Words/phrases I wish would go away

[zolotiyeruki]

If you've never played it, "Cover your Assets" is actually a pretty fun card game!

[RetiredAt63]

Looking at article headings online:  "female this" but "man that", both from the same news source. Be consistent.  She is a woman or he is a male.  I prefer woman and man to female and male, because female/male could be any species, woman/man identifies them as people  Obviously the female is a human, but it grates.

[robartsd]

Looking at article headings online:  "female this" but "man that", both from the same news source. Be consistent.  She is a woman or he is a male.  I prefer woman and man to female and male, because female/male could be any species, woman/man identifies them as people  Obviously the female is a human, but it grates.

Unless they were unsure of the female's age but sure that the man is an adult. I doubt that this was the case in your example and of course there isn't really a good reason not to use "young woman" or "young man" for someone who is at least a teen but may not yet be an adult.

[RetiredAt63]

Looking at article headings online:  "female this" but "man that", both from the same news source. Be consistent.  She is a woman or he is a male.  I prefer woman and man to female and male, because female/male could be any species, woman/man identifies them as people  Obviously the female is a human, but it grates.

Unless they were unsure of the female's age but sure that the man is an adult. I doubt that this was the case in your example and of course there isn't really a good reason not to use "young woman" or "young man" for someone who is at least a teen but may not yet be an adult.

The accompanying photo was of a woman in her 20s/30s.  The man also looked like 20s/30s.

I see this regularly.  It just hit me harder this time because they were side by side.  It doesn't happen all the time but it happens a lot.  Start watching for it.

[Proud Foot]

This might be a controversial one, but I'm tired of COVID platitudes like "We're all in this together."  No we're not.  The political divide remains huge, the experiences of wealthy and poor through this are quite different, and everyone is having their own experience and reaction.  The phrase just seems delusional, or just condescending at best.

Finally catching up on this thread and I completely agree with this! We have been watching more TV as a result of all of this and my wife and I are so tired of the commercials with celebrities* talking about how we need to stay home so things will be better and we are all in it together. Not all of us are experiencing it the same or having the same reactions. I definitely felt like it was condescending coming from people who, in my opinion, would not have experienced the struggles felt by many across the country.

* I assumed they were all celebrities because the few I recognized are celebrities and networks like to use celebrities for situations like this.

[RetiredAt63]

This might be a controversial one, but I'm tired of COVID platitudes like "We're all in this together."  No we're not.  The political divide remains huge, the experiences of wealthy and poor through this are quite different, and everyone is having their own experience and reaction.  The phrase just seems delusional, or just condescending at best.

Finally catching up on this thread and I completely agree with this! We have been watching more TV as a result of all of this and my wife and I are so tired of the commercials with celebrities* talking about how we need to stay home so things will be better and we are all in it together. Not all of us are experiencing it the same or having the same reactions. I definitely felt like it was condescending coming from people who, in my opinion, would not have experienced the struggles felt by many across the country.

* I assumed they were all celebrities because the few I recognized are celebrities and networks like to use celebrities for situations like this.

That actually works in some countries.  New Zealand has done wonderfully well and their Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, has repeatedly said (I paraphrase) that "we are all this together and need to help each other".

[solon]

JD just published a post on the difference between "saving rate" and "savings rate".

https://www.getrichslowly.org/saving-rate-vs-savings-rate/

I never really thought of the difference before, but he is absolutely right. It will bug me now that I know, seeing it misused everywhere.

[Freedomin5]

I’m not sure if it’s often just a typo, but “DYI” instead of DIY. I’ve seen it often enough that I think people are typing DYI on purpose.

It’s not “Do Yourself It”, folks...it’s Do It Yourself (DIY).

Maybe they’re getting it mixed up with FYI?

[Dee]

So you`re saying, FYI, it`s DIY?

[zolotiyeruki]

"At a high rate of speed" - it's ... well, "redundant" doesn't sound quite right, but it's the closest I can get.  "At high speed" is a much more correct term.

[merula]

"At a high rate of speed" - it's ... well, "redundant" doesn't sound quite right, but it's the closest I can get.  "At high speed" is a much more correct term.

Technically, a "rate of speed" is acceleration, the rate at which a speed is changing.

Though even more correctly, as acceleration is a vector quantity, one shouldn't reflect acceleration without direction, which would make it a rate of velocity.

