I was final proofreading a book manuscript today and stalled on the word "staunch" -- the author wrote about "staunching the flow of blood." Some bell went off, and I wondered if that were the wrong word. Sure enough, the word is "stanch" -- staunch means upright, steadfast, and stanch means to stop.
One of my word pet peeves is when an ad uses "100s" for hundreds. That always bugs me unduly, because it is lazy and technically inaccurate. If it's "hundreds of products," then it's more than 100. I know, I know. Calm down, Pat.
And furthermore: I wish people would realize that "who" is for people, not "that" -- so it's "People who buy x..." not "People that buy x..."
What reminded me is an email I just got from Stonewall Kitchen which says "Tricks not treats for those that dare..." I'm seeing this more and more so I guess I'll just get more and more crabby -- or would that be crabbier and crabbier?
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