This week we talk about usage stories of the year. What was the word of the year according to Webster’s and others? What usage did Australia’s Plain English Foundation object to the most? Don’t just click the links below—listen to us discuss these weighty matters!
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Plain English Foundation announces worst word of 2016
What is the 2016 Word of the Year?
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Does anyone know what the source is of the expression I keep hearing from my students for the past few years: they do something “on accident” instead of “by accident.”
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Because we say “on purpose” a logical negation would be “on accident,” though “by” is traditional. People making this mistake are probably thinking of it that way. This would explain “on accident,” but it doesn’t explain why we never hear (or at lease I have never heard) “by purpose.” I think for some reason “by purpose” seems inherently wrong, while “on accident” doesn’t sound so bad.
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