IRRITATING words and expressions

My list of annoying words

1. I dislike almost all use of initials instead of real words, e.g., NIMBY, TNR, ROTFL, LIFO. I dislike it in newspaper articles, in letters to government agencies, in information bulletins, etc., unless it's clearly explained the first time it's used in the piece. The ones I hate absolutely the most are the casual ones like DH, DW, DS, DD, etc., commonly used on Internet message boards. (It makes the message harder to read and makes it sound less conversational and less natural.)

2. "Troop" when used to refer to one single soldier, as in "Nine troops were killed today." (Lee started a thread about this last week, I think.)

3. I hate it when people use the plural words "panini" or "cannoli" to refer to just ONE of them, or stick an "s" at the end of these plural words to make some sort of super-plural. This is just plain wrong, not just annoying. (I must never buy a panino from a place that calls it "a panini" and never buy a dozen cannoli from a place that calls it "a dozen cannolis"--so irritating!)

4. "Faboo"

5. Misuse of "lay" or "laying" when the speaker means "lie" or "lying." (Wrong, not just annoying.)

6. Misuse of "comprised of" to mean "consists of." (Also wrong, not just annoying.)

7. Using "impact" as a verb. (I realize this may have become acceptable about 30 years ago, but I still find it somewhat annoying.)

8. Shorthand like 4U, UR, 2nite, etc.

9. "Vibes," as in sending someone "good luck vibes" or "get well vibes" (I know it's well intentioned, but the overused slang annoys me.)

10. Cutesie-poo spellings like "stoopid" and "kewl" and "dawg"

11. In the Fodors travel forum context, I really hate the misuse of the word "village" to refer to small cities (especially common when people are referring to smaller cities in Italy).

It makes me uncomfortable when someone uses the word 'class' to describe someone having lack of or what constitutes.

cmt:
I know how irksome the misuse of words referring to Italian foods can be to someone who speaks Italian, unfortunately it think these are cases where "common usage" has taken precedence over proper grammar, and most of the people using the words don't speak that Langauage, so have no clue of the right usage in Italian. In exchange, there are many "Americanisms" now in common use in Italy! Che cassino!

I'm not sure why (and it's a word that has unfortunately crept into my own conversation, much to my dismay) but I am so tired of the overworked use of the word "appropriate"! It seems to drain the fun out of so many conversations and experiences!! On the Fodors forums, I find the word "Sheesh" to be irritating, also for abstract reasons. I think of it as a "lazy" word used as a catch-all.

Also the filler word "like", which i think of as a kind of aggressive cancer cell run amok in current English (American) language.

When I was a kid we had a priest who used the word "really" all the time. Sometimes twice in the same sentence.

My dad caught my sister and I counting the "reallys" during the sermon and we got in trouble.

Any teenager than says "I KNOW" with that snotty tone to their parent or an adult.

I have always hated the expression "my bad."

Also when someone starts a sentence with "Me" (ex. Me and my friend went to the store).

Also when someone says "how come" instead of "why", particularly at the beginning of a sentence.

Misuse of the word "seen".

Why do so many people who seem to be otherwise fairly intelligent continue to say, "I seen that...."

ccolor
I cringe when I hear 'seen 'used like that.

Agree with all noted above.

Dislike "rude" when used to describe behavior that someone just doesn't like, whether or not it was truly impolite. Example: Person A has been kicking Person B's seat in a theater or on a plane. Person B asks A to stop. "How RUDE!" says Person A.

Or Person A asks Person B how old she is or how much she is paid. Person B says, "I'd really rather not say." Person A says, "How RUDE!"

Also: can't get used to "went missing." Can't stand pronunciation of "suite" as "soot."

And I'm WAY outvoted here, but I was raised (by a prof. of English) to consider pronouncing the "t" in "often" as either pretentious or ignorant. Now people look at me as if I were ignorant when I don't pronounce it.

Sheesh, I must be a message board anarchist. The only thing I really have a problem with on the internet is communication police. This ain't Doctoral Thesis Land! As long as people get their bloody point across without requiring 3 re-readings, 'sall good in cyberworld.

Waaalll, hunny, talkin' dumb is shore a gud thing -- ain't it? Wouldn't want anyone to think 'mericans git n'eddicashun! Jes' nice, down'home tawkin, don't know no betta and prowd of it.

Over the top a little, soccr, but if LucieV, you are irritated by people who are irritated by language abuse, don't read this thread. Simple.

Touche, hkp!

Let me add a couple of words that are like catclaws on a black board for me:

"tasty"

"eats" as a noun (as in, "good eats"), which I see all the time here

"hubby"

The article cited deals with trendy words, not just regular grammatical errors.

But, my example is one of the latter:

I hate improper use of "proved" where it should be "proven" (happens all the time when I'm in court). Proved is the verb. Proven is the adj. Like "rotted" versus "rotten" for an apple. Whew--that was a big rant.

HKP- Not sure why you hate "tasty" but I hate "t-a-s-t-E-y" as spelled in Fergie-licious. Now a generation will think this is the proper spelling. All because the wrong spelling worked better with the song's beat.

irregardless

anyways

and when people “what happened” when they didn’t hear you (instead of excuse me or pardon?)

"Tasty" is just so overused in menus and advertisements that it's as bankrupt as "wacky" or "zany" are in describing TV comedy. When someone says that something's "tasty," I hear that they "tasted" it and have nothing very interesting to say about it.

Doesn't mean I rap someone on the nose for using the word. Just means I don't use it myself, and if I'm editing something for someone, I always ask them to come up with a more descriptive word.

You go girl - I hated it after the second time I heard it.

Don't go there. It was all right at first but now it's annoying.

I agree with the cutesy spellings like kewl, etc. I also hate it with things like Kozy Korner Kafe and the like.

I admit that I am one of those "awesome" users and I'm not going to quit. So there.

Using Duh when someone is pointing out a mistake. Especially when it is directed at me, although I will use it against myself if I've been particularly dense.

Referring to an attractive person as a "hottie." ICK ICk ICK. There are a lot of better terms to use. Using "hot" is ok, though.

Although I love most of the British terms, I really hate the word knickers for underwear.

Thank you for listening. I feel better now.

My all-time irritant for the past several years has been hearing George Bush continually pronounce "Nuclear" as Nucular". Especially because of his current position on the world stage. It drives me all the way up the wall and back down again! Grrrrrr!

I agree with most of the above and will add whatever.

Two horrible ones I'm trying to break the habit of using:

Dude

Snap or 'Oh Snap!'

Dude
awesome

Random

_______gate. ENOUGH!

Can't stand Dude AND the "F" word. I guess people that use it all the time in their conversation either think it's cool or really lack vocabulary skills. But, then, what do I know?

I'm not bothered by too much, but I used to have a boss who always said, "This after" when referring to the afternoon. "We'll meet this after with Mr. Smith." I hated that with a fiery passion usually reserved for far more heinous acts.

Among others:

Sentences structure as in 'he was like so bombed' or 'I said blah, blah, blah and he goes' (he goes meaning he said).

Newscasters (and others) who tell something that happened in the past, but use present tense.

The word 'su*ks' for something that is undesirable.

I agree and understand why someone who speaks Italian or any other language would cringe when people butcher the words, but since there are so many English speaking posters here, I would give that some slack ( which is probably an expression that makes someone else cringe)..

Personally, I find DH and SO etc , slows me down, I have to figure out what they stand for ( or perhaps I am just slow)...

The one word I really dislike, both written on chat forums or in real life, if you are over the age of 5, don't use the word YUMMY..it makes you look foolish.

Other than that, I think there are many more people here with wonderful vocabularies and I enjoy reading what they say, but then, I get a huge kick out of David from London and his British slang, I Laugh Out Loud when Sheila from Scotland says something that I have to look up
and there are people here who might be brilliant but they are rotten typers and don't care if they typo all the time.
I grew up in the South, so I don't have a problem with reading the question.."How come"...
I would get a real kick out of it if we all posted with English Accents but what is a girl to do?

Re: Rude
My son tells me that to tell someone in Japan that something they said or did was rude is a huge insult or something that would make someone very upset at the thought that they were rude.
So remember, we are not all from the same village
Thanks, Scarlett who will soon be speaking Spanish and then you will really be in trouble ...

Putting an r at the end of words that don't end in an r.

"Listen", you said that....

"Pal", I'm wondering if...
I'm not your pal if you don't know me.

I have "issues" with that.

Anything which is corporate speak or lawyer speak such as "clearly".

"on the same page".

"let's share".

And then there is the most annoying hand gesture of the early 21st century. The under 30 crowd which can not tell you about a phone call without putting their hand to their ear holding out their thumb and little finger. I don't need this ridiculous gesture to let me know they are telling me about a phone call.

**The word 'su*ks' for something that is undesirable.**

Ooh, I'm guilty of that. But usually only when I'm

hangin with my peeps. hahahaha

Incentivize and incent.

Orientate when orient is shorter and clearer.

Another vote for "my bad." Thankfully, I've only read it and don't know anyone who would say it.

Gal. I don't why that word bugs me. I think I would rather be called a broad or a dame .

I agree with the "like" and "goes". I'm trying to break my kids of that habit. "Are your pants all 'like' wrinkled, or are they wrinkled?" Another one that bugs me is "all" in teen speak, as in "I'm all 'What are you doing?', and she's all 'What do you think I'm doing?'"

The two expressions that are bothering me lately are "At the end of the day".
and "Disrespect" as a verb.

Oh, and anyone over the age of 4 that says "I have to go potty".

Then again, I'm probably guilty of some of those annoyances listed above, and for that I apologize.

aloha, I once got chewed out in front of the whole class by a university professor for saying "Orientate" but now I hear it a lot from people of all classes.

