One idiomatic expression which is rampantly, and erroneously, thought of as one word is in spite of. Inspite is NOT a word. As the OED will tell you, if you say that somebody did something in spite of a fact, you mean it is surprising that that fact did not prevent him/her from doing it. As straight as that. Some recent examples of this glaring mistake: The Economic Times (Ore export duty to help in resource conservation; March 11, 2007; PTI creed):
State-owned iron export company NMDC has declared 90 per cent operating profit in the financial year 2006-07 inspite of exports on long term contracts. The majority of iron ore exports is on spot basis that indicates companies in this space are making even higher profits, the statement said.
The Times of India (She saved the girl in her womb; March 8, 2007):
It was June 21, 2006.Veena, a cherubic eight-month old infant was born inspite of her father, grandfather and grandmother, who wished her dead. Veena owes her life, both inside the womb and outside, to her mother, 20-year old Hetal Desai who is still numb from the shock of being physically battered and mentally tortured by her in-laws for dowry and bearing a girl.The irony is that her father-in-law is a lawkeeper, Ishvar Desai, superintendent of police of Sabarkantha district.
The Indian Express (Sonia verdict: A lot more to defeat than just price rise; March 7, 2007)
“Inspite of all-round development, we were unable to retain power. This tells us that while objective factors such as the price rise may have had an impact, there were other reasons as well,” Gandhi said.
CNN-IBN (SIT: Nashik choking over fly ash; March 2, 2007):
And that's not all. Inspite of a stay on Dirk India's clearing the fly ash a fleet of trucks is still visit the fly ash pond - not clearing enough ash to save the environment, but clearly removing enough to make neat packet of money for some unknown beneficiary.
Hindustan Times (Peace train leaves for Pakistan amid hope; February 22, 2007; IANS creed):
Inspite of the carnage, the passengers, mostly Pakistanis, left the Indian capital with the hope that they will not face a similar incident on their way home. "We have full faith in Allah and are sure that we will reach our homeland safe and sound. We are taking back lots of gifts and sweet memories of our stay in India," said Mohammed Ajmal Baig from Jhang, Pakistan.
The Financial Express (Kalam address to Parliament to touch on inflation, SEZ; February 16, 2007)
Unflagging inflationary trend and the controversy over special economic zones (SEZs), which has been an eyesore for the UPA government inspite of a dreamy 9% growth rate, are expected to be highlighted by President APJ Abdul Kalam when he addresses a joint sitting of Parliament before the beginning of the Budget session next week.
These were a few randomly selected examples; to see more for yourself click here.