[solon]

"At a high rate of speed" - it's ... well, "redundant" doesn't sound quite right, but it's the closest I can get.  "At high speed" is a much more correct term.

I think what you're saying is speed IS a rate. So yes, "rate of speed" is redundant.

[DoubleDown]

Similarly, "At this point in time..."

"At this point" or "at this time" each work. Using both (redundantly) seems to me to be used almost exclusively by government people hoping to look important when giving news briefings. It's part of bureaucrat-speak I guess.

[Travis]

"At a high rate of speed" - it's ... well, "redundant" doesn't sound quite right, but it's the closest I can get.  "At high speed" is a much more correct term.

Technically, a "rate of speed" is acceleration, the rate at which a speed is changing.

Though even more correctly, as acceleration is a vector quantity, one shouldn't reflect acceleration without direction, which would make it a rate of velocity.

Saying "rate" sounds more official; however, if they use "velocity," then people will tilt their heads and give you that puppy dog stare.

[GreenSheep]

Restaurant menu writers, food bloggers, etc.: Not every ingredient requires an adjective before it, especially if it doesn't add anything new to the average person's general concept of that particular ingredient. If you're doing something special to it, for example to make a non-crispy thing crispy, then that might be useful information. Also, each ingredient seems to have a list of 3-4 adjectives from which each writer chooses.

Orchard apples (Do they grow any other way, commercially?)
Crisp apples
Warming cinnamon
Fresh lettuce (Well, I would hope so.)
Spicy ginger
Buttery pecans


Sometimes it's okay to let the ingredient speak for itself.

[RetiredAt63]

Restaurant menu writers, food bloggers, etc.: Not every ingredient requires an adjective before it, especially if it doesn't add anything new to the average person's general concept of that particular ingredient. If you're doing something special to it, for example to make a non-crispy thing crispy, then that might be useful information. Also, each ingredient seems to have a list of 3-4 adjectives from which each writer chooses.

Orchard apples (Do they grow any other way, commercially?)
Crisp apples
Warming cinnamon
Fresh lettuce (Well, I would hope so.)
Spicy ginger
Buttery pecans


Sometimes it's okay to let the ingredient speak for itself.

I read someplace that people are willing to pay higher prices with these fancy descriptions.  So it is marketing, pure and simple.

[Dicey]

Restaurant menu writers, food bloggers, etc.: Not every ingredient requires an adjective before it, especially if it doesn't add anything new to the average person's general concept of that particular ingredient. If you're doing something special to it, for example to make a non-crispy thing crispy, then that might be useful information. Also, each ingredient seems to have a list of 3-4 adjectives from which each writer chooses.

Orchard apples (Do they grow any other way, commercially?)
Crisp apples
Warming cinnamon
Fresh lettuce (Well, I would hope so.)
Spicy ginger
Buttery pecans

Sometimes it's okay to let the ingredient speak for itself.

I read someplace that people are willing to pay higher prices with these fancy descriptions.  So it is marketing, pure and simple.

This might bug me, too. Solution: make your own delicious food. Boom! No menu reading required. As for food blogs, I always skip the blah, blah, blah, and head straight to the recipe.

[GreenSheep]

Restaurant menu writers, food bloggers, etc.: Not every ingredient requires an adjective before it, especially if it doesn't add anything new to the average person's general concept of that particular ingredient. If you're doing something special to it, for example to make a non-crispy thing crispy, then that might be useful information. Also, each ingredient seems to have a list of 3-4 adjectives from which each writer chooses.

Orchard apples (Do they grow any other way, commercially?)
Crisp apples
Warming cinnamon
Fresh lettuce (Well, I would hope so.)
Spicy ginger
Buttery pecans

Sometimes it's okay to let the ingredient speak for itself.

I read someplace that people are willing to pay higher prices with these fancy descriptions.  So it is marketing, pure and simple.

This might bug me, too. Solution: make your own delicious food. Boom! No menu reading required. As for food blogs, I always skip the blah, blah, blah, and head straight to the recipe.

I've read the same about marketing.

I wasn't looking for solutions. I just wanted to complain, dammit! :-)

I do avoid restaurants, even pre-pandemic. I'm just remembering from my more spendypants days. Now, I make and/or grow everything from scratch at home. And I do appreciate the "skip to recipe" button on blogs.

