Language pet peeves....'irregardless' and the non-existent "supposably"

[grannylib]

are the two that just make me cringe...
How about you??
What language mis-use really rubs you the wrong way??

edited for spelling

[Mutley]

1. It's/its, their/there/they're, your/you're, accept/except, etc.

Stuff like that. :D

[Lorax]

3. affect/effect

Here's another one: affect & effect. Why are they so hard to tell apart?

[Mutley]

33. I really don't know.

:shrug:

[serryjw]

121. I'm the guilty one

have no clue the difference and when to use one vs the other.

[Mutley]

132. If you don't want to know, then don't look at the rest of this post.

:D

"It's" is contraction of "it is." "It's time to go to school."
"Its" is singular possessive. "The dog wants its bone."

"Their" is plural possessive. "Their house is on fire."
"They're" is a contraction of "they are." "They're running late, as usual."
"There" has several uses: directional, expletive, etc. It's fairly safe to use it when the first two don't apply. "There is no point in arguing with freepers."


"Your" can be singular or plural possessive. "Your pants are on fire."
"You're" is a contraction of "you are." "You're coming with me, right?"

I don't mean to be a grammar nazi. It's just the teacher in me. :blush:

:hi:

[grannylib]

Those drive me nuts too!

[hfojvt]

48. what about ect. for etc.?

Its etcetera not ectoplasm. Even if you're English teacher did not teached you that, you should supposably know that its 'etc.' irregardless of spellcheck. But congradulations mutley for using it correctly their.

[Mutley]

55. Thanks.

I was careful about that. Nothing so embarrassing as making such a mistake in a thread bitching about incorrect spelling.

:D

[barb162]

99. yeah and two, too, to

[Lorax]

2. Could/Couldn't care less

People who say, "I could care less." Think about it, that doesn't make any sense. If you could care less, then go ahead and care less. You obviously care some because you could care less.

The correct expression is "I couldn't care less." I care so little that there is no room for me to care any less.

This makes me absolutely batty.

[nosillies]

8. All of the above

I have an English degree so I cringe at everything. And I choose to torture myself every day, because I love to watch Judge Judy, People's Court, Judge Joe Brown, etc. for hours on end. The folks on those shows aren't exactly the poster children for good grammar.

[hfojvt]

51. no it ain't. no it ain't

but ya gotta know the territory.

In fact, 'I couldn't care less' is always wrong. Suppose I am telling you about my toe jam, and you tell me "I couldn't care less". Wrong!! Because now I am telling you about my lumbago and you realise that you care even less about my lumbago than you do about my toejam. So you tell me "I couldn't care less" Wrong again!! Because now I am telling you about my last bout of Montezuma's revenge (okay I am too lazy to look up the d-word diarhea??) and it is likely that you care even less about that. So you tell me "I couldn't care less" Still wrong!! Ha! Because now I am telling you my sob story about my hummer being in the shop and how it is so unfair that FDIC only insures to $100,000 because after I won the lottery I have to put millions in their and its uninsured ...

So, the correct phrase is "I could care LESS" with the implication being that I already care very little, so could you please STFU before I care even less?

[mzteris]

4. or "supposively"

There's another one on the tip of my tongue but I can't think of it, dang it.

[StellaBlue]

5. It's spelled "nonexistEnt"

:D

[grannylib]

9. Yikes, thanks! I'll fix it. Always did have trouble with 'ent' vs 'ant'

words.
Thanks! Should have used spellcheck...
:-)

[miss_american_pie]

6. should/would/could of

Sorry.

[nosillies]

10. I think that's a Southern thing.

We turn it into the contraction: should've, would've, and it just comes out sounding like that.

[grannylib]

11. I can't tell about that when someone is speaking, but I've seen it in

writing (should of, could of) and it makes me crazy...

[Xipe Totec]

30. Let me axe you something

:hide:

[BrklynLiberal]

32. YES!! I hear that and it is like fingernails on a blackboard!!!!

[hfojvt]

60. you better hide

because you know that's proper ebonics :spank:

[SoCalDem]

64. Like .. "YO, Blair"?

:rofl:

[Xipe Totec]

68. That's not Ebonics,

That's Moronics. :rofl:

[SoCalDem]

70. Don't you mean MorAnics?

:)

[Xipe Totec]

72. Touche-Ay!

I've been mortally out-punned!

