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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsWhat words or phrases drive you crazy?
As I have entered the second half of my life, I am embracing my grumpy oldmanness. As such, I thought I would take the time to put down a few of the words and phrases that make my skin crawl. Am I the only one?
I have a problem with what I call the Rachel Ray-ing of America. It is where one takes perfectly acceptable words like "vegetable" and shortens them and makes them folksy-sounding. The rather somber and distinguished vegetable is now a "veggie". You can add EVOO, YUM-O and just about any other Rachel-ism to this category.
A close second or maybe even first on a different day is the Palinisque dialect. This is another weak attempt at modifying existing verbs, participles, or gerunds ending in -ing to sound folksy. You must also add a fake North Dakota-ish accent (yes, its fake; I lived in Anchorage for a decade. No one talks like Palin there). Examples are huntin', fishun', and pallun' around with terrists. I am scared. I have been fairly bad in this life, and I am pretty sure when I die, I am going to Hell. I am also pretty sure everyone in Hell talks like Sarah Palin. Eternity will not be kind to me.
The word "pamper" also makes my now middle-middle aged skin crawl. Maybe it was because I always associated it with baby poop and diapers? I don't know. What does pampering one's wife entail? In my mind, I envision adult diapers and strange sex acts. For some reason Rudy Giuliani comes to mind as well. Perhaps I need therapy...
"Yummy" is another word that I find objectionable. Personally, it think it is a word that just sounds like it should never be muttered by anyone over the age of nine. Like "lollipop" and "tummy" growing up this was a word no one out of training wheels used with any frequency. I stare blankly at grown adults in stunned silence when they use this word.
"Moist". Does a more disgusting word exists? I think it is the guttural "oooyyyyy" sound one has to make to pronounce this word. My only saving grace is that commercials no longer tout the benefits of the "moist" box cake. I bet someone else felt like me and got the word out.
Finally, anything that comes out of Drew Barrymore's mouth. I don't know why. She seems nice enough. She is certainly not unattractive and has pretty features. She is not a poor sport or a whiner. In fact, I don't think I have ever heard her say anything negative about anyone. Still, something about the words all coming out of one side of her mouth with her cheesy half-smile and lisp-that-is-not-really-a-lisp just drives me up the wall. Listening to her makes me want to step on kittens. It's pretty bad.
Yes, I know I am getting old. The music is indeed TOO LOUD. Get off my lawn!!!
hlthe2b
(101,708 posts)My favorite quote of the day:
"The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits."
Albert Einstein
A HERETIC I AM
(24,317 posts)FWIW, the sentence "In light of the lack of a "like"button...." has a rather nice cadence to it, dontcha think?
RebelOne
(30,947 posts)It seems that most of the politicians that are interviewed on C-Span use it.
brooklynboy49
(287 posts)See below.
sendero
(28,552 posts)... my most annoying. Right up there with "on the ground".
Eom
kristopher
(29,798 posts)"Word"
Jenoch
(7,720 posts)how do you like 'pus' or 'phlegm'?
Personally, I dislike the phrase "it is what it is". What a stupid thing to say. If it wasn't what it is, what else could it be?
On the Rachel Ray topic, if anyone uses the word 'sammy' for sandwich, they ain't gettin' no sandwich from me.
Drahthaardogs
(6,843 posts)"moist" which is a word that people seem to associate with something good -- edible even! In my opinion, that makes it worse.
However, "yup". Now there is a word I can really get into hating! It might be even more disgusting than moist. I will have to think about it.
kairos12
(12,817 posts)In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)Is really that difficult to say you only live once ?
sakabatou
(42,082 posts)brooklynboy49
(287 posts)And anyone who uses it should be required to attend remedial English classes for a year. Irregardless of their circumstances.
bif
(22,559 posts)"In a few minutes from now". As opposed to a few minutes from a half hour ago?
"6 AM in the morning." You mean not 6 AM in the evening?
"It's all good." Death? Is that good?
Many, many more.
kairos12
(12,817 posts)charlie and algernon
(13,447 posts)"Selfie" is another one. I wish I had gotten the email for the meeting where we all came up with that word.
UrbScotty
(23,979 posts)"We need all the help we can get"
We have our work cut out for us"
"Sigh" (when written out online)
"That's life"
"It is what it is"
brooklynboy49
(287 posts)Hate it, hate it, hate it.
But, if removed from talking heads' lexicon, what would they say going forward??
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)They say "foh-ward," instead of FORE-ward. Argh!
DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)Going forward, we'll look for ways to cut costs.
Going forward, the uniforms will be blue.
