#515: Running Off at the Keyboard 2

It is no secret I enjoy words and often find phrases we use funny, contradicting, imprecise...you get the picture -- they make me ask, "Huh?"

Here is part of a current radio ad: "If you owe the IRS over $20,000 or more..." Wait, isn't "over $20,000" the same as "or more"?

Or this one from a weight loss clinic: "You'll lose up to 2 to 5 pounds a week..." Hmm, seems to me that "up to" 5 pounds includes "up to" 2 pounds. Duh.

That's as bad as "each and every." Wait, if we have "each" person, thing, etc., don't we have "every" one and vice-versa?

Recently on a pro wrestling show (yes, I watch), one wrestler was trying to get back to his feet. The announcer proclaimed the wrestler "was attempting to regain his vertical base." Wouldn't it have been as easy to say he was trying to get back on his feet? Duh, again.

Another business has opened nearby with huge banners across the front of the store promoting that "We match all competitor's prices." So what is my incentive to go to that store when a competitor's is closer?

I continually read posts of people who want to "loose" weight instead of "losing" it. Then there are those people who do not know the difference between "your" and "you're" or "to" and "too." Simple things we all should have learned (not learnt) in basic English classes.

One writer asked if he doubled spaces between sentences then doubled a second time between paragraphs if he was "quadrupling." Let's see, double equals two, doubling twice equals four and quadruple means four so, yes. Double duh.

There have also been posts where people try to explain that something didn't bother them by writing that the thing/event/person didn't "phase" them instead of "faze" them. "Phase" is a stage of life, etc., while "faze" is to be disturbed by. dictionary.reference.com
/ is a good reference site.

Have you, like, you know, listened to, like, some of the, like, pro athletes and, you know, others, whose opinions are, like, so, you know what I be sayin', valued? Say what? With all their money wouldn't you think they could afford English tutors to teach them what they apparently did not learn in school?

At a recent city board meeting a member replied to another member's request for information by saying, she "would have to dialogue with the appropriate people in order to frame a response." Wouldn't it have been easier to say, "I'll look into that for you and see if I can find an answer." But, "dialogue with." Seriously now.

Last week, a woman at an adjacent table in a restaurant asked the server for soup and a grilled cheese sandwich by asking, "Those will be served hot, won't they?" The waitress looked at her and calmly replied, "Unless you'd rather have them cold." The woman shook her head and mumbled, "No, hot would be better."

I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.