Much Adieu About Nothing
He was bright, witty and a great moderator. But he got off to a bad start. Having introduced the panel, he smiled at the camera, “With no further adieu, let’s move on.”
I thought I was going to have a stroke.
This fellow clearly did well in law school, but in high school he must have been late for the “Much Ado About Nothing” class. “Ado” means “a great fuss or uproar”. And it must have been a snow day when “adieu” was being taught. “Adieu” means “to God” and is one of the French forms of “good-bye”.
The term “with no further adieu” should be reserved for lingering good-byes at the airport. Otherwise, it’s “with no further ado”.
I’ve also heard some professionals utter “It’s a mute point, don’t you think?” Better they’d stayed mute! “Mute” means “silent”, “moot” means “uncertain or debatable”. And the list goes on…
The problem with using the wrong word is that the listener’s brain tells him it’s silly. If you’re a stand-up comic, silly is good, but silly is not good when you’re trying to make an important point. If you’re on stage trying to convey a serious corporate message, or drafting pleadings, or pitching a project proposal, the last thing you want is to have your audience laugh at you. Full article here. (http://www.purposeful.ca/blog)