The things people say...that irk you

[Dollar Slice]

I don't get it.  I understand people commenting on it if its unusual for the area you live in (annoying though it can be I do understand and am pretty good about it) but to try to imitate it? I don't understand  people.

The worst was when a friend of mine visited me when I was living in the UK and started slipping into a bad fake British accent here and there. I asked what she was doing and she claimed that she just couldn't help it, after being surrounded by British people for a whole day, she just picked up the accent. (I personally thought she was full of shit, but...)

[UnleashHell]

The worst was when a friend of mine visited me when I was living in the UK and started slipping into a bad fake British accent here and there. I asked what she was doing and she claimed that she just couldn't help it, after being surrounded by British people for a whole day, she just picked up the accent. (I personally thought she was full of shit, but...)

I've seen that happen before. I think that's an subconscious attempt to fit in. Even I do it when I visit my relatives in Liverpool!!

Its the standing in front of someone and copying their accent I don't understand.




anyway back on topic - i'm still going  with Herb.


Her.
Herb.
Herbert.

Why the Erb? when did the H get lost?

[NoraLenderbee]

"Arguably" when used as a weasel word to hedge a statement that doesn't need to be hedged. Used an awful lot by sports commentators. "He's arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the league." "They're arguably the top team in their division." As anyone who's been on a debate team knows, anything is arguable.

"Iconic"--very popular now to mean big, famous, well-known, important, dominant, archetypal, etc., etc. Especially when used with a qualifier. "The most iconic restaurant in New York!"

[Sojourner]

anyway back on topic - i'm still going  with Herb.


Her.
Herb.
Herbert.

Why the Erb? when did the H get lost?

Blame it all on this guy:

@ 0:42
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY

[yuka]

I had a boss that referred to a problem middle-aged men get as "prostrate" problems. No, you fall prostrate before the Lord (to use an example familiar to him). The reason your friend has to go to the urologist is prostate problems.

I saw something similar posted to my facebook the other day.  It was a picture of a sign that said "Shoplifters will be prostituted".

I guess that's one way to recuperate theft costs...

[sheepstache]

"bleeding edge"

I understand what they're saying, but as a metaphor...the bleeding edge is the wrong edge to be on.

That phrase is an intentional play on "leading edge", a joke about the pitfalls of emerging technology.
Unless, of course, you're hearing it used by the uninitiate with no sense of irony. (Kill them)

I thought it was a play on "cutting edge." As in, temporally, the bleeding edge comes after the cutting edge. And yes, the first time I read it was definitely someone using it unironically; perhaps that has poisoned me against it in later uses where I should have given the speaker the benefit of the doubt.

[yuka]

Not pronouncing the "you" sounds in news, opportunity, and many more, as in "nooz" for "opportoonity"

This must be a regional thing because I don't think I've ever heard anyone say anything but "nooz" or "opportoonity" unless I was in a foreign country.

That's entirely regional. It's called yod-dropping, and all of England and US fall somewhere on the continuum. I've read that in Welsh English 'brewed' is distinct from 'brood', instead being pronounced 'bryooed'. On the other hand, supposedly in East Anglia they yod-drop everything; 'music' and 'fuse' are 'moozic' and 'fooze'. In the US, we probably have more yod-dropping than the average English dialect. If I hear someone say 'nyooz' without an accompanying British accent I'll think they're a little pretentious; 'opportyoonity' in American accent, even more so.

I don't get it.  I understand people commenting on it if its unusual for the area you live in (annoying though it can be I do understand and am pretty good about it) but to try to imitate it? I don't understand  people.

The worst was when a friend of mine visited me when I was living in the UK and started slipping into a bad fake British accent here and there. I asked what she was doing and she claimed that she just couldn't help it, after being surrounded by British people for a whole day, she just picked up the accent. (I personally thought she was full of shit, but...)

