An Expression that Always Makes me Cringe

It’s “Last but not least.” I remember in high school kidding about having a two-point talk, and calling them “first and foremost” and “last but not least.” I see the expression a lot in business memos, and it always makes me roll my eyes and ask which point is least, then? (That “then” unnecessarily at the end of the sentence is a Minnesota-ism.)

Here’s finally a correct “last but not least”:

You know that the higher your golf score, the worse off you are, fight?

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Brooke McEldowney is one of my favorite cartoonists, partly because he does his grammar well. I’m certain this is intentional:

I’ve written about separable verbs (e.g. to gross out, to put up with) before. In the upper right corner you can do a search on “separable” to find my other posts on the subject. He’s following the bogus rule not to end a sentence with a preposition. (See those previous posts.)

And the “whom” is correct. “Whom” is the direct object, even though it serves as an interrogative.

Okay, I wouldn’t actually do this, but this solecism is one of my favorite hobby horses. I just wonder how he could tell in spoken English!

Get your and you’re correct!

Slightly interesting remark on the link’s web page.

Have I mentioned this before? It’s one of my hobby horses. Shame on Wired:

While we ponder the enormity of this little rover’s mission, it’s inevitable to wonder when our turn will come. 

https://link.wired.com/view/5cc9e1902ddf9c1a7ade9bcbcj7eu.45bq/37e70f90

Normally Wired gets it’s grammar correct, but not here!

• Enormity—extremely bad
• Enormous—extremely large

Don’t mix these up! Harrumpf.

Here’s the difference between a professional and an amateur when it comes to writing.

A professional is glad to get a critique; an amateur wants only praise.

See below:

Sorry, she’s an amateur. Be a professional.