Non-Words: Alittle / Alot / Noone

[Keith B]

I don't know about spacing, but the one that really gets under my skin is "orientated." That is not a real word. The correct usage is "oriented," as in "he is oriented to time and place." If an ER doctor described his patient as "orientated" to time and place, he would be laughed out of the ER. The verb is to "orient" something, not to "orientate" it.

Correct: "Please orient that chair so that it faces north."

Incorrect: "Please orientate that chair so that it faces north."

Well, better check the dictionary. Orientate is a word, and orientated is a proper form of it.

o·ri·en·tate   /ˈɔriənˌteɪt, -ɛn-, ˈoʊr-/ [awr-ee-uhn-teyt, -en-, ohr-]
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object),-tat·ed, -tat·ing.
to orient.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Origin:
1840–50; < F orient(er) to orient + -ate1
—Related forms
re·o·ri·en·tate, verb (used with object),-tat·ed, -tat·ing.

[UpTheIrons]

Removed because the next post follows the conversation better.

[UpTheIrons]

I don't know about spacing, but the one that really gets under my skin is "orientated." That is not a real word. The correct usage is "oriented," as in "he is oriented to time and place." If an ER doctor described his patient as "orientated" to time and place, he would be laughed out of the ER. The verb is to "orient" something, not to "orientate" it.

Correct: "Please orient that chair so that it faces north."

Incorrect: "Please orientate that chair so that it faces north."

Well, better check the dictionary. Orientate is a word, and orientated is a proper form of it.

o·ri·en·tate   /ˈɔriənˌteɪt, -ɛn-, ˈoʊr-/ [awr-ee-uhn-teyt, -en-, ohr-]
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object),-tat·ed, -tat·ing.
to orient.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Origin:
1840–50; < F orient(er) to orient + -ate1
—Related forms
re·o·ri·en·tate, verb (used with object),-tat·ed, -tat·ing.

I, for one, reject your dictionary. It makes me FEEL better to not acknowledge that word as correct.

[Fangs]

It bothers me when people type "loose" instead of "lose".

And my OCD gave up trying to fix the world's spelling a long time ago.

[Abraham]

Fangs,

Those two words constitute some of the MOST glaring spelling errors on the internet.

I can't fathom why this is so.

The two words aren't pronounced remotely alike.

I thought I'd throw in the actual word "alike" for those space challenged individuals, Nyuk Nyuk!

P.S. Nyuk Nyuk became part of the American lexicon when my hero Curly of the "The Three Stooges coined it long ago. A man of truly great talent. He was America's first break dancer and a true American slaphappy gentlemen.

[Drewthetexan]

"ur" is a colossal all time pet peeve.

And, for that matter, the gross cross-usage of your and you're.

[Oldgringo]

I don't know what y'all's problems is. I've been "orientated" several times. Heck, I even got "deleated for inuendo" once. I always knowed whut them guys wuz talkin about.

[RPB]

"The Waco Crimestoppers Program PAYED out $xxxxx last year for information leading to arrests."
(Spelled that way on one of their Television commercials.)

We do it SAFE, every day.
(Painted on a storage tank in Pasadena on 225; makes one wonder if the same level of literacy is used in their actual safety and procedures manual.) [At least I think it's stil painted there ... I moved away after things kept exploding at those refineries.]

What bothers me more though, is the use of ain't (am not) when they should say Han't or hain't (have not/haven't or has not/hasn't)

Which brings up the "Me" or "I" misuse, with the implied word which is often "am" (She drinks faster than me [do]? No, She drinks faster than I [do], she is taller than I. [am])

And, if a person is disoriented, he can't find East/has lost East. (I guess that's why the chair needs to face North)

[WildBill]

Correct: "Please orient that chair so that it faces north."
Incorrect: "Please orientate that chair so that it faces north."

Correct: "Please orient that Oriental so that she faces east toward the Orient."

No that's not quite right, orientate her just alittle more.
Alot of you, or maybe noone, will think that this is so funny that ur going to loose it!

[RPB]

Correct: "Please orient that chair so that it faces north."
Incorrect: "Please orientate that chair so that it faces north."

Correct: "Please orient that Oriental so that she faces east toward the Orient."
No that's not quite right, orientate her just alittle more. Noone, or maybe alot of you may think this is so funny that's your going to loose it!

[MadMonkey]

I just thank God that my parents homeskooled me!

[RPB]

A lawyer (Westbury High School graduate, but I went to rival school, Bellaire) with whom I used to work would always type things such as "after the acident, the driver said he was 'all right,'" but I proofread for him and made everything alright.

I also wurked fur MSN Chat as securdy on da chatrooms for alllmos t fiteen years and saw nearly erey way 2 speel stuff thier is. Sew, I do make Alotta typos and spell wurds rong Alot on da innernet dough cuz tha spull chukler here duddn werk reel gud, and I ne'er correct udders cuz mah brudder can't spell tooo good neither ev'n tho he's gotta 145 I.Q. (Nor do I make fun cuz his is lower'n mines' is. Cuz it hertz his feelin's big like megahertz).

[joe817]

Heck, I even got "deleated for inuendo" once.

Oldgringo, don't you know that it's not deleated? It's deleteated.

[DONT TREAD ON ME]

Eye dunt no whut all da fuss is abut, usin Hillbillys speel thut waze alot.

Yall know us rednecks can't read so fast. So why don't yall type a lil slower so we can keep up a bit?

It'll be much appreciated!

[RPB]

The city in which I live now changed the way they send utility bills from post cards to letter-sized bills.
I got the first one today and it's the first time it showed I got some French garbage rate.
It says "Senoir rate" and I know words ending in "oir" such as reservoir come from France.

I rarely throw away French dressing or French bread, I only throw away "first-rate" garbage, none of that recycled stuff.

I'm going there tomorrow to see if they were insulting me by giving some French word "Senoir Rate" bill for "first-rate" garbage. I'm guessing to assuage my concerns, they'll say it's French because words ending in "age" like garage and garbage must be from France too. If they correct it on the next bill, I'll keep this one as a memoir; perhaps decoupaged.

ACTUALLY, I just looked at that bill again, and it doesn't say "Senoir rate" it says "Senoir rat" .... probably was an insult ....