:rofl:

[grannylib]

The 'axe a question' one drives me nuts too. I used to train phone reps

in a customer-service call center, and that was one thing I always brought up..."ask" is spelled ASK not AKS... and 'across' does NOT have a 't' at the end of it!

[smirkymonkey]

91. Arghhhhhhhhhh!

:banghead:

[wildhorses]

102. yes, as a southerner I must agree...of course according to the

rest of the nation we simply slaughter the language anyway what with all our slang, jargon and idioms. We tend to swallow endings of words...

[arwalden]

7. My Favorite Is "Intensive Purposes".... Cracks Me Up EVERY TIME!!

[grannylib]

12. *lol* that's hilarious!

[smirkymonkey]

92. I hate that one too!

and "stock" raving mad.

[Hosnon]

145. Guilty of that one until recently...someone said it in a different way and

it clicked...AHHHHHHH, I see:)

[auntAgonist]

13. than/then

I see it all the time, even in professional writing.

for example

I like all fruit other then pomegranites.


aA

minor annoyance I know :)

[jobycom]

14. Using big words when their ain't no nede for it! nt

[grannylib]

16. big words and unnecessary ones...such as "at a later time." How about

"later"? Or "at this point in time" instead of "now"

[jobycom]

19. Utilize instead of use, or apropos instead of appropriate, especially

considering that the words aren't interchangeable, as some people seem to think.

[grannylib]

23. apropos vs appropriate...good one!

[Quantess]

127. Appropriate and apropos have different connotations.

I think of a grade school teacher with a lemon sucking face, saying "that's not appropriate".

Utilize: a professor actually recommended the class to use the word "utilize" instead of "use" because people will think you're smart. She was serious, too. Oh well, she also didn't believe in evolution.:crazy:

[Quantess]

128. self delete

[Whoa_Nelly]

15. Can't hardly **cringing even now**

A close friend of mine frequently uses these two words together. She also says, "Me and her/him...", and I so much want to correct her, but manage to move on and say nothing.

She actually is an intelligent person with some college in her personal history, and a staunch Dem, but I want to kick her sometimes when she uses the term "raghead" to talk about anyone of Middle Eastern/Indian descent. A couple of years ago, she actually used the term "camel jockeys" while conversing with one of my professors, an Iranian, regarding the war in Iraq. I wanted to die from embarrassment. Fortunately, I had a good rapport with him, and he didn't hold her word choices against me.


One other phrase that really bugs me:
in regards to...

No! No! No! It's "...in regard to..."! :banghead:

[calico1]

20. Paula Deen says that all the time.

You're right. It makes me cringe.

[grannylib]

17. OH! The WORST ONE! "Alls you gotta do..." ALLS. Drives me NUTS.

"All" is pretty inclusive...it doesn't need to be 'pluralized!'

[hfojvt]

59. all's fair in love

and grammer.

[grannylib]

94. *lol* At least you've apostrophed appropriately!!!

[calico1]

18. All the ones mentioned plus

"lose" and "loose." Also hate when people throw in words in a conversation and its obvious they don't know the definition because they make no sense in what they are saying.

Also, it should be "I couldn't care less" not "I could care less." If you could care less that means you still care!

[Twillig]

21. "try and"

When "try to" is what should be used. (according to me)

I want to 'try and' get people to stop saying 'FLUSTRATED.'

[jobycom]

24. Nothing wrong with that structure.

That's one of those cases where the old Germanic base of the language had one rule, and the Latin grammar adaptations grafted on to the language had another. Same thing with split infinitives. In those cases, the grammar rules are wrong, not the language itself. That's different than many of the problems above (or your flustrated problem), where people are misunderstanding words or spellings.

[grannylib]

25. those both make me crazy too! I agree, it's "try TO" not "try AND"

and I hear 'flustrated' all the time, from people who really should know better...

[jobycom]

22. Using comprise when you mean compose

[Hand]

35. ARRGH!

It's a losing battle, but "comprised of" is HUGELY EVIL!!!

Worse yet--"comprising of". Amazingly enough, the Brits seem to be the worst offenders with this one.

[jobycom]

57. Yeah, that's the other side of it.

People use comprise when they mean compose (The parts comprise the watch) and "comprised of" when they mean comprise (The watch is comprised of the parts). I almost think the government should license the use of the word, and onl editors and writers who have passed a test are allowed to use it, kind of like Fugu chefs.