I have enjoyed many a fine meal.

Not one

"Was to die for!"

Scarlett, Yummy and Yummo make me crazy.

Toupary, I use the term 'my bad'.

1) I am sick to death of our politicians "moving forward." They rarely give an interview these days without spouting off that they're "moving forward." I take this to mean that they're not actually doing anything.

2) Our local tv station's penchant for using "t-boned" to describe car accidents. Maybe I'm out of touch, but when did t-boned become a word?

"girlfren"
"sistuh"
"that's dope"
"that's hot"
"s'up?"


discusting for disgusting(so many people do this, including my own sister)
Also when someone is talking perfect English, but when mentioning a foreign product/place they go into dialect mode.

Oh yea..."yummy" made me think of it..comefy..mostly used to describe shoes.

When we moved to the West Coast, I just couldn't get used to hearing things described as "spendy" or sneakers described as "tennies". "Spendy" still makes my teeth grate.
Here in the UK, I get somewhat annoyed by the insistent, stretched-out HiYAAA greeting the locals use...it always make me go into default ultra-American mode and respond "hey there, what's up?", a phrase I wouldn't normally use. I also don't like hearing the f-word used in practically every sentence, as many seem to do on the commuter trains I take (work/school is "f-ing boring", co-workers/clients/teachers/parents are "f-ing stupid", the latest club/CD/ringtone is "f-ing deadly" and so on)

"Sending a message" Give it a rest

"people that rode the bus" instead of "people who rode the bus"

prioritize
orientate
impact as a verb

"good post" as a reply to someone's comment, as though this were a mutual admiration society instead of an exchange of opinions. I can understand "good point," or even "excellent point," as that addresses the content or logic of someone's remark. But to say "good post" implies---to me, anyway---that we're here just writing for each other, and that we're critiqueing each other's comments for "postability." That makes Fodor's sound like much more of a waste of time than it is . . .

But I'm a well-known neurotic, so feel free to ignore my "post."

BTilke, Most people outside of the east coast laugh at tennies described as sneakers. "sneakers" is reserved for footwear worn by children (mostly girls) and in some areas would be laughed at if you went into a store and asked about sneakers for adults. LOL. I was stationed in San Antonio when I first heard a guy say sneakers. It sounded really girly to some of the guys.

I gladly raise my hand to being a rotten typist ( just never concentrated on learning that skill) and, while I care a little bit if I make some mistake in typing, and will own up to it, I usually don't have the time to go over each thing I write, so there it is. Just too busy. Like, Sheesh!

I know several writers who are also rotten typists, but somehow they manage to get through the day, bless their hearts. They have proofreaders for that purpose.

Here's another phrase used often that is irritating to overhear, because it sounds so snotty and unkind...

"Get a life".

1) I am sick to death of our politicians "moving forward." They rarely give an interview these days without spouting off that they're "moving forward." I take this to mean that they're not actually doing anything.

I take it to mean they're bad with directions. :-"

Add me to the "yummy" list. Not at all cute. The people who use it most probably just don't know any other adjectives. Hmmm... wonder if I should apologize here for "sins" I've committed(?)

I used to work with a guy who used the word(?) "fruitation" for "fruition." Not irritating, but I thought it was funny considering he was the CEO of the company.

I become deaf when I hear :"I bee axe you."

In marketing meetings I skeeve out of my skin whenever the phrase 'point person' or the word 'dynamic' is used.

24/7 - it's just too overused.

hate

"It must su#k to be you."

Yummy and yummo

and Advice Advise

and I type carelessly and don't check my own spelling.

ok, can I play even though I got disqualified earlier?

I laugh when somebody is being interviewed, and s/he responds to a question with, "That's a very good question."

Lucie,
I must say, that was a very good comment.
I was going to agree with you earlier but I was fearful of also getting shunned

The only ones I can't stand are "gone missing" and "hottie."

Gone missing? I've even read that expression in The Washington Post. Next they'll start using "ain't" again.

And hottie is so fakie. Does anyone actually say that in real life?

Lucie, I use the expression "That's a very good question" quite a bit. That is poohgirl-speak for "I don't have a clue."

I also hate "thinking outside the box." I forgot to mention "gal," but I totally agree with that poster. I hear that word a lot where I live. UGH.

And though I live in Minnesota I really dislike the phrase "uff-dah." Maybe a person has to be Scandinavian to like it....

"That's a very good question."

I responded with that comment once because it actually was a very good question. I also proceeded to give a brillant answer, lol.

Funny.

cybor: LOL

Poohgirl: yes, that's exactly what it means! Either "I don't have a clue"
or "That's one dumb question"
or "Thanks for not asking me what I thought you were going to ask me"
OR ...

"I want your vote."

Ugh -- 'hubby! That's the other side of the coin of 'the little woman'!

I also hate those lofty in-fashion pseudo-intellectual words like paradigm and methodology. If I hear paradigm-shift once more, I'm going to barf.

And in terms of teen-speak, I hate 'so I go' 'and she goes' 'and then I go'. I wish they'd both go.

On the other hand, I was in a convenience store the other day and a teenage kid came in just behind me. He asked the guy at the cash if they had car fresheners and when the guy said yes, the kid said 'Sweet'. I don't know why, but it really does sound sweet to me. Maybe because it's a word that's almost never used anymore except in terms of flavour.

My Old Lady

My Old Man

Never ever got that one.

hdm, I totally agree on the paradigm shift

and
rubric

GoT, me, too. My husband uses that expression as a joke. He's so not a slang-user, it somehow always sounds hilarious when he says it.

Using the French noun "critique" as a verb still annoys me. OK, I know this is a lost cause and I must sound like a fossil, but is it not too late to rescue the English verb "criticize"?

The other day I actually heard someone say "commentating".

S*ck is bad enough as a verb but now I hear people turning it into an adjective as in, "That was really a s*cky thing to do" Ugh.

So I wuz talkin' to "the wife"

mrlou was told in so uncertain terms before the shotgun came out that that was unnacceptable.

Howz dat for a couple without kids!

I thought of a few more:

Synergy
Boo-yah!

I'm also bothered when a man uses the term "babysitting" to describe taking care of his own children while his wife is out. A babysitter is someone you hire. You are their father!

Shortcuts and abbreviations in emails and on message boards don't bother me at all.

You don't like 'Booyah!' ? I love that!

I Like Booyah-it sounds like what it means! (But I couldn't describe the meaning- booyah means...Booyah!)
Here's another one I don't like that I've seen used on the forums:
"on" or "off" your "meds". Usually used as an insult, and sounds snide and self rightious.

Lets just go with "meds" period. Are we all ER doctors now?

I heard a newscaster -- a NEWSCASTER, for goodness sake! -- say 'communeek' instead of communique. It just makes the heart sink, doesn't it?

Lucie -- is that that famouse Rubric's Cube?

Colorway. Something is either a color or colorless, but not a colorway.

Fabrication, incorrectly used instead of the word fabric. As in: This satin fabrication is just fabluous.

Makes me grind my teeth

Common sense - that usually means behavior that the speaker thinks is correct, not necessarily the rest of the world

Politically correct - if I hear that once more, I am going to strangle someone

And any cutesy-ism (which includes almost all of Rachael Ray's speech). I prefer words to be real words.

I have never, ever heard the word 'colorway'. How is it used? What does it mean?

And speaking of cutesy words, I really don't like 'veggies'. I can deal with (and will even say 'veg', as in 'we should pick up some veg for dinner) but 'veggies' is just a little too cute for me.

hdm - colorway is used mostly by people in the fashion industry, and on shopping channels like QVC & HSN...but they use it ALL the time. Since the shopping channels are country wide, regular people started to pick up the nomenclature.

sorry- I forgot the question. Instead of saying what a lovely blue color, they would say what a lovely blue colorway...ugh, drives me crazy.

I must be odd, words don't bother me as much as it does some people.

However, the sound of some voices (pitch) can really irritate me. Rachael Ray could speak in the most intelligent manner, and she would still drive me insane.

emailed/faxed/fedexed/voicemailed (these are nouns, you dolt! they're not verbs!)

circle back (i cringed the first time my boss caught the disease. he's no longer allowed to use it in my presence and he knows it.)

that's great (reminds me of Office Space)

empower (and all variations on that theme)

shut up (say no way, not shut up, and don't slap me!)

where are we on... (i've had it in my hot little hands for 5 minutes. give me time to handle it)

let us go forth on that journey (it's project, not a trip!)

do you have any concerns/i respect your concerns (why bother, you're ignoring it all anyway)

I'm sure I'll have more when I come back from a retreat in 2 weeks!

oh, one more...my coworker just uttered...

iterate

she also over uses garner to the point where I do not ever want to hear it from anyone.

Also:
task (as a verb...it is a noun!)

What drives me crazy these days is the way some people now end a statement with an upward inflection so everything they say sounds tentative.

Are they making a statement or asking a question, I can't tell. I hear it a lot in TV these days so it's become fairly widespread.

stw, I agree. Unless we're talking about formal speaking or writing, I don't care. At the risk of getting in trouble again, I will add:

If Joe Shmo spells pronunciation as pronounciation; or if Heloise Podunkschmitz likes to use icons & acronyms; or if the kid next door uses words I don't even understand -- well ... you know ... whatEVer!

(In fact, I like the way teens talk. It's one of the things I most miss about being in the classroom.)

Lucie,

Sweet.

Of course, Lucie, of course. Or when defending a dissertation, lol.

hdm, stw:

so, you know, I go,

I'm with stw, not many of these words & expressions bother me much. I just think they are representative of the times and, much like fashion, are just recycled back in to the slang/speak of the moment.