Going forward, adult dependents will be covered until the age of 27.
"Going forward" is useless in the 3 examples above, as it is in all cases.
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)The (person) that --- it should be WHO!
My mother, she said, "blah blah". There is no need for "she".
And there is my eternal crusade about the misuse of less and fewer.
Still Blue in PDX
(1,999 posts)My husband gets extremely irritated when I correct people on television who say "less" when they mean "fewer."
femmocrat
(28,394 posts)Nice to meet you!
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)irritate him too. Also, I specialize in corrections of farther vs. further.
Jenoch
(7,720 posts)accept and except
....and of course the ubiquitous expresso and ecetera...
A HERETIC I AM
(24,317 posts)Jenoch
(7,720 posts)Edit to add: Did you miss 'expresso'?
A HERETIC I AM
(24,317 posts)I like irony.
I like foldy too.
And putty awaayey.
I also love threads like this. They are fun. It reminds me how diligent I have to be when I use language.
It also reminds me how little I care!
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)Especially when I read "corporations who", "countries who", etc.
And then there's "if and when"-- oooooh, I hate that expression (and its cousin, "unless and until" ! "If" implies that something *might* happen; "when" implies that something *will* happen. Using them together like that is contradictory-- it's going to be one or the other, but it can't be both!
vanlassie
(5,637 posts)Leave out the letter "T" in words like "Martin." Like fingernails in a blackboard to me.
Also, the use of the phrase "Think about it."
Grammy23
(5,807 posts)Group we can blame? Or punish? Shame them into leaving this habit behind? Nails on the blackboard for me! Yep, I know. This is another cliche that drives some people bonkers, up a wall, over the edge. LoL.
hopemountain
(3,919 posts)in this manner: mou-ens for mountains..
you know? grrr.
english is my second language and many of my grammatical and/or errors in diction are incorrect translations.
Le Taz Hot
(22,271 posts)that's known as a glottal stop (yes, weirdly enough, there is a name for it). I was just about to list that. When did "important" become "imor-ant?" I was inadvertently exposed to a Miley Cirus song recently and she used this affectation. Grrrr!
DebJ
(7,699 posts)Grammy23
(5,807 posts)Go big or go home. And this one:
Gotta bring my "A" game.
Oh, sometimes you intentionally bring your B, C or even.... GASP! ....your "D" game?
NV Whino
(20,886 posts)It's a noun, goddamnit! Give is a verb.
GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)It's a verb, kids. "Feelings" is what you're looking for.
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)In my experience it's used by a hit and hide type as a comeback for either:
- A statement they're full of shit on and can't defend
- An unfounded insult
I really press them on it and won't let up till they admitted they were rude or clueless douchbags.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)Expressions like "touted", "foot the bill", and "unpack" ("let's unpack this issue, shall we?" are ones I've never heard coming out of the mouths of real people in everyday conversation but I frequently hear them from Ron Burgundy newsroom clones on my idiot box.
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)Are from televised and printed news, and you're spot-on about how nobody in real life actually talks that way. Can you imagine a neighbor saying "kitchen remodeling plans slated"? Or "My in-laws blast plans for moving wedding date"?
ohnoyoudidnt
(1,858 posts)What's the point of a cake if you don't eat it? I get what it means, but it is a silly way of saying it.
Iggo
(47,486 posts)Eat your cake and have it, too.
Joe Shlabotnik
(5,604 posts)I find it really annoying that sports jargon, and inspirational speaking has merged into the business and political world. I find it somewhat sickening that we all have to be excited over-achievers at work, or rabid believers at pep rallies regarding governance.
Populist_Prole
(5,364 posts)I hate that too. The hype an hoopla is I guess supposed to consume so much of our attention maybe we'll forget the team actually sucks, or is downright malevolent.
pink-o
(4,056 posts)"I'm not a racist, but...." They're going to say something racist
"I'm not a sexist, but..." They're going to say something sexist.
"Frankly speaking..." They're either going to lie to you, or tell you something deliberately hurtful.
As for real grammatical "fails" (yeah, there's another one!) I don't mind the cliches as much as the stupid. Do kids today even know how to diagram a sentence? Can they even pick the verb out of the sentence: "I am" ?
If you know young kids today, please aver the importance of good English. I promise you, in a future of inarticulate grunting multitudes, it will be the best survival skill they can have! I am not the brightest human on the planet--or even in my own group of friends--but I can talk my way in and out of any situation that arises, write good memos, and edit someone else's writing to help them out. And it's only getting worse! When the kids are my age, a skilled grammarian will be a rarity indeed!
sl8
(13,584 posts)lame54
(35,130 posts)Jokerman
(3,517 posts)The first one seems to be educator speak for people who don't want to say the word "children" for some reason.
