’t necessarily wrong.  It has been shown in some cases to help clarify or reinforce an idea.

It’s hard to determne exactly when pleonasm is appropriate.  When the waitress tells me a dish includes Brie cheese or sherry wine, I never know whether she is committing a syntactic oversight or patronizing me pleonasmically (an adverb I just made up).

The legal vernacular is full of pleonasm.  Consider cease and desist, terms and conditions and null and void.

A few that make me shiver include ATM machine and PIN number, as well as Please R.S.V.P.

If your interest in this topic extends beyond these general observations, and if you are not afraid to see how many widely used examples are really out there, visit this blog of Pleonasms and Redundant Phrases.  Their list is so extensive it might make you fearful of speaking another word (is that one?)

If you want to make a little game out of it, go in and look at the list, pick one and then substitute a word.  For example, a bouquet of flowers – what else would be in a bouquet?  A bouquet of sneakers?

Try doing this with face mask, tuna fish or visible to the eye.  How about armed gunman?

Have fun with it.  After taking tomorrow off, I will be getting back to my regular routine.

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April 29, 2010 · 5:07 am

Lay down your peeves

Personally, I find the “Got milk?” ad—and every tired play on it—peeve-provoking.

I found myself tempted to ask, “Got peeves?”  in a tone of ridicule but thankfully, I had my answer before I had the chance to type those clichéd words.

Comments I received on a recent piece on poorly written song lyrics showed that my readers are bursting with word usage gripes, off the radio as well as on.

So, friends, this playground is safe.  Let ‘em out. 

I have a top 10 list of my own, in no particular order.  If there’s sufficient interest, we can explore each one in detail at some later time.  

Apostrophe used to form a plural.  I don’t like to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it’s tempting when the tag reads From: The Smith’s. 

“I” used as an objective pronoun, as in please send your response to Mary and I.  If Mary drops out, send your response to I?  Really?  Conversely, some of the same people bugged by I turn right around and say, she is as old as me.

“Myself,” other than as a reflexive pronoun, as in, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself.  You cannot contact myself because you are not I.  Also, “myself” is not an intelligent substitute for “I.”

“Different than” instead of “different from.”  This one appears to have cropped up lately and is getting out of control, even among the most articulate of speakers.  Someone please do something.

Prepositions as sentence-enders.  I realize the rules have relaxed on this one and I am willing to accept that, where it makes sense.  Where it does not make sense:  “How long were you gone for?”  “Where did you get that from?”  “How late will you be out til?”

Random quotation marks.  If you are going to put something in quotes, someone better have said it.  Who said, Wipe your “Feet?”   This example comes from the “blog” of “unnecessary” quotation marks  – check it out for a chuckle. 

Mispronunciation.  One example, Pulitzer is PULL-it-ser, not PEW-lit-ser.  NU-cle-ar, not NU-cue-lar.  I could go on—and will.

Punctuation outside the quotation marks, when writing in the United States.  I realize the Europeans do it differently but, until Jeopardy is filmed in the UK, I’d like the clue-writers to put periods and commas back inside the quotes.

Adverbs preceding absolute adjectives—such as unique, true, accurate or pregnant.  Nothing is “very unique,” “so true,” “completely accurate” or “a little bit pregnant.”  It is or it isn’t.

People who don’t think good grammar matters, especially public speakers.  I read an analogy once that likened good speech to a practiced art.  The commentator noted that, when we go to a musical performance and a singer hits the wrong note, we don’t say, “that’s all right, I know what note he meant to sing.”

Wow, it’s hard to stop at 10.

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