The Unofficial Irregardless Hate Thread

[Pureotica]

I'm going to skip the persuasion phase, and assume that all right-thinking people acknowledge the universe's only objective moral truth.
Irregardless is a terrible and totally unnecessary word. All who use it should be sent to the gulag for re-education. Irregardless should be drawn and quartered, its corpse burned, and it ashes scattered to the four winds.

It's not even the pointless syllable that adds no meaning. It's that it isn't even semantically correct on its own terms. I contend that the ir prefix negates the less suffix, leaving you with regard. But I have no regard for irregardless. It adds a syllable for no reason, and still gets its own meaning wrong. It means the opposite of what it should, assuming it deserved to exist in the first place.

Yeah. I'm procrastinating instead of writing.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Irregardless of the sentiment of this thread, I will continue to use it for characters that are trying to sound smart irregardless of their actual intelligence.


Hey Lit forum seems to agree with you, it marks it as a misspelling lol.

 

[SeraphNocturne]

The logic is sound…

Regardless… it will still appear all around you, and haunt you with its grammatical inadequacy.

 

[Pureotica]

Irregardless of the sentiment of this thread, I will continue to use it for characters that are trying to sound smart irregardless of their actual intelligence.


Hey Lit forum seems to agree with you, it marks it as a misspelling lol.

A valid use that I grudgingly approve of. It's sort of accepted now. Some dictionaries include it. I'm not the only one who hates it though.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It's one of those stupid words that people use to seem clever, but merely declares them as dumber than duck shit.

Whilst we're on the subject of cringe making phrases, I nominate "reaching out." What are you, a fucking zombie with creepy hands? That's a "kill me now" expression, because you know the rest of it is going to be equally insipid.

 

[SimonDoom]

I cut people slack for phrases like "reaching out" and "wait up" and things like that, although I wouldn't write that way as a narrator. People have ways of talking that are matters of colloquial habit, and they don't have to make sense.

But "irregardless" cannot be excused or pardoned. It literally means the opposite of what it's supposed to mean.

Another similar one that bugs me is "I could care less," when what one really means to say is "I COULDN'T care less." If you could care less then it means you actually care, somewhat.

 

[Euphony]

Word Crimes are a scourge.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

I think you misunderestimate the power of irrelevant syllables. Irregardless, I'm on your side.

 

[Ian_Snow]

Indubitabably.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Another similar one that bugs me is "I could care less," when what one really means to say is "I COULDN'T care less." If you could care less then it means you actually care, somewhat.

That one is uniquely American, I reckon. It's a dead give-away, like drop-bears in Australia.

 

[Pureotica]

I cut people slack for phrases like "reaching out" and "wait up" and things like that, although I wouldn't write that way as a narrator. People have ways of talking that are matters of colloquial habit, and they don't have to make sense.

But "irregardless" cannot be excused or pardoned. It literally means the opposite of what it's supposed to mean.

Another similar one that bugs me is "I could care less," when what one really means to say is "I COULDN'T care less." If you could care less then it means you actually care, somewhat.

You're right about "I could care less." but I'll admit I use it. I think I inherited it a regional colloquialism. It's kind of wormed its way into my psyche and would be difficult to uproot at this point.

Although in context specific cases it could be accurate. Yeah. That's what I'm going with. Irregardless on the other hand is never right. It's not just a grammar issue. It a moral failure and a sure sign of a declining culture. I'll never learn to peacefully coexist with it.

 

[Pureotica]

I think you misunderestimate the power of irrelevant syllables. Irregardless, I'm on your side.

If it was only the syllable I would just grind my teeth and suffer in silence. It's the self negation and complete disregard for semantic precision that makes it my devil term. English has a ton of words with pointless syllables. This is just the worst offender.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Where do y'all stand on "inflammable"?

 

[HordHolm]

Where do y'all stand on "inflammable"?

Generally, it ups the ante on 'flammable' is my understanding of it. Along the same lines as 'invaluable'.

 

[lustychimera]

Great, now my morning's shot trying to figure out the best pun for "eerie guard less."

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Great, now my morning's shot trying to figure out the best pun for "eerie guard less."

When I snuck up to the criminals' hideout, I found it eerily guardless ...

 

[onehitwanda]

When I snuck up to the criminals' hideout, I found it eerily guardless ...

Boo! Hiss!

 

[Bramblethorn]

Generally, it ups the ante on 'flammable' is my understanding of it. Along the same lines as 'invaluable'.

Shush, you're ruining this with facts.

 

[HordHolm]

Shush, you're ruining this with facts.

Ok. How about how dumb 'priceless' is?

 

[SimonDoom]

Generally, it ups the ante on 'flammable' is my understanding of it. Along the same lines as 'invaluable'.

My understanding too.

In the case of "inflammable," the "in" as I understand it is not a prefix that negates what follows; rather, the root is "inflame" which is a verb that means to start a fire.

"Invaluable" is similar but different, too. In that case, it means that its value is so high that it can't be measured. It means "super-valuable" as opposed to "un-valuable." It's like "immeasurable."

 

[SimonDoom]

Ok. How about how dumb 'priceless' is?

I don't think of it as dumb. It's the same as invaluable or immeasurable. It's so valuable it's beyond pricing.

 

[Emilymcplugger]

Word Crimes are a scourge.

Better than the original.

 

[HordHolm]

I don't think of it as dumb. It's the same as invaluable or immeasurable. It's so valuable it's beyond pricing.

Absolutely, but it doesn't follow the logic of the suffix: heedless - without heed, regardless - without regard (!), wordless - without words, etc. Though I suppose 'timeless' might have that same sense.

'Unpricable' might be a more logical adjective. It won't be, but hey.

 

[Bramblethorn]

My understanding too.

In the case of "inflammable," the "in" as I understand it is not a prefix that negates what follows; rather, the root is "inflame" which is a verb that means to start a fire.

"Invaluable" is similar but different, too. In that case, it means that its value is so high that it can't be measured. It means "super-valuable" as opposed to "un-valuable." It's like "immeasurable."

AFAIK this is a correct explanation for why English has some words where "in-" negates the meaning of the rest of the word and others where it affirms it, but the result is still obnoxious.

 

[AsianFusion]

I prefer irrespective. Or in some contexts, notwithstanding