Grammar Snob

So, I think I'm a grammar snob. I correct people in my head all the time - but I've been known to make bold corrections in conversation. What a snob I am. Is it better if I always feel bad about needing to do it? I just can't stand it, sometimes - it makes my ears bleed.

Agreeance is not a word. It isn't. It makes me crazy to hear it. And it seems to be becoming its own colloquialism and I'm not sure why. It is not in the classic dictionary (truth be told - it has been added to some online dictionary sites - oh the shame! It is listed in the official "COMMON ERRORS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE" book - online dictionaries (dictionary.com - I mean you) be damned!), and typically when people use it, they are meaning 'agreement' and just getting the word wrong. There are a few blogs out there referencing this term as a new term in the corporate world. Really? I'm guessing someone said it in a big boardroom meeting and no one dared question it. Nevertheless, one of my peeps chose to use it the other day and I asked her to look it up. Now, she knows its not a word - but she also knows it makes me crazy to hear it. Never give those you love such power. Now, she delights in fitting it in wherever possible. Her presentation is priceless. She says it like a cheesy joke, with a pause for the drum beats - ba da bum. And she says it with such pride. It is actually funny. I still hate it.

PLUS, the next day after our word discussion, where we were definitely not in "agreement", another one of my peeps offered that we should 'nip that in the butt'. To which I replied, 'nip it in the what?'. And when she said 'butt' - I started chuckling. I felt like a jerk. Of course, its 'nip it in the bud'. And I had to launch into some explanation about the phrases gardening origins. Snob. Snob. Snob. Don't worry, she gets her revenge regularly, when she, with a sly smile, tells me she is in 'agreeance' with me. And that just 'ain't' right!

PS - Punctuation snobs - who would have a heyday with my writing - I feel your pain!