Craft Notes
Second Somewhat Bi- oh wait Semi- no it’s Biennial Grammar Challenge!
This is for fun.
This is a contest. It is taken from a homework assignment in David Foster Wallace’s Extremely Advanced Composition class at Pomona College. It was a creative nonfiction workshop.
The contest is, correct these sentences for what Wallace, at least, perceived as errors in mechanics, grammar, punctuation, syntax, idiom, and/or usage. You get a point every time you are the first person to correct an error in comments (by rewriting the sentence correctly), but I’m going to wait to get lots of answers in to reveal the answers, so don’t hesitate to tackle a sentence that someone else has already tried. You may make multiple guesses on the same sentence, and you can guess out of order. Some sentences may have more than one error. One point per error. Prize TBA.
Some of these are pretty basic. Some are very obscure and speak to Wallace’s particular peeves, some of which I don’t share. The point is to figure out what he thought was wrong with these. No use arguing with a dead man.
And I quote:
English 183D 10 March 2004
” . . . every such phrase anesthetizes a portion of one’s brain.”–G. Orwell
(1) It was the yuletide season like I had never seen it before.
(2) We were in Innsbruck, Austria and we could not find a place to stay the night.
(3) We passed by the inn.
(4) It has made its way into the mainstream of verbal discourse.
(5) Cross burning began in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used them to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
(6) “Get used to it.” I said to myself.
(7) As the president is a Christian, he prays every morning.
(8) I can support this claim with quotes from several published sources.
(9) It consisted of only two brief 50-minute workshops which one speaker enticingly described as “therapy session sized.”
(10) How else can we explain such an abomination of human nature to occur?
(11) Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, which the Internet tells me was the first female representative to Congress.
(12) There were less than a hundred students at the rally.
(13) People often say that Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex. They are generally correct.
(14) Timothy McVeigh might be a leader and he has stepped over lines where only a minority of anti-government agitators will follow.
(15) The U.S., Canada, and Mexico comprise North America.
(16) The Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burned cross thrown in a dumpster without notifying its original owner and it looked suspicious.
(17) His name was left off of the list.
(18) Drug-induced or not, he’s very inarticulate.
(19) A person should be honest about their desires.
(20) Most people are adverse to cannibalism.
(21) I must follow those that I lead.
(22) There was fog outside of our car.
(23) If one acts, you are a leader.
Tags: david foster wallace, grammar challenge
It was yuletide season as I had never seen it before.
Oh, I mean: It was the yuletide season as I had never seen it before.
It has made its way into mainstream verbal discourse.
6) “Get used to it,” I said to myself.
19) A person should be honest about her desires.
23) If you act, you are a leader.
Wait, this way’s better. Sorry for clogging the comments, guys.
(1) It was the yuletide season as I had never seen it before.
(2) We were in Innsbruck, Austria and we could not find a place to stay for the night.
(3) We passed the inn.
(4) It has made its way into mainstream verbal discourse.
(5) Cross-burning began in medieval times in the green hills of Scotland, where clans used burning crosses to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
(6) “Get used to it,” I said to myself.
(7) Because the President is a Christian, he prays every morning.
(8) I can support this claim with quotations from several published sources.
(9) It consisted of only two 50-minute workshops, which one speaker described as “therapy session-sized.”
(10) How else can we explain why such an abomination of human nature occurred?
(11) Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, whom the Internet tells me was the first female representative to Congress.
(12) There were fewer than a hundred students at the rally.
(13) People often say that Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex. Those people are generally correct.
(14) Timothy McVeigh might be a leader–he has stepped over lines, to places where only a minority of anti-government agitators will follow.
(15) North America comprises the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
(16) The Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burnt cross thrown in a dumpster without notifying its original owner and the action looked suspicious.
(17) His name was left off the list.
(18) Whether drug-induced or not, he’s very inarticulate.
(19) A person should be honest about her desires.
(20) Most people are averse to cannibalism.
(21) I must follow those I lead.
(22) There was fog outside our car.
(23) If you act, you are a leader.
Okay and also I want to correct #4.
(4) It has made its way into mainstream discourse.
And also #8:
(8) I can support this claim with information from several published sources.
And also #7:
(7) The President is a Christian who prays every morning.
