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Tag Archives: bete noire
Drum roll please…
At long last, it’s time to reveal the Big Kahuna, the Top Dog, the Numero Uno Bête Noire of Summer 2011. Before I name the Best in Show, I would like to offer a final justification for why I’ve put this … Continue reading
Posted in English Grammar, Grammar
Tagged bete noire, conditionals, could have, could of, grammar mistakes, Lassie, Ngram Viewer, Rin Tin Tin, should have went, would have
20 Comments
Bête Noire #2: “It ain’t over till it’s over.”
(If you need to catch up, check out Bêtes Noires Three, Four, and Five.) Raise your hand if you remember when Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was released in 1991. Remember how great it was? How it totally blew you away … Continue reading
Posted in Grammar, Vocabulary, Writing
Tagged bete noire, cliche, dodge a bullet, it is what it is, literally, Mythbusters, Nirvana, thinking outside of the box, Yogi Berra
5 Comments
Bête’s Noire’s Number Four: Apostrophe’s*
“I now understand that the punishment’s my parent’s gave to me were mean’t to make me a better man.” Apparently, they weren’t interested in their son’s writing skills. Granted, this is an extreme case (though not fictional, unfortunately). Not many … Continue reading
Posted in Grammar
Tagged abuse, apostrophe, bete noire, plural, possessive, punctuation trafficking, rules
19 Comments
What is a ‘bête noire’ anyway?
About ten years ago, I read Nick Hornby’s novel High Fidelity. I enjoyed it enough that I still remember quite a few details and would probably read it again if I had a copy of it in front of me. … Continue reading
Posted in English Grammar, Grammar
Tagged amount, bete noire, cognition, fewer, grammar mistakes, High Fidelity, language change, less, Nick Hornsby, number, pet peeve, Top Five lists
7 Comments
