Phrases That Make Me Cringe. Bit of a Rant.

[casterway]

Okay. I do have one that drives me crazy. I'm a machinist. One of our measuring tools is called a Vernier caliper. Pronounced Vern-yay. Not Vern-e-er. Rhymes with Perrier, Messier, DuMaurier, etc.

And while we're on the subject, any calipers that DON'T have a Vernier scale, are either Digital calipers, or Dial calipers, not Digital Verniers.

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by yegbert

Why bother to form the noun ignorancy when the noun ignorance already exists?

Which reminds me, the misusage "preventative" has all but supplanted the briefer and absolutely equivalent "preventive."

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by Joe-Bob

Actualy, "normalcy" has been around a long time. One of our presidents coined the phrase.

Didn't a more recent one coin "newk-you-ler"?

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by TelecasterBlooz

More than likely, the idiot who used the phrase "intensive purposes" meant to say "for all intents AND purposes." Probably never heard it right. My pet peeve was one I heard over and over in the prison system during my career as a Corrections Sergeant...." Hey...hey...hey...Sarge! Lemme AX you a question.." No offense meant, but I heard whites and blacks use this phrase..

And, of course, does "intensive" mean anything that isn't expressed more succinctly by "intense"?

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by Capperdan

At the end of the day...
At this point in time...
Now, more than ever before...
AAAAbsolutely!

And if you're ever writing an article that has to do with guitar players or song lists, don't forget to use the word "Quintessential " in there somewhere... whatever- the heck does that mean?

Someone once pointed out to me that "At this point in time" is nonsense. A point is a term from geometry and is a spacial referent. The better term would be "moment": "At this moment" leave "in time" off since that is implicit in the word "moment."

Someone will undoubtedly define "quintessential" for you, so I won't. Rather I'll tack on another expression people use without understanding. Apparently, the great unwashed think "penultimate" means "the ultimate ultimate" or something. Actually, it means "next to last."

[yegbert]

Originally Posted by Unseen

And, of course, does "intensive" mean anything that isn't expressed more succinctly by "intense"?

Would you say it's unnecessarily redundant?

[casterway]

Originally Posted by Unseen

Didn't a more recent one coin "newk-you-ler"?

I think it was newk-you-ler per-liberation.

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by geoff_in_nc

I can't stand it when someone writes "of" instead of "have"... I think its generally because their diction sucks so bad they don't realize they're different words....
"I could of kept playing all night"

Yes, and they often write it that way as well, using "of" instead of "have." If anything you write could mark you as uneducated and ignorant, possibly costing you a job you had applied for, that's one. A lot of errors are minor; that one is major.

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by casterway

I think it was newk-you-ler per-liberation.

I believe you are right.

[Nick JD]

Mr. Strunk said it well with, "Omit needless words."

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by Twanginator

I have an Uncle that mispronounces the word "ask" by saying "axe". He didn't go to college but did manage to get through high school. I think this mistake is probably a reflection of one's level of education.

Here's one for you...notice how many people interject the phrase, "and stuff" into a sentence.

"Yeah, like I borrowed my Mom's Beemer and we went to the mall and stuff."

So you are saying you went to the mall and to another place called "stuff"?

While we're talking about senseless interjections, the use of "like" has gotten out of hand with the young. It started out being used with a modicum of meaning to implies similarities and relations, but it's become a dumb space filler with no meaning whatsoever anymore: "Well, like, I was walking down Main Street and, like, I saw Mike, who owes me $10. So, I yelled at him and, like, you know what? He like pretended not to see me!"

[Jackson Jackson]

Ok...I'll bite.

The use of the word LITERALLY when used to describe something FIGURATIVELY.

"The soup was so spicy, my mouth was LITERALLY one fire"! Oh, really?

"For God sakes". It's "for God's sake"!!!!!!!

I hate it when people say something like this...

"I was so scared when I saw the man in the room, YOU just go numb, and it's like YOU can't feel YOUR feet". I'm sorry, I thought you were giving a first hand account!!! Grrrrr.

And I agree wholeheartedly with I COULD care less vs. I COULDN'T less!

[Unseen]

People say "tenderhooks." It's "tenterhooks"! Look it up!

When to use who vs. whom is actually very easy, but I notice that whenever people don't know, they feel it's safe to opt for "whom," which is really jarring to someone who knows the difference: "The guy whom hit me in the eye went to jail" (wrong) vs. "The guy from whom I got a black eye went to jail" (right).

