In lieu of

"The downward move of the pound against the dollar is especially significant in lieu of the problems in the US economy," said a financial reporter the other day. Of course he meant ". . . in view of . . .."

I have often heard that misuse of "in lieu of."  In lieu of means in place of, as in "The school claims that its lunch menu conforms to the mandated pyramid. Following President Reagan's advice, they use Ketchup in lieu of a more traditional vegetable as one of the pyramid's building blocks."

Suspect vs suspicious

Listening to CNBC today, I heard a talking head discussing stocks that pay big dividends. His point was that reduced earnings might cause those companies to cut their dividends. "Investors should be suspect," he said.

I'm surprised at how often I hear people make that mistake. Suspect means questionable. Suspicious means questioning. Investors should be suspicious.