I can't stand it any more

[leethet]

So I'm going to bitch about this.

When someone surprises you and you jump, you START. You don't "startle." You simply start. To startle is to surprise (someone else), not to jump because you've been surprised. That's why the Victorian ladies would say "Gracious what a start you gave me."


Sheesh.


Petty rant over

Edit to add: Petty rant not quite over because I just thought of another fandom-wide (well, and wider) abomination. It's "homed in," not "honed in." To hone is to sharpen something. You can sharpen your focus on something, yes, but you would hone your focus, you wouldn't hone in. To home in is to center on a specific target. So you hone your focus in order to home in on your target.

Petty rant over now. Probably. Except I always enjoy when other people post their own grammar peeves too, so please feel free.

Comments

[elmey.livejournal.com]

Oh oh, what have you been reading :)

I just had a private rant over nonplussed a little while ago. Why do people use it to mean the exact opposite of its real meaning?

[leethet.livejournal.com]

It's the non part - it makes people think "not" something.


The thing is, people get startled in fanfic a lot. I can't tell you the last time I saw "he started" instead of "he startled," and it finally just non-nonplussed me. :-)