[sarge43]

26. "Tiny little" and

modifying absolutes such as perfect or unique "It was the most perfect thing I ever saw."

[Benfea]

41. Aren't you being almost perfectly pedantic?

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

I tried to resist. Honest.

[sarge43]

71. Absolutely

:)

[Rabrrrrrr]

73. OMG! That was the most unique thing I've ever read here on DU!

[sarge43]

77. Why thank you. That made my day nearly perfect. n/t

[Benfea]

98. Hey, he practically ASKED for it! -NT

[Rabrrrrrr]

106. That's AKSED for it.

[Benfea]

109. You're being a tiny little bit obtuse. -NT

[Rabrrrrrr]

111. And your just been redicilous.

:eyes:

Jeeze.

[Benfea]

112. Gah! I *hate* that misspelling of "ridiculous"!

Have at thee, knave!

[Rabrrrrrr]

113. Yep - U and Maestro both! 2funny4u!

[Benfea]

137. Arrrgh! Dewdspeek! *cringe* -NT

[Midlodemocrat]

27. Youse people. Growing up, the Mayor, yup, the Mayor

used to say that all the time. Now it's a big family joke.

[Benfea]

143. No, no, no, it's "da mayor" -NT

[Maestro]

28. If I see the word, ridiculous,

spelled, rediculous, one more time, I am going to scream.

[Blue-Jay]

29. That one bothers me a lot.

[Mutley]

34. Heh. Sometimes if I don't watch what I'm doing I'll type

"definately" instead of "definitely."

:blush: :P

[grannylib]

118. I can't type worth a crap...If I had a nickel for every time at my old job

that I'd send out an e-mail to my team, reminding them to "shit down" their PCs before they left work, I could have retired by now.
WHY does the "I" have to be next to the "U"???

[nytemare]

31. Medium instead of median.

"I had to pull over to the medium."

Where was the medium?? That must have been hard to find.

[anarch]

81. maybe they were stopping at a fortune teller's place?

"I pulled over to the medium...and had my future predicted by a crystal-ball reading." Or something.

[Lautremont]

36. I can't stand that cod-formal cop/soldier language:

"The individual was observed exiting the vehicle and proceeding towards the dwelling." I'm sure it's how they're expected to write up their reports or something (why?), but it just makes them sound like undereducated overcompensators.

[sarge43]

69. Mostly, for the sake of legalities and protective distancing

When the stuff is flying toward the props, the vision of some shark circling your hindquarters does dampen the creative impluse.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

37. I to hate it when too people get together and and try two murder

the language. Especially when they do it on a Teusday.

[grannylib]

44. *lol*

[Benfea]

38. Using "differential" when "difference" would do.

To me, "differential" is a mathematical operator, and people who think replacing "difference" with "differential" makes them sound smarter are grossly mistaken.

[philosophie_en_rose]

39. "Sammich" and "Supposably"

As Ralph Wiggum said, "that's unpossible!"

[RebelOne]

104. faze/phase

To faze means to disconcert or embarrass. A phase is a stage or period of development.

[Rabrrrrrr]

40. Let's just label the pet peeves as "Everything that bespells ignorance"

I'm with ya!

Jesus, people, show some respect and learn to use the language, or just shut the fucking fuck up.

[Benfea]

42. Abbreviating "anyone" as "neone"

Heck, any abbreviation that involves substituting "ne" for "any."

Congratulations. You saved yourself typing one character at the expense of looking like an utter moron.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

114. I understand that one. As a gamer, one letter can be the difference

between virtual life and death. Also, the 'a' key is often used for moving your character, and it is inconvienient to use it.

[Benfea]

144. If time is that critical, install Teamspeak. :P -NT

[pink-o]

43. If we're speaking about the written word...

I agree with all of the above. If you intend to write with the idea that others will read your prose, then for fuck's sake, put some effort into it, or get someone like all of us to edit it for you. (my boss is always calling me into the office before he sends out a memo.)

But as for the spoken word, this is one I've heard just in the last decade that drives me out of my mind:

"Pitcher" meaning a photograph.

The word is PICTURE, PEOPLE!!!!!

A pitcher is either a dude on the mound with a fast ball, or a vessel that holds liquids, okaaaaay???

