"Whenever" and "Seen"

[pomtzu]

[QUOTE=Willow Oak;2428151

A "flounder" is a fish; "founder" is what happens when a ship runs aground.[/QUOTE]

But that ship has to sink below the surface of the water to "founder". If it's above and tossing about against rocks or a reef, wouldn't it be "floundering"?

[pomtzu]

My big pet peeve is "waiting on" and "waiting for". I summed it up back in post #52. That still drives me nuts.

[Willow Oak]

But that ship has to sink below the surface of the water to "founder". If it's above and tossing about against rocks or a reef, wouldn't it be "floundering"?

Language is evolving. That is what drives some of us "mad." When I was in school I was castigated if I spelled "buses" as "busses." Now, the latter spelling appears in dictionaries and has been approved as acceptable. The word "ain't" has become part of many dictionaries. I believe that the word "flounder" was inadvertently used instead of "founder" when someone was lost and trying to find his way (tossed about). Now the dictionaries approve the misuse of the word.

Most of the European languages evolved from Greek and Latin. Latin was the language spoke in ancient Rome, hence the "romance" languages.

Am I preaching to the choir here?