Mangling English: an occasional rant

Businesses that don't bother checking their websites, journalists who write gibberish and balderdash, professionals who can't take the extra time and effort to spell-check and proofread, newspapers that turn tragedy into farce through solecisms, plus the odd guide to solving common grammatical difficulties… Contributions and suggestions welcome. (… Also corrections if required, obviously!) Send to: manglingenglishATgmxDOTcom, stating your nom de mangle (if desired).

Wednesday, 10 February 2016

The Wrong Word Entirely, # 95

I’ve saved this recent submission from Mo Juste for the anniversary of the last time he sent in an example of what may be the mangle that most annoys him:

Link: Udiscover, ‘The Godfathers of British Blues’

Mo Juste comments: ‘I can see that you’d write “You shouldn’t underestimate what Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner…”, but surely “It’s impossible to overestimate what Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner…” is what the writer meant.’

underestimate for overestimate

2 comments:

bratschegirl13 February 2016 at 17:12
Over at Language Log they refer to this particular error as a "misnegation." Alas, it's increasingly common.

Nice to have discovered your blog! I look forward to reading more.
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