Top Ten Irritating Phrases according to Oxford

[NotJesus]

Another one that irritates me greatly is the confusion between "to" and "too".

Me to.

[Jeff Corey]

Thats just to funny.

[TX50]

Arghhhgngnggn! :mad:

[alfaniner]

Thats nothing too loose you're temper over.

[bigred]

Haven't read through most of this, but it appears there are two "types of things" being described here:

- grammatical/spelling errors (eg too vs to, there vs they're, etc)
- slang (eg "24/7")

As annoying as simple grammatical errors that many 3d graders would catch are, I tend to find the slang far more annoying. The latest/worst for some odd reason appear to center around the word "that." I have no #@%$ idea why....but fingernails breaking on chalkboards are like fine music compared to them. eg:

she's all that
I'm all about that
that's what I'm talkin about
I know that's right
I'm down with that

:barf:


PS also it's really clever and cute when someone says "I find this so annoying" and someone comes along right behind them and says/does it. tee hee giggle.
:rolleyes:

[TX50]

...center around...

Arghhhgngnggn! :mad:

[Anna Kadabra]

Guesstimate!!!!!!!!! I hate it>>>>>agghrrrrrrrrr

[Anna Kadabra]

Oh and touch base, I hate it when people talk about touching base.

[ZirconBlue]

Why don't people know the difference between loose and lose? Seriously, read the word and sound it out.

While I find the lose/loose thing to be a little annoying, I don't think this is a valid criticism. The reason these two words get confused get confused is because you can't just "read the word and sound it out." English spellings are pronunciations are not really consistant.

And, usually, they're not making a selection between two options, in the way you are suggesting. They're just trying to spell "lose" and coming up with what seems like a reasonable way to spell it. If just reading the word and sounding it out worked in this case, they'd be unlikely to make the mistake in the first place.

[ZirconBlue]

Guesstimate!!!!!!!!! I hate it>>>>>agghrrrrrrrrr

Why? The connotations of "guesstimate" are not the same as those for "guess" or "estimate". Is it just becuase it's not a "real" word?

[Almo]

I always laugh now when I hear 24/7 cause I'm an EVE player and we say 23/7 because of the daily server downtime. :)

[dann]

The reason these two words get confused get confused is because you can't just "read the word and sound it out."

I used to tell my students never to write "the reason is ... because ...", but now everybody seems to do so. I'll probably never learn to like it, but apparently I'll have to accept it. Twenty years ago they were also told that it was a Danism to "take a decision".

[dann]

I'm worried that I'm simply a pedantic twit, but they just keep coming. Not so much words or phrases as grammar errors:
(...)
The dog growled at my brother. The dog growled at me. Put them together with and: The dog growled at my brother and me.

Not "my brother and I" and not "my brother and myself."

Remember Mr. Antolini's warning to Holden Caulfield?
'I have a feeling that you're riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall. But I don't honestly know what kind ... Are you listening to me?'
'Yes'.
You could tell he was trying to concentrate and all.
'It may be the kind where, at the age of thirty, you sit in some bar hating everybody who comes in looking as if he might have played football in college. Then again, you may pick up just enough education to hate people who say, "It's a business between he and I." Or you may end up in some business office, throwing paper-clips at the nearest stenographer. I just don't know. But do you know what I'm driving at, at all?'
p.193f, Penguin edition 1958

[Wauthan]

The second most annoying phrase I can think of:

"... because you need to keep an open mind about these things."

Topped by:

"... because you need to keep an open mind about these things".

[ZirconBlue]

I used to tell my students never to write "the reason is ... because ...", but now everybody seems to do so. I'll probably never learn to like it, but apparently I'll have to accept it. Twenty years ago they were also told that it was a Danism to "take a decision".

Apparently you also let me off the hook for writing "get confused get confused".:)

[Dr Adequate]

"Small but finite."

What do you mean: "but"? All small quantities are finite, that's one of their most noticeable features. Show me one darn thing that's small and infinite. Huh? Huh?

You mean small but non-zero. And you must be punished.

[babbits]

I just thought of another one!

"at a fraction of the cost" --What fraction are they talking about? I mean, 99/100 is a fraction, too, idnit?

Yes. And 200% is also a fraction of the cost.

My fave is "This begs the question..." to mean something like "We should look at this skeptically. We need more information." Or "This raises the question".

