Not
in general, no. I hear enough broken English to tolerate it fairly
well. Encountering English learners who apologize for their
shortcomings, I assure them that if I understood what they were
saying, they had said it fine. You want people to be able to
communicate in their new language without embarrassment, which is the
true enemy of any effort to learn a new language. With English
learners, I am very forgiving.
The
problem is that I hear a lot of broken, or misused, English not only
from English learners, but also from people for whom English is their
native language, and their only language. From them I expect a little
better, but I don't get it. Most native speakers get by with only the
simplest forms of the verbs, and content themselves with vocabularies
that would get them very low scores on a GRE or a TOEFL test. Low
scores on an SAT in many cases. We now have a president whose English
leaves an awful lot to be desired, although, to be fair, he does
suffer considerably from comparisons to his predecessor in office.
That's
enough complaining for now. My real purpose today is to clear up a
few misconceptions about vocabulary.
To
Quash
“To
quash” means to reject, or void, especially by legal procedure. In
fact, it is often a legal process that is being quashed. Like, “to
quash a subpoena.” You may also quash a revolution, a
demonstration, or a political idea or movement.
Nota
bene that “to squash” means something altogether different. To
squash means to crush something, or to squeeze something. Like
squashing a bug. Squashing takes place in the world of solid objects;
quashing takes place in the realm of ideas.
If
you can master this simple distinction, you will be way ahead of most
people who write for major Internet news aggregation sites.
To
Founder
“To
founder,” for ships, means to fill up with water and sink. If a
ship “founders on the rocks,” the important part is still the
filling up with water and the sinking. “To founder,” for a plan,
means that the plan is no longer working, or has failed.
The
often erroneously substituted word here is “to flounder.” This is
a close one, though. “To flounder” means to struggle clumsily in
water or mud; or it may mean to show great confusion; or to be in
great difficulty. A man may flounder in turbulent waters trying to
reach the shore. A lawyer may flounder at the podium trying to
respond to a difficult question from the judge. Many retail
corporations are now floundering as a result of this COVID-19
catastrophe.
I
occasionally find myself floundering when forced to decide on the
correct word in a tricky situation.
To
Flout
Let's
cut right to the chase: one does not flaunt the law! Not unless one
dresses as a colonial American and poses ostentatiously while waving
around an antique looking copy of the Constitution.
“To
flout” means to openly disregard some kind of rule, which is
usually either a law or a tradition. I flout the rules every time I
play Klondike.
“To
flaunt” means to display something ostentatiously. One can flaunt
their wealth by wearing very expensive jewelry or driving a very
expensive car. One may flaunt their sexuality by really Queening it
up.
The
etymology of this pair of words is fascinating. Both flout and flaunt
are thought to have originated in the Sixteenth Century. That much
can be established by looking for first published usage. Beyond that,
the crystal ball goes dim. Regarding flaunt, the origin is said to be
“unknown.” Regarding flout, the word is said to have “perhaps”
been derived from the older verb, “fluiten,” meaning to whistle
or to play the flute, and maybe was informally used to mean the
derogatory use of hissing to indicate displeasure.
Thus
endeth the lesson.
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