OK, maybe "Shut UP".
My next door neighbors
son was home from college break
this past holiday and was carrying on a conversation via cell phone in the backyard. Over the fence I could hear:
"Shut Up !"
Silence
"No way ! Shut Up !"
Another silence.
"Shut up !"
and then I heard from an adjacent yard:
"I WISH YOU WOULD !!"
Silence.
Sound of next doot neighbor's sliding glass door opening and closing.
Silence.

R5

and see, I think the way they say "shut Uhhhp" (as in "you have to be kidding, right?!") is adorable, R5!

Yes, yes Lucie-THAT is how he said it !
Toooo funny !

R5

i don't like when people (probably subconsciously) try to talk like characters on seinfeld....that really disgusts me.

It was the "Friends" speak that nearly drove me crazy.

LOL, I don't worry or fret how anyone speaks or types except for people that are rude, mean and insulting. Life is to short to fuss about such nonsense. Just my two cents worth.

I hate when people use the word "hopefully" wrong which means full of hope, when they really mean "I hope".

hopefully you will get over this annoyance and live and laugh....I hope

Conversating.

<I hate when people use the word "hopefully" wrong which means full of hope, when they really mean "I hope". >

I've never heard this complaint before. Wouldn't the word "hopeful" be the proper word to use for "full of hope"?

Ha ha, beachbum, you have a point (about being bad with directions).

I used to work with someone who called cartridge paper "cartilage" paper.

Cartilage paper--I LOVE that!

My husband once referred to Camus' novel as "The Myth of Syphilis."

April--I am laughing so hard about "cartilage" paper. It reminds me of a former coworker who would say "psoriasis of the liver" rather than "cerrosis of the liver". During our safety meetings I would have to avoid eye contact with others.

Ivk--I agree about the babysitting remark. Mothers and fathers are not babysitters!

Our teens drive me crazy with "sweet", "tasty", "it's like,...." They all speak too fast, too. It makes me tired just listening to them.

"Hopefully" is a perfectly cromulent word, if used correctly as an adverb (next to a real verb).

"I waited hopefully for my husband to return."

I think the complaint above was when peolpe use the word other than as a proper adverb, "Hopefully, it will rain."

Cromulent? OMG, you are cool, jolie, I had to look that up, and I'm ashamed.

Not to be a nitpicker, but adverbs don't have to be next to the verb they're modifying. They just have to actually modify a verb.

Swiftly and quietly, we dashed through the woods.

Ugh. I should go have a drink.

LucieV - your post embiggens us all.

I HATE "Sorry 'bout that". It is always delivered in an off-hand way, and sounds so insincere.

jolie, you're my new best friend.

It irritates me to hear people say "ValentiMes" day, or "He is one yearS old".

Jolie, you are my new best friend too. That's exactly what I mean. It drives me crazy. But I am hopeful that it will soon stop!!!!

Totally, Dude.

I could care less.

From my Oxford American Dictionary:
Some object strongly to the use of hopefully as a sentence modifier, with the meaning 'it is to be hoped,' e.g., "Hopefully, all the details will be in this evening's newspapers." However, this usage is not only common but long-established in English, as are similar uses of other sentence-modifying adverbs, such as regrettably, unfortunately, and frankly.

Hopefully, all will realize that LucieV had the correct explanation and the proper usage.

I had to laugh at the article: my husband HATES the word "chipotle"... it drives him nuts.

There were many words and phrases already listed that I don't like to hear, but not mentioned were

bestest friends (ugh)

and my all time least favorite word:
Panties
Hearing panties used regularly instead of underpants or underwear is just creepy.

and I guess I don't like "tighty whities" either

I have heard one stupid person refer to someone as "a hottie" and it served to further prove that the poor thing was a moron. What made it worse was that she was talking about a man that was, in my opinion, a slimey bucket of crud.

"you people"

I am getting tired of hearing
"at the end of the day"

and that something is "brand new" -
if something isn't new, isn't it used?
So is brand new somehow newer than new?

"Monetize" is big in my office right now. Ugh.

But the one that really gets to me is "persons." Is there something wrong with "people," people?

Whatever happened to saying "you are welcome" when someone says: Thank you.
Now it goes something like this: Thank you and the reply is "uh huh" said in a kind of sing song way. Is it that difficult to say "you're welcome". Would someone please explain this to me because I find it most irritating!

This is a very interesting thread, IMO, I think the use of language is fascinating, and has become more important as cultures merge. Who knew how many buttons we all secretly push with each other with our daily chatter? So many misunderstandings can happen because of the way words are used.

I remember a few years ago there was an amazing documentary on public television on the development of the English language, but can't remember the name of it. The point was made that sometimes insults might be nothing more than poorly understood compliments.

thanks for bringing up this subject, cmt!
Sometimes I think, if we could all learn Arabic...

JaneRebecca,
That uh huh thing, is a purely American language tic. We go back and forth from the US to Canada all the time. In Canada, it's 'you're welcome'; in the US, 'uh huh'. I joke that you could blindfold me and make me talk to a waiter and I'd be able to tell you what country I'm in.

'Brand new'? Well, how about 'pre-planning'. Ever so much more efficient that than 'post-planning' (i.e. too late). Planning is always pre/

And thank heavens I've been using 'hopefully' correctly. I was terrified that the grammar police were going to come and take me away.

I believe that I've used "hopefully" incorrectly in the past, but hopefully, I'll get it right in the future. (heehee)

escargot, I think brand new can be a useful distinction between "just out of the box" new and "I've used it a few times but I still consider it new" new.

LucieV, I agree "that's a very good question" is irratating and pandering.

Poohgirl, "uf-dah" is very common in Minnesota amongst old people and I have heard it all of my life. I refuse to use it because it screems old. For those who don't know what it means or where it came from it is a Norweigian word meaning "Oh My" and almost every old lady in Minnesota uses the word. The next generation shortened it to Uf. I even had a friend in college from Georgia who picked up that word and he did not know how myself and others hated it.

Off-dahed all my life!

>>>>>
That uh huh thing, is a purely American language tic.
In Canada, it's 'you're welcome'; in the US, 'uh huh'.
>>>>>

we don't usually say 'you're welcome' here in england either. it's 'that's OK'...often shorted or said so fast that it comes out to be just 'OK'.

i think that's about equivalent to 'uh-huh'. so you're not alone.

I'd take "o.k" over "uh-huh", any day. It's not perfect but it feels more acknowledging of the person saying "Thank you" then "Uh Huh" which kind of rhymes with "duh".

For me uh huh indicates the "I'd rather be doing something else then this stupid job" attitude. Sorry I'm so grumpy about this!! I guess I'm truly irritated!

Here on the west of Canada we get "no problem" more than "you're welcome." My husband always wants to say, "Well, was there supposed to be a problem?"

Don't know if this one has been mentioned but another irksome phrase is "at this point in time."

Oh dear, I think I've been using hopefully in the wrong way.

"Pandering"? LOL.

I think some people irritate very easily.

'vintage' (except for wine)

'fusion' (used with any kinds of 'cuisine', which is another pretentious word)

'foodie'

When something's great my son says "sick". Dude, I'm sick of it!

LOL @ hdm. I am a CPA and I regularly attend seminars entitled 'Post-Mortem Tax Planning.' (But I do agree that 'pre' is 99% redundant when used with the word 'planning'.)

And the 'no problem' gets to me too, especially when it is uttered by someone who is being paid to help me as in a retail store. No Problem? Well, it is a given that accepting my money for a purchase is not a problem, but a job he/she is being paid for. A more civil response: 'You're welcome. We appreciate your business.'

Here's another one: when I say "I don't like something" and you say "So don't I".

SharonG, I think that's kind of endearing. Like when I tell my husband I love him and he says, "Me, too."

At least his response to the "I love you" comment isn't "ditto."

As irritating as most of you find words to be, it would be difficult to speak with any of you without just irritating the "crapola" out of you!

Monies.

The monies raised will be donated to Hurricane Katrina relief.

What's wrong with money? The money raised will be donated to Hurricane Katrina relief.

I thought money was like cattle, both single and plural.

iceeu2, that's why I get uncomfortable with these threads (even though, yes, I couldn't resist sticking my nose in!) It makes me feel like we're all tying each other's hands! I mean, if I were to avoid every objection here, I'd be limited to about 6 boring words. Acceptable, maybe, but not very much fun.

HAH!! My late husband often said "ditto" when he was told "I love you"..and it is a favorite saying in our family even among the grandson's. A term we treasure "Ditto!"

Good grief, after reading this thread I rather feel like I do not want to ever again post on Fodor's, lol. I am sure I irritate and annoy almost everyone.

I'm with you LoveItaly!!!!

The young women in my office are always talking about "the girls." Some of them have names for each breast...it seems inelegant and crass to me...or am I just old? I'm only 40 : (

LoveItaly;
I am sure that you don't irritate anybody here! You are fabulous.

But please let me add one more:
Our fearless leader in the White House likes to use the term that he has clearly made up: "mis-underestimated"!!!!! Classic W.

"emailed/faxed/fedexed/voicemailed (these are nouns, you dolt! they're not verbs!)"

But nouns become verbs all the time:
House ~ Housed
Box ~ Boxed
Comb ~ Combed

I personally hate "Where's it at?" Just say "Where is it?"

SusanM, good point about the noun -> verb. Not only that, both 'fax' and 'e-mail' are in the dictionary as verbs (as well as nouns.)

I don't mind the noun/verb thing, but who can trust the dictionary anymore? Orientating is in there.

yeah, but I just looked it up, hdm, and its definition is much less "fuzzy" than the one I think people are complaining about. It is defined as "to face or turn towards the East." That I can live with.

but what was wrong with orienting meaning to face or turn towards the east?

