Pet Peeve

[blucougar]

I read a lot of fanfic. I know I can be remiss in reviewing, but I do read prolifically. Some have excellent grammar; some not so much, but the great ideas and interesting plots make up for it.

However, one thing that seems to crop up on a far too regular basis is the propensity for fic authors to mix up certain words, and there is one mix-up in particular that I've seen too many times now.

It's the way that many authors - too many authors - use the word "defiantly", when they should be writing the word "definitely".

Please, people, "defiantly" and "definitely" are two completely different words and I really don't understand how so many people can make the same mistake.

I'm sorry for the rant, and I certainly don't profess to having perfect grammar and spelling. I know my fics have plenty of errors. It's just that seeing this specific mistake being made over and over by lots of different people is kind of like fingernails down a chalkboard to me.

Please please please, in future when you write, if you don't do anything else, at least take care not to mix up these two words.

Definitely – NOT Defiantly

Comments

[akawho]

I've seen that a lot. Another mix up that really bugs me is using the word prostrate when they mean prostate. I think the main reason that bothers me is that my Dad always says prostrate when he's talking about his prostate. Being reminded of my Dad while reading erotic fiction is a real turn-off.

[milady_dragon]

Oh God yes. This.

It's gotten so bad I deliberately won't use either word if I don't have to.

Do you know how hard it is to write Gwen Cooper without using 'defiantly' anywhere? :)

[idamus]

I haven't noticed that one, 2 words I frequently see mixed up are wander/wonder (although, not in a while) and canon/cannon. Grrrrrr

[jedidiplomat]

Not that I'm defending them, but I know when I got the two mixed up it wasn't that I didn't know the difference, it was that I couldn't spell definitely and spellcheck always came up with defiantly and while I would go "I'm pretty sure that's not how it's spelled......" I couldn't make it come up with anything better until I tried the actual paper dictionary.

So...just throwing that out there. I find myself chuckling when I see it and wonder how long the author fought with their spell check before giving up and going "FINE! maybe that IS how you spell it!"

[turtle7761]

My pet peeve, well two of them are loose and lose. I read a story where the line was "My pants were lose and I didn't want to loose my dog." My second (being a Magnificent 7 fan) is cavalry and calvary. If the bad guys are after me I hope to see the cavalry I certainly don't expect to see the Calvary.

[geminia]

I've actually not come across that one much, but I understand your pain. For me it's wonder and wander.

[yanto]

i just read a list posted on facebook by john barrowman's sister about the top ten words that don't mean what you think.

[thraceadams]

One that always bugs the crap out of me is your/you're one is a contraction the other denotes ownership - how can people not understand that?

Not to mention all the others mentioned in comments. I've seen all of those and they make me RAGEY.

*sigh*

[pfyre]

how about 'imagine' and 'image' - it drives me mad when writers continuously use the wrong word

or when writers have 'draw' instead of 'drawer' as in a 'chest of drawers' or 'he opened the desk drawer' - another one that drives me insane

of course there are the writers that think 'amuse' and 'bemuse' mean the same thing and they definitely do not

sigh