My writing pet peeves

The last post inspired me. I have more than this, but these are the ones that come to mind now:

* “For all intensive purposes”

What the hell is an intensive purpose? It’s “for all intents and purposes,” genius. But since we’re nitpicking, why not avoid the cliche altogether.

* “Supposably”

I guess that something can be “supposable.” But that’s not what people mean when I hear them use this word. They mean “supposedly.” What’s the difference? If something is “supposedly” a certain way, the determination that it is that way was made by other people. If something is “supposably” a certain way, the determination is made by you. But when people invoke the work supposedly, it’s usually as a mild insult — insinuating that something presumed to be true was false.