Because, "orienting" (as I understand it), has more to do with getting your bearings, becoming accustomed to something.

He's oriented to the unusual symbols in Cantonese.

He's orientated the plane on the way to Taiwan.

I think, anyway.

Nah, I just think one of those 'orientated' people finally got themselves a job in the editorial department of a dictionary publisher.

When I studied art history, we were taught that churches were oriented, not orientated.

Actually there is one expression that irritates me which is "we're pregnant". OK, let the man carry and deliver the baby

And my all time least favourite:
"Checkitout"

Plus, nobody ever says "Disorientated." (At least I hope they don't!)

"girlfren"
"sistuh"
"that's dope"
"s'up?"

These expressions only irritate me when used by a bunch of white kids or young suburbanite kids...

I love the way pidgin in Hawaii sounds, whether it's spoken by a 10 yr old surfer, a busboy, or hey, even the former governor...

The mush word "y'knowwha'msayin" when it's used more than three times in a brief sentence (or at the beginning and end of sentences, whoever uses it. It tends to completely destroy the intended meaning of an otherwise good sentence within seconds. I can accept the word itself as current slang, but when it multiplies ad infinitum, it's hard to keep listening.

"White" when used to describe Caucasians.
After all, we don't use "Black", "Red", or "Yellow", so why should we have to use "white" in official documents? I've started crossing it out when I see it listed on offical forms and writing in "Causasian".

bellastar,
what kind of official documents are you talking about? If they don't say 'black', what do they say.

And speaking of this, when (and why) did Oriental become wrong and Asian become right? Because a lot of 'oriental' people I know were born in North American and have never even been to Asia.

>>>>>>
Plus, nobody ever says "Disorientated." (At least I hope they don't!)
>>>>>>

oh yes they do! it is VERY common in british english. ...as is orientated. american english tends to use oriented whilst in britain orientated (and disorientated) is most common.

I could think of several, but I’ll focus on one. Thank you, Bellastart, for pointing out:

Also the filler word "like", which I think of as a kind of aggressive cancer cell run amok in current English (American) language.

I’ll accept all other annoying expressions in exchange for every other word not being "like." I have a friend that listening to her talk is getting mightily irritating to the ears:

I got home at like 6:00 and we decided to have like a quick dinner so we could like see a movie that started at like 7:00.

"Deb, stop saying LIKE!"

hdm,
In several forms I had to fill out at my last job,
the List reads:
African American; Native American; Hispanic; and "White".
Also at the DMV and on unemployment forms, "White is used.

Oh, right. So I guess the 'white' category similar to African Americans would be European Americans.

Can I go back in time and slap that professor who chewed me out for saying 'orientated'? LOL He also got on my back for saying chimeny which I know is wrong but lots of people say it that way. Now I call it a chimney.

Well, if your friends had never been to Asia had they ever been to the Orient? Oriental now seems to refer primarily to objects and artifacts -- rugs, vases, and noodles -- not people.

The reference started shifting to Asian (mostly on the W Coast) during the early 1970s, becoming more widespread after Edward's Said's publication of Orientalism which I think he wrote in 1978. (good book, BTW)

Black is still used, particularly when we're not talking about a U.S. context where "African American" doesn't make any sense. Black diaspora, for instance.

White is also widely used (and it doesn't bother me at all) although I don't know the anthropological history of the term Caucasian. (White people used to call themselves Ango-Saxons but I think that was to shut out Italians and Eastern Europeans) S. Asians are technically Caucasian -- a case went to the U.S. Supreme Court in the early 20th century arguing that anti-Asian legislation didn't apply to an Indian guy since he was technically Caucasian. The court stated that while he might be Caucasian, he clearly would not be recognized by the casual observer as white.

Sorry, getting off topic.

The word "white" doesn't bother me, but when it's used in an official context in American Government Documents, it does. hdm, you're right. I suppose European-American might work, but all Caucasians aren't necessary from Europe

Jorr, I am sorry I brought up your bad memory with the rude professor! My dislike of 'orientate' comes mainly from my former place of employment, where it was used constantly by people I considered idiots. If I had heard it over and over from people I thought well of, I probably would have accepted it better. Interesting that the word is more common in Britain.

Also interesting to see the variety of words/phrases considered annoying. Some I do not even notice in speech, probably because they are so common, but do notice in print, like lie/lay.

And for those who think this is a "silly subject" or "Nonsense", there's a interesting article in The "Weel in Review" section of the NY Times all about use of the word "articulate" and how it sounds very offensive to many African-Americans". Apparently Joseph Biden used both "clean" and "articulate", and made a double gaff!. News to me!
Politics aside, I truly wish someone in the African_American community would write a comprehensive overview of which common English words are acceptable as descriptors, and which are not, so everyone can attempt to keep on top of this communications problem.

I hate, no loathe, the term "African American".

I am Jamaican. I have never been to Africa. I have no intention of ever living in Africa. I am therefore not an African.

Why can't you just be an American? Why does it have to be African American?

"I hate, no loathe, the term "African American".

I am Jamaican. I have never been to Africa. I have no intention of ever living in Africa. I am therefore not an African."

Then this term does not apply to you. Feel free to politely correct anyone who refers to you as "African-American."

Hi JAGirl,
Thanks! I would LOVE that. We can all just be Americans, I agree!
I think the term "African-American" originated because other terms were thought to be offensive, and I remember at some point being told that we had to use it! It's now used in alot of official documents to break things out into various ethnic sectors, so you've taught me something I didn't know, that it's loathesome to some people.

Because my Black students and colleagues are pulled over by the police, have a lower chance of getting home loan approval, and are followed by security guards and store owners because they're Black -- desipte the fact that they're American.

vjpb, thanks for the gentle useless reminder, but I already know I'm not African or American.

fishee, does changing "Black" to "African" increase their chances of not being pulled over by the police, of getting home loan approval, and of not being followed by security guards and store owners ?

I'm responding to the notion that everyone should just identify as "American" when clearly, not all Americans are treated equally.

Pretending to be color-blind ("we're all part of the human race, etc") when the social structure is still NOT color blind perpetuates inequality. For instance, calling the majority of prisoners in the U.S. "American," would obscure the fact that the vast majority are Black and Latino - hence legitimating the idea that there's nothing wrong with the current system, that it plays equally for everyone, etc.

>>>>>
Oriental now seems to refer primarily to objects and artifacts -- rugs, vases, and noodles -- not people.
>>>>>

well it depends where you are. the common usage of 'asian' in britain will typically mean pakistani, indian, etc. 'oriental' will mean chinese, vietnamese, etc (i.e. east asian). and that includes people, not just objects.

it's clear on this thread that many see things wrong or annoying because they are not the way that THEY say them (eg the perfectly correct word 'orientate'). maybe we need to broaden our minds because we can look silly criticising things that are different but correct.

i know that this thread is about what is irritating, not what is wrong but the discussion has gone into right and wrong...albeit incorrectly.

fishee, I agree with the fact that we ought not to be colour blind.I've never understood that nonsense statement, "I do not see colour when I look at you."

My point though is that if someone asks me what my nationality is, I don't see the point of saying, I'm "African Jamaican".

Anyway...to each his own.

Heard another one last night: "re-al-i-tor" for "real-tor."

"I suppose European-American might work, but all Caucasians aren't necessary from Europe"

Absolutely, Bellestar, and vjbplovesitaly makes my point exactly -- not all Blacks are from Africa.

hdm, true, and believe me, the term African-American isn't something I would have plug into the system-Not even sure who dreamt it up!

I have a friend that says that when people say "there you go" they are basicaly saying "I dont give a $%^*"

I see your point Jagirl, but I thought the majority population in Jamaica is Black -- so there isn't a compelling need to underscore race in that national context.

If Jamaica were a large settler colony and those majority white settlers simply referred to themselves as Jamaican, it's likely that Black Jamaicans might articulate a distinct identity.

<I suppose European-American might work, but all Caucasians aren't necessary from Europe>

And not all European-Americans are white. Just as not all African Americans are black. The more precise one tries to make the labels the more pointless they become, IMO.

There seems to be some slippage in this conversation about nationality and race.

Of course there are people of multiple races in all nations now. However, many people may not consider the children of W. African immigrants to be French even though that is their legal citizenship -- that would be due to racism. O.K. -- I'll stop now.

Weasel. True. Some of the Labels do seem pointless.

I'm back to the earlier simple statement that I am personally irritated by the use or the word "White" in the context of the other listed on offical government documents.

Some interesting ideas here. Does anyone have alternative suggestions for terms used in that type of official list?

bellastar -- I have a genuine question... Do you feel it's stigmatizing to be considered white -- is that why you find it irritating or is it literally the word itelf that bothers you?

Can I interrupt and answer that question, I mean for me, not for bella?

For me, I resent having to check "white" because I don't identify with what I think of as white. "White" for me connotes WASP, which I am decidedly not.

OK, pickypicky, but that's how I feel. Especially because, growing up in a very WASP-y community with parents who were Jewish and Italian, I always felt slightly "different." (It wasn't until years later that one of my waspy friends confessed to me how much she had always envied the "exoticness" of my family -- which was news to me!)

>>>>>
"girlfren"
"sistuh"
"that's dope"
"s'up?"

These expressions only irritate me when used by a bunch of white kids or young suburbanite kids...
>>>>>>>


yeah, next thing you know, poor inner-city black kids will be playing tennis and squash and behaving like white suburban kids. or saying 'dude' or other 'white' phrases.

kids are kids and they talk with the vernacular of popular culture (much of this culture is shared between black and white kids). your desire to enforce separation between black/white and city/ suburban talk is strange and divisive along racial and class lines.

why is it ok for some races and not for others? does it just belong in the ghetto? strange views from someone wanting to appear so racially sensitive. kids sharing experiences (no matter how superficial) opens the door to harmony...labelling behaviours or speech as 'black' or 'white' causes division.

there is absolutely nothing wrong with blacks contributing to and influencing the overall youth culture that is common to all young people.

