In other words, for example...

In keeping with the random nature of this blog, I'd like to begin by saying that if I do actually write a book, it will necessarily be a book that does not take itself too seriously (i.e. I will not take it very seriously and am therefore not sure what the draw would be in reading it...).

On that note,... well, actually, this next bit is totally unrelated, but it's fun to lead into an idea with "on that note...".  So, on that note, I have to admit that I enjoy figuring out where very common expressions came from originally.  As a matter of fact, just yesterday I was putting those Google Guru skills to work looking up where "ok" or "okay" might have originated and was not too surprised to find out that no one really knows.  I wasn't surprised because that is the nature of language... it's so fluid and evolves in the most bizarre way.  Mispronunciations, perpetual misspellings, misunderstandings, the need to create a word for something that previously didn't exist or hadn't been quantified semantically... And there I just digressed into a nerdy wonderland of thoughts... coming back now... (Click "read more" to get the rest of the story!)

There are some things that we use in everyday language that we can actually trace.  Two of those too-often-confused little gems are "i.e." and "e.g.," so in order that I may set the record straight (or at least reiterate what has already been said countless times... in a terribly boring way, although possibly less boring than the explanation you find here... according to any Google search), here is Stacie's abridged version of the facts:

• i.e. means in other words (from the Latin, id est, "that is")

• e.g. is used to mean for example (from the Latin, exempli gratia, "for the sake of an example")

That's the short of it.  Now, practically, when would you use these?  Well, let's take a look:

I like to eat all kinds of cheese, e.g., Brie, Camembert, etc.

• E.g. here is followed by some examples of the cheeses I like.

I like to eat all kinds of cheese, i.e., I am a turophile.

• You could read this sentence as "I like to eat all kinds of cheese, in other words, I am a turophile."

If you (whoever "you" are out there... perhaps all 2 of you who read this blog) have a "what if" situation you'd like to present (What if you were going to say x would you use "e.g." or "i.e."?), please leave a comment because I'd love the challenge... :)