Martin Rowley wrote:


The one that really irritates me is "lightening" for "lightning".
Will (meteorologist and speller)

... it used to annoy me, until I started reading some old texts where
the word was used all the time to describe the phenomenon. Then
looking it up in the "Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology", it has
this against 'lightning':

" discharge of electricity between groups of cloud .. Special use of
'lightening' (etc.)". Apparently has roots in Middle English.

Obviously in modern usage, it is a mis-spelling, but perhaps not
quite a 'hanging offence'!

Martin.

Totally OT but 3 that really irritate me a

1.
Use of "less" when it should be "fewer" and vice versa.

2.
Use of "underestimate" when it should be "overestimate" and vice versa
(a very common error made by TV and radio news reporters these days).

3.
Use of "would of" instead of "would've" (short for "would have").


I now anticipate wholesale criticism of the grammar in my postings :-)


Norman
--
Norman Lynagh
Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire
85m a.s.l.
(remove "thisbit" twice to e-mail)