I met an Israeli guy once who had spent a summer driving across the US, and he said they mostly listened to country on the radio. So I found a song he knew and had him sing it. The result sounded to me like a Russian accent trying to imitate a Southern US accent. "Roke me maam-a like a wag-own wheel"

[dorothyc]

"I'll ping him", instead of "I'll call him"

I have a colleague who says both supposably, differentuate and irregardless, and pronounces the car name Sky-on.

[mrcheese]

"Make due" instead of "make do"

[sunday]

Trigger warnings. If you're so fragile that reading something upsetting online reduces you to a sad, bumbling heap if yourself, and you don't know better to forego the sites this is most likely to happen at, maybe you're not ready to be on the internet.

[shelivesthedream]

Trigger warnings. If you're so fragile that reading something upsetting online reduces you to a sad, bumbling heap if yourself, and you don't know better to forego the sites this is most likely to happen at, maybe you're not ready to be on the internet.

f

Eh, I don't know... I think trigger warnings are excessive at the moment and used either for the slightest thing (the word "rape" is used once in an article so OMGZ TRIGGER WARNING!!!) or for things where it ought to be totally obvious (if a documentary is called "Rape and Violence in Modern Day Britain" do you REALLY need a trigger warning?) Also, you'd hope that if an article starts mentioning rape and you feel uncomfortable you can just stop reading then and there.

However, sometimes graphic descriptions and (particularly) photos do come out of nowhere and a discreet "Warning: graphic images of rape/anorexia/murder/whatever" can be appropriate if it would not be obvious from the title/description. I do think it safe to assume that if someone were traumatised by something they would check out a description before blithely clicking 'play' as they must come across stuff all the time. Also, for films it's often mentioned already To give an analogous example, I am afraid of vomit but I don't need a trigger warning. If someone starts coming across as really drunk onscreen or ends up in a hospital I close my eyes and ears until it has gone away because I can tell it's coming.

So yes, I would do away with a lot of poncey trigger warnings warning you about nothing when it ought to be obvious, but they do have their place sometimes.

I would do away with a lot of trigger warnings t

[FLA]

 
[/quote]

LOL.  I used to work with a guy who had the most awesome malapropisms.  The classic was when he referred to the current governor of New York as Mario Cuomo.  OK, it's a mistake you could make, except that my coworker worked in public policy. It was literally his job to get these things right. 

So I emailed him back and said, I think you mean Andrew Cuomo, Mario's son, who is now the current governor.  He emailed me back and said, "Oops!  I guess it was a fraudulent slip."  LOLOL.  He just couldn't get anything right.  Total asshole, too.
[/quote]

that is funny! fraudulent, lol.  I'd take zombie Mario back for 6 months, school the boy a bit

[FLA]

"he don't got that"  he does not have that

"he don't walk no more"  he doesn't walk anymore

"he ain't dead, but he don't look good, he ain't shit in a week or eat nothin', his wife ain't happy"  too stupid for translation

all from an aide who went back to be an LPN who came out still speaking that way.  How do you write papers when that is the way you speak?  She's not stupid and a great employee but....

If my nurse speaks poorly, I double and triple check everything.   

[yuka]

Trigger warnings. If you're so fragile that reading something upsetting online reduces you to a sad, bumbling heap if yourself, and you don't know better to forego the sites this is most likely to happen at, maybe you're not ready to be on the internet.

f

Eh, I don't know... I think trigger warnings are excessive at the moment and used either for the slightest thing (the word "rape" is used once in an article so OMGZ TRIGGER WARNING!!!) or for things where it ought to be totally obvious (if a documentary is called "Rape and Violence in Modern Day Britain" do you REALLY need a trigger warning?) Also, you'd hope that if an article starts mentioning rape and you feel uncomfortable you can just stop reading then and there.

However, sometimes graphic descriptions and (particularly) photos do come out of nowhere and a discreet "Warning: graphic images of rape/anorexia/murder/whatever" can be appropriate if it would not be obvious from the title/description. I do think it safe to assume that if someone were traumatised by something they would check out a description before blithely clicking 'play' as they must come across stuff all the time. Also, for films it's often mentioned already To give an analogous example, I am afraid of vomit but I don't need a trigger warning. If someone starts coming across as really drunk onscreen or ends up in a hospital I close my eyes and ears until it has gone away because I can tell it's coming.

