User:Rodhullandemu/Pitfalls

An organic list of common errors
These examples have all been taken from broadcast news reports. I'll gladly provide sources on request but this is not an encyclopedia article.


 * 1) There is a country called Ukraine; there is no country called The Ukraine any more than there is a country called The Scotland
 * 2) To refute a proposition is to prove its falsity by adducing evidence; it does not mean the same as deny.
 * 3) Things comprise the collection of those things, and the collection consists of those things; there is no such construct as "comprised of"
 * 4) A quantum leap is the smallest change allowable; it should not be used to describe a large change in anything.

-- more to be added