Curmudgeons' Corner

Guest Curmudgeon Nancy Friedman says...

Love your site! Here are my gripes; both tend to be spoken misuses, although I've come across them in print as well.

1. Phenomena as a singular noun. English-speakers just have a hard time with those Greek words, I guess--we want to fall back on Latin rules.

2. Myself as anything but what it's supposed to be: a reflexive pronoun, or a pronoun used for emphasis. Example heard yesterday on NPR's "Fresh Air": "Myself and my scouts would often encounter..." (You wouldn't say "Myself would often encounter," would you?)

Is there something you read or hear that sends you up the wall?

Do tell us.

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