There is almost nothing, other than the use of the word “irregardless,” more guaranteed to start that vein in my temple pulsing than the use of “loose” when it should be “lose.” Happily the transposition doesn’t seem to operate in the other direction. In my previous corporate life I would receive emails quite regularly to inform me that the customer was “loosing data,” or the developer didn’t want to “loose focus” on a bug. In customer replies of course I would not point out the mistake, but I would take every opportunity to use the word “lose” until it was peppered all over the email or letter, usually to the detriment of the message. As for the developer, I would pick up a marker, go to his/her cubicle, and write on the white board “Loose = Not tight” and “Lose = Can’t find.” Of course, the developers delighted in this reaction and would take every opportunity they could to feed my frenzy in the same way they casually threw “irregardless” into every conversation just to see my temples throb.
Hey, what can I tell you? I straighten pictures. I straighten Scrabble tiles. If I see a woman with a clothing label protruding at the neckline, I almost have to sit on my hands to resist the urge to pop it back inside unasked and risk a harassment lawsuit that I would probably loose.