Also: Reel-it-tor. The person who shows houses. It's a REALTOR!!! That's right up there with New-ku-lar

[grannylib]

45. I see your pitcher and realtor, and raise you one 'spe-shee-al-it-y'

Makes me nuts. And the same with the way Brits (love 'em though I do) pronounce 'al-yu-min-ee-um' or the way some folks pronounce 'mis-chee-vee-us'


AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[ghostsofgiants]

50. Actually, aluminium is correct...

"The 'ium' spelling is the most widespread version around the world. The word is aluminium in French, Aluminium in German, and identical or similar forms are used in many other languages. Consequently it is the more common of the two spelling methods.

The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) adopted aluminium as the standard international name for the element in 1990, but three years later recognized aluminum as an acceptable variant."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium#Present-day_spelling

[grannylib]

52. Well, I'll be a primate's granny! *lol* thanks for the info! Maybe I'll

just keep calling it 'tin' foil in order to avoid pronunciation controversy!

[oberliner]

46. badly for bad and I for me

"I feel really badly about that."

and

"She went to the movies with John and I."

Those are the two that bother me.

[pink-o]

116. In English, there's a lot of confusion

...about when to use adjectives and when to use adverbs. "I feel badly" actually makes sense if you think you're modifying the verb "to feel". But what we never learn in English 101 is the difference between transitive, intransitive and LINKING verbs. A linking verb, such as "to feel" is modified by an adjective, not an adveb--ergo, the correct expression is "I feel BAD".

Also, the pronoun usage is completely frustrating in English. WTF????? Anyone who speaks a romance language immediately ascertains that the pronoun is included in the verb conjugation, so there's no need for subject or object or possessive case pronouns.

"You and I", and "You and Me" are both correct, depending on subject/object. "You and I should go to that concert." Or "Did you notice that the only people dancing were you and me?"

And when you get into possessive pronouns--who and whom, for example--it's time to just slit your wrists! Why do you have to reverse the order of words when you ask a question in English??? In Italian, you would say: "You go shopping with whom today?" Or "You like him, no?"

Whoever said we needed to start diagramming sentences again is absolutely right on!

[IsIt1984Yet]

47. It's a "mute" point. ARGH!!

MOOT!! MOOT!! It's MOOT! :banghead:

[Dervill Crow]

49. Bill and I when it really should be Bill and me.

Sometimes that's just the way it is supposed to be. Of course it is particularly bothersome when my co-worker will say, "The girls were in Wal*Mart with Bill and I." I really, really, really want to throw something at her, but I don't, because I love her dearly.

I did manage to work it into a conversation once (naming no names) when I was kvetching about Jason's use of "Me and Grant" on Ghost Hunters.

[grannylib]

53. Clinton used to do that all the time...and he's a smart guy! Drove me nuts

[Elidor]

54. obtuse and abstruse

People who use the first while meaning the second are indeed obtuse.

I also cringe when people use compliment when they really mean complement, but even well-educated people do this, so I tend not to get too irate about it. A simple slap across the face with a mackerel will usually drive the point home.

And loose for lose. That is the fingernails-on-the-chalkboard of misspellings.

[IsIt1984Yet]

56. If you have any questions, please call Janie or myself.

NOOO.... no no no no NO!! :banghead:

[tinfoil tiaras]

58. nEt tAWLk lYkE dIzZ!!1111!1!1!!1!!111

0mGzZ!!!1 HeYy!1!@11111!1! WuT UpP!?!?!/!?21/1?1?!?1

I mean, seriously. There's the exact same amount of letters in the word "like" and "lYkE". Which one looks better? Certainly not the latter....

[CanuckAmok]

61. ha ha... "edited for spelling". Anyway.... "very unique".

Uniqueness is an absolute. Either something is unique, meaning that it is one-of-a-kind, or it's not unique. Stating something is "very unique" is just as stupid as saying "this is very the only one".

[CanuckAmok]

62. One that sends me right over the edge:

Telus', (the local phone company) outgoing voicemail message (when you call one of their customers and it goes the the default voicemail message):

..."to leave a number that you can be reached at, press..."

Jesus Fucking Christ on a Stick, millions and millions of people hear that message every day; could they not have bothered to check the grammar before recording it?!

The correct phrase is:

"...to leave a number at which you can be reached, press..." or even "...to leave a number where you can be reached, press..."


It drives me nuts.

But on the other hand, I can never get sentence/sentance and capital/capitol right, and that propbably drives other people nuts.

