Comments on: What’s the Difference: i.e. vs. e.g.

By: John Francis

John Francis — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:06:03 +0000

Shabby! Not only is a commenter trying to pull a fast one (with a phony phrase, “in exemplum,” for “i.e.”), but also the main post has an error in each explanation of three additional abbreviations,
(1) “C.f.” should be “Cf.” — without the extra period.
(2) “Etc.” is not “the abbreviation for “etcetera” — but rather the abbreviation for “et cetera” (with a space between the two Latin words).
(3) “QED” is not the “abbreviation for quod erat demonstradum” — but rather the abbreviation for “quod erat demonstrandum” (with an “n” before the second “d.”
Tsk, tsk!

By: Buzz

Buzz — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 02:55:38 +0000

For the answer to this one, [i]vide infra[/i]

see below

By: Mac

Mac — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 04:08:13 +0000

Reminds me of my favorite sequence from Get Shorty:

“Ray “Bones” Barboni: Let me explain something to you. Momo is dead. Which means that everything he had now belongs to Jimmy Cap, including you. Which also means, that when I speak, I speak for Jimmy. E.g., from now on, you start showing me the proper fucking respect.
Chili Palmer: “E.g.” means “for example”. What I think you want to say is “I.e.”.
Ray “Bones” Barboni: Bullshit! That’s short for “ergo”.
Chili Palmer: Ask your man.
Bodyguard: To the best of my knowledge, “e.g.” means “for example”.
Ray “Bones” Barboni: E.g., i.e., fuck you! The point is this: is that, When I say “jump”, you say “OK”, okay?”

By: Paul Long

Paul Long — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 22:53:19 +0000

For people, I use “et alia” (or “et al.”) rather than “etc.” It means “and others.” I’ve never heard of “i.e.” meaning “in exemplum,” but a quick search via Google shows that this is a common (mis?)perception.

By: Emmers

Emmers — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 21:03:41 +0000

This is one of the best Neatorama posts I’ve seen in a whlie (of course, I’m a language nerd).

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 19:13:28 +0000

That’s pretty good, Matt!

By: Matt

Matt — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:23:21 +0000

The mental trick I use is e.g. = “example given” and i.e. = “in essense.” Not the latin translations, but they help me keep them straight.

By: Alain

Alain — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 14:51:07 +0000

I feel smart again!

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 12:50:23 +0000

I specifically remember learning that i.e. can also mean “in exemplum,” which makes that usage of it identical to e.g. Anybody know of a debunking of that notion?

By: Ali

Ali — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 08:48:47 +0000

A good place to get your “i.e’s” and “e.g’s” right you should get the podcast called “Grammer Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.”

Good stuff, yo!