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Wednesday, July 18, 2007 12:00 AM

I hate buzzwords! It's not "carbon," it's "carbon dioxide"

And what about these stupid yellow ribbons everywhere? I hate that too!

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  • Wednesday, July 18, 2007 10:51 AM

    more on "hone in:

    "Home in" predates "hone in." Another example of usage-driven changes in our language.

    According to Mirriam Webster dictionary:

    Main Entry: hone in

    Function: intransitive verb

    Etymology: alteration of home in

    Date: 1965

    : to move toward or focus attention on an objective

    Usage: The few commentators who have noticed hone in consider it to be a mistake for home in. It may have arisen from home in by the weakening of the m sound to n or may perhaps simply be due to the influence of hone. Though it seems to have established itself in American English (and mention in a British usage book suggests it is used in British English too), your use of it especially in writing is likely to be called a mistake. "Home in" or in figurative use "zero in" does nicely.

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