Writing containing obvious grammatical errors does not pique my interest; it fazes me
Grammar | January 1, 2010
Notice how the title does not read like this: “Writing containing obvious grammatical errors does not peak my interest; it phases me.” Aurrghhh!
According to dictionary.com:
peak (v): to attain a peak of activity, development, popularity, etc.
pique (v): (1) to affect with sharp irritation and resentment, esp. by some wound to pride (2) to excite, to arouse an emotion or provoke to action
PIQUE is the word you’re looking for if you want to say something piques your interest. PEAK is acceptable if you want to say “My interest peaked when…” PEEK means “to look or glance quickly or furtively, esp. through a small opening or from a concealed location.”
phase (v): (1) to put in phase; synchronize: to phase one mechanism with another (2) to schedule or order so as to be available when or as needed
faze (v): to cause to be disturbed or disconcerted; daunt
FAZE is usually the word you’re looking for if you want to say something does or does not faze you. “___ doesn’t phase me” is atrocious.
Disclaimer: This is not a rant; it’s a friendly public service announcement because I’ve seen far too many of these mistakes lately. If even one person learns something from this post, I’ll be extremely happy. I only claim to be decent, not perfect, at grammar; please correct my errors if you ever see any.
Side note: I hesitated before posting this entry because I thought maybe I should post something more momentous and ~meaningful~, but a new year or a new decade really isn’t that big of a deal, right? Time passes the same way it’s always passed. New Year’s Eve was the day before today, just like Sept. 12 is the day before Sept. 13. Speaking of NYE, I cannot stop looking at pictures from last night. Needless to say, it was a good time.
I posted a similar entry ranting about how people spell “definitely” as “definately” a while back, so I totally understand your grammar rage!
The one that bothers me most is when people use conductive when they mean conducive, e.g. the darkness of the alley is not conduc(t)ive to safety. I mean, sure, using conductive still delivers the point across, but conducive is the word you’re looking for!
I appreciate this PSA; I feel like I may have made these mistakes D: At least now I’ve been educated
I am a grammar fool so this is really helpful. I’m not sure if I’ve ever made that mistake before (it’s likely) but hopefully I wont now.
Okay, my teacher once corrected me on using ‘faze’ instead of ‘phase’ even though I stated that someone ‘was not fazed’. It bothered me! Argh!
Grammar fails are annoying
“Phase” instead of “faze” really bugs me. :K I am a grammar/language snob, but I just cringe on the inside instead of telling people; I’m afraid they’ll get annoyed at me for correcting them!
Ahh, both of those annoy me as well. I remember the time when a teach at school tried to tell me that “loose paper” (you know, unsecured paper) was supposed to be “lose paper” (no… I didn’t lose anything, sorry?) … grr!