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For All Intensive Purposes

By Max Requenes
March 27, 2008

NEW YORK —Two days ago, someone at work sent out a near-company-wide e-mail describing Clinton-Obama nomination scenarios. It was addressed to all analysts and portfolio managers, with instructions to NOT FORWARD OUTSIDE THE COMPANY! I'm not an analyst or a P.M., so I don't know why I got it. I'm glad I did, though, because of one particular phrase it held.

"If Obama wins there [in Pennsylvania] - it is probably over for all intensive purposes"

Oops! "For all intensive purposes." I love that, and feel so superior (I'm embarrassed to say).

Googling "for all intensive purposes" led me to my new, favorite webpage (www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html). It examines scores of similar lexical SNAFUs. Here are a few choice ones, so you can share my sad sense of superiority: anyways (actually, "anyways" drives me crazy!), utilize, vinegarette, butt naked.

These had me feeling sheepish, because I've probably been commiting them: in a shambles, rifle through, mischievious, quantum leap, snuck, have your cake and eat it too, proof is in the pudding, one-dimensional, pawn off, to the manor born, bully pulpit.

By the way, if you want to annoy my wife, say "irregardless".

Do peruse the full list sometime.

I would add shouting "bravo" to a female performer.

Next in news:Avis: We Try Harder (to Screw You)

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Comments Feature Fixed

by max on Apr 23 5:31 EDT
I apologize to the person or persons who tried to comment on this story. The Comments feature was broken. It's fixed now.
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