Favourite Irritating Words of 2010

[stiz]

*stands front and centre and clears his throat*

i'd just like to defend txt speach and say it really does have its uses, treat as just another form of slang. I agree it shouldnt be used in exams, interviews etc but for texting and chat in online games where you have under 10 seconds on average to type a sentance its marvoluse.

*nods head and walks off stage*

 

[James]

what I can't stand is when people refuse to use an apostrophe whenever it is warranted...saying "your" when it should be "you're", etc. Not a word, just my opinion.

 

[brad kaste]

what I can't stand is when people refuse to use an apostrophe whenever it is warranted...saying "your" when it should be "you're", etc. Not a word, just my opinion.

I'm not so sure it's a refusal of using the apostrophe where and when needed,....but a matter of not knowing there is a difference between the contraction of 'you are' vs. the word 'your' pertaining to possession of an object. Same for 'to' and 'too.'

 

[Stratobat]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned "Diss" yet.

Regards,
Stratobat

 

[fsafranek]

I'm not so sure it's a refusal of using the apostrophe where and when needed,....but a matter of not knowing there is a difference between the contraction of 'you are' vs. the word 'your' pertaining to possession of an object. Same for 'to' and 'too.'

And "there" and "their".
:ernae:

Also, it seems to me that when I was growing up I was told not to use the word "the" before the word "both". Now I see it all the time, "The both of them." Was I not listening correctly that day so many years ago?

MickeyD, you are correct about the use of the articles "a" and "an" but it has become common to consider the sound of the word when choosing the article -- not that that makes it right. Whether correct or not, "I will be there in an hour." sounds so much better when spoken than "I will be there in a hour.". (And then you have the rules of punctuation. Should that final period go in front of or behind the quote mark?)

 

[Bone]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned "Diss" yet.

Regards,
Stratobat

Bingo...and the way the sententence is constructed when using it. "You be diss'n me"... I hate dat.

 

[n4gix]

On a semi related note I'm very much with Stephen Fry on this:

Oddly enough, I pretty much agree with Stephen Fry's observations. There's a time and place for everything, including critique of another's use -or misuse- of language.

An associate of mine once quipped to me, "I always get worried when you start trotting out extra vocabulary."

I replied, "That's because you're a naturally suspicious and un-trusting soul, without one scintilla of philosophical discernment or sensitivity to guide you through the perceptual and ontological shallows of your day to day existence."

His reply was to signal back using the universal symbol of disrespect... ..|./ :ernae:

My major concern is that it's all too easy to become so used to using "shortcuts" such as emoticons, that it becomes difficult to not use them in an innappropriate context, such as formal or professional correspondence. <G>

 

[Stratobat]

Hey Bone,

Bingo...and the way the sententence is constructed when using it. "You be diss'n me"... I hate dat.

That is the one word that rubs me up the wrong way.

I replied, "That's because you're a naturally suspicious and un-trusting soul, without one scintilla of philosophical discernment or sensitivity to guide you through the perceptual and ontological shallows of your day to day existence."<g>

Hehehe.

Regards,
Stratobat

</g>

 

[Bjoern]

I'm more irritated by the grammar and spelling of some native english speakers on the web than by single words.

I wonder what the German and Spanish equivalents to whatever, duude and sweeet are?

Whatever = Egal
Duuuude = Alter
Sweet = [There's about a brazillion out there in german alone]

Whatever

Dammit, that was *my* line!

Emo. I have no idea what an Emo is...an Emu, yes...but not an Emo. Every picture I see of an Emo guy he looks like he is trying to be a girl or something. Emo girls...well they look like girls with really bad taste in clothing and no sense of style whatsoever. I have a nephew that is Emo...I can't tell you what his brother and cousin call him as it would not be PC and against forum rules....though I agree with them whole heartedly.

My money is on a british slang term for cigarette.

And your lack of tolerance is disappointing.

Bring back SPLENDID. That would be totally wicked and awesome........ooops! lol

What a spiffy idea!

sentance its marvoluse.

That's it, I'm emailing every webbrowser developer out there, to build in an always running spell checker into their product(s)!


G'dammit...