The other two are just plain annoying.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)thing that makes my ears want to scream in pain isn't really a word or phrase as much as it's a manner of speaking, which is the uprise at the end of sentences.
Like every sentence has a ? at the end of it, even if it's not supposed to.
Another one is voice pitch. So many women on TV these days have voices that sound like cartoon characters. Or maybe 7 year old girls. Did voices really change all that much, or did my ears just get old and crotchety over the years? I like deeper voices...even on women.
As for actual words...
I hate "boobs". And "tits" No. They are breasts
"Panties". Ugh. That word almost makes me puke in my mouth. Nobody over the age of 10 should be referring to them that way. Underpants. Underwear. Even Knickers is better than "panties".
Anyway, not that I'm a grammar expert or anything, but I do know enough proper English to pass for a relatively intelligent person most of the time. So when I hear someone with more formal education than I have (and a highly paid job) making obvious grammatical errors, I just shake my head in disgust.
blueamy66
(6,795 posts)Hell, I don't even like to type it!
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)Usually when Rachael says it, she then has to explain that it's extra-virgin olive oil. So why not skip the EVOO part -- it's not saving any time, and is actually making the phrase much longer.
MicaelS
(8,747 posts)The refusal of people to use proper capitalization or punctuation on the Internet proves people are lazy. If you expect me to take a post seriously, then you need to make it readable in standard English. Some of these posts are gibberish, especially when they resort to Internet Jargon. I notice that those with high post counts on various forums have the worst capitalization and punctuation.
As to other phrases, I hate "baby bump". I also hate the "cutesy" shortening of famous people's names -. J. Lo., Scar Jo, Brangelina.
It is difficult enough to decipher word salad but without capitalization I can't tell where the complete thought begins.
Preggers, simultaneously gives me chills and makes me retch. I don't know why. So does hubby.
MicaelS
(8,747 posts)Haven't heard that one if a long time. When I was a kid back in the 1960s, even the word pregnancy wasn't used in "polite" company. The term used back then was "PG". On the Soaps it was "She is with child".
raccoon
(31,089 posts)Drahthaardogs
(6,843 posts)Now, that word makes me want to commit seppuku.
sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)a most overused and useless term. Who ever first coined it should be boiled in oil and I'll light the fire. I've often sworn to physically chuck the next SOB that says it under a freakin' bus.
I'll add: "At the end of the day" to that as well. A pox on anybody that actually uses that term in the course of speech.
Kingofalldems
(38,360 posts)geardaddy
(24,924 posts)Relator.
mrmpa
(4,033 posts)how many times have I asked someone a question, and their response begins "so"? Hundreds of times. Watch Jeopardy, it's rampant when Trebek talks to the contestants.
A HERETIC I AM
(24,317 posts)As in "So, we did the survey using 3000 undergrads who all had skidmarks in their panties" (LOL...sorry...couldn't resist. Time to throw me under the bus!)
Drives me the fuck up the wall.
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Not so much. Heard that on commercials a lot.
"One minute we're developing the theory of relativity. The next, not so much." That's on a Liberty Mutual Insurance commercial. AGGGH!
People don't have problems, they have "issues". ARRGH!
Adverb shortage "He does things different." The word is "differentLY".
Not knowing about past perfect tenses and helper verbs like have, had or has. All verbs do NOT have -ed on the end. I heard somebody on TV say "He grinded it down."
The word is "ground".
"I seen" "I done" "They gone" "They have went"
The verbification of America. Like "to parent". Or if you direct a movie, you "helmed" it. If you're the cinematographer, you "lensed" it.
Repetition. A talking head on the local news said a little boy was missing, and they found him "hidden in hiding". I guess reporters don't have time to read what they write, and the announcers don't either.
AUGGGHH!!
Not only is the music too loud, it has no structure. If you can't put it on a lead sheet with chords, a time signature, a key signature (No. of sharps or flats) and a melody, then it's not music. You want to know about melody please listen to Schubert or Mozart.
It needs structure, like verse, verse, chorus, verse, middle 8 or bridge. I got in an argument with someone who purportedly had six years of piano lessons over this. I have a certain level of distortion in rock I can tolerate. When the Beatles did it in "Revolution", the single version, it was new. Now it's overused. Distortion can be used artistically.
Why do they sing if nobody can understand what they are saying and they turn up the bass so it's not understandable? The treble part of the range is what makes speech intelligible. Do they not care what lyrics they have written, or not care if anyone hears it, so it's just background noise for your life?
