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For those who missed the "Latin abbreviations" part of English class, a quick recap:
ETC. is short for "et cetera" meaning "and others"-- it's used at the end of a list to indicate that there are more items in the list than have been stated.
I.E. is short for "id est" meaning "that is"-- it's used before a list of things, or a single representative item, to clarify what's meant.
ETA:
E.G. is short for "exempli gratia" meaning "for example" and is also used before a list of things or a representative item, but it's more clearly just one/several of a class, not a restatement of the class definition.
So my peeve is this: Why do people use "etc." if it's not clear exactly what else might fit in the category? Tonight's offender is the store "Crafts Etc." and it makes me nuts. What exactly could a store sell that is NOT a craft product, but is in the same category as a craft product?
ETC. is short for "et cetera" meaning "and others"-- it's used at the end of a list to indicate that there are more items in the list than have been stated.
I.E. is short for "id est" meaning "that is"-- it's used before a list of things, or a single representative item, to clarify what's meant.
ETA:
E.G. is short for "exempli gratia" meaning "for example" and is also used before a list of things or a representative item, but it's more clearly just one/several of a class, not a restatement of the class definition.
So my peeve is this: Why do people use "etc." if it's not clear exactly what else might fit in the category? Tonight's offender is the store "Crafts Etc." and it makes me nuts. What exactly could a store sell that is NOT a craft product, but is in the same category as a craft product?
