I will tie off that knot, not. we measure horses by hands because we'd have to take our shoes off to measure them in feet, and people are measured in feet because horses are unable to cubit.
I had always heard that the longest word in the english language was smiles...there's a "mile" between the Ss. If the plural of mouse is mice, why is the plural of spouse bigamy?
I see many internet posters who apparently never graduated the Third Grade English class. Of course, many young people, when they have finished High School, do a complete "Core Dump" of their memory regarding English Literacy, American History, basic Mathematics and Geography. All erased and gone. So many simple words get misused. The wrong one used for the wrong context. There, their, they're. Lose, loose. Then, than. And so many others. I have always considered our typing online, as most forums go international, is showing us upon the World Stage. It is no wonder so many foreigners consider the average American to be basically illiterate. They present themselves as such. Proper spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar...... it isn't rocket science. All you have to do is use the rules we were all taught in third grade. I still remember old Mrs. McKenzie drumming those basic rules of written English into us. So few of us, some fifty years later, still use those rules. I still do like to let them know I am at least as smart as a bright third grader.......
Why is the third hand on the watch called the second hand? If a word is misspelled in the dictionary, how would we ever know? Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack? Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing? Why does "fat chance" and "slim chance" mean the same thing? Why do "overlook" and "oversee" mean opposite things? Why are a "wise man" and a "wise guy" opposites? Why do "tug" boats push their barges? Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in a suitcase? Why do we sing "Take me out to the ball game" when we are already there? Why are they called "stands" when they are made for sitting? Why do we drive on the parkway and park on the driveway? Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light"? Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected? If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it? If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting? If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
The top rule for commas: Do NOT overuse, especially like I do, they make for run on sentences that are not, necessarily, on the same subject, nor necessarily even close.
