Grammar and Spelling Lessons 101

[SSLPhD]

Rouge vs. Rogue

Rouge:  any of various cosmetics for coloring the cheeks or lips red
  E.g., She was wearing too much rouge.
  (m-w.com)
  In French, it simply means "red."

Rogue:  person, organization, or country that does not behave in the usual or acceptable way
  As a noun:  Buzzy’s a fun-loving teenage rogue.
  As an adjective:  A rogue employee might tap into the computer.
  (dictionary.cambridge.org)

[YitzyS]

Rouge vs. Rogue

Rouge:  any of various cosmetics for coloring the cheeks or lips red
  E.g., She was wearing too much rouge.
  (m-w.com)
  In French, it simply means "red."

Rogue:  person, organization, or country that does not behave in the usual or acceptable way
  As a noun:  Buzzy’s a fun-loving teenage rogue.
  As an adjective:  A rogue employee might tap into the computer.
  (dictionary.cambridge.org)

Guilty as charged.

[myi]

In many states you can. NY yes, while in NJ you cannot.

 Using "can not" in place of cannot? Or there's a reason and a rhyme to use one Vs the other?

[Yehuda57]

Using "can not" in place of cannot? Or there's a reason?

In formal writing, it is generally thought best to avoid contractions, no hard rules, AFAIK.

Using "can not" in place of cannot? Or there's a rhyme?

In writing that's formal
Official or whatnot
It's best to spell it out
And write in full - cannot

But if you're being chill
Your writing's more like art
Then do whatever you want
No one will say you can't

ETA:

Yehuda57 ...  writes with a South African accent

[biobook]

Using "can not" in place of cannot? Or there's a reason and a rhyme to use one Vs the other?

Cannot is more common, but the accent is on the first syllable, "can", so if I wanted to emphasize the "not", I might separate the words:
In NY you can, but in NJ you can not.

Making this up as I go along, and now I'm not sure.  I would probably rewrite it:
In NY you can, but not in NJ.

But I would definitely separate them in:
No! I said you can NOT have that last bit of chocolate ice cream!

[Yehuda57]

Lol, I made that whole stupid post based on totally misreading the question. I couldnot* be dumber.

Grammarly kindly tried to correct this dumb joke, nevertheless, I persisted.

[biobook]

Lol, I made that whole stupid post based on totally misreading the question. I couldnot* be dumber.

Grammarly kindly tried to correct this dumb joke, nevertheless, I persisted.

It was funny!  I googled cannot vs can not, and most links gave some variation of yours, ie, cannot vs can't.  (or can't, with an American accent)
So I invented this usage rule.  Sound reasonable?

[myi]

In formal writing, it is generally thought best to avoid contractions, no hard rules, AFAIK.

In writing that's formal
Official or whatnot
It's best to spell it out
And write in full - cannot

But if you're being chill
Your writing's more like art
Then do whatever you want
No one will say you can't

ETA:

Cannot is more common, but the accent is on the first syllable, "can", so if I wanted to emphasize the "not", I might separate the words:
In NY you can, but in NJ you can not.

Making this up as I go along, and now I'm not sure.  I would probably rewrite it:
In NY you can, but not in NJ.

But I would definitely separate them in:
No! I said you can NOT have that last bit of chocolate ice cream!

Interesting..

[SSLPhD]

independence vs independents

Independence
noun
the fact or state of being independent.
"Argentina gained independence from Spain in 1816"

Independents
plural of noun: independent
an independent person or body.
"one of the few independents left in the music business"

(From Oxford Languages, according to Google)

[SSLPhD]

PER SE

Usually used as an adverb (although it can be used as an adjective as well):

: by, of, or in itself or oneself or themselves : as such : intrinsically (m-w.com)

[SSLPhD]

ordinance vs ordnance

Ordinance
noun
a law set forth by a governmental authority
"A city ordinance forbids construction work to start before 8 a.m."

Ordnance
noun
military supplies including weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment
"The company was outfitted with 50-millimeter ordnance."

(All text copied and pasted from m-w.com.)

[mevinyavin]

Apropos of nothing:
settle for something
to accept something that is not exactly what you want but is the best that is available

settle on something
to choose or make a decision about something after thinking about it

[Euclid]

PER SE

Usually used as an adverb (although it can be used as an adjective as well):

: by, of, or in itself or oneself or themselves : as such : intrinsically (m-w.com)

Thank you. I always mess this one up.

[Definitions2]

PER SE

Usually used as an adverb (although it can be used as an adjective as well):

: by, of, or in itself or oneself or themselves : as such : intrinsically (m-w.com)

Fun fact - Per se used to be the 27th letter of the English alphabet. It was the & sign.
I don't know how it would be used.

[Shmuel K]

Fun fact - Per se used to be the 27th letter of the English alphabet. It was the & sign.
I don't know how it would be used.

Partially right it was the ampersand that was the 27th letter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampersand

[shulem92]

Partially right it was the ampersand that was the 27th letter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampersand

as per chat gpt it was never officially part of the alphabet.

The ampersand (`&`) is not the 27th letter of the alphabet, but its history is closely tied to the way the alphabet was taught in the past.

### Origins of "And Per Se"
The ampersand symbol originated from the Latin word "et," which means "and." Over time, the letters "e" and "t" in "et" were written together in a ligature, eventually evolving into the symbol `&`.

In the 19th century, when children learned the alphabet, they were often taught to recite "X, Y, Z, and per se and." The phrase "and per se and" means "and by itself [is] and," with "per se" being a Latin phrase meaning "by itself." Essentially, it was a way of saying that `&` was a character that stood for the word "and" on its own.

Over time, "and per se and" was slurred together in speech, and eventually, this evolved into the word "ampersand."

### The Ampersand's Place in the Alphabet
While `&` was commonly included in the alphabet recitation, it was never officially part of the alphabet itself. The alphabet still has 26 letters, but the ampersand was often taught as an additional character because of its practical use as a symbol for "and."

[Shmuel K]

Partially right it was the ampersand that was the 27th letter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampersand

as per chat gpt it was never officially part of the alphabet.

So it's a machlokes Chat GPT vs. wikipedia?

[wayfe]

PSA for school secretaries and admins: It's buses, not busses.

[YitzyS]

PSA for school secretaries and admins: It's buses, not busses.

Both are correct, no?

[etech0]

Both are correct, no?

When I looked into it a few years ago, both were considered correct but "buses" was more correct.