I totally agree, walkinaround. Well-said.

I guess that I feel resentful that the sharing and exchange seems to be uni-directional and only in the sphere of culture.

Black urban culture flows to the suburbs but suburban tax dollars don't flow to inner city public schools. It sometimes strikes me as deeply unfair.

Yes, I feel it is a misused word, a stigma, and a stereotype, for the same reasons the other color words were dropped from official lists and replaced by terms that don't contain unnecessary references to skin color.

And I agree with Lucy, in my personal experience, it seems to be connected to "WASP" which subjects a
"white" person to all kinds of assumptions that usually have little or no basis in reality.

Interesting discussion.

fishee : If Jamaica were a large settler colony and those majority white settlers simply referred to themselves as Jamaican, it's likely that Black Jamaicans might articulate a distinct identity.


fishee, I take your point, but actually, I've never heard a Chinese Jamaican or a white Jamaican or an Indian Jamaican say they are anything but Jamaican.

You will hear the term, "Indian Community" or "Chinese Community" in Jamaica, but if asked they'll just say they're Jamaican.

bellastar : Does anyone have alternative suggestions for terms used in that type of official list? I have no problem with "black", "white" or "other/mixed". I mean I doubt they'd be able to fit my description on a form :Irish-Chinese-German-Indian-Jewish-African.

I ONCE LIKED THIS THREAD

lol, sistahlou!

fishee, I see your point, I really do, and I don't disagree. I'm just not sure that we encourage a two-way street by blocking one way.

An interesting fact - the first form of popular culture in the United States was minstrelsy.

I just don't think the national fascination with black culture (minstrelsy, blues, jazz, hip hop, etc.) is leading to heightened racial awareness or harmony. There's a pattern here that goes back over 170 years and it doesn't indicate reciprocity.

But thanks Lucie, I think you're probably the most diplomatic poster on this board. I've actually paid attention to how you do this because it would be a useful skill for me to develop.

Well, I, for one, hope you're wrong, fishee -- about reciprocity. Because as far as I'm concerned, American culture owes its heart and soul to blacks/African Americans/Negroes/ancestors of slaves/whatever-the-*** you want to call them.

And thanks for the compliment, but I have to laugh. I'm about as obnoxiously opinionated as a person can get.

JAGirl:
LOL!

Lucie, I totally agree - this nation's identity is completely founded on Black culture but this hasn't meant very good things for Black persons.

The relatively recent changes in this country towards civil rights were the result of hundreds of thousands of people (including some whites) who put their lives on the line to fight for social change -- it wasn't because the nation was avidly consuming Black cultural production.

I've actually paid attention to how you do this because it would be a useful skill for me to develop

fishee, I think we're all doing well on this thread. Look how nice you and I have been in disagreeing with each other!

bellastarr, yup. We Jamaicans are one mixed up bunch. Hence our country motto : "Out of many, one people"

JAGirl,
I'll sign off here by using the beautiful way a Jamaican woman I used to work with would sign all of her correspondence, both personal and professional (I don't think she'd mind-)

One love,
Bellastarr

PS fishee,
Off topic, but Michael Schwerner was our neighbor when I was growing up, his family lived about a block away.

bella, that's amazing. I don't pretend to be an expert about that incident, but Mississippi Burning did a great job bringing it to life.

Lucie, yes the Movie brought that awful story back to the surface...alot of people put their lives on the line, and ended up losing them in the process. But there's the context of what went before- for Blacks who were fighting for change.
And looking back ideas of right and wrong seemed so clear back then at least to those of us that were growing up or in high school. His death definitely affected us in a big way.

The word I dislike the most is actually not a word -- "alot"

It is "a lot" -- 2 words!

oops sorry- consider me edited, and thanks!

Celiaanne, I don't care if the person waiting on me in Baskin Robbins gives me alot of ice cream or a lot of ice cream. Just as long as it's a really big scoop.

My apologies to bellastar. I didn't realize your post just above mine had the "irritating word" in it. I really need to start using the "preview my reply" -- sorry about that!

True, LucieV, true.

It's OK C, now thanks to Lucie all I can think about is Ice Cream, and how there is none in my freezer tonight! Dang!

I hate like when people sprinkle the word like in something they are like trying to explain.

I have a half gallon of Edy's (not my favorite, but on sale) Chocolate/Cherry Chip and Double Fudge Brownie, so I'm good to go!!

Somebody like offering to do like an ice cream run?

Don't forget me, please. Chocolate and peanut butter or rocky road. Or a scoop of each, please.

Cup or cone, hdm?

panting sounds....Cherry Garcia or Choc Mint Chip.
I hate you Lucie! (just kidding..)

Oh great big waffle cone, fer shur, Lucie! So the ice cream in the cone can get all nice and melty.

OK, rocky road, chocolate and pb on a waffle cone for hdm; cherry garcia & choc. mint chip for bella; coffee heath bar crunch and pralines & cream for me; chocolate cherry chip & double fudge brownie for celiaanne. Anybody else before I make the run?

Well, the topic is irritating words and somehow, race issues, so:

I absolutely hate it when we say that my DD's dog is a Causcasian Mountain Dog, and someone sniggers. Like Beavis and Butthead.

LucieV: I come from the same ethnic mix as you, but we lived amongst Italians and were raised as Catholics. Jewish friends of my parents came tp visit, I guess I was about 10 years old, bringing their little son. I took him in my room where I had a May altar all set up, fresh flowers and everything. The little boy saw this and said, "Are you a gentile?"

I said, "No, I'm a Catholic."

Of course it was innocent on my part. We ate Jewish food, but that was about as much of that culture as I was familiar with.

Well I am "white" but certainly not WASP as that means white anglo saxon Protestant as I was raised Catholic. I hate titles..I love people, good and honest people no matter what color their skin is, no matter what their background is, no matter what their religion or lack of is. Even, gasp, what their political or sexual preferance is again as long as they are good and honest people.

Back to the topic

I can't stand the cutsie DH,DS,DD that gets used here. Pass the puke bag.

I also hate the word 'ignorant' being used in the sense of 'ill-mannered' rather than 'lacking in knowledge'.

It bothers me to read the word myriad used as a noun ("a myriad of ____"). Myriad is an adjective ("myriad types of _______"). I see this everywhere.

I should have looked confirmed that comment before I posted. It looks like myriad can be used as a noun. Oh well, I still don't like it.

nona1-
I'll admit I have a similar reaction to the DD, DH, DS, SIL, DIL, etc that's used here, even though it's accepted shorthand on Fodor's. ick. But I don't think it's going away any time soon!

I always thought myriad was a noun and didn't even need an indefinite article. So you would be right to say 'myriad of opportunities' but not 'a myriad of opportunities'. I'm not entirely sure about that though. My big dictionary says it's an adjective as well.

Awesome...the fab, the groovy, the bee's knees of this generation. Unfortunately, some people who should be old enough to know better, use it. Perhaps they are trying to appear youthful...all I know is that in the 60's, when someone not a Baby Boomer used the word "groovy", we all thought they were as*es. Note: the Sistine Chapel is awesome, the new fashion in jeans is not.

"Myriad" was a noun "first" -- similar to "triad" or "dyad." At one time, the proper form of it as an adjective was "myriadic" but -- much like "ironical," the last letters got dropped. "Ironical" was the base for "ironically," but now "ironical" sounds stupid to most ears.

Well, maybe "ironical" doesn't sound stupid to most , but "ironic" is preferred in many (American) style guidelines.

Up here in a certain part of the Northeast, the weathermen have the most irritating phrase "on the overnight". It used to be just one weatherman on one station, only in the morning--easy enough to switch to another station. Now after just a couple of years, they ALL say it. "The weather on the overnight..." grrrrr! A local bank started their new ad campaign with a slogan that says, "if you're paying high ATM fees at another bank, You've been Hosed!" I wrote to them and asked them if they had fired their ad agency and hired a 13 yr old boy to write their ads, just to save some money! Like the term "sucks"--no one seems to remember the original context.

I am enjoying this thread because I am equally irritated at many of the expressions that others have written.

My least favorite word right now is "amazing." In fact, I have completely eliminated it from my vocabulary. Everything is amazing. I hated it way before Tom Cruise described Katie Holmes as amazing. What does that mean? Does she do magic?

Amazing experience. What does that mean? Good? Bad? What?

This thread is amazing.

If not amazing, definitely revelatory.

Now, everybody in unison:
I hate the word 'revelatory.'

Heard a new one on me last night at the Souper Bowl, when they said a pass was "recepted." (As opposed to "received"?)

Funny you should mention that, Lucie. I was at a gospel brunch yesterday and one of the songs was about the Book of Revelations and 'John the Revalator'. I thought it was odd when I heard that!

A gospel brunch? Sounds cool. amazing. awesome. sweet. good.

It was, uh, revelatory.

I don't get the expression "understated elegance." Isn't elegance understated by definition - the opposite of gaudy or overblown?

Budman just reminded me:

guesstimate -- UGH! makes me run screaming from the room!

Was John, the Revelator any relation to George, the "Decider"?

be careful, clarasong. This thread could get deleted.

Did you hear John Edwards on Meet the Press yesterday?
President Bush, you described yourself as "the decider." I have news for you. The American people are the real "deciders," Mr. President. And they are saying, "You have had your chance."

electorial

foilage

isn't that the stuff you cook baked potatoes in, hdm?

