| abstract | - A gag where a character corrects another's spelling or grammar in a context where you wouldn't usually expect it. A common setup is when a note (either of love or insult) is sent to someone, only to have it come back with all the spelling mistakes highlighted, or for extra hubris, notes like "See me" as if from a teacher, as this is the inevitable result whenever a student attempts to write a love note to their teacher. This is also a common tactic used by butlers and upscale servicefolk to distract a hysterical guest. On the flipside of showing intelligence, this trope can also be used to show that someone is Comically Missing the Point. Also, fairly often, the "grammatical error" will be more of a point of style that's not actually considered incorrect grammar by anyone but pedants (Bad to end sentences with, prepositions are.) -- writers who really want to Show Their Work may have the corrected party reply to that effect. Less often, the "error" might actually be technically correct, but this will only be known to really hardcore grammarians. Do this on a forum and the comeback is likely to be "Grammar Nazi". Or "grammer nazee", as the case may be. Responding that you were correcting their spelling and not their grammar is just asking for it. The trope name is a pun; the word "sic" is used in quotation and transcription to indicate that a (supposed) spelling or grammatical mistake was made by the original writer/speaker, not the person quoting/transcribing them. Compare You Keep Using That Word, when the nitpicking is over word choice instead of grammar/spelling. Related to Do Wrong Right. Examples of You Make Me Sic include:
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