Confusing "effect" and "affect" is very common, exacerbated by the fact that they both can be either nouns or verbs.

[Unseen]

Originally Posted by Jackson Jackson

Ok...I'll bite.

The use of the word LITERALLY when used to describe something FIGURATIVELY.

"The soup was so spicy, my mouth was LITERALLY one fire"! Oh, really?

Excuse me, but do you really believe anyone (even you) would say "The soup was so spicy, my mouth was FIGURATIVELY on fire"? I think we're in colloquialism territory there where words aren't taken literally (and I don't mean that figuratively...or as a joke!). It's a hyperbolic expression everyone understands very well.

[Teleme3]

"Token" as in, "a token of our appreciation."

I don't know why, but it damn irritates me to the core.

[Brutalblues]

"I'm going to be totally honest with you..."(what, everything else you just said was a lie?!)

"It goes without saying......" (so why are you going to say it now?!)

'No offense,but......" (proceeds to insult you)

"Not for nothin', but...." (proceeds to give you advice or insult you!)

[Brutalblues]

Originally Posted by Unseen

People say "tenderhooks." It's "tenterhooks"! Look it up!

When to use who vs. whom is actually very easy, but I notice that whenever people don't know, they feel it's safe to opt for "whom," which is really jarring to someone who knows the difference: "The guy whom hit me in the eye went to jail" (wrong) vs. "The guy from whom I got a black eye went to jail" (right).

Confusing "effect" and "affect" is very common, exacerbated by the fact that they both can be either nouns or verbs.

But seriously, whom cares?!

[Del Pickup]

Here in NZ the word 'awesome' is applied to almost anything that isn't completely crap! It drives me nuts. Sometimes, just sometimes, not everything can be quite as good as to warrant being described in the most over the top manner.

Another one is when you ask someone how they are when you meet them and they say 'Good'. I know it's probably just me but it just doesn't sound right for some reason. 'Fine thanks' sounds much more normal to my ears.

And the teenagers intersperse every sentence with the word 'like' as in 'I was at the mall and like I saw two dudes like fighting on the escalator'

The word 'like' doesn't add anything to what they have said other than to show that they have no idea how to construct a sentence.

And their teachers are like just as bad.............

[casterway]

Originally Posted by Unseen

While we're talking about senseless interjections, the use of "like" has gotten out of hand with the young. It started out being used with a modicum of meaning to implies similarities and relations, but it's become a dumb space filler with no meaning whatsoever anymore: "Well, like, I was walking down Main Street and, like, I saw Mike, who owes me $10. So, I yelled at him and, like, you know what? He like pretended not to see me!"

I'm quite positive that a lot of damage was caused after this song came out. This was Frank Zappa's daughter Moon, making fun of how the Encino valley girls talked. I don't think 'Like', 'fer sure','Omigod!, and 'totally!' were a part of common language before this was released.

[Larry F]

How about that's my "fortay" instead of "fort?" Or Joe's wing-a-bob is "flacksid" tonight instead of "flassid?" I say live and let live. If we commonly make mistakes, there's a reason for it, so why not let it pass? William Safire wrote an interesting column recently and why nuclear is so often pronounced 'newkulure." The mouth is structured in funny ways, which is why libary comes out that way sometimes.

[casterway]

Originally Posted by Larry F

How about that's my "fortay" instead of "fort?" Or Joe's wing-a-bob is "flacksid" tonight instead of "flassid?" I say live and let live. If we commonly make mistakes, there's a reason for it, so why not let it pass? William Safire wrote an interesting column recently and why nuclear is so often pronounced 'newkulure." The mouth is structured in funny ways, which is why libary comes out that way sometimes.

It actually is forte, pronounced for-tay.

[Lost_N_Austin]

NOTICE - You’ve been issued a citation!
You have been cited for misuse of the word
“LIKE”
in one of the following ways:

□ For using the word LIKE more than 12 times in one sentence
□ For using the word LIKE more than 50 times in one minute
□ For using the word LIKE along with the phrase Oh My God!
□ All of the above

Please do one or more of the following:

□ Seek some professional help!
□ Join Like-Anonymous
□ Shut Up
□ All of the above

You may also want to pass the Blame on to:

□ Your parents
□ Your school and or teachers
□ Global warming
□ The drugs

Have a nice Day!

LIKE WHAT EVER!

[casterway]

Originally Posted by Lost_N_Austin