The most misused words in the English language

[mynah]

Here I'm not referring to the incorrect use of words and phrases by those who are ignorant or confused about their meaning, but by deliberate misuse by those who should know better. Here, to start off the list, are three:

 

1. Democratic, as in democratic republic. If the name has to tell you it is, it generally isn't. I've tried to work out what exactly democratic republic means, but it seems to be something along the line of, "We have elections, or will have once we've taken care of those damn idiots who don't like the way we're running the country. As a precautionary measure, no opposition parties who pose any real risk to the current leadership are allowed." Although I haven't had the opportunity to check for myself, I've read in a normally reliable newspaper that the Chinese constitution actually contains the phrase "people's democratic dictatorship".

 

2. Cowardly, as in cowardly act of terrorism. Often used after the 11 September 2001 attacks, this one has had me scratching my head ever since. I could think of a number of negative adjectives to describe the actions of someone who hijacks a plane full of people and flies it into a tower, but cowardly wouldn't be high on the list.

 

3. Walked, as in walked away from a plane crash. In the said example, some 16 people survived a crash that killed more than 150 fellow passengers. I'd have thought they'd have run (if fit enough), limped, crawled or been stretchered away, rather than walked, which suggests strolling off casually after the most devastating experience of their lives.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Languages evolve, Even the Brits don't speak English English anymore.

[Turtle]

Here I'm not referring to the incorrect use of words and phrases by those who are ignorant or confused about their meaning, but by deliberate misuse by those who should know better. Here, to start off the list, are three:

 

...

3. Walked, as in walked away from a plane crash. In the said example, some 16 people survived a crash that killed more than 150 fellow passengers. I'd have thought they'd have run (if fit enough), limped, crawled or been stretchered away, rather than walked, which suggests strolling off casually after the most devastating experience of their lives.

 

Along the lines of your number 3, I cringe at 'went missing'. :doh: If the phrase went missing went missing, we'd be the better for it. :hyper:

 

As Definitively Distributed points out, language is always changing. This is why we update dictionaries. Since you mention 'those who should know better' I get that you refer to professional writers and as with all professions there is the good, the bad, and the ugly. Besides dictionaries there is for journalists an annual publication called AP Stylebook - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and for more general rules of use there is for example the The Bedford Handbook.

 

For concision and staying power though, nothing beats Strunk & White's The Elements of Style. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elements_of_Style

 

No book on writing will impact you more. :doh: :hyper:

[freeztar]

Top of the list:

 

Natural

 

It's meaning is as obscure as its references are cosmopolitan.

[REASON]

Here's George Carlin doing a bit about Expressions and Sayings.

 

Not exactly misused words, but fits with the spirit of the thread.

 

*Warning* - Rated M for Mature do to Adult Content and Adult Language.

 

Laugh at your own risk.

 

YouTube - George Carlin - Expressions and Sayings http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L58HOfIyDKw

[mynah]

Here's George Carlin doing a bit about Expressions and Sayings.

 

Not exactly misused words, but fits with the spirit of the thread.

 

*Warning* - Rated M for Mature do to Adult Content and Adult Language.

Mature and Adult are two more...:phones:

[Pyrotex]

"...and I"

misused.

As in: She gave that money to him and I.

 

Correct: He and I got that money from her.

Correct: She gave that money to him and me.

 

But listen around. Even educated newscasters and teachers are saying it wrong.

[Qfwfq]

I've read in a normally reliable newspaper that the Chinese constitution actually contains the phrase "people's democratic dictatorship".

You mean the Chinese constitution is written in English?

 

Translation can be prone to pitfalls.

[Tormod]

Leading

 

As in "we are a leading company in the X sector". How? Why? When? Just about every company with a website today happens to be a "leading" company.

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Leading

 

As in "we are a leading company in the X sector". How? Why? When? Just about every company with a website today happens to be a "leading" company.

Because they can't remember who's following whom:)

[modest]

affect and effect :evil:

 

When you affect something you have an effect on it.