So yes, I would do away with a lot of poncey trigger warnings warning you about nothing when it ought to be obvious, but they do have their place sometimes.

I would do away with a lot of trigger warnings t

Similarly, I don't think there are many places outside of 4chan's /b/ where people try to sneak gore or gratuitous violence on unsuspecting users. That seems to be a relic of the internet ca. 2000-2008, in that stretch of time when the internet hadn't apparently matured enough to handle all the bandwidth they were starting to get.

And for me, it's foot binding. Any descriptions or images of that criminal process of mutilation and handicapping make me feel sick; just like you, I know to get out when I see it coming.

[kite]

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the people who just suffered some awful tragedy.

I understand praying to God, Yahweh, Jehovah, Allah, Flying Spagehetti Monster, Wadjet or one of a litany of saints or deities; even though saying so can be dicey.  But a prayer is generally worship or an ask.  What are they asking of the people who just suffered some awful tragedy?

[OlyFish]

"Just wanted to let you know". Almost always followed by something unimportant that I did not need to know.

[oneday]

"Buh-in" pronounced as two syllables, instead of button. Heard it on the radio today. Gah!

[KiwiSonya]

'No offence', which usually follows a truly offensive remark.

[Torran]

Trigger warnings. If you're so fragile that reading something upsetting online reduces you to a sad, bumbling heap if yourself, and you don't know better to forego the sites this is most likely to happen at, maybe you're not ready to be on the internet.

I couldn't agree more. It drives me crazy. Everyone walking on egg-shells and being so ridiculously, achingly careful about highlighting 'trigger warnings', so that someone reading something won't have to feel the slightest bit of negative emotion... just... yuk. If they can't handle it, they should know better than to be on the internet reading articles/blogs/other things about a topic that upsets them.
Grrr.

Also people saying pacific instead of specific. All lazy speech. Nucular instead of nuclear. People who don't make an effort to speak clearly. USE YOUR VOICE people. I answer phones all day at work and can't stand people who just half-ass their side of the conversation.

Woah, I really hate people.

[Torran]

'I couldn't agree more'. Nearly slipped up myself there. Haha.

[dude]

I hole-hardedly agree, but allow me to play doubles advocate here for a moment. For all intensive purposes I think you are wrong. In an age where false morals are a diamond dozen, true virtues are a blessing in the skies. We often put our false morality on a petal stool like a bunch of pre-Madonnas, but you all seem to be taking something very valuable for granite. So I ask of you to mustard up all the strength you can because it is a doggy dog world out there. Although there is some merit to what you are saying it seems like you have a huge ship on your shoulder. In your argument you seem to throw everything in but the kids Nsync, and even though you are having a feel day with this I am here to bring you back into reality. I have a sick sense when it comes to these types of things. It is almost spooky, because I cannot turn a blonde eye to these glaring flaws in your rhetoric. I have zero taller ants when it comes to people spouting out hate in the name of moral righteousness. You just need to remember what comes around is all around, and when supply and command fails you will be the first to go. Make my words, when you get down to brass stacks it doesn't take rocket appliances to get two birds stoned at once. It's clear who makes the pants in this relationship, and sometimes you just have to swallow your prize and accept the facts. You might have to come to this conclusion through denial and error but I swear on my mother's mating name that when you put the petal to the medal you will pass with flying carpets like it’s a peach of cake.

Holy shit, I just laughed my ass off at this!  Goddamn, that was funny!

[wkumtrider]

"That being said...."

[yuka]

I just saw a new one today. While spending my average far too much time reading blogs, I found 'rampid'. I can picture what was going through the writer's head: "I want to use that phrase I hear people say, something like 'grown rampind' or 'rampid' or 'rampant'... None of those sound like words, but I guess 'rampid' looks the most like what I hear."

