What words do you hate to hear/see misused?

[PennLady]

On the subject of simple typing miscues and how people vary one thing I always do is

"Hands on" always comes out "hand son" and of course spell check is not going to pick that one up.

I end up typing "someothing" instead of "something." I don't know, but it happens nearly all the time. And I do a lot of the "hand son" type of thing. That s can be tricky.

 

[JKendallDane]

I got into the very bad habit of using 'thru' instead of 'through' and have to constantly triple check myself now.

As far as 'the keys are too close together' problem...more times than I ever want to admit to, I have found myself with 'big' being typed out as 'nig'...and we aren't even going to discuss what has happened with 'bigger'.

 

[sr71plt]

Keystroking is a problem for me too. I have a laptop and desktop almost side by side and am constantly working them both. The keys are closer together on the laptop than the desktop, which often causes my hands to land on the keyboard wrong. In addition, I have Word 2007 in the laptop. It makes it's own decisions what word I meant to type and I've yet to find how to turn that feature off.

 

[lovecraft68]

Of course as everyone plainly can see in my posts I have a problem with the apostrophe and keep hitting the semi colon in contractions.

I usually have to fix a couple of dozen of them in every story. Some time's I try to fix them in my posts, other times I don't care

 

[monoblanco]

Of course as everyone plainly can see in my posts I have a problem with the apostrophe and keep hitting the semi colon in contractions.

I usually have to fix a couple of dozen of them in every story. Some time's I try to fix them in my posts, other times I don't care

Thank god! I'm not the only one!

I constantly add semi-colons to possessives and then have to go back to fix them.

Then there's what I just did typing the above sentence. I initially almost always type 'and' as 'adn'. Then I see it underlined in red and curse, backspace, fuck you computer, it's fixed. Are you happy now?

Here are a couple more terms that reared their ugly heads today:

Ultimate: when it's not.

Awesome: just overused in my opinion

Begs the question

 

[lovecraft68]

Thank god! I'm not the only one!

I constantly add semi-colons to possessives and then have to go back to fix them.

Then there's what I just did typing the above sentence. I initially almost always type 'and' as 'adn'. Then I see it underlined in red and curse, backspace, fuck you computer, it's fixed. Are you happy now?

Here are a couple more terms that reared their ugly heads today:

Ultimate: when it's not.

Awesome: just overused in my opinion

Begs the question

The words the kids throw around now is "uber" That's "uber hot"

I have not seen it in a story here so far and hope I never do.

 

[SecondCircle]

The words the kids throw around now is "uber" That's "uber hot"

I have not seen it in a story here so far and hope I never do.

Heh. A cool German word.

 

[lovecraft68]

Heh. A cool German word.

Cool until you hear it 100 times in a short conversation

 

[JKendallDane]

The words the kids throw around now is "uber" That's "uber hot"

I have not seen it in a story here so far and hope I never do.

Don't read my 'Destiny in Daytona' series then, because the use of 'uber' (and 'uber-uber' and 'uber squared') by the two main characters became a minor plot line as their romance blossomed sexually.

Since the setting was current times, I just couldn't see a couple of 18 year old boys using 'the cat's pajamas' or 'groovy' or 'totally tubular' in the dialog.

 

[SecondCircle]

Cool until you hear it 100 times in a short conversation

Sarcasm. There are no cool German words. (Which is also sarcasm.)

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

Heh. A cool German word.

I'd love it if English was made easier with more reasonable spelling and grammar such as other languages have. In some ways I hope texting takes over because it may have more phonetics than formal English.

I am reminded of what I heard of Georgiana (Spencer) Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806), who, with others, changed the spelling of many words so as to make them “prettier”. They also tried to introduce a new way of speaking where each syllable is spoken independently. It is laughable to listen to. I wonder whether others are aware of this having happened. (I think I have the facts right- it is very difficult to find information.)

As I understand, American English is older than English English. (Probably there are bits of both that have undergone change so it’s a difficult assumption to make.) I think English English is ridiculous with its insistence on useless "U's". (humour) I'd like to see the language reformed so it is consistent and accessible to all. (Wasn’t Bertrand Russell involved with one attempt?). I know its been tried and failed. I don't blame people for getting it wrong. I blame the language. I have yet to meet a person who gets it right all the time.

 

[stickygirl]

Have we done 'like' yet? Because it's like such an amazing word that you can like literally use like anywhere? It usually forces a rising tone in the voice to make it a question?
I was once forced to remain calm when I heard some say "Some people do do what you do"
https://31.media.tumblr.com/f69ecfa13ddbf0f72ba26790b42a4655/tumblr_mx8pz0eGBD1rx9ovro1_250.gif

 

[DeYaKen]

I see a lot of homonyms here but my pet hate isn't one, it is unique.