Okay, now I’m done. And embarrassed.
lots of answers
[…] I’m going to wait before I reveal the correct answers, in order to get lots of your answers in […]
[or]
[…] I’m going to wait, in order to get lots of your answers in, before I reveal the correct answers […]
[or]
[…] before I reveal the correct answers, I’m going to wait, in order to get lots of your answers in […]
[The purpose clause can be set aside with a pair of a variety of punctuational devices, like parentheses or dashes.]
the quiz is the numbered items. thanks for playing!
you are talking about the prizes, and about winning the prizes, and not about The Quiz
I am grateful for your gratitude
It was yuletide season like never before.
We were in Innsbruck, Austria and could not find a place to stay the night.
We passed the inn.
It has made its way into mainstream verbal discourse.
Cross burning began in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans burned crosses to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
“Get used to it,” I said.
Given the president is a Christian, he prays every morning.
I can support this claim, quoting several published sources.
It consisted of only two brief 50-minute workshops that one speaker enticingly described as “therapy session sized.”
How else can we explain an abomination of human nature?
Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, which the Internet tells me is the first female representative of Congress.
There were fewer than a hundred students at the rally.
People often say that Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex. Those people are generally correct.
Timothy McVeigh might be a leader who’s stepped over lines only a minority of anti-government agitators can follow.
North America comprises the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
It looked suspicious when the Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burned cross thrown in a dumpster without notifying its original owner.
His name was omitted.
Drug-induced or not, he’s inarticulate.
A person should be honest about her desires.
Most people are averse to cannibalism.
I must follow who I lead.
There was fog outside the car.
If someone acts, he is the leader.
(1) It was my pet chainsaw as I had never seen it before.
(2) We were in joe momma and we could not find a place to stay the night.
(3) We passed by the inn, because we can levitate and shit.
(4) Nothing has made its way into mainstream verbal discourse. Diversity rocks.
(5) Cross burning originated in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used such a kinda voodoo to rally up their kin and kith against their enemies.
(6) “Get used to it.” I said to myself. “Word.” I shot back.
(7) Since the president is a Wiccan, he does some weird-ass shtuff every morning.
(8) I can support this clam using quails taken from several poorly made soups.
(9) Your intervention will consist of just two 50-minute workshops that one dude stupid-awkwardly said should be “therapy session-sized” each.
(10) ‘How else can we explain such an abomination of human nature to occur?’ said the drunk UN diplomat before running off into the bush to wretch.
(11) Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, who according to some dude I met on Chatroulette was like mega foxy and powerful and all that, I think. Wait, what is a ‘Bekavac?’
(12) Less than a hundred students attended the rally, but what do you expect from the pro-Gore Fap lobby? Their numbers aren’t exactly legion.
(13) People often say that Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex. Those people are generally correct in my pants.
(14) Timothy McVeigh might be a leader but has stepped over lines that only a minority of anti-government agitators will follow, so vote Republican.
(15) North America comprises the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and most of its peoples never set foot anywhere else in their lifetimes.
(16) It looked suspicious when the Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burned cross thrown in a dumpster without notifying its original owner. Dun dun dun.
(17) His name was left off the list. He’s lame.
(18) Drug-induced or not, I just don’t remember doing that, baby. Honest.
(19) A person should be honest about their own desires, even if it is goat-bonking. Gotta get real, man.
(20) Most people are averse to cannibalism. I’m not. Get in the oven.
(21) I must follow those I lead, because I’m a big fan of the ouroboros.
(22) There was fog outside the car. Wait, whose car is this? Oh, I’m high. My bad.
(23) If one acts, one is an actor.
Medieval clans first burned crosses on the green hills of Scotland to rally their kith and kin against enemies.
Medieval clans first burned crosses on the green hills of Scotland to rally their kith and kin against enemies.
As a Christian, the President prays every morning.
Several published sources support my claim.
One speaker enticingly described the two 50-minute workshops as “therapy-session sized.”
How else can we explain why such an abomination of human nature can occur?
Generally, people correctly say that Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex.
(1) It was the yuletide season like I had never seen it before.
It was the yuletide season as I had never seen it before.
(2) We were in Innsbruck, Austria and we could not find a place to stay the night.
We were in Innsbruck, Austria, and we could not find a place to stay the night.
(3) We passed by the inn.
We passed the inn.
(4) It has made its way into the mainstream of verbal discourse.
I don’t even know what this sentence means. What is “it”?
(5) Cross burning began in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used them to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
Cross burning began in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used it to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
OR
Cross burnings began in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used them to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
OR
Cross burning began in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used the ritual [[or some other word that reminds the reader we’re talking about cross burnings here]] to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
(6) “Get used to it.” I said to myself.
