{"id":179,"date":"2014-07-30T02:44:20","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T02:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thewordfinder.com\/blog\/?p=179"},"modified":"2021-11-02T20:45:16","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T20:45:16","slug":"word-crimes-a-list-of-the-charges-claimed-by-weird-al","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewordfinder.com\/blog\/word-crimes-a-list-of-the-charges-claimed-by-weird-al\/","title":{"rendered":"Word Crimes – A list of the charges claimed by Weird Al"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weird Al tackles on some pet peeves in his recent parody “Word Crimes<\/strong>.” \u00a0The music video is set to the tune of Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke. \u00a0(See the parody video and accompanying lyrics below) \u00a0We broke down the video into bits so that YOU may benefit from the word crime tips outlined in the video. \u00a0Words from the Video are in red, (obviously, since red reminds us of teacher mark ups in elementary school). \u00a0Note: Please excuse any grammar errors in this blog post.<\/span> \u00a0We didn’t run a spelling\/grammar check.<\/p>\n

Specific Tips from the Video<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Less vs Fewer<\/span> (mass nouns such as water and money vs count nouns)
\nYou can have less money or less water than someone (not fewer). Alternatively you have fewer bottles not less bottles.<\/p>\n

2. People say “I could care less.”<\/span>
\nBut that means you DO care. They really mean to say “I couldn’t care less.” \u00a0Though some may call it simply an idiomatic variant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

3. Don’t be a moran!<\/span>\u00a0Spell it right, moron.<\/p>\n

4. Using an apostrophe when you shouldn’t. \u00a0*It’s* the contraction vs the possessive *its.* \u00a0Do not write “Every dog has it’s day.”<\/span> Use its.<\/p>\n

5. <\/em>It’s spelled e<\/span>spresso, not expresso.<\/span>
\n<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

6. <\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>Be, See, Are & You are words not letters, BCRU<\/span>
\n<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

7. <\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>Use Spell Checker. \u00a0Valid point.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>8.\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>Never WR1T3 WORD5 as NUMB3RS<\/span><\/p>\n

9. Learn your homophones (lightening vs lightning)<\/span> (walk vs wok) (heal vs heal) etc<\/p>\n

10. Always say “to whom.”<\/span> Don’t ever say “to who.”<\/p>\n

11. Never use quotation marks for “emphasis.”<\/span>\u00a0Use\u00a0 bold or italic or both.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

12. You are doing wel<\/span>l if someone asks. (Not doing good unless you are talking about volunteering or being a super hero or other good things).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

13. Irony is not coincidence.<\/span> The video shows a firetruck on fire for irony. And rain on your wedding day is not ironic despite what Alanis Morissette says. It is a coincidence.<\/p>\n

14. F<\/span>igurative vs. literal<\/span>\u00a0 People use literally incorrectly quite often. (note that we didn’t say it is used incorrectly “all the time”) \u00a0As in “I’m literally asleep right now.” \u00a0No you are not.<\/p>\n

Generic Quips from the Video<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. You don’t know how to conjugate<\/p>\n

2. Time *2* *lern* some *grammer*<\/p>\n

3. Use the right pronoun<\/p>\n

4. What’s a contraction? (the irony)<\/p>\n

5. You really need a full-time proofreader<\/p>\n

6. Your grammar’s errant<\/p>\n

7. Go back to preschool<\/p>\n

Word Crimes<\/p>\n