 

[gaucho_59]

Of redundancies and cliches... or mice and men...

"Pre" in front of words that don't need "pre" in front of them. Like "pre-determine". What is that anyway? Something you do before you determine. But it just means determine, so just say that! My favorite is "in terms of" just to sound important, in terms of more words in your sentence.

Actually.... pre-determine passes muster for "to determine a priori.... i.e.: determine before the fact as opposed to determine... "on the fly" so to speak... (I taught English for quite a few years as well as Effective Military Writing... I am a Viet Nam retired vet... Old but savvy... lol)
What really constitutes redundant English usage as well as a hackneyed expression (cliche') are things like... pre-conditions... (pre-conditions to anything should be just simply conditioning the discourse at hand... Ooops... "just simply" should be just or simply... one or the other I sin myself sometimes ... SO IT PAYS TO EDIT WHAT ONE WRITES... HAHAHA Merry Xmas to all... (here I go again... what the hell is Xmas... we Americans sometimes murder old Willie the Bard's language...)

 

[Mickey D]

And "there" and "their".
:ernae:

Also, it seems to me that when I was growing up I was told not to use the word "the" before the word "both". Now I see it all the time, "The both of them." Was I not listening correctly that day so many years ago?

MickeyD, you are correct about the use of the articles "a" and "an" but it has become common to consider the sound of the word when choosing the article -- not that that makes it right. Whether correct or not, "I will be there in an hour." sounds so much better when spoken than "I will be there in a hour.". (And then you have the rules of punctuation. Should that final period go in front of or behind the quote mark?)

Thanks for pointing that out Frank but as the aitch in hour ( please note correct spelling) is silent it starts with a vowel 'sound' and therefore complies with the rule. I think we'll continue this on Skype eh?

 

[gaucho_59]

`At this location`

What's the matter with you Yanks? Can't you just say "HERE"?! :ernae:

Tell me about it! I taught Effective Army Writing back in 1984... when the US Army was trying to make sense of Army correspondence... eliminating things like... "all personnel concerned" instead of "if YOU are...or if you need.. etc. and POC (point of contact) instead of "if you have any questions or need further information... CALL ME AT (telephone number)... Examining AR's and other correspondence today... I see the plan failed... people still prefer to sound important rather than being clear and concise... Indeed... AT THIS LOCATION should really be simply HERE.. or THERE...
I used to tell my NCO and Officer students... if people don't comply or call you on the phone to find out what you meant in your correspondence by ... whatever seemed unclear... you have defeated the purpose disseminating information.... I must say... woking with Brits in the MFO in Sinai... I was pleasantly surprised by their "chits".. just a simple handwritten note.. instead of our American ledgers that were verbose, important sounding and only were meant to say things like... "Please render as much help as you can to this soldier on such and such... "

 

[stiz]

That's it, I'm emailing every webbrowser developer out there, to build in an always running spell checker into their product(s)!
[/QUOTE]

my spellings always been bad, even in programs that have spell checkers

 

[gaucho_59]

Thanks for pointing that out Frank but as the aitch in hour ( please note correct spelling) is silent it starts with a vowel 'sound' and therefore complies with the rule. I think we'll continue this on Skype eh?

The period should be outside the quotes... for it ends the sentence... the last punctuation should be the logical one... As to the use of the indeterminate article... the rule is that A precedes a consonant ... like A MONSTER... or a vowel with a consonant sound like A UNIFORM (here U has the sound of Y...which is a consonant)... and coversely, AN precedes a vowel or a silent consonant... like H in AN HOUR ... Basically.... the reason is that things like A APPLE or AN UNIFORM forces a glottal stop or hiatus that, in the long run, would give you a sore throat... besides not sounding right... and, furthermore, folks like some rural or black Americans who routinely use it.. end up making a glottal liaison that mispronunces the following word... like AN-ISTERICAL... which should BE sounded A with a following aspirated H... A HYSTERICAL...ETC... With things like I ATE-A APPLE... the human throat instinctively tries to make speech flow... otherwise one stutters... lol what really erks me is those folks who say AN HISTORICAL MOMENT... this H is not silent... therefore AN HISTORICAL MOMENT is just plain wrong... and yet the folks who use this are often important people... like news broadcasters....who should know better...
English is a really easy language to pick up... very simple grammar... but its USAGE is really what takes the cake... Most foreign born speakers find the grammar and spelling easy but really have trouble with correct usage and pronunciation (I should know... I am a naturalized American)... Coversely, native speakers have trouble with spelling... Americans especially... because English is not phonetic at all... just the old I befor E except after... hahahaha

