Re-enter, ranting.

I return to the blogosphere with a rant. Not my usual style, but maybe it will turn out to be. Because I'm turning into one of those people who gets all twitchy at grammar fails that become ubiquitous.

Today my heart overflowed with the milk of human kindness because Greg Zimmerman at Book Riot used "myriad" correctly. I have seen "a myriad of" frequently these days, as if it betokened, like a murder of crows or a parliament of owls, a collective of just about anything. Is there a myriad of reasons for getting aggressive about grammar enforcement? No, but there may be myriad reasons.  Think of it as a synonym of "many."

One error that seems to be gaining traction is "disinterested" incorrectly used to mean "uninterested." "Disinterested" means "not having a conflict of interest," see also "impartial." On the other hand, "uninterested" means "not caring; bored." An expert witness in a court case is a classic example of a person who is disinterested but not uninterested: as an expert, she certainly has an interest in the matter at hand and can speak authoritatively about it, but she must be a disinterested third party to be an effective witness.

The strongest repeat offender of recent months is "begs the question." Surprisingly, this phrase does not mean "posits the question" or "suggests the question" or "leads to the question." "Begging the question" refers a logical fallacy in which one defends ones position by repeating the position. For example, "This dress is beautiful because it's so pretty" or "My congressperson is compassionate because he cares about people."

One of these days, I'm going to see a plastic newscaster talk about "high school slackers, which begs the question: who is going to keep this myriad of disinterested students engaged in their education?" And I will heave my copy of "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" at the screen.

Am I just being nit-picky? Did I just make up a word?