...and sometimes worse. 
Oh, and I've seen the phrase "per say" misused enough that it's time to set the record straight.
"Per se," is a latin phrase (not english) that means "in and of itself."
Aw geeeze, grasshopper, …. I was not
per se’ing anything, … I was
per say’ing a fact ….. when I said this statement, to wit:
(Reply #48) …. that is the simplest and quickest one to "cut" .... because it doesn't require any "dimensions" or "spacing" measurements, ..... it's all per say "freehand" markings.
And here are the “rules” that I pondered over before I said the above, with the ones I chose being underlined, to wit:
per – (adverb)
…. 1. For each one; apiece: sold the cookies for one dollar per.
…. 2. Per hour:
per – (preposition)
…. 1. For each (used with units to express a rate).
…. 2. By means of: "send it per express".
adverb – (noun)
A word or phrase that modifies or qualifies an adjective, verb, or other adverb or a phrase, expressing a relation of place, time,...
per se – (adverb)
By or in itself or themselves; intrinsically: "it is not these facts per se that are important". Given the above, then, to wit:
(Reply #48) …. that is the simplest and quickest one to "cut" .... because it doesn't require any "dimensions" or "spacing" measurements, .....
it's all per say "freehand" markings.
"
Say" is the verb, .... "
per" is the modifying adverb, .... "
freehand" is the adjective .... and "
markings" is the noun.
And "
freehand markings" is not "
by or in itself" meaningful of anything, but is in fact a reference to the aforesaid ..... "
dimensions" or "spacing" measurements.
grasshopper, I quite often use the phrase "
per say" because it is what I am saying, aka: per my opinion, .... per my experience, ..... per my reasoning.
And those are the reasons for my madness.
Being an old computer designing dinosaur, it is not uncommon for me to apply "
new meanings" to
old words or phrases.
Cheers
