Just catching up.... This thread is awesome... Even if it isn't about old house love.
I was never very good at paying attention in English class when I was young, but I started the habit of keeping a dictionary around and whenever I encountered a word I didn't know, I would look it up (this is obviously before I could just look it up on my phone). I have never understood those who lack curiosity of the world or desire to learn more.
I am much more forgiving of those for whom English is not their first language as it is considered rather difficult. There are so many nuances to the language which are challenging to learn. But for the folks who were born and raise here and graduated with at least a high school diploma, yet cannot discern the difference between rot iron, rod iron, or wrought iron, I have little empathy.
I don't expect perfection in any way, but four letter words are not that hard to learn.
That said, I tend to be more of a stickler for accuracy in describing things, such as realtors who claim 12' ceilings which are no higher than 10', or listing an 1,800 square foot home as 2,400 square feet. When I see those kinds of egregious inaccuracies, I lose all faith that they are honest about anything else and avoid doing business with them.
And while I am at it… I also struggle with why sellers on CL or eBay insist on adding key words which have absolutely nothing to do the actual item for sale (example: a 1920s art-deco waterfall front dresser listed as Mid-century modern/atomic era/Milo Baughman/Eames/Haywood Wakefield/etc...). If I am typing in Milo Baughman into the search, I am not expecting to anything prior to the 1960s.
Then there are the words which have completely lost their original meaning. Epic, Luxury, Unique, etc....
I'll step off of my soapbox now... And go back to thinking about how I am going to fix up my old house.