ODE Infected With Stupidity

pudge on 2003-08-29T16:42:34

From a recent Oxford Dictionary of English press release (and the "Don't worries. I gots an idea. I mean, an ideas." dept.):

The hyphen is being dropped from standard compounds such as TURNING-POINT but is now appearing in verb phrases (e.g. 'this website was SET-UP by Vicky'). Our research shows that such uses are twice as common as they were ten years ago and yet overall the hyphen is now used only half as much as it was in 1993. For example, E-MAILS have become EMAILS and we are twice as likely to COOPERATE than CO-OPERATE . We are now ONLINE not ON-LINE . The apostrophe is disappearing from where you would expect to see it (e.g. LETS GO ) and is appearing elsewhere (as in the plural PEAR'S ).

This is wrong. Very wrong. SET-UP is an adjective or noun, not a verb; PEAR'S is possessive, not plural; LETS GO is nothing at all.

The ODE says these things are "appearing". Where? In "blogs" written by illiterate Philistines? I read a lot of things, and never do I see such incorrect punctuation, except unintentionally, either as simple mistakes by people who know better, or as glaring errors by the mass illiterati who don't.

I eagerly anticipate the deaths of Williams F. Buckley and Safire, that they might be able to turn in their respective graves!

Perhaps the time for apostrophic jihad truly has arrived.

NOTE This is not the esteemed OED, but the ODE, a nasty impostor. Text above has been corrected.

Now Playing: The Waiting Song - Ani DiFranco (Imperfectly)

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more insanity

WebDragon on 2003-08-29T17:19:19

I don't know if you saw it back then, but I've posted similarly on this subject: :-)

'tis true

jamiemccarthy on 2003-08-29T20:02:04

Punctuation is important. Just look at this headline from todays new's:

Parrot screams fool authorities

That would be so much cooler as:

Parrot screams, "fool authorities!"

Rockin'.

Amusingly...

koschei on 2003-08-30T09:52:43

Their Better Writing Tip of the Week is:

Apostrophes
Don't use an apostrophe to form a plural. A sentence like 'Please keep the gate's clear' is wrong. Use an apostrophe to indicate possession, or to show that a word has been contracted.

Its sad.

schwern on 2003-08-30T17:35:29

While I'd enjoy seeing the its vs it's nonsense erradicated from the language, I lament the cannonicalization of try "our" hot dog's. These are grammar mistakes, not the emergence of a new slang.

Appearances

ziggy on 2003-08-30T18:15:09

Where? In "blogs" written by illiterate Philistines?

jest can give you a definitive answer here. My layman's understanding is that the OED refers to usage found in print, usually from primary sources. That is, if the New York Times or Nature starts using «emails» vs. «e-mails» vs. the plural noun «email», then that usage is likely to be compiled into the OED.

Sources like the The Plain Dealer of Bozeman MT, The National Enquirer and Joe-Bob's Guide to Tortise Huntin aren't the kinds of sources the OED refers to.

I believe this necessarily rules out websites, but there may be some accomodation being made to reflect the internet age. Again, this means that new words/usages found on http://neologisms.r.us/blog/ aren't candidates, but ones found on News.com might be.

Re:Appearances

pudge on 2003-08-30T18:28:52

That is my understanding too, but I cannot imagine printed sources likt the NYT and Nature using the 'plural' word "PEAR'S". As noted, I don't see that.

Re:Appearances

dc2000 on 2003-09-11T06:57:23

WiReD reported the trend going the other way,
from email to e-mail.

NYT is an interesting benchmark; it allows
reporters to have non-standard names such as
Ms. 8 Lee.

Quoth Bob the Angry Flower

Fletch on 2003-09-02T02:19:37

Bob's Quick Guide to the Apostrophe, You Idiots

ODE != OED

vsergu on 2003-09-02T23:49:26

As jest has pointed out.