“Get used to it,” I said to myself.
OR
I told myself to get used to it. (If you feel like pissing off the author.)
(7) As the president is a Christian, he prays every morning.
Because the president is a Christian, he prays every morning.
(8) I can support this claim with quotes from several published sources.
I can support this claim with quotes by several published sources.
(9) It consisted of only two brief 50-minute workshops which one speaker enticingly described as “therapy session sized.”
It consisted of only two brief 50-minute workshops, which one speaker enticingly described as “therapy-session sized.”
But this is kind of a mess still.
(10) How else can we explain such an abomination of human nature to occur?
How else can we explain such an abomination of human nature?
OR
How else can we explain the occurance of such an abomination of human nature?
(11) Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, which the Internet tells me was the first female representative to Congress.
Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, who the Internet tells me was the first female representative to Congress.
(12) There were less than a hundred students at the rally.
There were fewer than one-hundred students at the rally.
(13) People often say that Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex. They are generally correct.
People often say that Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex. Those people are generally correct.
(14) Timothy McVeigh might be a leader and he has stepped over lines where only a minority of anti-government agitators will follow.
Dunno what this sentence is attempting to say, so here’s my meaning-changing guess: Timothy McVeigh might be a leader, but he has stepped over lines where only a minority of anti-government agitators will follow.
Also the idea of people following McVeigh over lines is bugging me, so: Timothy McVeigh might be a leader, but he has stepped into territory where only a minority of anti-government agitators will follow.
(15) The U.S., Canada, and Mexico comprise North America.
North America comprises the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
(Spelling out the U.S. is probably not necessary, but CSM only punctuates when it is used as an adjective.)
(16) The Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burned cross thrown in a dumpster without notifying its original owner and it looked suspicious.
I dislike this sentence for so many reasons. One suggestion: The Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burnt cross thrown in a dumpster. He did not notify the cross’s original owner, which looked suspicious.
(17) His name was left off of the list.
His name was not on the list.
OR His name was left off the list.
But…I think there’s something else wrong here. Who left his name off the list? Was it an intentional or inadvertent omission?
(18) Drug-induced or not, he’s very inarticulate.
Drug-induced or not, he’s very inarticulate.
I dunno. On drugs or not, he’s very inarticulate.
OR Whether or not it’s drug-induced, he’s very inarticulate. Maybe.
(19) A person should be honest about their desires.
A person should be honest about her desires.
OR A person should be honest about his desires.
OR A person should be honest about [[gender-neutral pronoun]] desires.
OR People should be honest about their desires.
(20) Most people are adverse to cannibalism.
Most people are averse to cannibalism.
(21) I must follow those that I lead.
I must follow those I lead.
(22) There was fog outside of our car.
There was a fog outside our car.
(23) If one acts, you are a leader.
What? This doesn’t even make sense. If one acts, one is a leader. If you act, you are a leader. If one acts as a follower, you act as a leader. If you can’t cook with the big dogs, stay out of the kitchen.
Possible leader Timothy McVeigh has stepped over lines few anti-government agitators would cross.
North America is comprised of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Without notifying its original owner, the Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd suspiciously had the burned cross thrown in a dumpster.
His name was omitted from the list.
He’s very inarticulate, whether it’s drug-induced or not.
A person should be honest about his or her desires.
Most people are averse to cannibalism.
I must follow those I lead.
Fog was outside our car.
A leader acts.
–This was challenging. Thanks.
Ironically, the passive voice runs throughout these sentences. Personally, I would reword them entirely to avoid it. (Then again, the passive voice really annoys me.)
People often say that Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex. These people are generally erect.
Revision:
On the green hills of Scotland, medieval clans first burned crosses to rally their kith and kin against enemies.
i am going to do miserable on this but i’m currently hopped up on espresso and my boss isn’t here yet so WHATEVER let’s do it
(1) It was yuletide season as I’d never seen it before.
(2) We could not find a place to pass the night in Innsbruck, Austria.
(3) We passed the inn.
(4) It has entered mainstream verbal discourse.
(5) Cross burning began in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used the event to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
(6) “Get accustomed to it,” I said to myself.
(7) Because the president is Christian, he prays every morning.
(8) Several published sources support this claim–I can provide quotes.
(9) It consisted of two brief 50-minute workshops, described by one speaker as “therapy session sized.”
