Unchartered waters

Before the era of aviation, explorers and traders travelled the world by sea. They were aided by charts -- in other words, maps. Hence, regions for which charts were not available were uncharted waters. Uncharted waters and uncharted territory are used metaphorically these days to refer to new, unprecedented situations.

However, many people mistakenly write unchartered instead. Unchartered means not having a charter or written constitution. Take a look at the examples below:

Colombia in Unchartered Territory With Peace Deal's Defeat https://t.co/f5ByDOxden

— Llamma Lane (@llammalane) 3 de octubre de 2016

We are living in unchartered waters in #politics, says Miliband #tfwa #TFWA2016

— DFNI Magazine (@DFNI) 3 de octubre de 2016

At the New York HIT Summit, Diving into Unchartered Cybersecurity Waters | Healthcare Informatics Magazine https://t.co/utylXgreLs

— Luis Saldana (@lsaldanamd) 28 de septiembre de 2016

Please stand clear off the doors

The Delhi Metro is a very popular means of public transport in Delhi and the coaches are often crowded. Recorded messages are frequently played on the public address system inside the trains urging passengers to maintain cleanliness and to please stand clear off the doors.

 There's a small mistake there. The correct instruction should be: please stand clear of the doors.

The fact that vs The possibility that

The fact that is a common expression that we use when we talk about, quite obviously, facts, as in Copernicus first established the fact that the earth revolves round the sun. 

However, sometimes people erroneously use it when they make non-factual statements. Consider the following examples:

Was Woodrow Wilson oblivious of the fact that German nationalism might rise and create dire consequences...

How can I come to terms with the fact that I might never be in a romantic relationship?

The fact that if the price of milk, butter or cab rides increases, people might switch to soy milk, margarine, or the bus...

Now I am 23 and it is difficult to let go of the fact that maybe I'm wasting my potential as a good athlete.  

All these statements express possibilities or probabilities, as is apparent by the use of might and maybe; a fact is something about which there is no doubt. So, in these cases it would have been more accurate to say the possibility that or the probability that instead of the fact that. 

"Post" as a preposition

The rampant misuse of post as a preposition is my pet hate these days. I wonder why it has spread so fast among people who should have known better: the press. What happened to after? If you don't know what I am talking about, take a look at the following sentences:

• Post the match, the crowds were thrilled when SRK did a victory dance on the ground! (The Times of India)
• Post the war, the country witnessed escalated levels of unemployment... (Hindustan Times)
• Director Imtiaz Ali says he is yet to decide on his next film post the success of 'Rockstar'. (Indian Express)
• The ICPA pilots, numbering about 650, have been demanding for long parity in service conditions post the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines... (Asian Age)

In each of these sentences post has been used incorrectly; a preposition like after should have been used instead. But what on earth is a preposition? Macmillan Dictionary describes it as:

A word that usually comes before a noun or a pronoun and shows its relation to another part of the sentence. In the sentences 'I left it on the table' and 'she came out of the house', the words 'on' and 'out of' are prepositions.

 After can be used as a preposition; post cannot. 

 The reason for the confusion is that post does indeed mean after, but only when it is used as a prefix like in the following examples:

• a post-match celebration (not celebration post the match)
• the post-war economy (not the economy post the war)
• a post-dated cheque
• a post-impressionist painting
• post-partum depression
• post-traumatic stress disorder
• post-exercise recovery

So if you too are a victim of this misunderstanding, I hope that post reading this ... er ... after reading this you know how to use post.