Two Reasons I Don't Sleep Well at Night (and don't piss me off, or I'll make this a freakin' series):
1. People keep writing "lightening" when they mean to write "lightning." You can lighten your hair. After sunrise, the sky gradually "lightens." Lightning is that flash you see in the sky before you hear the thunder. (Or "lightning" could also apply to at least two great blues musicians. But I digress.)
2. "Peak" and "peek" are not interchangeable. (And don't even get me started on "pique.") No, really. Your computer's spell-checker is not a blasted mind-reader, so please learn the difference before you use either.
By the way, the illustration above is of lightning striking a mountain peak. Maybe you don't care, but I impressed the hell out of myself finding that one. Just sayin'.
(Reprinted from 4/26/11, because I've been seeing a lot of people doing the "peek/peak" thing lately.)
Thanks for your time.
Geez, shouldn't it be thing not think? For shame lol Suppose think could work too.
ReplyDeleteFirst drafts I've done peak and peek and lose and loose and led and lead, but I know to look for them when I start editing. Never screw up the lightning one though. Only one I really hate is affect and effect, so I just try not to use them haha
Yup, "think" was a goof I made rushing that last sentence. Ha! Thank's for pointing that out. Changing it now.
DeleteWow... I need to slow down! There should NOT be an apostrophe in "thanks." WTF was I thinking?!?
Deletehaha really off your game, must be that library computer
DeleteOkay, then, that'll be my excuse!
DeleteHeh, heh! I read an article recently about a guy in Great Britain going around in the dead of night fixing signs with errant spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation (yeah, even in the home of the English language people insist on using an apostrophe to denote the plural!). They've been calling him the Grammar Banksy because nobody's caught him doing his work yet.
ReplyDeleteAn unsung hero, as it were. Love that.
DeletePat correcting the Grammar Nazi. Had to laugh at that one!
ReplyDeleteLightning can also refer to moonshine, I think. Some antique mason jars have that label and I don't think they mean storm chasers captured light from the sky in their jars. Ha.
Yes, white lightning is a time-honored term for moonshine.
DeleteToday, we have a rant with a slant..haha
ReplyDeleteHey, sometimes you just have to speak your mind.
Now breathe, inhale, exhale
I've done a lot of posts with the Grammar Nazi label.
DeleteLove this! I'm always arguing with my husband about the misuse of words and punctuation... he claims it's not important!!
ReplyDeleteI quote: 'Lets eat grandma'
Punctuation not important? Hah!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
I've pointed out errors in spelling and grammar to people whose reply was usually along the lines of "It don't matter." (sic)
DeleteI see "lightening" on TV all the time--on the weather report. The meteorologist doesn't even know how to spell it.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Now, that's just plain embarrassing.
DeleteI may have written Lightening...nope I wrote it as lightning because when I am actually typing this, I knew the first one was wrong. Peek vs peak vs pique.....my mom would get this wrong but she was originally from Germany so she had issues with the English language. For instance why do we say Through the door but the gh is silent but the door is rough....well that gh is not silent. I had no idea what to say except the English language is not easy
ReplyDeleteIt certainly isn't. A favorite example is, how do you pronounce "G-H-O-T-I?" The answer: "FISH!" "G" and "H" as in "ROUGH," "O" as in "WOMEN," and "T" and "I" as in "SOLUTION!"
DeleteI know all the proper stuff and the difference in meaning of similar words, but may sometimes be hurried or not proof read. So many devices change words automatically! I DO feel safer knowing you are guarding us all!😏
ReplyDeleteEven I make mistakes, especially when I'm in a hurry. As Pat pointed out above, I made a mistake in the last sentence of this very post!
DeleteThe ones that bother me the most are there, their, and they're. I have seen misuse in newspapers, online adverts. I even have a tee that says "there, their, they-re: They are not the same.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's a common one!
Delete