My father insisted, sometimes, on verbal precision. He would not let us say motor when we meant engine, and he was adamant about the fact that cement is just fancy sand; you have to mix it with water to form concrete.

He managed to make his points with me and my brothers, but he didn’t stop the tide of language evolution. He was an influential man, but local.

In similar futile fashion, there are a couple of common verbal uses that make me wince. Like when a friend or mother claims to be aggravated. “I’m so aggravated,” she says, and I want to correct her. But I don’t. I’ll slip it in here though: people don’t get aggravated; situations get aggravated. It’s okay for a person to become annoyed or irritated, but it’s dehumanizing if she gets aggravated.

And here’s one I know I’ll lose, but in my world “lend”is a verb and “loan” is a noun. I may lend you money. I might make a loan to you. I will never loan you anything.