So I was hanging out last night with my friends Julie and Tom and another couple. I'd never met this other couple before (and have since forgotten their names) and only knew that the guy was a fellow car nut. We sat around shooting the shit for awhile about various topics, mostly cars, and at one point the conversation came around to glass etching.

The woman picked up her glass and contemplated it for a moment. "I'm going to etch a water glass so that I don't lose mine any more."

As the conversation moved on, I considered this.

"Wait a minute," I interrupted, "you're not really guarding against losing your glass, you're concerned about cases of mistaken identity."

"What?"

"Well, how many times have you found yourself walking through your house wondering 'where the hell is my glass?'"

"What?"

"If you've lost the glass, it won't matter if it's etched. It'll be lost. The etching will only protect against cases of mistaken identity. The word you wanted was 'mistake', not 'lose'."

I was just being myself, right? Not at all trying to be a dick. You know, what she said had been illogical and I'd sought clarification. Just casual conversation. Speaking with Julie and Tom after they'd left, I found out that I'd had the poor woman squirming, a fact of which I'd been completely oblivious at the time. They also pointed out to me that I'd corrected her use of English one previous time, though none of us could remember the details.

Turns out that the chick is a DOCTORAL STUDENT and is teaching college level English courses. She sat for a few moments and then went off.

"Nobody EVER does that to me! And I do it to my students all the time! OhmyGOD this is so INTERESTING!" And so on for a solid five minute monologue about how fascinating she found it being corrected on her use of the language.

And really, I was trying to behave last night. Honest.