[Dicey]

Restaurant menu writers, food bloggers, etc.: Not every ingredient requires an adjective before it, especially if it doesn't add anything new to the average person's general concept of that particular ingredient. If you're doing something special to it, for example to make a non-crispy thing crispy, then that might be useful information. Also, each ingredient seems to have a list of 3-4 adjectives from which each writer chooses.

Orchard apples (Do they grow any other way, commercially?)
Crisp apples
Warming cinnamon
Fresh lettuce (Well, I would hope so.)
Spicy ginger
Buttery pecans

Sometimes it's okay to let the ingredient speak for itself.

I read someplace that people are willing to pay higher prices with these fancy descriptions.  So it is marketing, pure and simple.

This might bug me, too. Solution: make your own delicious food. Boom! No menu reading required. As for food blogs, I always skip the blah, blah, blah, and head straight to the recipe.

I've read the same about marketing.

I wasn't looking for solutions. I just wanted to complain, dammit! :-)

I do avoid restaurants, even pre-pandemic. I'm just remembering from my more spendypants days. Now, I make and/or grow everything from scratch at home. And I do appreciate the "skip to recipe" button on blogs.

Oh, honey, complain away! There's nothing better than a good bellyachin' session now and then. I'd offer a shoulder, but social distancing and all...

I don't mind cooking, mostly because I have a crazy nice kitchen, so I haven't so much a peeked at a menu since around the 12th of March. DH's daughter flew into town with her toddler. Baby was hungry and so were we, so we went straight to a restaurant near the airport. Who knew it was going to be our last meal out in months? I'm happy to report that the menu was 100% straightforward, no flowery language at all. Maybe there is hope?

[RetiredAt63]

Restaurant menu writers, food bloggers, etc.: Not every ingredient requires an adjective before it, especially if it doesn't add anything new to the average person's general concept of that particular ingredient. If you're doing something special to it, for example to make a non-crispy thing crispy, then that might be useful information. Also, each ingredient seems to have a list of 3-4 adjectives from which each writer chooses.

Orchard apples (Do they grow any other way, commercially?)
Crisp apples
Warming cinnamon
Fresh lettuce (Well, I would hope so.)
Spicy ginger
Buttery pecans

Sometimes it's okay to let the ingredient speak for itself.

I read someplace that people are willing to pay higher prices with these fancy descriptions.  So it is marketing, pure and simple.

This might bug me, too. Solution: make your own delicious food. Boom! No menu reading required. As for food blogs, I always skip the blah, blah, blah, and head straight to the recipe.

I've read the same about marketing.

I wasn't looking for solutions. I just wanted to complain, dammit! :-)

I do avoid restaurants, even pre-pandemic. I'm just remembering from my more spendypants days. Now, I make and/or grow everything from scratch at home. And I do appreciate the "skip to recipe" button on blogs.

My suspicious side always wonders whether the fancy descriptions are gilding a lily or trying to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse, metaphorically speaking.

[slackmax]

'Price point'   meaning plain old simple 'price'.  Just cuz your Marketing 101 class had the nauseating word combo 'price point' why inflict it on the rest of us, lol? 

[HPstache]

"At a high rate of speed" - it's ... well, "redundant" doesn't sound quite right, but it's the closest I can get.  "At high speed" is a much more correct term.

I think what you're saying is speed IS a rate. So yes, "rate of speed" is redundant.

Unless you are referring to a dragster leaving the line at a high rate of speed, or in other words... accelerating quickly.

[John Galt incarnate!]

Loupe is today's entry in the file of misspelled words.

Someone used  loupe when they  posted about the loop on a knife's sheath.

This misspelling struck me as unusual because   loupe is less common than loop.

Isn't it the case that usually a  common word is incorrectly substituted for a less common word?

[John Galt incarnate!]

I’m not sure if it’s often just a typo, but “DYI” instead of DIY. I’ve seen it often enough that I think people are typing DYI on purpose.

It’s not “Do Yourself It”, folks...it’s Do It Yourself (DIY).

Maybe they’re getting it mixed up with FYI?

I haven't seen DYI.................................yet.

[Freedomin5]

I’m not sure if it’s often just a typo, but “DYI” instead of DIY. I’ve seen it often enough that I think people are typing DYI on purpose.

It’s not “Do Yourself It”, folks...it’s Do It Yourself (DIY).

Maybe they’re getting it mixed up with FYI?