 

~modest

[Michaelangelica]

affect and effect :Alien:

 

When you affect something you have an effect on it.

 

~modest

That one often gets me, so I use both.

:)

 

"Decimate" annoys me intensely when it is used for" completely destroyed" "obliterated" or "annihilated".

Yes I know, that is an accepted meaning of the word now; but really, what about the Latin root 'deci' =ten What the Romans did when the Legions stuffed up-- to reduce by one tenth? What annoys me even more is I didn't study Latin and it still grates!

Decimate (yearly/monthly?) is what new Company CEOs do totheir company staff levels increase their stock worth before they jump with their golden parachute. The next CEO has to hire everyone again and retrain them as the company no longer works- or has been eaten by a bigger company.

 

(Wouldn't that mean a gold parachute would be heavy and they would fall, spat, and die?? Even jumping ship with a 'golden-life-jacket' doesn't work either. ).

 

Wiki can't decide if it is Greek or Latin

deci- tenth part Latin decimus, tenth; from decem, ten English, e.g.= decibel, decimate

deca-, dec-, deka-, dek- "ten" Greek deka, ten e.g. English=decagram, decahedron

&

Decimation (Latin: decimatio; decem = "ten") was a form of military discipline used by officers in the Roman Army to punish mutinous or cowardly soldiers. The word decimation is derived from Latin meaning "removal of a tenth."[1]

So if we use 'decagon, decagram, decimal, decimal system, decimal point, decimus, Decine, decinormal, decahedral, decinormal, decimetre, decahedron, dodecahedron( 10+2), Decimosexto (10+6), & decibel' correctly why can't we use 'decimate' correctly?

AND!

It is about time we put December back in October's spot and October goes into August's spot and. . . O forget it. I know I have lost the fight. But I will continue to winge.:shrug:

De*cem"ber, n. [F. d['e]cembre, from L. December, fr. decem ten; this being the tenth month among the early Romans, who began the year in March. See Ten.]

 

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

More a combination of words, but just as annoying to those of us with common sense

 

Example fastest toughest most powerful etc. etc. [whatever] line of, available, etc. etc.

 

How is it that every single manufacturer is better in every way than their competitors while at the same time they're competitors are better than them for exactly the same reasons?

 

And what the F### is juice anyway?

 

And what really is 100% pure?

Ex. 100% pure orange juice...look at the ingredients an waddayano ist got OJ corn syrup and BHT (added as a preservative)....wouldn't pure OJ be just the squeezins of an orange...you know... the "JUICE"?

 

And what Freezy said NATURAL.

 

Truth in advertising? Is there such a thing?

[lemit]

As an old journalist, I can tell you that "walked away" is a combination of color and shorthand. It's easier than thinking, and there are a lot of reporters (especially hard news reporters and even more especially sports reporters) to whom linguistic thinking doesn't come that easy anyway. At a newspaper I worked for the editors agreed they all deserved a piece of a national award won by one of the reporters, since this particular reporter had never learned the niceties of spelling, semantics, or punctiuation. His stories were passed from editor to exhausted editor until they were finally readable. "Walked away" is, I think, much more acceptable than the stuff those poor editors had to clean up.

 

Thank you for this thread. I'll try to dig up my own list of egregious misuses.

 

Later.

 

--lemit

[modest]

Care of Family Guy:

 

Anyone using the phrase “irregardless”, “a whole 'nother” or “all of the sudden” will be sent to forced labor camps :)

 

~modest

[Buffy]

nonplussed: I usually hear it used to mean the opposite of what it actually means....

 

There are three cures for ennui: sleep, drink and travel, :)

Buffy

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Care of Family Guy:

 

Anyone using the phrase “irregardless”, “a whole 'nother” or “all of the sudden” will be sent to forced labor camps :evil:

 

~modest

Too late most of us are pretty much in the whole forced labor dealie already:hihi: as we's not smart nuff to get white collar job:D