<p>I am from southern Iowa and my husband corrected me years ago on the “my hair needs cut” phrase.</p>
<p>In Maryland, it is common for kids to say, “I’m done my homework.”</p>
<p>I cringe when people say, “Don’t take it personal”.</p>
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<p>I don’t think ‘abscond’ needs to be ‘with’ something or someone. The usage sounds OK, in a slightly jokey way.</p>
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<p>I just read this, thought it was cute, and relevant!</p>
<p>[Gene</a> Weingarten: Prose and cons - The Washington Post](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/gene-weingarten-prose-and-cons/2012/11/09/e6691244-1f88-11e2-afca-58c2f5789c5d_story.html]Gene”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/gene-weingarten-prose-and-cons/2012/11/09/e6691244-1f88-11e2-afca-58c2f5789c5d_story.html)</p>
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<p>I don’t remember the particulars, but do you recall a few years back when Bush Jr. (I think) was entertaining some Asian diplomats (or was he over in Asia?) and one of them made a comment about how illiterate all Americans were? There was a huge outcry from the general population here.</p>
<p>Well, only a day or two later, all the local gas stations for a major oil company (one of the largest corporations in America) had signs on top of their pumps that read “We accept manufactures coupons”. I made a quick phone call to their regional marketing department, explained to them the difference between “manufactures” and “manufacturer’s” and pointed out that a major American corporation just reinforced the controversial opinion of an Asian diplomat. The signs were all down the next morning.</p>
<p>I e-mailed the message below to the owner of a local oil company which operates several gas stations in my area:</p>
<p>"There is a scrolling short message at the pump with 3 typos. It reads: … localy owened and operate by xxx Oil… Ouch!</p>
<p>If it were my company, I would want to know!"</p>
<p>The president responded: “I agree, ouch! We will correct the spelling.”</p>
<p>Reminds me of the thread about the use of apostrophes on welcome mats.</p>
<p>“The Hamilton’s”</p>
<p>Momma Bear: I heard that a lot when I went to visit my grandmother in eastern Ohio. “The grass needs cut”, “the clothes need ironed” etc. A running joke around our house after visiting is that if Shakespeare had been from Ohio his opening line would have been “or not”.</p>
<p>It’s not the whole state! You don’t hear that in Cleveland! Perhaps the eastern part near PA, I think it may be an Appalachian thing?</p>
<p>Mammabear, I moved to southwestern PA when I was a senior in high school and was shocked when I got an English paper back with the notation “this paragraph needs developed”. Really shocked me, especially when I couldn’t get my classmates to understand why I thought it was so hilarious that an English teacher would write such a thing.</p>
<p>I was on a cruise and was chatting with a gentleman who identified himself as a school principal. He commented, “Holland America names their ships Amsterdam, Rotterdam. Why do they name all their ships -dam?”</p>
<p>I think in some cases, because of spellcheck, the idea of proofreading is getting less popular. I see more hear/here type mistakes because the computer doesn’t pick up on it.</p>
<p>The differences between to, two and too seem also to be too much for many people.
As far as abscond is concerned, while it may be technically correct (which I never knew before- you learn something every day), just by virtue of the fact that it is never, ever used outside of that context I’m inclined to think that it was entirely a mistake on her part or, as Hunt mentioned, a rapid memorization of impressive-sounding SAT words.
My mom’s friend is a “headhunter” in the corporate world, and keeps a running list of misspellings, grammatical errors, and funny mistakes on the resumes she gets. Her crowning jewel- a line about how the applicant is “litterate in English and French.”</p>
<p>Sorry, but you are absolutely wrong that ‘abscond’ MUST be with ‘the loot’ or similar. OFTEN it is used like that but it simply does not need to be.</p>
<p>The principal was right, sad to say.</p>
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Also: your/you’re and its/it’s. I read a New Yorker article long ago that asserted that, if someone hasn’t learned proper usage for these by 7th grade, they’re never going to. Sounds about right. But I’d like to think that autocorrect plays a part in typos as well (especially in the ones I make :)).</p>
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<p>However, the principal was still wrong to use the word in the context he or she did. It doesn’t mean “leave,” or even just “get away.” Thus, if on the SAT, the sentence is “When the bear attacked, Joe ____,” if the choices are “fled” and “absconded,” fled would be the answer.</p>
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<p>In our district, it seems like it might be a requirement, but a few educated ones have managed to slip through the cracks. I think they were allowed in under some special accomodation program. :)</p>
<p>Strunk and White plus about an hour of reading would solve a lot of these problems. But don’t hold your breath.</p>
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Indeed. It seems that I see the phrase “try and” in the newspaper at least twice a month. Although I guess that isn’t spelling as much as it is grammar.</p>
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<p>OMG that was spit-coffee-out-on-my-keyboard funny.</p>
<p>“Pls. do the needful” drives me nuts whenever I read it in an e-mail.</p>