Pet Peeves

Here are a few pet peeves of mine that have been on my mind. One of them actually is ending sentences in prepositional phrases, but I can't see myself getting out of this blog post without doing that (dang it.).

First one: Ranting and Raving. For the record, raving means that you really like something. For example, "Such and Such movie has gotten rave reviews." Ranting means that you don't. I don't have a good example, but according to m-w.com my over-simplified definitions are correct. (So, ranting can mean that you are talking in a noisy, excited or declamatory manner, but the connotation is that the subject matter is something you are not happy with.)

So, when someone generally does not care for something and they choose to use wording such as "ranting and raving" to emphasize their point, they've only emphasized that they didn't know what the words mean that they are using. (Don't the prepositional phrases just jump out at you now?)

Why this is on my mind: I read a letter to the editor in our local newspaper a few weeks ago from a concerned citizen stating that she was not pleased with the city's careless maintenance of a park near her home. After stating all that was dilapidated and unkempt with the park, she said (paraphrasing here), "I could rant and rave all day, but I don't think anyone will do anything." No ma'am, you could rant all day, but you haven't said anything positive in your letter, so you could not rave all day unless you had already said something positive.

Second pet peeve: The use of the word "literally" incorrectly. "Literally" means actual, exact, verbatim. So, when someone says that they would literally smack you in the face if you do 'that' (insert annoying action here) again, you better duck if do that again.

Why this is on my mind: I overheard someone use this improperly the other day when they said that they were so hungry they could literally eat a horse. The point they were trying to get across was that they were very hungry. But what they said, was that they were so hungry that they could see themselves actually take a fork to a horse. It would not be a pretty sight. And it wasn't pretty for them to use this verbiage incorrectly either.

Now, m-w.com says that literally can be used as hyperbole to exaggerate a phrase or to help draw opposites (and didn't explain what drawing opposites meant, either). Their example was this: "literally turning the world upside down." When I hear that, I think that someone is suggesting that the opposite poles of the earth are going to be reversed. And even though I'm reading the Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming, I haven't heard any alarmist environmentalist ever mention this as a possibility.

So, by allowing the word 'literally' to double as hyperbole and exaggeration in a phrase and the actual (literal) definition of the word, you've made for some potentially confusing moments. What would you expect from someone who said to you, "For pete's sake, if I hear one more complaint out of you and I'm going to literally pull my hair out."? I think most of us would guess that they are exaggerating. But given that there are people in the world who really have disorders involving pulling hair out of their bodies, this could mean exactly what they said.

The next time your friend tells you that they are so hungry they could literally eat a horse, please take the time to explain to them what they just said. Otherwise, be prepared to alert the ASPCA or even worse, PETA.

Third pet peeve: the pronunciation of 'often' and 'sword.' Without going into a long rant, I'll be as succinct as possible. The 't' in often is not pronounced and the 'w' in sword is not pronounced. They are, in effect, silent. 'Often' should be pronounced "offen" and 'sword' should be pronounced "sord."

Apparently, pronouncing 'often' with the 't' is acceptable to m-w.com, but according to Ms. Smith my junior-level AP English teacher, that is not the proper pronunciation. Sorry, m-w.com, but I'm going to stick with Ms. Smith on this one.

The pronunciation of 'sword' is "sord" according to m-w.com. That makes the score Me= 3 points, m-w.com=1 point.

Well, I could rant and rave for the rest of the night, but it's getting late and too ofTen I stay up too late the night before I have to be up at literally the butt crack of dawn. (One more sentence-ending prepositional phrase for good measure...)