Unique, meaning there is only one, cannot be subject to varying degrees. It either is or it isn't.
I hate to see, or hear it used with very, most, totally or virtually attached?

It makes me bristle every time it is used wrongly. Perhaps it stems from my days teaching computer architecture, where each component had a unique address.

 

[PennLady]

I see a lot of homonyms here but my pet hate isn't one, it is unique.

Unique, meaning there is only one, cannot be subject to varying degrees. It either is or it isn't.
I hate to see, or hear it used with very, most, totally or virtually attached?

It makes me bristle every time it is used wrongly. Perhaps it stems from my days teaching computer architecture, where each component had a unique address.

Yes, this gets me too. One of my small, small peeves with the movie "Pacific Rim" is at the beginning, when the main character, Raleigh, says that he and his brother have a "unique ability;" they are "drift compatible," which allows them to work together. But it is not unique, because there are other teams that are also drift compatible. It may be unusual, or rare, but it is not unique.

So I don't like it with a modifier, but I also don't like it when it's used to mean "rare" as opposed to singular or one-of-a-kind.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I'd love it if English was made easier with more reasonable spelling and grammar such as other languages have. In some ways I hope texting takes over because it may have more phonetics than formal English.

I am reminded of what I heard of Georgiana (Spencer) Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire (1757-1806), who, with others, changed the spelling of many words so as to make them “prettier”. They also tried to introduce a new way of speaking where each syllable is spoken independently. It is laughable to listen to. I wonder whether others are aware of this having happened. (I think I have the facts right- it is very difficult to find information.)

As I understand, American English is older than English English. (Probably there are bits of both that have undergone change so it’s a difficult assumption to make.) I think English English is ridiculous with its insistence on useless "U's". (humour) I'd like to see the language reformed so it is consistent and accessible to all. (Wasn’t Bertrand Russell involved with one attempt?). I know its been tried and failed. I don't blame people for getting it wrong. I blame the language. I have yet to meet a person who gets it right all the time.

If you think about it slaves didn't come to America fluent in English. So what they learned were English dialects specific to their locations, and those dialects came from Great Britain's realm. One of the problems slaves had was an inability to understand slaves in/from other places.

Years ago we stopped at a gas station in Alabama, and the attendant asked my mom, HOWS YOU ALL? She replied WE'RE FINE, THANK YOU! And the attendant said, NO MAAM, I MEANT HOW'S YOU ALL? And she replied, AND I SAID WE'RE ALL JUST FINE! And I interrupted her, MOMMA HE WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU NEED OIL.

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

If you think about it slaves didn't come to America fluent in English. So what they learned were English dialects specific to their locations, and those dialects came from Great Britain's realm. One of the problems slaves had was an inability to understand slaves in/from other places.

Years ago we stopped at a gas station in Alabama, and the attendant asked my mom, HOWS YOU ALL? She replied WE'RE FINE, THANK YOU! And the attendant said, NO MAAM, I MEANT HOW'S YOU ALL? And she replied, AND I SAID WE'RE ALL JUST FINE! And I interrupted her, MOMMA HE WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU NEED OIL.

Years ago Monica Dickens came here and did a book signing. A lady approached and said "Emma Chisset" Ms Dickens dutifully wrote some thing suitable in the book and gave it to her. The woman then repeated "Emma Chisset". The lady was asking"How much is it".

Yes- the slaves had an unfortunate beginning. I often wonder how children go after they're given a name with weird spelling. When a person is put in the position of being a pedant it isn't good.

 

[oggbashan]

I think English English is ridiculous with its insistence on useless "U's". (humour) I'd like to see the language reformed so it is consistent and accessible to all. (Wasn’t Bertrand Russell involved with one attempt?). I know its been tried and failed. I don't blame people for getting it wrong. I blame the language. I have yet to meet a person who gets it right all the time.

It was George Bernard Shaw:



Ghoti

George Bernard Shaw, one of the most eminent proponents of English spelling reform, ridiculed our embarrassing, disgraceful orthography—mixed up and messed up for centuries—by spelling fish as follows:

gh as in laugh
o as in women
ti as in motion

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

If you think about it slaves didn't come to America fluent in English. So what they learned were English dialects specific to their locations, and those dialects came from Great Britain's realm. One of the problems slaves had was an inability to understand slaves in/from other places.

Years ago we stopped at a gas station in Alabama, and the attendant asked my mom, HOWS YOU ALL? She replied WE'RE FINE, THANK YOU! And the attendant said, NO MAAM, I MEANT HOW'S YOU ALL? And she replied, AND I SAID WE'RE ALL JUST FINE! And I interrupted her, MOMMA HE WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU NEED OIL.

