Grammar Nazi please

[Circa89]

I have intermittingly spilled my milk in the past.
I intermittently spilt my milk in the past.

I recently bugged a friend of mine who on his auto reply said he would be checking his email intermittingly, I thought I was pretty smug and corrected him that the proper word is intermittently. He replied with a dictionary definition of intermittingly which seemed to satisfy me.

I replied again saying no need to cry over spilt milk and he tried to correct me saying it is Spilled Milk.

Again both these words are in the dictionary. Do we really need both? Which usages are correct. This is a big bet as I have to buy wings tonight if I am wrong and vice versa.

Sorry for a lame thread but this age old mystery must be solved. A receipt for 48 Salt and Pepper wings (with hot sauce on the side) lay in the balance

Thanks grammar nazis!

[Traditional_Ale]

"Me fail english? That un-possible!"

[ken0042]

I spilled my milk all over the counter. My cat then proceeded to drink the spilt milk.

That's your two meanings of those ones.

Spilled- verb
Spilt- adjective

[troutman]

verb, spilled or spilt [dictionary.com]

Word History: Crying over spilt milk is pointless because it cannot undo the damage, which in the literal sense of this phrase is trivial; but in the Middle Ages spill was used for actions that seem to demand tears. Old English spillan, the ancestor of Modern English spill, meant such things as "to destroy, mutilate, kill." The senses "to waste" and "to shed blood" connect these earlier uses with substances falling out of containers, often wastefully. But many people, castles, and fortunes were "spilled" before people started spilling milk, at least judging from the recorded evidence. Spill is first recorded in the sense "to cause a substance to fall out of a container" in a work composed in the 14th century. Since then most of the senses having to do with violent destruction have become obsolete or archaic, but we still speak of spilling blood, as well as milk, water, and gravy.

[RougeUnderoos]

That's "Grammer Nazi", by the way.

My OED says "intermit" means "stop or cease activity briefly". So, well, that doesn't work for me.

He'll be stopping or ceasing to check his mail? I doubt it. I'm sure he meant he'll be periodically checking his mail. Therefore, intermittently is the proper word.

[The Goon]

Is "intermittingly" even proper in any context? Shouldn't it be "intermittently"?

[troutman]

in·ter·mit verb, -mit·ted, -mit·ting.
–verb (used with object) 1.to discontinue temporarily; suspend. –verb (used without object) 2.to stop or pause at intervals; be intermittent. 3.to cease, stop, or break off operations for a time.

—Related forms
in·ter·mit·ter, in·ter·mit·tor, noun
in·ter·mit·ting·ly, adverb

[Iggy's Forehead]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

That's "Grammer Nazi", by the way.

Leave Frasier out of this.


It is intermittently, and you shouldn't cry over spilt milk.

edit: And it's spelling nazi.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

The definition I get for intermittingly is "with intermissions" so that would mean he's checking his e-mails regularly with occasional breaks. If that's what he meant then you're buying wings but I'm pretty sure it wasn't.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by troutman

in·ter·mit verb, -mit·ted, -mit·ting.
–verb (used with object) 1.to discontinue temporarily; suspend. –verb (used without object) 2.to stop or pause at intervals; be intermittent. 3.to cease, stop, or break off operations for a time.

—Related forms
in·ter·mit·ter, in·ter·mit·tor, noun
in·ter·mit·ting·ly, adverb

so is the verb or adverb the right usage in this context???????

[Gozer]

They are both adverbs, and interchangeable.

[Circa89]

Originally Posted by Gozer

They are both adverbs, and interchangeable.

Why then do we have two words in the dictionary meaning the exact same thing? There must be contextual nuances when one is the proper usage over the other.

Does that mean I am buying 24 wings and he has to pick up his half?

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by Circa89

Why then do we have two words in the dictionary meaning the exact same thing? There must be contextual nuances when one is the proper usage over the other.

Does that mean I am buying 24 wings and he has to pick up his half?

You're right, logic says there is (or at least was) a discernible difference - I'm not aware of what it is though.

[Iggy's Forehead]

Originally Posted by Circa89

Why then do we have two words in the dictionary meaning the exact same thing? There must be contextual nuances when one is the proper usage over the other.

Does that mean I am buying 24 wings and he has to pick up his half?

You have to buy 24, he has to get 2 dozen.

[llama64]

Well, language is a constantly evolving tool. New words come in and take the place of older ones as time goes on. I'm sure if someone did the history on the two words, they would find they came from two dialects or perhaps two different languages that got co-opted into English.

Still... this the the same thing I periodically whine about concerning the word "utilize". "Utilize" is a truely useless word. The only people who use it are those trying to sound smart, and they usually use it incorrectly.

[Iggy's Forehead]

Originally Posted by llama64

Well, language is a constantly evolving tool. New words come in and take the place of older ones as time goes on. I'm sure if someone did the history on the two words, they would find they came from two dialects or perhaps two different languages that got co-opted into English.

Still... this the the same thing I periodically whine about concerning the word "utilize". "Utilize" is a truely useless word. The only people who use it are those trying to sound smart, and they usually use it incorrectly.

There are countless (many?) unnecessary(useless?) words, but the english language(dialect?) would be pretty(quite?) boring(dull?) if we didn't use(utilize?) them.

[FlamesInYourEyes]

Still... this the the same thing I periodically whine about concerning the word "utilize". "Utilize" is a truely useless word. The only people who use it are those trying to sound smart, and they usually use it incorrectly.

How so? Its a pretty simple meaning, how do people screw it up?

P.s, I am just tring to utilize my time at work by writing in these stupid threads.

[Circa89]

[quote=llama64;1318285]Well, language is a constantly evolving tool. New words come in and take the place of older ones as time goes on. I'm sure if someone did the history on the two words, they would find they came from two dialects or perhaps two different languages that got co-opted into English. quote]


I suppose you are right. I imaging that the use of the word thru is already considered an acceptable spelling. "drive-thru"

[Matata]

This made me think of:

"Hey Dad, know what I figured out? The meaning of words isn't a fixed thing! Any word can mean anything! By giving words new meanings, ordinary English can become an exclusionary code! Two generations can be divided by the same language! To that end, I'll be inventing some new definitions for common words. So we'll be unable to communicate. Don't you think that's totally spam? It's lubricated! Well, I'm phasing." "Marvy. Fab. Far our."
- Calvin and Hobbes

[Gozer]

Originally Posted by Circa89

I suppose you are right. I imaging that the use of the word thru is already considered an acceptable spelling. "drive-thru"

Always proof-read in a grammar nazi thread.