And no, sampling and scratching records is not writing music. It's destroying vinyl records. They use so much distortion and effects there is no pitch left. Also I do not listen to people who sing with clothespins on their noses and commit pedal steel guitar abuse and whine about how terrible their life is and their girl ran off with some other dude with a nicer pickup and they ran out of beer and their hunting dog died. Nor will I listen to stuff that disrespects women and calls them bitches and hoes.
I think rap is just selling the black man the consumerism of the white man(drinking Cristal or Dom Perignon champagne, driving X expensive car), as well as disrespecting women. The powers that be told us that buying stuff will make us happy. That was so they could make tons of money as greedy immoral capitalists. Associating human feelings with consumer goods like cars makes me sick. It's just a car. The example I have seen on a commercial is "The car is happy. The car loves you." And if you run around with people who judge you by what sort of car you drive, whether or not you have a watch with some designer's name on it, or designer clothes, then I think you have some pretty damned shallow friends.
Also songs and TV shows and movies about death, blood, murder, putting women in danger, gore and stuff like that. I'm not gonna stuff my head with negative crap. I don't mean be a Pollyanna, but I don't think there's anything gained by being obsessed with death and murder and violence.
"When you look into the abyss know also that the abyss also looks into you." --Freddy Nietzsche. I think Grace Slick also said it "Feed your head". Or rather "watch what you feed your head." What you concentrate on affects your mind.
There's a real intersection of sexism, violence, and capitalism. Using fear to sell stuff for one thing.
That's the end of today's rant.
TrogL
(32,818 posts)Heard it on TV last night, and in the course I was on all last week, the instructor used it about every 1/2 hour.
Inkfreak
(1,695 posts)Or any version of that. Why would you apologize before speaking??
Lucinda
(31,170 posts)Nothing else really bothers me
A HERETIC I AM
(24,317 posts)I was around horses a lot when I was growing up and that phrase just strikes me as lazy as all hell.
I know someone might just come back with the canard "Yeah, but it is now an accepted usage" or some such dribble.
There is a reason it is not the primary use of the expression.
BECAUSE HORSES DON'T CHOMP AT THE BIT, GOD DAMMIT
The expression is "Champing at the bit"
Saying it any other way makes you look stupid and parochial.
Edit to add this; The intentional omission of words like "Of" in sentences, such as "Because science" or "because freedom" or what ever.
I have seen professional writers do this repeatedly and it drives me up the fucking wall.
I suppose they think it is cute or something.
GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)I'm sorry, but if one of you is a man, there's no "we" about it. There's nothing wrong with saying, "We're expecting."
LeftishBrit
(41,190 posts)Used to be 'target' and 'deliver'. Now it's 'strategic'. Everything is strategic these days!
hack89
(39,171 posts)kairos12
(12,817 posts)Proud Liberal Dem
(24,355 posts)bugs the hell out of me because I know that they are just trying to tell us that we all support exactly what they are trying to defend, justify, etc.- even when most of us don't. To me, it's extremely presumptuous.
Oh, and "Love the sinner, hate the sin"- to me, it's just a "nicer" way of saying "I hate GLBTs" but trying to sugarcoat it.
BarbaRosa
(2,684 posts). . .generally followed by much saying.
Or 'actually' . . .I actually think actually is actually used too much.
on edit: "My friends on the other side of the aisle." They are not your friends!
frogmarch
(12,145 posts)It makes me cringe.
That's all I can come up with.
Digit
(6,163 posts)Also over-abbreviating. It makes it difficult to know what in the hell people are talking about sometimes.
In speech, others have already posted the phrases and sayings which also drive me crazy.
Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)For example, using objective pronouns as subjective pronouns ("Me and him went to the store" or vice versa ("My mother bought a present for my wife and I" .
Also, misuse of apostrophes ("I saw lot's of horse's at the ranch" "The dog licked it's paw" "That watch is her's, not your's" , as well as the omission of necessary apostrophes ("The mans shirt was stained" "The politicians career was ended by the scandal"
orleans
(33,986 posts)possibly not to the degree it bothers you.
there is one phrase that sticks out for me (of which i have detested for years):
"it is what it is" (always makes me want to say: FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!)
Puzzledtraveller
(5,937 posts)Kingofalldems
(38,360 posts)It's cavalry damn it.
raccoon
(31,089 posts)eppur_se_muova
(36,227 posts)It is NOT just a synonymn for "much" or "very", but describes a particular pattern of increase, not just an increase in and of itself.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exponential_function