I'm a little surprised that the South's dialects are based on those of Great Britain. I think it is true. What surprises me is there seems to be so little Spanish and French influence. Even more, there is so little Danish influence in Hawaii and Russian in Alaska.

It is said our dialect is based on the South of England- around Kent, Surrey and Sussex. I'm sure over time the proportion of people coming from there to settle here would be a minority yet the accent seems to retain its original roots. For example Melbourne is the second biggest Greek city on earth yet the influence of Greek on our accent/dialect seems minimal. It's the original settlers who have determined the language of Melbourne. But that hasn't happened in America. Just wondering.

I've heard on the radio that because English is so chaotic with so few rules without numerous exceptions, Mandarin will eventually supersede it as the international language. When it was said it won't because the characters are too many to learn it was said English is much the same- too much to learn and weird spellings are much the same as the characters. They have to be learned by rote, individually. I don't know if it's true but when it was put like that it seemed credible. I guess I'm lucky it won't be in my life time.

 

[hoo_hoo_boo]

It was George Bernard Shaw:



Ghoti

George Bernard Shaw, one of the most eminent proponents of English spelling reform, ridiculed our embarrassing, disgraceful orthography—mixed up and messed up for centuries—by spelling fish as follows:

gh as in laugh
o as in women
ti as in motion

He did- I remember now. I don't know why I thought Bertrand Russell. Thank you so much.

 

[patientlee]

I'm a little surprised that the South's dialects are based on those of Great Britain. I think it is true. What surprises me is there seems to be so little Spanish and French influence. Even more, there is so little Danish influence in Hawaii and Russian in Alaska.

It is said our dialect is based on the South of England- around Kent, Surrey and Sussex. I'm sure over time the proportion of people coming from there to settle here would be a minority yet the accent seems to retain its original roots. For example Melbourne is the second biggest Greek city on earth yet the influence of Greek on our accent/dialect seems minimal. It's the original settlers who have determined the language of Melbourne. But that hasn't happened in America. Just wondering.

I've heard on the radio that because English is so chaotic with so few rules without numerous exceptions, Mandarin will eventually supersede it as the international language. When it was said it won't because the characters are too many to learn it was said English is much the same- too much to learn and weird spellings are much the same as the characters. They have to be learned by rote, individually. I don't know if it's true but when it was put like that it seemed credible. I guess I'm lucky it won't be in my life time.

I've heard that about Mandarin. The speaker I heard said, "Why are we even teaching French anymore? We should be teaching Mandarin!" I heard nothing he said after that. I was busy trying to figure out how I was going to learn Mandarin before they decided to start firing French teachers. (When I calmed down, I remembered that I also teach Spanish, so I was good.)

 

[patientlee]

I spent my lunch listening to two high school junior girls. One of them literally said "literally" four times in twenty-five minutes. It was a good day. Usually she figuratively says "literally" eighty times.

Well, today was more typical. One of the students in the conversation said "literally" 28 times in 25 minutes. I didn't have enough lead in my pencil to count the "likes."

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Years ago Monica Dickens came here and did a book signing. A lady approached and said "Emma Chisset" Ms Dickens dutifully wrote some thing suitable in the book and gave it to her. The woman then repeated "Emma Chisset". The lady was asking"How much is it".

Yes- the slaves had an unfortunate beginning. I often wonder how children go after they're given a name with weird spelling. When a person is put in the position of being a pedant it isn't good.

Slave is a step up from lion bait, and that's still true is some parts of Africa. Many who failed as gladiators fed the wild animals.

For many years Savannah GA was home to more Irish than Boston MA.

I usta translate black to Pennsylvania social worker, and vice versa. I could understand both eually well but they couldn't understand each other. I spent a few years in Spain, and back home I couldn't fathom Cuban Spanish.

 

[lovecraft68]

Don't read my 'Destiny in Daytona' series then, because the use of 'uber' (and 'uber-uber' and 'uber squared') by the two main characters became a minor plot line as their romance blossomed sexually.

Since the setting was current times, I just couldn't see a couple of 18 year old boys using 'the cat's pajamas' or 'groovy' or 'totally tubular' in the dialog.

Good point.

I had an editor last year who decided to write a story of his own and asked me what I thought.

he used the expression "they were truly our salad years"

Salad years? I know the expression, but I can see a lot of people going "What?"

My wife hates the expression "wicked awesome" which is huge where she grew up in Boston and gets used a lot here in RI. I use it sometimes just to tick her off.

 

[stickygirl]

No one's mentioned 'bitches' yet - when did that creep into common parlance?

 

[lovecraft68]

No one's mentioned 'bitches' yet - when did that creep into common parlance?

When rap culture took over and everyone decided it was cool to talk like a "gangsta"