(10) How else can we explain why such an abomination of human nature occurred?
(11) Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, whom the Internet tells me was the first female representative to Congress.
(12) There were fewer than a hundred students at the rally.
(13) People often say that Freud’s theories are not about anything but sex. They are, generally, correct.
(14) Timothy McVeigh might be a leader. He has stepped over lines that only a minority of anti-government agitators will follow.
(15) The United States, Canada, and Mexico comprise North America.
(16) It looked suspicious when the Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burned cross thrown in a dumpster without notifying its original owner.
(17) His name was left off the list.
(18) Whether drug-induced or not, he’s very inarticulate.
(19) A person should be honest about their desire.
(20) Most people are adverse to cannibalism.
(21) I must follow those I lead.
(22) There was a fog outside of our car.
(23) If one acts, one is a leader.
1000 points.
As a secret Kenyan, the president has to keep from worshiping Satan or Marx too openly.
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(1) It was the Yuletide season as I had never before seen it.
(2) We were in Innsbruck, Austria and could not find a place to stay the night.
(3) We passed the inn.
(4) It has made its way into mainstream discourse.
(5) Cross-burning began in Medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans burned crosses to rally their kith and kin against enemies.
(6) “Get used to it,” I said to myself.
(7) Being Christian, the president prays every morning.
(8) I can support this claim with citations from several published sources.
(9) It consisted of just two, 50-minute workshops that one speaker described enticingly as “therapy-session-sized.”
(10) How else can we explain the occurrence of such an abomination of human nature?
(11) Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, who the internet tells me was the first female representative in Congress.
(12) There were fewer than a hundred students at the rally.
(13) People often say Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex, and they are generally correct.
(14) Timothy McVeigh might be a leader, but he has stepped over a line that only a minority of anti-government agitators will cross.
(15) The United States, Canada, and Mexico compose North America.
(16) The Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burned cross thrown into a dumpster without its original owner being notified, which looked suspicious.
(17) His name was omitted from the list.
(18) Whether it’s drug-induced or not, he’s very inarticulate.
(19) One should be honest about one’s desires.
(20) Most people have an aversion to cannibalism.
(21) I must follow those whom I have lead.
(22) There was a fog outside our car.
(23) If one acts, one is a leader.
I tried alternate possibilities in some cases where my initial corrections were already posted by someone else.
Grammar! Fun!
Or:
(3) We went past the inn.
You’re irritated by the passive voice? Often, it’s used to conceal agency, or responsibility for determining agency is sloughed off by its use, and – it’d be guessed by me – that’s found by you to be an irksome subterfuge. You must be oft-aggravated by journalistic common practice.
the more precise term would be “oft-irritated”
Why “more precise”? – because ‘aggravate’ is too strong a synonym for “annoy”?
My Webster’s offers “IRRITATE” as a synonym for “aggravate“, though it is a secondary meaning, derived negatively from the root meaning of ‘to burden’ (grav as in ‘gravity’).
?
(1) It was the yuletide season like I had never seen it before.
It was the yuletide season as I had never seen it before.
(2) We were in Innsbruck, Austria and we could not find a place to stay the night.
We were in Innsbruck, Austria, and could not find a place to stay the night.
(3) We passed by the inn.
We passed the inn.
(4) It has made its way into the mainstream of verbal discourse.
It has made its way into mainstream verbal discourse.
(5) Cross burning began in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used them to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
Cross burning began during medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used it to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
(6) “Get used to it.” I said to myself.
“Get used to it,” I told myself.
(7) As the president is a Christian, he prays every morning.
The president is a Christian and prays every morning.
(8) I can support this claim with quotes from several published sources.
I can support this claim by quoting from several published sources.
(9) It consisted of only two brief 50-minute workshops which one speaker enticingly described as “therapy session sized.”
It consisted of two 50-minute workshops, which one speaker enticingly described as “therapy session size.”
(10) How else can we explain such an abomination of human nature to occur?
How else can we explain that such an abomination of human nature could occur?
(11) Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, which the Internet tells me was the first female representative to Congress.
Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, who, the Internet tells me, was the first female representative to Congress.
(12) There were less than a hundred students at the rally.
There were fewer than a hundred students at the rally.
(13) People often say that Freud’s theories are about nothing but sex. They are generally correct.
People often say Freud’s theories are only about sex, and they are generally correct.