[SoCalDem]

65. capital v capitol

a teacher told us to remember

O- dOme on the capitol building
A- cAsh

[CanuckAmok]

67. that's clever!

I'll still fuck it up, though. It's pretty-much a hard-wired short-circuit in my noggin. The only fix is a complete hardware rebuild.

[grannylib]

74. I like that mnemonic device...I'll have to remember that one.

As stated before, I have a lot of trouble with the ant/ent or ance/ence endings too.

[alcibiades_mystery]

125. Actually, there is no rule in English against ending with a preposition

The original phrase, while inelegant, is not grammatically incorrect. Churchill famously quipped, upon being "corrected" on the same point, "That is the kind of thing up with which I will not put." The simple fact is that one can end a sentence with a preposition in English, and the notion that one cannot is itself incorrect. These are stylistic considerations, not grammatical rules.

Just sayin'...

[SoCalDem]

63. mis-CHEE-VEE-ous drives me batty..and feb-YOU-ary

:)

[grannylib]

75. And 'liberry' instead of library.

[Quantess]

131. really?

Most people I know say Febyooary. I always thought the r was silent.

[SoCalDem]

138. Are you in Kansas, by chance? (or by choice?)

:evilgrin:..

Kansans I have knows say FebYOUary and they also say "warsh" instead of WASH and UNGnion instead of onion...

ahhhhh, the joys of colloquialisms :)

[Quantess]

140. I just checked Webster's

it says either pronounciation of February is correct.

[SoCalDem]

142. I suspect that it became that way over centuries of mispronunciation

and the dictionary people cried UNCLE :evilgrin:

[CanuckAmok]

66. Observe what I witnessed last week on a news report:

First of all, the reporter's voice-over stated "...the car flipped-over and busted a neighbour's fence..."

"BUSTED?"

And then she went on to describe how the car "...caught on fire...".

People, it's "caught fire", not "caught ON fire". The ON is not only redundant, it's plain wrong.

Something can be on fire, but by the book it should be:

"...the car caught fire"

"...the car is (presently) on fire"

"...the car is ablaze"


"On" should only be used to describe fire in the present tense.

For example: "CanuckAmok's head just exploded from anger, and it is now on fire"

To illustrate further:

:grr:

This is from a fucking journalist --- someone trained and paid to communicate clearly and factually, and, in theory, correctly. She must be great in the sack.

[grannylib]

78. Doesn't it just bend your brain when you hear stuff like that from

people who should know better??

I know the dictionary now states that 'flounder' is an accepted word for what USED to be 'founder' but I hate it.

I have heard many odd, weird and just plain wrong use of language by 'journalists' on tv, and also in print, and I wonder how on earth these people have wound up in their positions.

[knowbody0]

76. my ex used to accuse me of "counterdicking" him

[jberryhill]

79. Alot

The hands-down winner for me is "alot" instead of "a lot". The author is immediately flagged for me as illiterate.

[SoCalDem]

80. HEY.. I do that "alot" , but it;s because I am a lousy typist

and an even lousier "correcter"

[jberryhill]

83. Turn Yourself In

[valerief]

82. These are wonderful examples. One thing that annoys me is

the usage of the words incredible and incredibly, e.g., incredibly gifted. Damn, ain't it enough to be gifted? Ever listen to DVD film commentaries? Every positive adjective is modified with an "incredibly," every postive noun modified with an "incredible."

Incredible.

[CanuckAmok]

84. welcome to my world....

I'm in the film biz, and the creative-types (I'm not one of 'em) really do speak like that. Everything is "incredible" and/or "amazing".

"Wow, where did you get that amazing sweater? It's amazing!"

"What did you say this coffee is? Folger's? It's incredible!!"

[valerief]

85. Amazing. Yeah, that's the other one. Couldn't think of it. It's like they

only know 2 words. I wonder what they say when something "really" impresses them.

[CanuckAmok]

87. Usually....

...when I get tired of someone (who isn't in a position to have me fired) at work abusing the word "amazing", I do this really exaggerated pantomime of reaching into his jacket and funbling around for his wallet.

When he asks what I'm doing, I say that I'm taking advantage of the time in which he's amazed by (sweater/coffee/notebook/chair/minivan/whatever) to steal his wallet and make a break for it.

[valerief]

They must hate you. LOL. n/t

[sendero]

86. "reoccuring"..

... there's no such word. It's "recurring".

