Can I bolt this onto the argument?
The level of vocabulary of some individuals is pretty fucking dire. Surely, even for the sake of saying less syallables one should increase one's word-power. Why say something in 3-4 words when there is one word with the same meaning?

Dictionary.com has a good 'Word of the Day' feature with words that aren't particularly taxing and can be slipped into conversation without sounding like an utter twat who has "swallowed a dictionary". Then again, that depends on who you're talking to I suppose.

AskOxford has a similar 'Word of the Day' feature, but they're more esoteric.

Oh, and another. Fucking plurals. I heard someone on TV the other day say stadiums. No, it's fucking stadia!

And data is a plural. So you'd say "data are" not "data is"
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Sat 27 Mar 2010, 17:58, 3 replies, latest was 15 years ago)

Shouldn't it be 'fewer syllables'?
(skrinklelada, Sun 28 Mar 2010, 11:30, Reply)

Yes it should
Grammar/spelling Nazis must get bloody sick of being hoisted by petards.

I wouldn't mind, but the "5 items or less" signs in Asda really grate on me.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Sun 28 Mar 2010, 19:18, Reply)

Petard, not pedards, Shirley?
Petard being Shakespeare for gunpowder, I think.
(Vice Admiral Sir Charles Cockbrush KCB MBE DSO, who is finding it increasingly difficult to log into b3ta.com wants to duck your aunt and kick your puppy, Tue 30 Mar 2010, 15:54, Reply)

I was taking the metaphor itself as a singular
rather than the actual word. That was the idea anyway, whether it made sense or not is hard to say.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Tue 30 Mar 2010, 17:39, Reply)

Is stadium really a first declension noun?
I had no idea.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sun 28 Mar 2010, 21:42, Reply)

Well, that was interesting.
I had a look at the etymology of stadium which lead to me reading about Ancient Greek grammar. If you like grammar, I recommend it. I just found out about the middle voice, and the optative mood; both of which were completely new to me. I should look at Top Tips more often.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Sun 28 Mar 2010, 22:16, Reply)

I learned that
the plural of octopus isn't octopi because it isn't a Latin word. It comes from Greek so the plural should technically be octopodes.

Also, whilst reading up on plurals I found this:
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chocolate_starfishes
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Mon 29 Mar 2010, 0:32, Reply)

I thought the plural of octopus is octopuses, because it's a third declension noun in Latin.
I am starting to rethink what I thought I knew about the reasons for inflection for number in English. Also, I think one needs to be careful, after all, English is not a romance language, the Oxford scholars, who put a lot of current inflections into modern dictionaries and grammars, seem to have forgotten that.
( The Awful Puppy Bakery is still bored, Mon 29 Mar 2010, 8:04, Reply)

This is true
but it is heavily fortified by Norman French. For example, the word ask (an Old English word). The French is demander where we get the word demand from, which isn't quite the same as 'ask', but is very close in meaning.

If you have an interest in linguistics, have a look at the Gaelic languages. Not so much the grammar, but the spelling and use of consonant mutation. The first sound in a word can change depending on the possessive.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonant_mutation#Celtic_languages

A mate of mine is learning Scots Gaelic. I'm going to trump him though by learning Cornish.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Mon 29 Mar 2010, 11:39, Reply)

Get away
Next thing you'll be telling me the plural of bus isn't bi...
(Vice Admiral Sir Charles Cockbrush KCB MBE DSO, who is finding it increasingly difficult to log into b3ta.com wants to duck your aunt and kick your puppy, Wed 31 Mar 2010, 16:33, Reply)

Oh and another thing
The overuse of the exclamation mark in various publications. Usually free magazines from supermarkets, low brow magazines and a few others. In fact, thinking about it, it seems to be a feature in magazines aimed at women.
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Mon 29 Mar 2010, 11:58, Reply)

Too right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Smale is stuffed, Tue 30 Mar 2010, 12:04, Reply)

Suggestion
add some sultanas if preferred!
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Tue 30 Mar 2010, 13:25, Reply)