Monday, November 8, 2010

A Post That I May Get Into Trouble For.

My husband is a smart, smart man.

When it comes to math.

We always joke that when our children need homework help, he will be responsible for making sure our kids can do algebra and chemistry (okay, anything past the multiplication tables, essentially) and I can do the English thing with them. I'm pretty sure he hasn't read a whole book since maybe the tenth grade. I've seen him start a few non-fiction books, and by start I mean he gets about a half a page in before he looks up at me and says "explain again how this is supposed to be enjoyable?" He likes to pull me out of my book at the beach...I'm the type that could spent an entire vacation reading despite the 45 minutes or so it takes to eat each day. Drives him nuts.

Now, despite this hate-affair with the English language, hubby is quite impressive with his grammar and sentence structure. We have a game where he sends me emails of "people he knows" that have written something along the lines of:

"Dear employees,

Do not forget Apprceiation day on friday. We will be having hamburgers and there is a sign up sheet. Posted on the wall of the breakroom.

Thanks you, _______"

And this is actually better written than most of the emails that we deem laugh-worthy.

However, hubs has a slight failing when it comes to large words. Specifically, what they mean and how to use them. In the middle of a disagreement about my level of reality-TV obsession, we have had this conversation:

"You're eclectic," he sneers.
"Um, what do you mean?"
"Well, you're just very firm in what you want to watch and you don't really waver."
"I don't think you know what that word means."
"What word?"
"Eclectic."
"Sure I do."
"Well, you aren't really using it correctly, there," I sigh.
"Sure. It means you're weird for wanting to watch this crap."
"Not really. You might mean eccentric instead"
"Well, whatever. You're...pedantic."

That one, he may have gotten right without meaning to.

This post brought to you by Word Up, Yo!
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3 comments:

  1. Haha. My husband is the math whiz at our house too. And he often uses words incorrectly as well. It makes me smile though. I'm glad he's really good a math :)

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  2. Wow. I wonder if we married the same man? My husband claims to be in Brazil now. Where's yours? Is he scheduled to leave on a business trip on the 20th? (that's when mine comes home.)

    I too get those emails forwarded from the job -- and I'm always shocked by what passes for literacy. Shocked. (But I should get over it. It's been years of bad English.)

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  3. Ah, husbands. Mad if you correct 'em, mad if you don't.

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