[femmocrat]

88. Less and fewer; who and that; applicable; integral

I can't stand when people confuse "less" and "fewer."

Also, when they say "that" when referring to a person: It should be "who," as in "I have a friend, WHO" -- not that)!

I think someone already mentioned, "between you and I" ... should be "you and me."

Two words that are frequently mispronounced are "applicable" (AP-licable, not a-PLICK-able) and

"integrel" (IN-teg-ral, not in-TEG-ral).

There are probably a million more!

[Okiojira]

89. "nuclear" pronounced "nuke-u-lar"...

...I also have a general question regarding a linguistic foible that's bugged me for quite some time: give me a minute to figure out how best to express it though,,,,

[Hosnon]

156. See my post below. nt

[Okiojira]

90. re: my previous post: OK, here goes...

...

"Not everyone can be an Olympic athlete."

"Everyone can't be an Olympic athlete."

Which is the correct sentence - that is, which of these statements is grammatically accurate & more logical? My personal gut feeling is that the first is correct; the second is not. But I'm not sure. I've heard this kind of declarative expression* many,many times over the years and it just sounds idiotic to me, but maybe I'm wrong. Can anyone help me out?

*This is my example, which is the only instance I can think of off the top of my head. If/when I think of some more, I will post it/them on this thread.

[Hosnon]

157. Self delete

[reyd reid reed]

93. Any time someone uses the word "tooken"

THERE IS NO SUCH WORD!!!

"If you had tooken it to them sooner..." GAH!

"Yesterday, when she tooken it down..." ARGH!!!!

"You'd better have tooken it back..." HEEEEEELP!!!!

I hear it alllll the time and it makes me wanna scream.

Another one that makes my teeth hurt:

"Well, I could of if I wanted to..."


Someone just shoot me.

Please.

[Stardust]

95. Him and I...have went

[begin_within]

96. "I want to learn how to be a pyrotechnic." I get that all the time.

[Jamastiene]

97. Oh, you are speaking my language. My stepdad says "irregardless"

all the time. It makes me skin crawl and my teeth itch ever time he says it. A lot of people say that. I have heard TEACHERS say it. It's a double negative and totally wrong.

[Spider Jerusalem]

100. 'Conversate' for 'converse'.

In addition to several of the others already mentioned.

[mykpart]

101. People who don't know the difference between infer and imply.

And then there's the girl I once knew who used "take" as some kind of adverb. "I'm going to take and go to the bank," "I took and put sugar in my coffee," "I took and went to the store." Our boss used to refer to her as "Ol' Take 'n went!"

And I'm fairly certain there are no such words as woken or snuck.

[nuxvomica]

103. "jibe" and "jive"

It seems a lot of people don't know there's such a word as "jibe" so they say things like "The facts don't jive." Also, "moot" is another little known word apparently, as in "Your point is mute."

[RebelOne]

105. You and I

That drives me up a tree. It's you and me.

[regularguy]

HIEGHTH?

What the f--k is "heighth"?

[RedStateShame]

107. Lay & lie/Who & whom/Prepositions at the end of questions

[grannylib]

120. OK please help me out with the "lay" and "lie"...any tips on keeping the

correct uses straight???

[RedStateShame]

153. NOBODY GETS LAID ALONE

Simple truth that we can all acknowlege, and it applies in grammar. If I take an item and place it down, I am LAYING it down. There are 2 parties involved: the item and me. Now, if I should leave, and the items stays, then it is LYING there. I'm not there, so the item must fend for itself alone. Tell any teenager that rule, and after the giggling, you will have a defeated a grammar killer.

[Rabrrrrrr]

108. Using singular verbs with data, media, curricula, criteria, etc.

And also just misusing those words.

[LaraMN]

110. "probaly" or "prolly"

:banghead:

[raccoon]

115. "Realtor" pronounced as "reelator."

"Hugh" for "huge."

[MsKandice01]

117. When people say, "So, I was at my work..."

Nooooo...you were either at your job or you were at work. You were not at YOUR work.

[tuvor]

119. It doesn't bug me, but Harding used 'normalcy' instead of 'normality'

And now it's a "real" word.

Just you wait, one day we'll all be saying 'misunderestimated'.