Dammit, it means "is committing a logical fallacy that states in a premise that which the syllogism attempts to prove."

[NoZed Avenger]

"Marquis de Carabas is here."

[FarmallMTA]

"Put your John Henry there!"

First, any dumbass who substitutes "John Henry" for "John Hancock" when inviting someone to sign something is mangling the traditional saying of "Put your John Hancock there." Which refers to John Hancock signing the Declaration of Independence in large flowing style so, as he quipped at the time, "King George III won't have to put on his spectacles to see my signature."

Second, anybody who doesn't wear their ass for a hat knows that John Henry was a steel drivin' man, Lawd, Lawd, John Henry was a steel drivin' man. He was an illiterate living competitor of a new-fangled steam powered tunnel boring machine, not a writer. He beat the machine by boring faster using 2 sledgehammers, one in each hand, to double drive hand boring bits, but died soon after from overwork, by the way. Jeez.

So the next time somebody invites you to "put your John Henry there" ask them if you should use one sledgehammer or two. That'll get their attention.

[Ladewig]

Yes. And 200% is also a fraction of the cost.

My fave is "This begs the question..." to mean something like "We should look at this skeptically. We need more information." Or "This raises the question".

Dammit, it means "is committing a logical fallacy that states in a premise that which the syllogism attempts to prove."

Almost every reliable source I have seen indicates both usages are correct.

[jimtron]

"I could care less"
" Six of one, half dozen of the other"

Not a phrase, but the use of 'automagically' and 'guesstimate' bug me.

[Dr Adequate]

Can we get rid of "Your mileage may vary" now?

It's had its day.

[Piggy]

Today I read that Charlize Theron was "originally born in South Africa".

[Hittman]

My boss says "impacted" so many times that I would like to impact him upside the head.

I used to work in a nursing home, where the term "impaction" meant something else entirely.

"Fixed that for you."

(Said after swapping a few words round in an incredibly original manner.)

That one's on the top of my list. I immediately peg anyone who does that as an arrogant hole who should be ignored.

"Let's agree to disagree."

No. Let's not.

On opinions, fine. We can agree to disagree on the best sports team, movie or band. We can even agree to disagree on things like atheism v. theism (even though there is no evidence to support theism). But the phrase is often used to cover up ignorance when there is a right answer and a lot of wrong answers. "Let's just agree to disagree over whether George Washington wrote the constitution, OK?"

The mispronunciation of 'rococo'. Surely this one grates on everyone else's nerves also?

I can never hear that word without thinking "Rocky Rococo, at your cervix."

Think of the children.

Used by every tyrannical and nanny movement.

I'm surprised no one mentioned "we've turned around 360 degrees."

Working Lunch.

With All Due Respect – followed by a diatribe that translates to "you're an idiot."

Utilize. Never, ever use this word.

And the one I hate the most – multiple exclamation points. Terry Pratchet says it's a sign that someone wears their underwear on their head. I've seen event notices where nearly every sentence ends with an exclamation point, but the multiple exclamation points are even worse.

I always start with the assumption the writer has an average IQ of 100, then deduct ten points for every double exclamation point, thirty points for a triple, and 50 for any more than that. Frequently they're in the negative numbers before their third sentence.

[ZirconBlue]

Can we get rid of "Your mileage may vary" now?

It's had its day.

I'd tend to agree, but YMMV.

Today I read that Charlize Theron was "originally born in South Africa".

Where was she born after that?

That one's on the top of my list. I immediately peg anyone who does that as an arrogant hole who should be ignored.

Fixed that for you.



I can never hear that word without thinking "Rocky Rococo, at your cervix."

I saw a boat in Chicago once, with the following inscribed on the back:


Buster High-Man
"At your cervix"


Working Lunch.

This is an actual thing. What's your objection?


Utilize. Never, ever use this word.

I must admit, I utilize this word on occasion.

And the one I hate the most – multiple exclamation points. Terry Pratchet says it's a sign that someone wears their underwear on their head. I've seen event notices where nearly every sentence ends with an exclamation point, but the multiple exclamation points are even worse.

I always start with the assumption the writer has an average IQ of 100, then deduct ten points for every double exclamation point, thirty points for a triple, and 50 for any more than that. Frequently they're in the negative numbers before their third sentence.

!!!

[applecorped]

Special Olympics

[Skeptic Ginger]

"That said" bugs me a bit. Just heard it too often for a while I think.