Editing and mistakes

[Jennifer Piersol]

Amanda (full of questions, apparently) asked:

> This is evidently one of those things that I grew up hearing and 
> using, that is acceptable in spoken colloquial English: funnest = 
> most fun. However, to my surprise, Neil's right and Word returned 
> it in a spell-check. Just for grins, who else didn't bat an eye at 
> that (i.e., who else would say "funnest" without thinking anything 
> of it), and who thought I misspelled "funniest"? I love 
> regionalisms.
> 
> --Amanda, wondering what "slope off" means

To be honest, I didn't even notice.  But that isn't because I use the 
word 'funnest' - I don't.  To my ears, that almost sounds as bad as 
'bestest'.  But I just scanned it and automatically *saw* an i in the 
word on the screen, so you didn't say 'funnest' when I read it.  You 
said 'funniest'.  :)

And to make matters worse, when I read Neil's reply (which I didn't 
get at ALL until I re-read your original post a few times...), I 
didn't see the phrase "slope off", either.  I saw "lopes off", which 
*is* a phrase I've heard before.  I guess this means that I'd never 
make a good copy editor.

Jen (hmm... did I spell that right?)

Ps.  Amanda - I'd tell you about a possible job here in Porterville, 
California, as copy editor for our local newspaper (as I know they 
don't have one), but apparently, they don't have any openings... I 
guess they feel they don't need one.  Maybe they haven't heard the 
stories teachers tell in the staff room about using copies of the 
Recorder as English lessons... "Give each student a copy of the 
newspaper and a red pen.  Have them go through the paper and find all 
of the errors.  Students who find all the errors are to receive 10 
extra credit points" (I swear, this was a lesson plan for me as a 
substitute one day... with a "corrected" paper accompanying it.  I 
guess the teacher had to assume that I wouldn't be able to find all 
the errors, either...).

Me again.