(14) Timothy McVeigh might be a leader and he has stepped over lines where only a minority of anti-government agitators will follow.
Timothy McVeigh might be a leader; he has crossed lines only a minority of anti-government agitators would dare to cross.
(15) The U.S., Canada, and Mexico comprise North America.
North America is comprised of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
(16) The Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burned cross thrown in a dumpster without notifying its original owner and it looked suspicious.
The Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burned cross thrown in a dumpster. He didn’t notify its original owner, which looked suspicious.
(17) His name was left off of the list.
His name was left off the list.
(18) Drug-induced or not, he’s very inarticulate.
Whether he’s on drugs or not, he’s very inarticulate. (This one is tripping me up…)
(19) A person should be honest about their desires.
A person should be honest about his or her desires.
(20) Most people are adverse to cannibalism.
Most people are averse to cannibalism.
(21) I must follow those that I lead.
I must follow whom I lead.
(22) There was fog outside of our car.
There was fog outside our car.
(23) If one acts, you are a leader.
If one acts, one is a leader.
Indeed I am annoyed by journalism’s (and sloppy writers’) tendency to overuse the passive voice, precisely because it removes agency or, more importantly, responsibility. “Mistakes were made,” anyone? Unless there is a VERY good reason to “conceal agency,” the passive voice weakens writing and needlessly clouds the meaning of a sentence.
ironically, making the correct distinction between “aggravate” and “irritate” is a “journalistic common practice”
ironically, making the correct distinction between “aggravate” and “irritate” is a “journalistic common practice”
(1) I saw the Christmas season as never before.
(2) We visited Innsbruck and could not find a place to stay.
(3) We passed the inn.
(4) It has entered mainstream verbal discourse. (What is “it,” though?)
(5) Medieval Scottish clans burned crosses on hills to rally their family and friends against enemies.
OR
Medieval Scottish clans burned crosses on green hills to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
(It depends on the tone that the speaker sets. I prefer the first sentence.)
(6) “Get used to it,” I told myself.
OR
Get used to it, I told myself.
(7) The Christian president prays every morning. OR As a Christian, the president prays every morning.
(8) Quotes from several published sources (can) support my claim.
(9) One speaker described the two 50-minute workshops as “therapy-session sized.”
(10) How can we explain such an inhuman act?
(11) Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress.
(12) Fewer than a hundred students were at the rally.
(13) People often reduce Freud’s theories to sex. They are usually correct.
(14) Timothy McVeigh might be a leader. He has crossed lines that few anti-government agitators will. (???)
(15) North America comprises Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
(I placed “the United States” at the end to keep da flow. The noun phrase has more syllables than the other DO’s. Then I chose to drop the abbreviation in order to distinguish the punctuation.)
(16) Harvey Mudd’s Dean of Students looked suspicious when he had the burned cross thrown away without notifying its owner.
(e.g., UCLA’s Dean of Students…)
(17) His name wasn’t on the list.
(18) Drugged or not, he’s inarticulate OR On drugs or not, he’s inarticulate.
(I dropped “induced” because I’m not sure what the hell is being induced. He could be in a drug-induced stupor, but not drug induced (himself).)
(19) People should be honest about their desires.
(20) Most people oppose cannibalism.
(21) I must follow who I lead.
(This problem blew my mind (why?), so I’ll take a crack at explaining my logic. The given sentence “I must follow those that I lead” seems to have the same sense as something like “I must follow the people that I lead.” Moreover, “the people” can be used unemphatically as a singular noun phrase. If you buy that, then just replace “the people that” (singular) with “who” and SHABAM….ALSO: The objective case of “whom” would probably be grammatical in the above case but it just sounded awkward/stilted to me.)
(22) Fog was outside the car.
(Cut “of” because you can. And I chose “the” over “our” because the assonance created by the latter word makes the sentence difficult to say.)
(23) Leaders act. OR If you act, you’re a leader. (It really depends on the speaker’s intention.)
*(1) OR I saw the Christmas season as I never had before.
I used the example in (16) to explain my use of “Harvey Mudd’s,” which seems awkward out of context.
*(18): OR Whether on drugs, he’s inarticulate. (?)
Sorry for the comment load, I just wanted to make it clear that I’m adding the possible answers below to my original answers. I wasn’t trying to correct my original answers.
LAST POST: I just realized I’d prefer to use the above “*(1)” answer in place of my (1). I accidentally used “as” as an expletive.