People who try to use familiar, clever phrases instead of thinking through meanings are like people who use complex equations without any interest in the underlying derivation.

[dorothyc]

"Just sayin'"

{some inanimate object} "I'm looking at you". The latter usually on blogs rather than directly overheard.

[horsepoor]

"We don't want to exasperate the situation."  Said by someone with a law degree.  I'm exasperated by your attempts to use the word exacerbate.

Also, "flush out the details."  The phrase is flesh out; I want nothing to do with anything you might be flushing.

Also, the word wheelhouse has become way too overused lately.  We were watching a cooking competition show and it was said about every two minutes.

Dialogue.  As in, "we should dialogue about that issue later."  Can't you just say talk, or have a conversation?

[Monocle Money Mouth]

For some reason, it bugs me when people use dh and dw instead of just writing husband or wife. I'm also not a fan of shortening appetizer to apps or sandwiches to sandos. I've seen that on a couple of restaurant menus.

[TheBuddha]

Also, "flush out the details."  The phrase is flesh out

+1

[aschmidt2930]

"I could care less" when trying to express that one could not care less.

[Rezdent]

"Nip it in the butt"
This started with one coworker who said it often during meetings, but others have picked it up and continue spreading it.
I heard it so many times I finally confronted the coworker and told her that it is "nip it in the bud", and refers to pruning a plant before it flowers.

She replied that when she says it, she means it as a reference to a dog biting someone's butt.

I guess her version is just a little more aggressive.

[Sojourner]

I've been corrected saying "reiterate".

Coworker said "iterate" is the proper use.  "Reiterate" is re-redundant.

I hear "reiterate" often, so actually I'm not sure if it's right or wrong.  Now I just avoid saying it.

[nobodyspecial]

Also, "flush out the details."  The phrase is flesh out

Perhaps it's a hunting metaphor?
Flush out the details and then kill them!

[Dollar Slice]

Coworker said "iterate" is the proper use.  "Reiterate" is re-redundant.

That just gave me a flashback to my co-worker who would pronounce iteration as eye-iteration. Like he thought the I was two syllables, somehow. Baffling.

I don't think I've ever heard someone say "iterate" with the same meaning as "reiterate"...  Iterate, to me, is more a mathematical/science thing describing a repeating sequence, while reiterate is to repeat something that was said.

[Kris]

I hate it when people get criterion vs. criteria wrong.

Criterion is singular. Criteria is plural.

"One criteria for the project..."  Grrr, no! One criterion! Many criteria!

[Turkey Leg]

The "F" word in any form as a verb, noun or whatever.

+1000

[nobodyspecial]

The "F" word in any form as a verb, noun or whatever.

I'm a nuclear physicist. Was showing a visiting American our new NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) research center and explaining that we don't call it that anymore - because we have to avoid the N word.

He was slightly shocked, we were confused - then we understood which N word we both meant.

 

[RetiredAt63]

Does anyone take Latin any more?

The character Data on one of the Star Treks - data is plural, datum is singular.  But Data was a singular being with a plural name.  Wince.

I hate it when people get criterion vs. criteria wrong.

Criterion is singular. Criteria is plural.

"One criteria for the project..."  Grrr, no! One criterion! Many criteria!

[nobodyspecial]

The character Data on one of the Star Treks - data is plural, datum is singular.  But Data was a singular being with a plural name.  Wince.

Perhaps we were royalty?

[Kris]

Does anyone take Latin any more?

The character Data on one of the Star Treks - data is plural, datum is singular.  But Data was a singular being with a plural name.  Wince.

I hate it when people get criterion vs. criteria wrong.

Criterion is singular. Criteria is plural.

"One criteria for the project..."  Grrr, no! One criterion! Many criteria!

Yup.

[sixup]

"...but I digress." When spoken.

Written is not so bad I guess, but when spoken it just sounds pretentious and unnecessary. Oh thank you for the heads up, I had no clue you had veered off from your original point.

