The most misused words in the English language

[pamela]

posted by Modest

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

My oldest was reprimanded by his teacher last week after correcting her that "irregardless" wasn't a word;)

here is another that drives me nuts- using a preposition the end of a question. " where is it, at?" ugh.... My youngest in writing his sentences yesterday did this and when questioned, was told that this was correct by his teacher.

Needless to say, the school system is beginning to frighten me:eek:

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

Needless to say, the school system is beginning to frighten me

Better late then never:hihi:

................(than, why do people think them interchangeable there)

I used to worry (whilst attending) but now I just shake me head and laugh....just think these idiots are going to be running things eventually:) We're doomed:hihi: Soylent green anyone:hihi:

[pamela]

posted by dd

Better late then never

................(than, why do people think them interchangeable there)

I used to worry (whilst attending) but now I just shake me head and laugh....just think these idiots are going to be running things eventually We're doomed Soylent green anyone

well, at least mine won't be idiots;)

it's actually worse here than I previously thought...

Vocabulary words are taught by rote and not phonetically and calculators have become the standard for mathematical applications

The problem is, I think the parents were taught in the same way and do not realize what their children are lacking.

[mynah]

"Unique" and its sibling "the only one of its kind in ..."

 

"Fulsome". If journalists who use "he was fulsome in his praise of ..." ever bothered to look up the meaning, most of them would probably be pretty embarrassed...

 

Lemit, I agree about some huge blunders that are picked up before they get into print. At one magazine where I used to work as a journalist, I saw a sub-editor rendered speechless with laughter at this photo caption for an article on bridal wear: "The bride is dressed in a white dress with a low neckline that clearly exhibits her virginity." As the sub said once she was able to breathe again, "I'd love to see the pic. Just how low can a neckline be?"

 

Just this week I saw an article on education programmes in local prisons, with an official being quoted as saying, "Our aim is to create an illiterate nation." Appears they are succeeding...:evil:

[Michaelangelica]

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

irregardless ??

You have to be kidding? What the hell is it supposed to mean?

 

I am literally nonplussed by that. :evil: :surprise: :phones:

What is the opposite of nonplussed ?:(

I am nonplussed about that too.

 

"Natural"--the most overused word?

Now some flavour and fragrance designers say "nature identical"!

A new ABC show on advertising is a 'hoot' called

The Gruen Transfer

It looks at advertising and advertisers. A great programme.

A pilot went out last year and it looks like we might get a full season of it this year. Very funny if you have an Oz sense of humour or humor (sic?:))

 

Another gripe of mine is the lovely word "disinterested" meaning impartial- "free from selfish motive or interest"-Webster-a very handy word to use.

However it is often used now to mean "Not interested" :doh:

Consequently, you can't use it for fear of being misunderstood.

[lemit]

Thank you, Mynah. The bridal story is the most wonderful one I've read in years. The story of which I'm reminded, which isn't nearly as good, is that when I was at The Denver Post, one of the photographers left an excited note on the bulletin board announcing a brand new baby and listing the size as 7' 11". One of the staff cartoonists soon added a drawing of a doctor's arm holding up a pair of legs that descended out of the picture.

 

I promised a list. I don't have it yet, but I'm often intrigued by "literally."

 

--lemit

[mynah]

Another bugbear of mine, too. I recall a sports commentator saying, "He literally had to jump six feet high to take that catch!"

[modest]

 

...I never knew who sung that...

 

~modest

 

:phones: :evil: :(

 

~modest

[lemit]

I just looked through this thread again and discovered something I'd somehow missed before which is like the hackneyed "fingernails on a blackboard" to me. Thank you, Turtle, for "went missing." I haven't done any research on this term. If anyone can give me its etymology, I'd love to see it. Any time I hear it on television, I always ask "Went where?" Nobody responds. Sometimes my cat gives me a dirty look, but that doesn't count, since she does that a lot.

 

Again, thank you for this thread.

 

--lemit

[pamela]

I googled and found this for "went missing"

 

The reason went missing sounds strange to Americans is that it's a British idiom (1, 2). I've seen sources placing the first use of went missing as far back as 1944 (3), but my version of the Oxford English Dictionary places the first use in a 1958 book by British writer Norman Franks (4). The OED places gone missing in the same category as the phrase go native, which is used to describe a turn to or relapse into savagery or heathenism. I've also heard the term go native used to describe the transition a newcomer to Washington D.C. undergoes as he or she accepts the government bureaucracy, which I suppose could be considered turning to savagery or heathenism.

Grammar Girl :: Went Missing

[lemit]

Now that's personal, Pamela.

 

About 35 years ago I edited a book titled "Grow Native."

 

So, is "Go . . ." considered meaningful by American English speakers, or for that matter, English English speakers?

 

Again, thanks.

 

--lemit

[pamela]

"go figure!":D

this is a very common phrase in American English but it isn't used for calculations

I have caught myself saying it and thought "what the heck does that mean?, since it really doesn't apply to what you are trying to convey"

I am not sure about the English english(why does that feel redundant;)) but i will google

[lemit]

I don't know. If someone told me to "Go figure," I think I'd have to take it pretty seriously. I don't know exactly where I'd go, or exactly what I'd try to figure, but I suppose I'd figure that out on the way, specially if I had someone with a nice figure to go with me.

 

Sorry for the implicit sexism. I'll try to be more explicit the next time.

 

--lemit

[pamela]

posted by lemit

I don't know. If someone told me to "Go figure," I think I'd have to take it pretty seriously. I don't know exactly where I'd go, or exactly what I'd try to figure, but I suppose I'd figure that out on the way, specially if I had someone with a nice figure to go with me.

 

Sorry for the implicit sexism. I'll try to be more explicit the next time

let me guess, you were just figuratively speaking;)

[DFINITLYDISTRUBD]

well, at least mine won't be idiots;)

it's actually worse here than I previously thought...

Vocabulary words are taught by rote and not phonetically and calculators have become the standard for mathematical applications

The problem is, I think the parents were taught in the same way and do not realize what their children are lacking.

perhaps better for another thread "Are americans gettin stoopider" or sumthin of the sort";)

 

Nuther one, people are actually saying "lol" now..... in conversation.....as apposed to chuckling, giggling etc. WTF is up with that:D (BTW y'all it's nuther not nother:hihi:)

[REASON]

Here's a couple of words that aren't necessarily misused, but mispronounced on a regular basis.

 

Masonry - Often pronounced like masonary.

 

Realtor - Often pronounced like realetor.

 

Nuclear - Often pronounced like nukular.

 

Valentine's Day - Often pronounced like Valentimes Day.

 

 

And I'm also getting tired of every time a potential tragedy is avoided, it is determined to be a miracle.

 

A miracle is defined as a supernatural event of some sort that is often described as an act of god. Well, someone getting struck by lightning or swept up in a tornado is also often referred to as an act of god, but never described as a miracle.

 

Obviously, miracle is only reserved for supernatural events that have a positive outcome. :)

 

 

Also, like it or not, not everyone who joins the military qualifies as a hero. The misuse of this term is nothing more than a way in which we rationalize our guilt for sending our good servicemen and women off on misbegotten deployments.

[pamela]

posted by reason

Masonry - Often pronounced like masonary.

 

Realtor - Often pronounced like realetor.

 

Nuclear - Often pronounced like nukular.

 

Valentine's Day - Often pronounced like Valentimes Day.

ugh...i hate that, and here is one more

theater- pronounced THEE-ater

but you know what really sends me over the edge? HISSELF