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It’s more fun to shop when it benefits others…and brings back good memories of PiBoIdMo. Thanks for this…I’ll go shopping while I collect great ideas!

Woohoo! Off to find something fabulous!

Actually, I do need a hot cup of java to get things going. Where’s the #PiBoIdMo special blend?

OMG! I just checked the shop out and can not decide what to get. Too much fun stuff!

Awesome!

Fantastic idea, fantastic causes, and how great to be able to have something tangible to remember this incredible experience. Off to shop!

Ooh I fancy the t-shirt. What a great idea!

Love this. The mug, the shop, the causes…the librarian in me is rooting for Mount Prospect. Kids deserve great libraries!

Tara, any possibility of a Hoodie? LOVE the logo (as I love this whole crazy thing!) My husband has already warned me that I’m banned from using the acronym in his presence – apparently I’ve been name-dropping a bit.

I definitely want to buy a journal! I’m just not sure what a task journal looks like. Please forgive my complete ignorance. Can anyone enlighten me? How different will it be from a college-ruled lined notebook?

Hey those tomatoes are gorgeous! I have 'do more pen and ink work' on my to do list. It just never seems to move up to a higher priority on the list. The black bark looks great and I confess I love pods. Aren't you a lucky gal? :-)

I love black bark too! It really sets off the landscaping.

Great post, Paula, it made me laugh and that can't be bad! I absolutely love those tomatoes! Don't think I've seen black bark - I haven't lived have I?! Looks good though!

Love the pen and ink Paula. I'm not sure there is "fast" medium for those of us who like detail. I have had the same thought though.

So cute!!!!!

Miss Snark is not alone in the improper use of this phrase. I'll be raising rather than begging from now on.

Oops!

It's a very often misused statement. All the better for philosophical education.

Lord forbid anyone should write the way people actually talk.

Language is fluid. If a meaning has passed into common vernacular, I think it has validity. For me, I was brought up always understanding "that begs the question" to mean, "that prompts the question."

If someone uses that phrase, and I infer it to mean "that prompts the question" and they meant it to mean "that prompts the question" then we understand each other. Communication successful, ergo that's what the expression means.

It ain't wrong, it's just different.

I was a crazy Connery purist for 30 years ... until I saw Daniel Craig's version and switched teams.

But misuse of "begging the question" still makes me cringe.

So not the response I expected.

Just realised that made it sound like I wrote the question. No I didn't, not me! What I meant was...oh never mind, just shoot me now. I'm furry like a squirrel.

No, no. Craig is not the true James Bond. Connery still reigns. Of course without hair he looks like shit, but then the cold war is over so we don't need him anymore anyway.

So much for gratitude.

Thanks goodness he still wore wigs until Gorbachev declared an end to the hostility.

Though this is all, in fact, true, it must be noted that when you click on the tag "Miss Snark was WRONG" to search for similar entries, this is the only one that comes up.

The future resident of a slush pile calls me back now...ta!

crikey, I'm not the only person who gets cranky at the misuse of "begging the question?" ?!?! and nobody ever believes me when I correct them, even when I use my awesome "are you still beating your wife?" example


And it's Sean all the way.

This is completely stupid and anal. If I wrote emails to people who used my pet peeve words and phrases, I'd be online all day. Oh, and like the writer of this email has never said something incorrectly. Or said something that was a pet peeve of someone else's. Oh, wait, he just did! Because one of my pet peeves is being a know-it-all pain in the ass!

Miss S., classy of you to admit an error so graciously.

mckoala. Furry. Made me laugh.

I knew it was a good idea to procrastinate and read Miss Snark today! I learned something new.

Bach can only be truly appreciated on period instruments

Actually, I prefer Bach on period vocalists.

As long as nobody uses "decimate" correctly, then I see no reason not to beg a question any way I please. On the other hand, I don't recall that I've ever used that particular phrase.

I am SO glad I'm not the only person who cringes at begs the questions. I was beginning to think I didn't know what I was talking about. The other one that drives me nuts is "alright" which seems now to be becoming all right. Oh, and Wala, for voila. Call me a harpsichord.

Yeah, we all have our darlings in the litter of peeves. One of mine is bad punctuation, and punctuation is taught in the English department, where I hang out.

"...type of logical fallacy; and logic is taught..."

A semicolon acts as a conjuction. Use one or the other. Using both is wrong.

I do appreciate the reminder of the One True Meaning of "begs the question," though. I never use the phrase because I've never looked it up and want to spare myself yet another instance of sounding dumb.

And "alright" is revolting!

"beg the question 1 (of a fact or action) raise a question or point that has not been dealt with; invite an obvious question. 2 avoid the question; evade the issue. 3 assume the truth of an argument or proposition to be proved, without arguing it."

That from the Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd Edition.

So yes, language is fluid and the misuse of the term has made its definition into something that it wasn't.

But I don't this the emailer is anal and I think "lord forbid anyone should write the way people talk" is a misguided comment. Just because a phrase is often misused doesn't mean you have to use it.

It's like the phrase "I could care less." Everyone says it but it's dumb, and it's no imposition on the writer to say "I couldn't care less", which has the benefit of being idiomatic and making sense.

You can use all sorts of idioms in dialogue and in prose you hope will read casual, but in general, so long as it's ain't at cross-purposes with yer stylistic aims, just say the grammatically correct thing. IMnotsoHO.

I like the fact that I don't have to worry about being perfect on this website. Puh-lease.

Actually, using "I could care less." makes perfect sense, provided you're using it to say that in fact, you could care less... but don't. ;)

When you MEAN "I couldn't care less", then it doesn't make sense. I use "I could care less" when I mean literally that I could care less... it's possible... but I don't.

*This ellipsis abuse is brought to you by Writing Dragon

Wouldn't the section under "Modern Usage" in that Wikipedia article make Miss Snark in fact correct?

If one assumes the goal of language is communicating thoughts and ideas, and the majority of people understand Snark's usage of "begging the question", wouldn't that mean Snark's is the "correct" usage?

Miss Snark deserves the right to foul up the language too... she's an agent, after all, not a writer... she can't be everything for everyone.

I find this interesting. I was working on the theory that if you correct someone in a polite and considerate way they will listen. Guess I was wrong.

The writer of this helped not only Miss Snark but also a great many others who do not find joy in misusing language. English is complicated, just because we don't know the rules doesn't mean we should try.