Irritating words and espressions....Hmmmmm. Well, if you have never watched Rachael Ray on Food TV Network Show and see her "chop" (pardon the pun) up the English language, it is really something to hear. This woman's vocabulary is quite something to hear. NOT.
Francie

EVO

EVOO

RR says "sammies" for sandwiches. It is as though she ran her fingernails over a chalkboard.

This is a good thread, the occasional diversion notwithstanding. Seems most of us love a chance to vent about the things we find irritating. Here's my short list:

---'just between you and I.' And in the same vein, 'Can you join Paul and I for dinner?' Yikes !

---sort of the opposite side of that coin: the misuse of 'whom.' An example is found in this auto-reply I received back from a tech support email request: 'if we don't reply promptly to your message, feel free to call our hotline and speak with WHOMEVER answers.' Good grief.

---Here's one that doesn't yet irritate me, but it's interesting. I'm just beginning to notice it cropping up on the MB: dilemna, for dilemma.

---And last--but definitely not least irritating--the use of the apostrophe to pluralize common nouns. ('we used 2 different camera's on this trip') It's surprising how often one sees this error. Susan Truss cites some doozies in her wonderful book Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Very cathartic, as is this thread !

re: Eats, Shoots & Leaves.

How irritating that I screwed up Lynne Truss' name, for it is she, not Susan Truss, who wrote that terrific book. My apologies.

I give that book as a gift, to anyone and everyone. I used to go on the website "The Underground Grammarian" for fun.

If you can find it, William Safire's 'Fumble Rules' is fun too.

My fav gov just said "I'd like for you..."eeeeoooouuuuuu...I hate that..

"Where's is at?" Yikes!

and another... "fir" for "for"!

and another...'yer' for 'your'. I hear myself saying it all the time and it sounds awful to me.

fishee, when I moved to San Antonio years ago I found out I was not white. I and everyone who looked like me was "Anglo"!

"jist" for "just"

Our county library sends, via e-mail, a "friendly reminder" the day BEFORE a book is due. In my experience, a "friendly reminder" usually is not.

There is a woman at work who is constantly saying "Ginormous".
*shudder*

NOCD

lawchick, I have no idea what that means. I bet if I did though it would irritate me.

Not our class dear

Follow-up to this topic--

There's an article today about teachers' struggle to get students out of the habit of using Internet and text-messaging slang and abbreviations in their regular writing.

http://www.nj.com/timesoftrenton/stories/index.ssf?/base/living-0/117134323696840.xml&coll=5

Where I live it is NOKD (not our kind, darling)

I hate it when someone that I barely know calls me sweetie or hon. Don't even like it when it's someone that I know!!

And shrimps really irks me.

You know, I've been thinking hard, you know, and try as I might, you know, I can't think of an overused expression that annoys me. You know?

My top 4 are all pronunciation issues.

As a voracious reader, my visual vocabulary is often more extensive than that spoken, so I can appreciate people getting the odd seldom-used word wrong. But these are sooo often mis-spoken that people should know better.

One of my favorite ex-bosses was the most brilliant and able young man I'd ever met but he mis-used each and every one of these:

1. "priorize" instead of "prioritize" to mean to put things in a priority order. I would think that "priorize" means to make a prior out of a novitiate (don't even think about "pryorize"!!!)

2. "hiarchy" instead of "hierarchy". What the heck is a hiarchy?

3. The ever-popular "nuk-u-lar" instead of nuclear. Hear it from newscasters all the time!!!???

And my all time personal best -

4. People who make a "mute" point instead of a "moot" one. I wish they would.

Sarahbee, I must say those are some good ones. But any comedy by Richard Prior could be said to be "priorized". And if you've ever been to Paris and walked through the Arc di Triomphe then you must know that's a pretty "hiarchy". But shame on you for making fun of our President. The rest of them I'll remain mute on.

How about "could of" and "would of" Patrick?

"at this point in time"...the word is NOW.

"hiarchy" heehee, Patrick.

Irredgardless.

Here's one I've never liked. I heard it again yesterday evening.
Whe a supervisor says to an employee, "I want to you do (whatever) for me. Last night, the manager of a movie theater said to a young worker "Have someone mop the lobby floor for me, and hurry up."
I dislike almost as much as the term "lil' lady" which is a close second to: "Don't worry yourself about it."

Well I dispise the term "you people" for some reason. We use to have a partner in our business who always addressed the employees that way..it always sounded so rude. Thankfully the partnership was broken up. He didn't get a "going away party".

Hmmm. Guess you people showed him, didn't you?
LOL

Someone's on a roll . . .

Neo

Are you three talking to me??
Yes we did "show him". He ended up being a crook and was bounced out without a cent. He had no respect for anyone and consequently lost everyone and everything in his life because of it. He could have ended up with a jail term if we had pursed the matter.

This will get confusing I am sure lol but Love, if you mean me as part of the 3, then no.
I was laughing at the way Neo is making jokes with words..

"Valentime"

Me too, Love. I was just appreciating Patrick's comment, not dissing yours!

OK dear ones, I "got it", lol. I was a bit dense last night obviously.

Gee, I'm accused often of being unclear, but rarely of being too subtle! LOL, Loveitaly. Now put the wine down and step away slowly!

Lifes2short,

"---Here's one that doesn't yet irritate me, but it's interesting. I'm just beginning to notice it cropping up on the MB: dilemna, for dilemma."

I noticed your post because this has interested me for some time. Quite a few years ago, I questioned the spelling of "dilemma" and checked with my husband about how he thought it should be spelled. I told him I was certain I had learned "dilemna," and he replied that he remembered being taught the same thing.

Now, we are the same age (early 60s), but we went to different schools. So, I'm wondering if that is an "old" spelling of the word.

Anyone else?

Google "spelling of dilemna" and you will get quite an interesting assortment of hits. You are not alone. There are hundreds of people who insist they were taught it that way, yet no one seems to be able to find a reliable dictionary or other source to show it as ever being correct. Go figure.

Patrick, Thank you! I was beginning to think I was crazy!

Interesting Celiaanne. I pulled out my current dictionary and it shows the word spelled as dilemma. I than took out my late father-in-laws dictionary, Webster's New International Dictionary Second Edition. It was copywrited 1939 and printed 1944. It too shows the spelling as dilemma. I checked my Roget's Thesaurus and it also only shows the word spelled as dilemma.

Is there any chance that dilemna is perhaps the English (GB) spelling of this word by chance? Just a thought.

No!

Its usually a typo - or people have been taught wrong.

One OED entry


OED - "b. Logic. horned syllogism (argument, etc.): the dilemma.
1548 Horned question [see horn n. 27]. 1551 T. Wilson Logike (1580)
34b, Dilemna, otherwise+called a horned argument."

It's crazy that we both thought the same thing.... I wonder where it came from.

Thanks for the info.

I was enjoying reading this with no intention of responding. Then a group of students walked by my office and I heard one say "I totally get the assignment now!"

You have just experienced a traumatic event and someone says "Its God's will". To me it sounds like "I can't think of anything to say about this so I will just preach at you".

"I have no clue" really irritates me. And it drive me mad when someone wants to AXE me a question.

I have a ginormous zit on my chin.

Jorr, re 'it's God's will', I always think that it's incredibly presumptuous that somebody actually thinks they know God's will.

Also (and please understand that I'm not trying to offend anyone here), I don't like it when people say they're going to pray for me. My feeling is that if you want to pray for me, please feel free to go ahead and do so, but if it's going to work, it's going to work without you telling me about it.

Apologies all 'round, if I've offended anyone -- I sincerely didn't mean to.

No apologies needed, hdm, and likewise no offense intended. But I'm curious why you would discuss a personal problem or divulge details of your life that would elicit that response, if you knew the person was Christian. Some see it as their duty to pray for you, so if you stand before them, revealing yourself in need of prayer. . . . best keep it to yourself if you don't want that response.

Hi kswl
When I talk to my friends about my personal circumstances or concerns, it's not because I feel the need for prayer, it's because I feel the need for their support, ideas, sympathy or empathy, etc. The fact that I'm not a believer precludes the need for prayer for me.

I'm not talking about opening myself up to just anybody, but I would certainly talk to my closest friends about my personal life or they may know about an illness in my family (or myself) or some other circumstance where they, as Christians, think prayer might help. I'm certainly not opposed to them praying if that's what they want to do or if they feel it's their duty, I just don't like them to tell me about it.

Okay. But bear in mind that your friends and family are not psychic. How are they to know that you don't want them to say anything about it?

(On a lighter note, I am picturing you with a button ---made in a badge-a-minit machine---that says,

Pray For Me...
Just Don't Tell Me
About It!

Well, it's only one friend who was in the habit of saying it and we talked about it. She didn't seem to mind. I've adjusted my speech habits for her too, at her request, by no longer taking her Lord's name in vain. It sure cuts down on my swearing vocabulary, though!

A button would be nice but it would have to say:

Pray for me if you want to.
Just don't tell me about it!

Sounds like you have a good relationship with her.

You know, the button idea reminds me of a priest we had in St. Louis who did not like all the hugging (or even handshaking) at the passing of the Peace. He thought people should just regally incline their heads towards each other and smile in acknowledgement. One of the other priests kept threatening to get him a t-shirt with this on it:

PLEASE, DO NOT PASS THE PEACE WITH ME!

So even "church people" have different opinions about such things, obviously. It must have been such a trial for the poor Fr. to have to endure all those enthusiastic, if too intimate, hugs!

Re, "Where is it at?"

the answer is always the same: "Behind the preposition 'at'."

NeoPatrick,

"Irregardless" is also a good one!

And how about "I could care less!"? Huh? What does that mean?

Keep going, your almost there!

