In dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster's new online feature "Ask the Editor," associate editor Kory Stamper lays out a dilemma that grammar snobs everywhere will relate to: "You say to your friend: 'Hey, I saw a group of octopuses,' and your friend says 'Hey, you're an ignorant slob, you saw a group of octopi!'" Stamper explains that throughout history, the word "octopus" has been pluralized as octopuses, octopi, and the more unusual octopodes. Proving that grammar isn't always black and white, Stamper concludes any of the three options is just fine.
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