The Language Perfectionist

The Language Perfectionist: A Multitude of Misuses
By Don Hauptman

Here's another compilation of errors, all spotted during my routine reading of various print publications:

"There's only one institution capable of holding these leaders' feet to the fire: the national press corp."
The correct word here is not corp., an abbreviation of corporation, but corps (pronounced "core") - a group of people acting under direction, as in Marine Corps.

Letter to Editor I: "Children these days are taught that simply trying your best at an activity is all that is needed to enjoy the spoils of victory, regardless of the true outcome. These lessons are re-enforced when adults are insulated from the consequences of their actions... ."
The writer probably isn't referring to a police activity, so he should have used the word reinforced.

Letter to Editor II: "Having just come back from Disney World for the third time since November, I can tell you the decrease in attendance is a myth... me thinks the mouse is crying 'wolf.'"
Unless the writer is Tarzan or Frankenstein's monster, he meant to say methinks, an archaic form of "I think" or "It seems to me" that, nowadays, is used only in a jocular fashion.

Ad headline: "Graphics Auction Event of the Decade (To Be Offered in Bulk or Piece Meal Basis)"
Piecemeal - like methinks - is one word, not two.

"You have two 15-year-olds mashing in the back seat of the car - who's the criminal here? Do we really need Big Brother to decide whether or not that needs to be judiciously pursued?"
The word judicious means prudent, exhibiting good judgment. It's possible that this is what the quoted speaker meant, but my hunch is that she thought the word has something to do with the judicial system. The correct word in this context is legally.

Note that the above are most likely not simple typos but rather what I call "errors of ignorance" - mistakes that neither the writers nor their editors caught.