(1) It was the yuletide season as I had never seen it before.
(2) We were in Innsbruck, Austria, and we could not find a place to stay the night.
(3) We passed the inn.
(4) It has entered mainstream verbal discourse.
(5) Cross-burnings originated in medieval times on the green hills of Scotland, where clans used them to rally their kin and kith against enemies.
(6) “Get used to it,” I told myself.
(7) As a Christian, the President prays every morning.
(8) I can support this claim by quoting several published sources.
(9) It consisted only of two brief, 50-minute workshops, which one speaker enticingly described as “therapy-session sized.”
(10) How else can we explain that such an abomination of human nature could occur?
(11) Bekavac also quoted Jeannette Rankin, who, the Internet tells me, was the first female representative to Congress.
(12) There were fewer than a hundred students at the rally.
(13) Generally the people who say that Freud’s theories are often about nothing but sex are correct.
(14) Timothy McVeigh might be a leader, because he has crossed lines in a manner only a minority of anti-government agitators will follow.
(15) North America comprises the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
(16) It looked suspicious when the Dean of Students at Harvey Mudd had the burned cross thrown in a dumpster without notifying the cross’s original owner.
(17) His name was left off the list.
(18) His words, both drug-induced or not, are inarticulate.
(19) A person should be honest about his or her desires.
(20) Cannibalism is adverse to most people.
(21) I must follow those whom I lead.
(22) Fog surrounded (enveloped?) our car.
(23) If one acts, he or she is a leader.
god i wish i were drunker than this
Not sure which judge(s) of “‘journalistic common practice'” you’re referring to, stephen, though, there being some controversy on this issue, there must be at least one referee who’d agree with whatever “distinction between ‘aggravate’ and ‘irritate'” you’re calling “correct” here.
One referee that passive-voice-soaked journalists might turn to is The American Heritage Dictionary of English Usage, which says:
Fowler notably disagreed with the (later) American Heritage Dictionary’s point of view. Here’s what Fowler’s most recent ‘colleague’, David Crystal, said in his introduction and notes, respectively, to the most recent re-edition of Fowler’s English Usage:
For me, the thing that leads me to use “to aggravate” to mean ‘to pester’ as well as ‘to make worse’ is the common (even by passivefying journalists) usage of its nominal derivative ‘aggravation’ to mean ‘extreme nuisance’ (as well as ‘condition of increase in a problem’). I turn, rather than to Richardson, Thackeray, and Dickens, as do more august – in fact, actual – authorities, to Mr. John:
I do wish, for aesthetic reasons, that I’d used ‘oft-exasperated’ in the post.
Tell me, stephen, what interesting usage of irony you are here indulging in.
very well put together, deadgod. however, I am of course referring to the chicago manual of style and the ap style guides. but nice try.
BTW, my use of “ironically” was a subtle attempt to illuminate your confused situation: should you prod 2000irises for defying “journalistic common practice”? or should you attempt to defy “journalistic common practice” yourself after just accosting someone for the same? if that was too subtle, perhaps just calling you “idiot” would have sufficed.
never seen
stay the night
passed by
made its
cross burning kin and kith
“get it” i said to myself
every morning
with quotes
enticingly described
an abomination
first female
rally
nothing but sex
agitators will follow
mexico lifetimes
the burned cross dumpster
his name left
drug-induced or not, he’s very
a person should be their desires
most people are cannibalism
i must follow those that lead
there was our car
one, actor
I kid, here’s another possible answer to add to (22): OR Fog drifted outside the car. (Tryin’ to find a verb that avoids the ‘to be’ construction).
“‘Idiot'” would have been, in your vocabulary, ‘ironic’.
Have another look at the post you call an “accosting [of] someone”; in particular, look at the passive-finite-verb-to-active-finite-verb ratio. It’s 6 : 0.
See, steven?: I was making the point (that 2000irises repeats below) that passive constructions are, to many (?), “irritating” because they’re devious (or, as 2000irises adds, because they carelessly “cloud[] the meaning” of an expression).
You see?: I was dissing the passive voice by forcing its use into every finite-verb situation – and in a ridiculous way, no? (‘it would be guessed by me’?? ‘that would be found by you’??)
Now do you see? I was performing 2000irises’ – and my own – dislike of the passive voice.
Maybe if I’d also forced the infinitive of purpose and active participle into passive constructions, your two replies would have been less “ironically” “nice” “tr[ies]”.