I haven't seen DYI.................................yet.

If you get desperate, just search DYI on this forum.

[DoubleDown]

Not to drag politics into this non-political thread, but for the third day in a row I've seen Trump supporters quoted in the newspaper saying some version of, "I just wish he'd stop tweeting." Besides being sick of hearing that phrase over and over for the last 3.5 years, it bothers me that apologists think it's "tweeting" that's the problem, not the underlying sentiments and deep flaws of the man issuing those tweets. Yeah, if only he'd stop tweeting, everything would be OK!

[Kris]

Not to drag politics into this non-political thread, but for the third day in a row I've seen Trump supporters quoted in the newspaper saying some version of, "I just wish he'd stop tweeting." Besides being sick of hearing that phrase over and over for the last 3.5 years, it bothers me that apologists think it's "tweeting" that's the problem, not the underlying sentiments and deep flaws of the man issuing those tweets. Yeah, if only he'd stop tweeting, everything would be OK!

That’s not too far off from, “If we’d just stop testing, Covid rates would go down.”

[John Galt incarnate!]

I’m not sure if it’s often just a typo, but “DYI” instead of DIY. I’ve seen it often enough that I think people are typing DYI on purpose.

It’s not “Do Yourself It”, folks...it’s Do It Yourself (DIY).

Maybe they’re getting it mixed up with FYI?

I haven't seen DYI.................................yet.

If you get desperate, just search DYI on this forum.

Perhaps  DYI is a Freudian slip.

Has   the poster had a subconscious feeling that  the DIY project  may turn out to be too complicated and  a failed effort, a Do Yourself In fiasco?



 

[Freedomin5]

I’m not sure if it’s often just a typo, but “DYI” instead of DIY. I’ve seen it often enough that I think people are typing DYI on purpose.

It’s not “Do Yourself It”, folks...it’s Do It Yourself (DIY).

Maybe they’re getting it mixed up with FYI?

I haven't seen DYI.................................yet.

If you get desperate, just search DYI on this forum.

Perhaps  DYI is a Freudian slip.

Has   the poster had a subconscious feeling that  the DIY project  may turn out to be too complicated and  a failed effort, a Do Yourself In fiasco?

:D or Drive You Insane?

[John Galt incarnate!]

I’m not sure if it’s often just a typo, but “DYI” instead of DIY. I’ve seen it often enough that I think people are typing DYI on purpose.

It’s not “Do Yourself It”, folks...it’s Do It Yourself (DIY).

Maybe they’re getting it mixed up with FYI?

I haven't seen DYI.................................yet.

If you get desperate, just search DYI on this forum.

Perhaps  DYI is a Freudian slip.

Has   the poster had a subconscious feeling that  the DIY project  may turn out to be too complicated and  a failed effort, a Do Yourself In fiasco?

:D or Drive You Insane?

Well done!

Drive You Insane is MUCH better than Do Yourself In.

[zolotiyeruki]

I've got two that I'd like to submit:

1) "Dated" - often used to justify spending large sums of money on new kitchen counters or a new car.  Just because some TV show or kitchen industry says that granite and stainless steel are passe doesn't magically render one's kitchen useless.

and

2) "New normal" - to me, this sounds like giving up, adopting an attitude of helplessness, and relinquishing any motivation to improve an individual's (or group's) situation.  I remember it happening during the Great Recession (remember all the projections of reduced growth for the foreseeable future?), and now I'm seeing it again with COVID-19, and I refuse to accept that the human race can't overcome this latest crisis and get back in gear.

[Freedomin5]

I've got two that I'd like to submit:

1) "Dated" - often used to justify spending large sums of money on new kitchen counters or a new car.  Just because some TV show or kitchen industry says that granite and stainless steel are passe doesn't magically render one's kitchen useless.

But then your kitchen won’t Spark Joy when you are cooking in it, because of your crummy five-year-old, tired, passé granite countertops!

[Kris]

I've got two that I'd like to submit:

1) "Dated" - often used to justify spending large sums of money on new kitchen counters or a new car.  Just because some TV show or kitchen industry says that granite and stainless steel are passe doesn't magically render one's kitchen useless.

But then your kitchen won’t Spark Joy when you are cooking in it, because of your crummy five-year-old, tired, passé granite countertops!

