This is the phrase that is currently driving me nuts: "based out of." It seems to be some kind of hellspawn bastard child of "based in" and "out of." (Maybe "works out of"? That's still unnecessarily circumlocutive.)
The latest perpetrator of this linguistic outrage is Liz Jones, who filed a story this week for N.P.R.'s Morning Edition, ("U.S. Family Of Ill Prisoner Wants North Korea To Release Him").
The protagonist of this story, Kenneth Bae, is a tour guide and missionary, who, Jones said, is "based out of China." NO! If he's based "out of" China, then he's based somewhere that's NOT CHINA. He's "based IN China." That's IN, Ms. Jones, a one-word, two-letter preposition. Why do people reach for the longer, ugly, and WRONG "out of" here?
Gaaahhh! It makes me want to stab someone.
No, it doesn't sound good.
And it's ambiguous. Does she conduct business in the garage or is her desk and phone and computer in the garage but her actual business is conducted elsewhere, like at client sites?
I'd still insist on "conducts business in her garage" or "is based in her garage", depending on which is true.
I have no time to reply in depth right now, AnMa, but I agree with you.
Peter
It doesn't bother me at all. But I see your point, even if I disagree. I see them as nuanced synonyms, especially in your second example "conducts business in her garage" vs. "conducts business out of her garage".
As for the stabbing, don't do anything in anger and don't do anything out of anger.