 

[gaucho_59]

The only thing I find rather irritating is people complaining that all of the wonderful and diverse nuances that creep into our lexicon each year are somehow irritating or wrong and the refusal to accept by many that they are not just the natural shifting evolution of verbal communication but are somehow an abrasive travesty.

These wonderful and diverse nuances as you put it...really corrupt the language... however colorful they might sound... one must remember that the purpose of language is COMMUNICATION and making folks follow a logical pattern of thought... things like "Sorry...MY BAD" invite only one thought in a person who speaks English well... (MY BAD WHAT?)... speaking in fragments seems to unite those who use them and exclude those old farts (like me) who don't... Obviously, I am being pleonastic... for after one hears them in context one quickly becomes HIP... but really... why should we evolve a language that changes every ten years... like "chilling" superseding "cooling"... etc. I think one should use English properly if we are to know what our fellows are thinking and trying to convey to us... and vice-versa Most younger folk nowadays cannot put a straight forward sentence together... their speech and writing are sometimes so confusing and confused...

 

[keatles]

How about "...the people on the ground..." (where are all the others?);
"...at this point in time..." (what is wrong with 'now'?)
and perhaps the most ubiquitous of all, "...with regards to..." - the word 'regard' may be replaced by the word 'respect', and we do not say "...with respects to..."

But then, I'm just a grumpy old man.

 

[wiltzei]

Golly, this is a great thread.

Terrorism. I hate how everything that is not PC is quickly becoming "terrorism"...

Perhaps people are kept in constant fear of real terrorism from government level downwards? A scaring nation is an obeyant one, according to some theorists. People tend to make moles out of molehills.

Regarding the cops & robbers example of yours, I reckon it´s a symptom of a larger phenomenon, demasculinition of manhood, which some people call "equality of sexes".

Bring back the Jive

And easily understable warnings.

Economic downturn
IMF/EU Bailout

+ Given the state of economy...

I wouldn´t like to generalize, or downtone issues with true importance, but sometimes it feels like people area beaten into submission in the same manner as helicopters beat air.

On an unrelated note involving several marketing studies, a human being is very likely to buy a certain product after the advertisements have been seen about eight times.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned "Diss" yet.

Speakers of my native language seem to adapt simple words like straight out from the English language and from nearby nation´s native languages. I don´t know why, but perhaps hosts of popular tv/radio shows start using them, and somehow they become popular.

Duuuude = Alter

That reminds me of the show Der Alte. As a kid, I often wondered, why a German detective is called "The Old One".

perhaps the most ubiquitous of all, "...with regards to..." - the word 'regard' may be replaced by the word 'respect', and we do not say "...with respects to..."

Doesn´t sending regards mean more of saying "hello" than paying honest respect in English language? It isn´t my first language, so correct me, if I´m utterly wrong. Great first post, welcome to forums.

---

Enough of quoting.

Why do people buy stuff assuming themselves that "it is in fashion"? Who does determine what´s fashionable or not? I wonder if it could be the various kinds of industries, who just try to sell people goods in order to artificially patch their self-esteems?

 

[Eoraptor1]

I'm personally guilty of abusing the word "actually". I've gotten on my own nerves with it now. I'm counting on my SOH friends to help me break the actually habit.

JAMES

 

[brad kaste]

I'm always amused when someone says to me,..."to tell you the truth".......does that mean this person(or even an old time friend) has been lying to me when he or she hasn't prefaced the statement with "to tell you the truth" previously?

 

[Cloud9Gal]

Irritating words for me: Someone that continuously uses the words: "You know". It's usually done when filling dead air in a conversation, you know...so, whenever people do that , you know, it really gets on my nerves, you know...