"Defiantly" vs."definitely"

OhLook wrote in post #19423412
I certainly agree, but it's not that simple. Most people aren't skilled proofreaders any more than they're skilled welders or figure skaters. For instance, I see whole words left out in many news stories written by employed journalists.

Right, we are not proofreaders, but we can all check what we are about to post. Mistakes happen, but many can be fixed before sending.

I think news outlets use professional proofreaders. From what I've seen, many authors are rather sloppy writers.

Of course.

Archibald wrote in post #19423430
I think news outlets use professional proofreaders.

Yeah?

Yeah.

To be filed under "What did I tell you?"

OhLook wrote in post #19423412
I see whole words left out in many news stories written by employed journalists.

Archibald wrote in post #19423430
I think news outlets use professional proofreaders.

Two examples I found just now in a CNN story.

• Over the next 45 minutes, RCMP received more than 20 calls about potential sightings the truck.
  
• Sanderson's death and arrest come three days after 10 people were killed in the mass stabbing, and additional 18 people were injured.
  

CNN.com doesn't seem to use professional editors, either. In this morning's report of a murder investigation:

• German [the victim] was discovered outside his home Saturday morning, and police suspect the killing may have happened earlier.

OhLook wrote in post #19423500
To be filed under "What did I tell you?"

Two examples I found just now in a CNN story.

• Over the next 45 minutes, RCMP received more than 20 calls about potential sightings the truck.
  
• Sanderson's death and arrest come three days after 10 people were killed in the mass stabbing, and additional 18 people were injured.
  

My godness, you read CNN?

But OK, point made. Yes, I see such word omissions too from time to time. How many readers would notice?

Archibald wrote in post #19423640
My godness, you read CNN?

I believe you've misspelled "goddess."

The first reader to notice ought to be the writer. After that, one is too many.

OhLook wrote in post #19423656
I believe you've misspelled "goddess."

Lol.

Archibald wrote in post #19423640
My godness, you read CNN?

But OK, point made. Yes, I see such word omissions too from time to time. How many readers would notice?

I do.

I revel in our age of neo-intellectualism. Perfectly accurate words are whimsically altered by AI. My phone changes texted expletives to polite banter, then polite banter is changed back again to expletives. Shallow vocabularies are rewarded, while the vast transform into delicious chaos. There must be a way to monetize this.

Archibald wrote in post #19423640
My godness, you read CNN?

But OK, point made. Yes, I see such word omissions too from time to time. How many readers would notice?

Here's one from the Washington Post:

https://www.washington​post.com …tand-stolen-toronto-hove/

Definitely a spell autocorrect error.

Capn Jack wrote in post #19424022
Here's one from the Washington Post:

So far, their stand had been a success. They sold sweet treats — such as cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, oatmeal cookies and scones — for between $2 and $3.50, depending on the size of the desert. Kimberly used her mother’s recipe for lemon-cranberry scones, which quickly emerged as the top-selling product.

https://www.washington​post.com …tand-stolen-toronto-hove/

Traditionally, the size of the desert mainly affected real estate prices, but the economy is weird right now. It wouldn't surprise me if water shortages in desert areas pushed up the price of cinnamon rolls.

Desert vs dessert is a common issue. The meanings are well defined, of course. But there is this irritant because the orthography conflicts with the pronunciation. Desert with the open leading syllable should have a long e, but instead has a short e. And it is the exact opposite for dessert. No wonder people get confused.

Compare me/met, biter/bitter, below/bellow, rate/rat, holy/holly, and numerous other examples. The vowel in the open syllable is usually long, and short in the closed syllable.

So to avoid confusion, I propose we write deesert henceforth when we mean the food. The other spellings can then be used for parched land.

Think of the S's. If it's dessert, I'll have two.

Archibald wrote in post #19424189
Desert vs dessert is a common issue. The meanings are well defined, of course. But there is this irritant because the orthography conflicts with the pronunciation. Desert with the open leading syllable should have a long e, but instead has a short e. And it is the exact opposite for dessert. No wonder people get confused.

Compare me/met, biter/bitter, below/bellow, rate/rat, holy/holly, and numerous other examples. The vowel in the open syllable is usually long, and short in the closed syllable.

There's a complication to do with accents. "Desert" is also a verb, meaning to abandon or (military) to quit the force without leave. As a verb, it's pronounced "dee-ZERT," which is the way to say "dessert."

We've strayed so far from photography that I here insert a small dessert photo to get back on track. The dessert was small as well as the photo. Rice pudding and melon slabs at an Indian restaurant.