LOL, I guess the comment "I could care less" means the person could care less if they wanted to give the situation a good deal of thought but since they "could not care less" they don't want to bother thinking anymore about the situation?

Loveitaly - now you're making my head hurt trying to wrap it around that! LOL!

I say "I couldn't care less", which means that my lack of interest is absolute - "I really could not be less interested". To me, "I could care less" seems to mean something else entirely. Actually "I could care less" sounds like it was started by Sam Goldwyn, of "a verbal contract isn't worth the poaper it's written on" fame.

I know the topic of misspelled place names has been done to death on Fodors, and after being verbally lashed for being a pedant (more than once) I embarked on a self-improvement course aimed at reducing my irritation levels.

Now I take a deep breath, fill myself full of the milk of human kindness and think charitably that the offender has probably just started his or her planning and is bound to be tripped up by the odd name.

This works until I see a TRIP REPORT containing misspellings of places the writer has just visited. A report on the Cinque "Terra", for example, or a report on a visit to this part of the world in which the intrepid traveller has visited "Sidney" and "Aukland", usually flying with "Quantas". How is this possible, I ask myself, when the writer has seen these words plastered everywhere on their travels?

One Fodorite who branded me an intolerant, pedantic curmudgeon (fair enough) blamed the incidence of dyslexia and related disorders. I guess that would get the education system off the hook, but I have to wonder why dyslexia is so much more widespread now than in the 1960s, say.

(And don't ask me whether I had a good flight on Untied Airlines, please.)

Whatever the case, I guess it's back into pendantry-management therapy for me.

Neil,

I so agree! How is it possible to mis-spell the names of places you've just visited with total consistancy?

Actually "I could care less" works as a question, meaning "is it possible to care less?". Person 1: John Doe is (fill in the blanks). Person 2: "I could care less?"

"Untied Airlines"??? Too funny!

I know I'm a terrible typer with an old and sticky keyboard (given my bad houekeeping traits) so I leave mis-spellings all over this board and others. But what really bugs me to all get-out are people who completely know what they are saying is wrong (like "nuke - u - lar") and still persist as if it's more important that the world conform to their ideas than that they conform to what's actual.

Well, Neil, they claim dyslexia is more common now. And there is that well known dyslexic athesist who doesn't believe in dogs.

Last summer in Ashland, Oregon, I saw a man wearing a great T-shirt that said:
Untied Church of Dog
When I complimented him on it, he proudly stated that both he and his daughter were dyslexic. Cool guy.

It gets wqorse, Neo - how about the insomniac dyslexic agnostic who lay awake all night worrying about whether there was a dog?

saharabee, I see your point. From Yiddish-speaking immigrants maybe?

And LucieV, we were in Ashland in September. I'd have made that guy an offer for the t-shirt.

here ya go, NeilOz:
http://tinyurl.com/yrd68h

I have a good friend who always pronounces salmon as "sal-mon" no matter what anyone else says or points out. It is like nails on the chalk board when we go out for dinner.

off topic, I hate it when I call someone and leave a message- they call back without listening to the message and ask what you wanted. End hijack

I'm irritated by people who are irritated by words. They put themselves under undue stress and elevate their blood pressure in a hopeless cause.

Some people want to ban the "N" word, some gay organizations want to ban the word "faggot," some Native Americans want to strike the word "squaw" from maps, and so on.

There has to be a more useful way to use time and energy. Any ideas?

happytrailstoyou, good point.

Sure, let's use our time to eliminate racism, homophobia, and stop genocide.

Now you see why people want to focus on the easy stuff...

fishee

I can get on board with banning some of those words but the one that always stops me in my tracks is gpysy (and gyp). It's not that I don't understand it, it's just that in my whole lifetime it was never used as an ethnic slur and that's not it's meaning to me.

you know I meant gypsy, right. I can spell, honest. Can't add worth a damn, though.

I get irritated by just about anything W says - but that's another story

I live in north Florida, so I get the following gems, and usually by educated, intelligent people:

'I used ta could'
'I might could'
'y'all'
'I'm fixin' to' (this was in a prepared speech by the President of the regional chapter of the Florida Association of CPAs, no less)

And, having lived in Miami, I got a lot of the following:

'girlfriend!'
'you go, girl'
'get out!' (as in, I can't believe it!)

PC stuff annoys me, too - like JAgirl mentioned earlier, most black people have never been to Africa, so calling them African-Americans is imprecise at best, silly and insulting. I am not a European-American. I am an American of Caucasian descent, if you must be precise. However, the three main human races have some names that have bad connotations. To wit: Caucasian, Mongoloid, Negroid. Obviously these forms will not be used in today's society.

Besides, Caucasian really means from the Caucus mountains, doesn't it?

Labels are dangerous!

So Sharpton, Jackson, or even Condoleeza Rice -- they're all being "silly and insulting" by using the term African American?

Are you in a position to decide that?

Well, I like "y'all", but then I don;t mind grits either, although I draw the line at boiled peanuts. It's handy as a plural of "you", but I did find it a bit disconcerting when people would say to me something that sounded like "Hay yall doin tday?" I kept looking around to see who else they were including in the conversation.

If they were born in Africa, then it isn't silly. If they weren't, then it is. That's just my opinion - not necesarily a widely held one

But, Neil, you is a plural of you. I like y'all just because it sounds so folksy and besides my best friend is from New Orleans and uses it all the time, so I feel especially warm about it.

I find it stupid and annoying when Americans (born and raised) call themselves Italian, Irish, German, etc. just because their great-grandparents came here from that particular country. Especially if they had never been there, don't speak the language, etc.

The words above mine are not just irritating, but idiotic (on many levels).

Have good one,
faboo,
Woo hoo,
You go girl,
Awesome,
sweetie,
education for the future,
commercials like Toyota, " Moving Forward" Where else would day move? backwards?
Newspersons who say Now live,
or say Local and than give some other non-local story.

hdm, isn't "youse" the plural form of "you"?

I've noticed how some Americans of even long-ago Irish descent refer to themselves as "Irish". This isn't the case in Australia, but that might be due to the fact that at one point half the population had Irish roots, so "Irish-Australian" was almost a tautology.

I was amused, though, to meet a young lady who referred to herself as "Italian". Not only was she Australian-born, but her mother was a Scot.

Many people here, albeit a minority, are feeling a bit twitchy about the official policy of "multiculturalism", which encourages people to take pride in their own cultures. Personally I think it's mostly a correction of the negative images attached to some ethnic backgrounds in the past. But it's also true that many people of Anglo-Celtic origin feel that this encouragement doesn't extend to them. Well, maybe it doesn't have to be.

I always chuckled when a program announced is was before a live audience, I was always so glad the audience wasn't dead! I don't think I have heard that comment for a long time though.

LoveItaly,
I always think about that when I pass the strip club downtown that advertises Live Nude Dancers. I always think about how much more interesting that would be then Dead Nude Dancers.

I guess my irritation at the African-American thing stems from precision in language. If someone was born in Africa and then moved to America (or vice-versa) then this is a proper appellation. However, people (like me) who are several generations removed from their immigrant ancestors should be described as American. They may be of Irish, Sudanese, or Chinese descent, but they are American. If a color of their skin must be specified, then their country of origin shouldn't be an issue. It's just not a direct relationship any longer. It hasn't been since the immigrant ancestor moved!

OK..yes, it is INANE but I just read a wonderful trip report on the Europe board which started out with a Paris hotel room description...saying the room was small and that "they all are in Paris."

This is SO NOT TRUE.

Is the perpetuation of this "small room" myth the way some people compensate for not PAYING for a larger room????

Restaurants that advertise 'Home Cooking' So, do they cook all that food at home and then bring it to the restaurant?

If I see the term "home cooking," I STAY AWAY!

Home Cooking? That's why I left home.

I really can't stand it when people say, "that dog won't hunt!"

When my kids say...."I'm like soooo getting that Abercrombie hoodie"

Most Irish kids talk like American kids now!!! ...We dont even have abercrombie here!!

lucielou, your kids sound adorable.

I love to hear kids talk, I love all their slang and inflections and body language, and even their mumbling. The more outrageously ridiculous their language, the better, imo!

I kind of like that they understand each other, but aren't necessarily understandable to adults. I'm not charmed by kids who talk like adults.

My 20-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son (2 younger kids) have their own language. I've heard of this happening between twins, but never siblings this far apart in age. They were very close growing up, she was actually a second mother to him. She rescued him from near drowning when he was 2 and she was 7, and he slept on the floor in her room for years.

I can understand some of the words if I really pay attention.

Something that regularly causes blind fury in the letters columns of Australian newspapers is the infiltration of American terms. A department store, for instance, that advertised its "Fall" fashions has probably changed its ads by now after being outed. Not long ago I saw "country fried chicken" advertised and wondered "which country?" - nobody in rural Australia ever fried a chicken.

It's not surprising when you've had generations of kids exposed to American movies and TV. Not long ago I met an arts graduate who actually thought that 1920s Australia had Prohibition and speakeasies.

And McDonalds has resolutely refused to call stop calling its chips "fries".

Neil
Ok, I'm probably being stupid, but NO ONE in Australia fries chicken?

kswl, I find that fascinating. My younger sister (by 18 months) and I had a language of our own, though it was somewhat consciously structured, i.e., not organic. And, like your daughter with your son, I was definitely a second mother to my sister.

But in my previous post, I was actually referring to the cultural language that adolescents create & use. (As opposed to a more familial or unique-to-a-few-kids language.) I know it can be annoying (to my husband, among others!), but for some reason I find it mostly amusing and endearing.

But Oz is SO far South! Surely someone fries chicken there!