Omg, that spark joy thing makes me rage! So many of my friends fell for this. Capitalism sold as minimalism. It was a brilliant scam, I’ll give Marie Kondo that.

[Travis]

I've got two that I'd like to submit:

1) "Dated" - often used to justify spending large sums of money on new kitchen counters or a new car.  Just because some TV show or kitchen industry says that granite and stainless steel are passe doesn't magically render one's kitchen useless.

But then your kitchen won’t Spark Joy when you are cooking in it, because of your crummy five-year-old, tired, passé granite countertops!

Omg, that spark joy think makes me rage! So many of my friends fell for this. Capitalism sold as minimalism. It was a brilliant scam, I’ll give Marie Kondo that.

Minimalism as a term is being perverted in so many ways. I watched a British home design show where a guy spent about $1 million building his wife her dream home on a tiny plot in London where they both kept repeating how she's a minimalist, but what they really meant was "she likes quiet spaces and doesn't want anything showing" likes clothes, books, and appliances. When I hear "minimalist" I think of someone happily living out of a suitcase with a home/apartment just barely large enough for habitation.

[phildonnia]

I'm getting a little sick of the phrase "In these (trying/difficult/uncertain/troubling) times". 

It was bad enough when it was used as a stock way to soften the blow of lower levels of customer service.  "In these troubling times, blah, blah, blah, you may experience longer wait times."

Now it's just a gratuitous introduction to any kind of commercial statement that have nothing to do with the times, difficult or otherwise.  "In these difficult times, we are here to offer competitive rates on auto loans."

[John Galt incarnate!]

I'm sick and tired of "narrative."

[GreenSheep]

"This won't be on the test." Said jokingly by a speaker who brings up something (generally science or math) that he/she seems to think is going over the heads of the dumb people listening.

[JetBlast]

Virtue signaling. I’m sure it was said somewhere in the last 25 pages but I’ll add it again.

For some reason people think expressing a viewpoint contrary to their own must be a disingenuous display and not a sincere disagreement of opinion. I’m not sure when honest disagreement became an impossibility in our society.

[Kris]

Virtue signaling. I’m sure it was said somewhere in the last 25 pages but I’ll add it again.

For some reason people think expressing a viewpoint contrary to their own must be a disingenuous display and not a sincere disagreement of opinion. I’m not sure when honest disagreement became an impossibility in our society.

I hate that, too. I think it says more about the person using the phrase. Person A who accuses person B of “virtue signaling” is basically saying person B’s moral compass is fake. Generally, I find that people who accuse others of such things are projecting. In other words, since I do not really have a moral compass on that issue, I assume no one else really does, either.

[iris lily]

I've got two that I'd like to submit:

1) "Dated" - often used to justify spending large sums of money on new kitchen counters or a new car.  Just because some TV show or kitchen industry says that granite and stainless steel are passe doesn't magically render one's kitchen useless.

But then your kitchen won’t Spark Joy when you are cooking in it, because of your crummy five-year-old, tired, passé granite countertops!

Omg, that spark joy thing makes me rage! So many of my friends fell for this. Capitalism sold as minimalism. It was a brilliant scam, I’ll give Marie Kondo that.

But we can have old, worn things that spark joy because they are useful.I have several kitchen things that do.And I have other household tools, and even items of useful clothing, same thing.

I like the phrase  “ spark joy” and use it often when deciding what to downsize. Things that spark annoyance go out immediately. Things that spark no emotion at all are candidates for decluttering.

[Kris]

I've got two that I'd like to submit:

1) "Dated" - often used to justify spending large sums of money on new kitchen counters or a new car.  Just because some TV show or kitchen industry says that granite and stainless steel are passe doesn't magically render one's kitchen useless.

But then your kitchen won’t Spark Joy when you are cooking in it, because of your crummy five-year-old, tired, passé granite countertops!

Omg, that spark joy thing makes me rage! So many of my friends fell for this. Capitalism sold as minimalism. It was a brilliant scam, I’ll give Marie Kondo that.

But we can have old, worn things that spark joy because they are useful.I have several kitchen things that do.And I have other household tools, and even items of useful clothing, same thing.

I like the phrase  “ spark joy” and use it often when deciding what to downsize. Things that spark annoyance go out immediately. Things that spark no emotion at all are candidates for decluttering.