[yuka]

"...but I digress." When spoken.

Written is not so bad I guess, but when spoken it just sounds pretentious and unnecessary. Oh thank you for the heads up, I had no clue you had veered off from your original point.

That one doesn't bother me so much. I hear it as "sorry, I've wandered off topic and now realize that. I'll be jumping suddenly back to the matter at hand, so expect the jarring change of subject."

[shelivesthedream]

"...but I digress." When spoken.

Written is not so bad I guess, but when spoken it just sounds pretentious and unnecessary. Oh thank you for the heads up, I had no clue you had veered off from your original point.

I think the opposite - it's clearly more suited to being a casual spoken aside than to being written down. Writing makes it too weighty which makes it pretentious. Speaking makes it what it is: a quick verbal pointer.

[tofuchampion]

I hate it when people get criterion vs. criteria wrong.

Criterion is singular. Criteria is plural.

"One criteria for the project..."  Grrr, no! One criterion! Many criteria!

I have never heard a yoga teacher use vertebra/vertebrae correctly. They always say things like, "roll up slowly, one vertebrae at a time." It drives me nuts.

[TheBuddha]

I hate it when people get criterion vs. criteria wrong.

Criterion is singular. Criteria is plural.

"One criteria for the project..."  Grrr, no! One criterion! Many criteria!

Along the same lines, phenomenon vs. phenomena.

[calimom]

"Needless to say" ~ and then they say it anyhow.

[a-scho]

 I have a friend who is guilty of saying nip it in the butt, butt naked, and hefeweizen pronounced as hefewhyzen.

A former boss held a meeting once where he ended his blathering with, "Well, this all does not matter anymore. The point is mute." He used the word twice within a couple of minutes so I know it was not by mistake.

During my first Bikram yoga class, the instructor said, "This particular pose is great for your semicolon."  He also said this more than once.

[dorothyc]

I have a friend who is guilty of saying nip it in the butt, butt naked, and hefeweizen pronounced as hefewhyzen.

A former boss held a meeting once where he ended his blathering with, "Well, this all does not matter anymore. The point is mute." He used the word twice within a couple of minutes so I know it was not by mistake.

During my first Bikram yoga class, the instructor said, "This particular pose is great for your semicolon."  He also said this more than once.

Well, he was half right. ;)

[Kris]

I hate it when people get criterion vs. criteria wrong.

Criterion is singular. Criteria is plural.

"One criteria for the project..."  Grrr, no! One criterion! Many criteria!

Along the same lines, phenomenon vs. phenomena.

Yes! I heard that used incorrectly not long after I wrote this post.

[Sojourner]

After you express your concern to someone...

"Better get used to it."
"Better learn to live with it."
"Grow some thicker skin."
"Suck it up."
"You gotta learn to go with the flow."
"Take it with a grain of salt." (huh?)

They only increase your frustration.  I'm sure there are others.

[Dollar Slice]

After you express your concern to someone...

"Better get used to it."
"Better learn to live with it."
"Grow some thicker skin."
"Suck it up."

For about 6 months after I moved to NYC, every time something bad or annoying happened to me the response was "Welcome to New York!" And not even NYC-centric things, but just stuff like the cable company not showing up on time for their appointment. The hell does that have to do with being in New York? Are NYCers so egocentric that they think cable companies are perfect everywhere but here?

I am about ready to punch the next person who says it to me.

[Sojourner]

For about 6 months after I moved to NYC, every time something bad or annoying happened to me the response was "Welcome to New York!"

My buddy told a story upon return from a China trip.

He and his family group were in line (queue) to board the plane.  As the line was moving and they got near the gate, an Asian guy swoops in out of nowhere and cuts them in the line.  My friend asked him "Dude, did you really just cut in front of us?"  He ignores my friend.  The Chinese airline agent sees this but didn't seem to care and took the guy's ticket and let him board the plane.  The guy turns to my friend and says "Welcome to Asia!".