[kskiska]

149. Harding also invented "bloviate"

[_testify_]

122. I have a couple

slot-wall instead of slat-wall (its a retail thing)

stomping grounds instead of stamping grounds

chomping at the bit instead of champing at the bit

[ForeverWinter]

123. "Individuals" instead of "people" n/t

[trackfan]

124. i.e. for e.g. and vice versa

i.e. = id est = that is
e.g. = exempli gratia = for (the sake of)an example

[Oeditpus Rex]

126. No one seems to share mine

It's "able to," frequently heard in sports reports — as in "The Giants were able to score twice in the fifth." It's in common use now, though.

Whenever I hear that, I think, "Okay — but did they?" :shrug:

I have a theory about how this came into popular use, but I won't bore you with it.



(If anyone spots the intentional error in the post title, I'll buy 'em a beer.)

[raccoon]

136. Please, bore me with it. nt

[haf216]

129. ideal and idea

I don't know if is a Tx thing, or if people do it everywhere. (when I lived in Tx, heard it a lot.) Example: It was a really good ideal to impeach Bush. Drives me crazy!!!!

[Quantess]

130. "it's mine's"

"That's yours and this is mine's."

Is this a trend or something? It's terrible. It's so babyish.

[Orrex]

133. "Literally" when used purely for emphasis

[Orrex]

134. Should have went/should have ran/should have came

[peekaloo]

135. flustrated.

:-(

[Contrary1]

139. I have trouble knowing when to use

this: ;
instead of this: ,

I'm sure it drives some people crazy when I pick the wrong one.

[calico1]

141. Free gift.

Since when do people pay for gifts?

[Hosnon]

146. When grammar-nazis fail to realize that the English language is simply

that which English-speakers speak.

All of these "pet-peeves" can, and probably will, become legitimate words given enough time.

My friend makes fun of Bush for saying "nucular" but so many people say it. Tell me this, if an ivory-tower grammar-nazi says it is "nuclear" but 99% of English-speakers say it as Bush does, who should we listen to and which is more legitimate?

My two cents on the subject...

[BigMcLargehuge]

147. "Supposably" makes me want to smash things

my extended family uses it ALL THE TIME...

Others that enrage me -

Acrost: usage "Look at the dog acrost the street."

Bankin: usage "Hey rolled his truck over the bankin."

Same difference: usage "You said you didn't want me home late, I said I didn't want pizza for dinner. Same difference."

Slang that makes me furious -

Bling: usage "Johhny gave me some serious bling for my birthday."

Knowwhati'msaying: usage "We just came back from the movies, knowwhati'msaying, and I had popcorn"

Like (as a sentence filler) usage: "Like, we were at the super market and like I wanted to to get some sliced roast beef, but like, it wasn't, like on sale. So, like, I said, like do you have any ham on sale, and they were all like, no."

It's all good: usage "So my car smashed into the fire hydrant and broke it after I careened into the schoolbus full of seniors on their way to a gambling junket and the fire spread to a row of small independent bookstores and consumed ten million dollars worth of real estate. It's all good."

[MountainLaurel]

148. $5 Daquiri's

Urgh, it's plural people, not possessive!

[kskiska]

150. "All of the sudden" drives me nuts

"Wet" one's appetite for "whet"
"Noone" for "no one"
"Tow the line" for "toe"
"Judgement"(British spelling) for "judgment"
I'm in the South and an educated woman I know says "thee-AY-ter" for "theater"

[Hosnon]

155. I fail to see why pronouncing "theater" that way is an indication that she

is not as educated as you once thought.

I hate threads like this: Language is organic and simply exists in the form that those that use it decide. Do you really have a hard time understanding what she means when she say it that way?

[kskiska]

158. She's a friend of mine, okay?

She's just as educated as she ever was. She went to NYC and pronounced it that way and got lots of guffaws and eyerolls. Many people use regional pronounciations so as to fit in and not sound "uppity," but come off sounding like rubes when traveling to the big city. She now pronounces it correctly.

Your nasty tone is uncalled for.

[Kingofalldems]

151. I have to exscape from this thread

Sorry, I just feel thataway.

[malta blue]

152. I "pacifically" told you...

No, you were not pacified when you "specifically" told me....

GRRR

Also, my daughter's first grade teacher sent home a certificate that read
"Here Ye, Here Ye...xxx...has been selected as Student of the Week". Isn't is "Hear Ye"?

A teacher...sheesh!
:spank:

[dolo amber]

154. 'Anyways'...

I don't even know if it's technically *wrong*. I do know it grates. x(