I completely agree. But when Kondo started hawking pretty objects in addition to her book, the “minimalists” I know ate that up. So the message they ingested was, get rid of everything that doesn’t spark joy, and replace some of it with new stuff that does. Perfectly serviceable couch that doesn’t thrill you every time you sit on it? Get a better one!

Edit: Looking at her website... just one example. If you find that your current tuning fork does not spark joy, here is a lovely new one -- and it comes with a rose quartz crystal! Marie uses hers every day to reset! <3 Only $75 joy-sparking dollars!

https://shop.konmari.com/collections/japanese-heritage/products/konmari-decor-konmari-tuning-fork-crystal-set-rose-quartz

/s

[Jouer]

I'm getting a little sick of the phrase "In these (trying/difficult/uncertain/troubling) times". 

It was bad enough when it was used as a stock way to soften the blow of lower levels of customer service.  "In these troubling times, blah, blah, blah, you may experience longer wait times."

Now it's just a gratuitous introduction to any kind of commercial statement that have nothing to do with the times, difficult or otherwise.  "In these difficult times, we are here to offer competitive rates on auto loans."

When companies say "due to [reasons] weight times are longer than usual" I hear "we suck at some other channel so more people are calling us....but we suck at the phone channel, too, so this will suck for you."

[Freedomin5]

I've got two that I'd like to submit:

1) "Dated" - often used to justify spending large sums of money on new kitchen counters or a new car.  Just because some TV show or kitchen industry says that granite and stainless steel are passe doesn't magically render one's kitchen useless.

But then your kitchen won’t Spark Joy when you are cooking in it, because of your crummy five-year-old, tired, passé granite countertops!

Omg, that spark joy thing makes me rage! So many of my friends fell for this. Capitalism sold as minimalism. It was a brilliant scam, I’ll give Marie Kondo that.

But we can have old, worn things that spark joy because they are useful.I have several kitchen things that do.And I have other household tools, and even items of useful clothing, same thing.

I like the phrase  “ spark joy” and use it often when deciding what to downsize. Things that spark annoyance go out immediately. Things that spark no emotion at all are candidates for decluttering.

I completely agree. But when Kondo started hawking pretty objects in addition to her book, the “minimalists” I know ate that up. So the message they ingested was, get rid of everything that doesn’t spark joy, and replace some of it with new stuff that does. Perfectly serviceable couch that doesn’t thrill you every time you sit on it? Get a better one!

Edit: Looking at her website... just one example. If you find that your current tuning fork does not spark joy, here is a lovely new one -- and it comes with a rose quartz crystal! Marie uses hers every day to reset! <3 Only $75 joy-sparking dollars!

https://shop.konmari.com/collections/japanese-heritage/products/konmari-decor-konmari-tuning-fork-crystal-set-rose-quartz

/s

Wow...that’s ridiculous. She’s selling two pieces of bent wood for $104!

https://shop.konmari.com/collections/the-konmari-method/products/konmari-tidying-motarasu-ribbon-hook

[GreenSheep]

Sentences phrased as a question/answer with oneself, like:

"Do I think that saving money is a good idea? Yes, and I save as much as I can. Do I think that one should stop feeding one's children in order to save more money? Of course not, which is why I..."

I understand that it can be used effectively for emphasis, especially in public speaking, but it seems to be becoming so common that it's losing that power. I just read a post in another forum in which the writer used asked a question and answered his own question three times in one paragraph. It makes for cumbersome reading.

[Bloop Bloop]

"Begs the question"

Just shut up.

[sui generis]

"Begs the question"

Just shut up.

I may not hate it quite as much as you, but does bother me that many (most?) people use it incorrectly.

"Theory of the case" which I had only heard previously in law school, but is now something people use a lot. Because it sounds more exciting than just "theory", I guess?

[Paul der Krake]

“In the midst of a global pandemic”

WE KNOW.

[dividendman]

“In the midst of a global pandemic”

WE KNOW.

Do we though?

[GuitarStv]

“In the midst of a global pandemic”

WE KNOW.

Do we though?

lol, chinmaskers.

[BlueHouse]

Although I'm probably guilty of doing this at one time or another, I really hate when other people do it:

Mistake a word (in writing) that they've heard used with another unrelated word that sounds similar.  It's a dead giveaway that they don't read much. 

Some things I've seen recently: 
Neighbors were invited to attend a visual. 
A coworker wanted to know if our budget year was a calendar year or a physical year.