OT: Less / Fewer in NCAA 2010

Submitted by derpDerpDerp on
I'm by no means a grammar nazi, but really, how hard is it to get less / fewer right? I just got NCAA 2010 in the mail, and on the gameplan screen (the one where you choose between being Aggressive / Normal / Conservative), the game mentions that adopting a conservative defense will give up "less big plays". Honestly, how does this happen? Was there not a single tester that looked at that and was like, hunh, that's a mistake? Use "fewer" when you can count the the items in question, like "big plays" or "pounds Weiss has gained in the off-season". Use "less" when you cannot count the individual items in question, like "girth of any combined 5 average Americans versus Weis".

pz

July 15th, 2009 at 5:33 PM ^

It simply isn't a proper word in the English language and its use should be stamped out. Dictionary.com helps out: irregardless an erroneous word that, etymologically, means the exact opposite of what it is used to express, attested in non-standard writing from 1912, probably a blend of irrespective and regardless. ERRONEOUS! Another big peeve, while we're at it: spelling definitely "definately" - COME ON - use spell check!

Champ Kind

July 15th, 2009 at 6:50 PM ^

Trickeration is by far the fake sports word that I am most tired of. I don't know where it originated but if any play that is considered even slightly out of the ordinary happens this word will be uttered, guaranteed.

Big Boutros

July 15th, 2009 at 5:54 PM ^

I am so glad you brought this up. For the past three or four editions, there has been a Herbstreit audio clip that occasionally plays after a big gain. It goes like this: "Blah blah blah. You can't continuously give up big yards like this and expect to win." YOU MEAN CONTINUALLY, YOU FROSTED-TIP ASS GOBLIN! Continuously means occurring all at once. If you are cooking eggs and talking on the phone and wiping your butt at the same time, you are doing all of those things continuously. When you frequently give up big yards on the ground, you are doing that continually, because "continually" means "often." FUCK

WolvinLA

July 15th, 2009 at 6:53 PM ^

Maybe the conservative defense does, in fact, give up "less big plays." As in, the plays it gives up are "less big" than if your defense was more aggressive.

jmblue

July 16th, 2009 at 12:03 AM ^

The #1 grammar thing that bugs me is ignorance of the difference between its and it's. The rule is simple, yet large numbers of people can't seem to figure it out. Its is the possessive form of it, akin to his, hers, ours, yours, etc. Example: The tree lost its leaves. It's is a contraction of "it is." Example: It's sunny outside. This really isn't complicated.

Sommy

July 16th, 2009 at 1:19 AM ^

Yeah, by the standards of what most people accept as proper English, this is incorrect. However, we all know what the creators of the game meant, and language is shaped through social discourse, not by anything that is inherently right or wrong. Really. "I could care less."