(no subject)

[pebblerocker]

There are plenty of words I expect a spellchecker to underline; they haven't heard of a lot of foods I eat, like "tahini". Spellcheckers seem to have trouble with contractions other than the very most common, ones like "everything'd" freak them out. I expect spellcheckers on any computer other than mine to object to "travelled" or "fibre", but mine has strange quirks about recognising "online" as a word.

Now and then I come across a word that surprises me when the computer decides to underline it, because it's so obviously a word to me and I've never had it drawn to my attention that anyone would think otherwise. Tonight's disputed word is "earbashed". (Used about myself, of course. I'm aware that I have strong opinions and go on about them in certain circumstances.)

Comments

[jekesta]

That's weird because I would be surprised that 'earbashing' wasn't a word (my spellchecker is underlining it right now) but I don't think I've ever heard people say 'earbashed' and to be honest it took a long second for me to work it out sort of how it would work somehow.

[pebblerocker]

Are you thinking of earbashing as a verb or a noun? If it's a verb it has to have other tenses, but I think it's more usually a noun. Just not this time I used it, when I was talking about an earbashing I had given someone earlier that day.

[spiralsheep]

Yes to "travelled". Also "jewellery" (which I refuse to lose) and "targetted" (which I've mostly given up). Hmm, I'm not surprised about "earbashed" though.

[pebblerocker]

There are words I know very well that most people, or people in other countries, don't use. They get flagged up by a mental translation filter and I know to be careful or find other words if I want to be understood. "Earbashed" had somehow escaped the filter's notice completely until now!

[spiralsheep]

I've definitely heard "earbashing" in British Englishes but mostly as a noun. It should be a verb with tenses too though! You are a linguistic pioneer. :-)

[feng_shui_house]

A quick google has 'earbashed' as Australian & New Zealand slang. It's a word I'd never encountered either in RL or in fic-reading & I had to look it up to get the exact meaning.

[pebblerocker]

Good to know! I'm reclassifying it as regional vocabulary along with words like "grouse". (Grouse meant "neat" or "cool" in my mother's youth, but only in Australia and New Zealand. She still uses it occasionally!)

[vjezkova.livejournal.com]

You would laugh over my writing - my PC prgramme forces itself at my English writing ALWAYS and wants to correct EVERYTHING. I did switched it off many times but sometimes it installs itself back.:-)

[quabazaa.livejournal.com]

I'm always surprised that "internet" is supposed to be capitalised. It just doesn't seem right to me! Funnily I have never heard "earbash" as a verb, only the noun earbashing. Anyway I'm a descriptivist when it comes to language, so despite liking to write correctly, at some point I really don't care what the dictionary says :P