LOL

cd, of course you're not being stupid -I should have made it clearer that the ad was phrased to suggest that fried chicken was a "country" thing here, and we don't have any tradition of frying chicken Southern-style. In country Australia chickens traditionally got roasted. These days though we do have people who fry them in batter - they work for KFC.

starrsville, it's a good point, but we don't have grits or boiled peanuts either. (Actually the last time I was in the South I was accused of being a Yankee by a young man who thought my accent was from "up No'th".)

I made htty laugh! Today is a good day

Neil, I am so sorry

Neil KFC funnnnnny

Interesting point about being in the south and accused of being a 'yankee'. When I lived in the south I was told, 'y'all stop rushin around, is you from da Nort, or sometin?" When I lived on the east coast they said 'where ya at? you need to get with the 'program' and move a little smarter.'. When I was in the middle east they told me I must be a 'muslim' because I covered my hair out of respect to their customs. So I used to tell people, "no, I'm from the WEST where people take you for what you are, and accept the differences."

"When I lived in the south I was told, 'y'all stop rushin around, is you from da Nort, or sometin"

Class act.

KFC? hmmmm. does anyone remember Justin Wilson's routine about the raw chicken he was served in the restaurant and he finally threw it against the wall and shouted "so fly, dang ya, you aint hurt dat bad!"

So here I am reading funny posts from a month ago....and you hit on a lot of my favorite ones.
goes
like
potty
peeps

I am like sooo upset when my peeps say 'went missing'....How does one go missing? Why not say 'he disappeared'...or does that imply right before your eyes?....
I like hate to hear my daughter go 'how come' then I go 'why, not how come' and she goes 'huh' so I go 'I like have to go potty' so she goes 'well I like am sooo outta here.'

and I agree with the person who said DH, DD, etc slows him down. I too have to pause to think what the initials stand for...but I admit it, I am slow.

When did the simple word "now" become "for the time being"? Talk about pretentious.

Well, if you don't like "How come..." I doubt you will like "Why 'cause?"

I love "how come." Love love love it.

....uh....sorry but: using "peeps" for "people" makes my fingernails itch the same way using "eats" for "food" does.

I hate it when people say, "If I don't see you again, before (variable holiday), have a good (variable holiday.)

Will I have a bad Christmas, Easter, beach vacation, etc. if I see the person again before then?

Oh sigh, palmettoprincess..no doubt they mean have a lovely "whatever" because I probably won't see you again before the "whatever". Good grief, what irritates me is people taking nice and loving comments and becoming irritated, lol.

My kids and all their friends when hanging up on their mobile phones or saying goodbye to each other after meeting briefly in the street, say " talk" ........as in I hope to talk with you soon!! ........I find it really amusing

My favourite thing to say when one of my kids are being stroppy is.." oh get over yourself" ..and walk away

Definitely on the top of my list is:
IRREGARDLESS.
It's not a word, even. Jeez, it's REGARDLESS.

Also dislike "to die for", not sure why I hate that.

Slang comes and goes, and we've had teens in the house for a few years, so that verbage doesn't especially bother me so long as it's relatively respectful.

P.S. I'm also disturbed by "at this point in time". Remember how it came into widespread use during the Watergate testimonies?? A way of hedging the answer. . . Let's let it die out.

I think some of you need to relax.
I admit that it can be distracting when someone says "In Actuality" or even the word "Actually" over and over during a presentation.
My father corrected me once when I was a teenager when I said EX-cape or EX-pecially and I have not made the mistake again. Since that day, I have been cursed with hearing that mispronunciation a million times.

Y'all know what I'm talkin about?" that expression makes me crazy.

I bristle when I hear that great put-down word "obviously". Usually the speaker's intention, whether they know it or not, is to imply that the listener is an idiot who can't see what's in front of their nose.

And the use of "literally" for emphasis. I recently heard someone say "I literally jumped out of my skin".

How about when the kids just shrug and say "whatever". Like, I'm too bored to even give ou a response.

Neil_oz, I hate the misuse of the word 'literally' too. I heard someone say she 'literally ate everything in the fridge'. It took all my will power to not pin her down and say 'Really? Everything? How about the butter? What about that jar of pickles? And that fuzzy green orange?"

I truly think there are a lot of people out there who believe the phrase "for all intents and purposes" is actually "for all intensive purposes."

Drives me insane!

modern slang drives me nuts..

chillin- the only things in that category should be dairy foods and women in the harsh throes of menopause.

hangin out- wasn't George Michael doing this once, or was it Pee Wee Herman?

hook-you-up.. sounds like a good parachute plan but not for the promiscuous one nighters.

back in dinosaur days, "being mellow" was a dead giveaway for people who needed to drive under 40mph because of pupil dilation..

camel toe..egads..

even "log in".. should we complete the cabin and hope the people above ground can't find us? or the termites?

"If you want the honest truth....."..

nah, just continue to tell me you are well adjusted, and I am easier to discuss your MIL and spousal unhappiness with, rather than qualifed professional who would charge you for their time and the loss of a good day that I WAS having.

This is an old thread but I found this clip and thought it appropriate and refreshing

http://www.stumbleupon.com/toolbar/#url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.youtube.com%252Fwatch%253Fv%253D7tt-WIdmCVQ

More a complaint about lazy usage, but another thing that grates on me is people who use "on behalf of" when they mean "on the part of".

"It was a poor decision on behalf of the Defence Minister" means that someone else made the decision in his name, when what the writer/speaker clearly means is that the minister himself made the poor decision.

Recently in my capital-city newspaper I was taken aback to see a caption attached to a photo of a visiting descendant of Charles Darwin, describing her as Darwin's "ancestor". She looked remarkably well-preserved for someone born in the 18th century - not even jet-lagged.

While on the subject, I'm sick of the dumbed-down usage "the 1700's" instead of "the 18th century", which I've heard used even by our national broadcaster, the ABC, once a cornerstone of literacy, good English usage and accurate pronunciation of foreign words (ABC newsreaders, unlike their private-sector counterparts, could once be relied on to lisp the c's and z's in Spanish words and get the stress right).

Maybe I shouldn't give flustered journos a hard time, but don't newspapers employ sub-editors any more?

All right, all right, enough grousing.

I don't like it when people use French accents on commonly-used English words such as resume and cafe. These are accepted as English words as well as French and it just looks so silly and affected to me when I see that accent on an English word.

Here's one I see quite a bit - using "in lieu of" to mean "because of". Erk.

I'm heartily sick of "strategic goals" and in fact the overuse of "strategic" in general.

I hate it when someone adds a smiley face is used after someone is totally rude to you (on line) Is the smiley face supposed to soften it all?

You know what I'm saying

You know what I'm trying to say

You know

Awsome (so many college students in L.A. use this word and it drives me crazy)

window treatment

************

Not to offend anyone...I dont like the names..Dont like hearing the sound.

Kirsten
Kristen
Krista
Trista
Stacia

Neil-Oz:

Sub-editors have been replaced by spell check. As long as ewe spell it write, you don't have to no what your dewing.

<<Actually "I could care less" works as a question, meaning "is it possible to care less?". Person 1: John Doe is (fill in the blanks). Person 2: "I could care less?">.

I respectfully disagree with the example above. "Could I care less?" might work with enough inflection, but "I couldn't care less" is clearer.

"Could I care less" doesn't bother me on posts but does on television programs. I've heard the Sally Fields character say it at least twice on "Brothers and Sisters" and think that the writers are well paid for their scripts and should know better.

I'm surprised too when people misspell places they'd just visited, but I think many are blind to the words they see after they the misspelling firmly in their minds.

I was happy to see "maverick" on the banished list in the first post. Almost all political speak becomes overused and tiresome.

Did you guys see the you tube video I posted here? Cute no?

I abhor the common habit of ending sentences with prepositions. The use of spellings such as thanx is always annoying.

"Could care less" is a big pet peeve for me too. "Couldn't care less" is indeed the correct phrase.

I cringe when I hear the word "basically" used over and over in casual speech.

And the word "product" in retail... I went shopping yesterday and in one store everything was marked way down. I asked a sales person if they were going out of business or just having a really great sale. She replied that they were just "trying to move product." What? So did she mean that all the items in the store, collectively, are "product"? Same thing with hair stylists. "You need some 'product' to tame those frizzies." WHICH "product"? Just name whatever it is you're referring to, for heaven's sake!

Finishing each sentence with "and stuff like that".
The overuse of the phrase "By your leave".
After taking a sip of coffee saying:
"Man, this tastes like sh!t".

saige: I work in a medical office and adding an "x" to shorten medical terms is common practice - "bx" for biopsy, "tx" for treatment, "dx" for diagnosis, etc., but the practice does seem to be used more and more in everyday use. I have to admit I find myself occasionally using the "x" shorthand in other communications. Shame on me!

God bless those who have decided that certain words or phrases will cause them to have a meltdown. It is a blessing to not be so afflicted.

HTTY

I wouldn't say any of us have "meltdowns," happy. Good grief. These are just pet peeves.

By the way, I love your profile photo!

Meltdown? No. I admit to having a teper tantrum because the reason I brought this to the top (TTT it's from 07!)is the cute liitle pro gramer video
Whaaaa

Ok tantrum over but here it is again. I am glad they are proposing good grammar.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/toolbar/#url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.youtube.com%252Fwatch%253Fv%253D7tt-WIdmCVQ

How ironic I spelled grammar wrong & the video is not working.

i forgot xmas

"not that big of a problem" instead of "not a big problem"

First, I'm afraid to post this as I know I will have some error or other....but "anyways" ....

What I find amazing is how many people just don't get when to use I/me, he/him, etc. Examples: "Just between you and I....." "I gave it to Susie and she." "That is for my husband and I."

Yikes!

"Irregardless"

Jeez, I really cringe when people say that.