Some of my readers are fully capable of writing this column. So today I'm turning it over to them.

"Please explain to the thousands of reporters, writers and talk-show people," writes Thela Ostling of Roscommon, Michigan, "that 'more importantly' and 'most importantly' are incorrect. What they mean is 'more important' and 'most important' because they're shortened versions of 'what is more (or most) important.'"

A "free gift" comes from Fred Waters of San Jose, California, who writes, "Advertisements, radio and television commercials and junk mail consistently offer a 'free gift.' It always makes me wonder if there's ever a gift that isn't free."

Howard Neilson of Farmington Hills, Michigan, is annoyed by the expression "at that point in time." He asks, "Why not just say, 'at that time'?"

Darlene Brill of San Jose, California, objects to the misuse of "beg the question." "I have heard this increasingly used to mean 'raise the question,'" she writes. "In fact, this phrase refers to circular reasoning. 'Begging the question' occurs when an argument assumes its own conclusion, as in, 'Public nudity is immoral because it's just plain wrong.'"

Theodore Gaston of Livonia, Michigan, writes, "The most overused word today is 'IMPACT.' This favorite is found daily in print, on television (especially) and in conversations. It is used as a noun or verb, whenever the user believes it will have an IMPACT. What ever happened to 'affect' and 'effect'?"

Mary Root of Grand Blanc, Michigan, becomes nauseated when she hears "I feel nauseous" instead of "I feel nauseated." "Nauseous," she explains, means "causing nausea," while "nauseated" means "afflicted with nausea." She writes, "It is as ridiculous to say you are 'nauseous' when you mean 'nauseated' as it would be to say you are 'poisonous' when you have been 'poisoned.'"

The penultimate peeve comes from Jean Dingee of Torrington, Connecticut, who writes, "People always say 'penultimate' to mean "final" when instead it means "next-to-last."

Larry Gavrich of Avon, Connecticut, condemns the ambiguous use of the word "fulsome." "News readers, especially on MSNBC," he writes, "use phrases like "a fulsome courtroom defense" to mean 'full and abundant.' But another meaning of "fulsome is 'excessive, obnoxious.' Words with contradictory meanings should always be avoided when the interpretation could go either way."

Larry offers a fulsome criticism of this ambiguity without resorting to fulsome prose.

Rob Kyff, a teacher and writer in West Hartford, Connecticut, invites your language sightings. His book, "Mark My Words," is available for $9.99 on Amazon.com. Send your reports of misuse and abuse, as well as examples of good writing, via email to [email protected] or by regular mail to Rob Kyff, Creators Syndicate, 737 3rd Street, Hermosa Beach, California, 90254.

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