Annoying or What?

[valmarg]

"That is SOOOO orgasmic!"

In my book, orgasmic meant 'hot and sticky'.

valmarg

[Hilary B]

The one that gets me is - suffering from suspected swine flu (heart attack or whatever)
It should be - suspected of suffering from swine flu (heart attack etc).
Nobody seems to know what words mean anymore - including the quality press and the BBC.
Other words just used indiscriminately are
affect / effect
to / too / two
there / their / they're.
It all just seems to be stick in any word - it will do fine.

Affect/effect is the one that I find annoying (especially when OH puts the wrong one in a survey report, after 6 years of me telling him 'the rules').
Some 'laziness' ones, while undesirable, at least don't confuse (eg 'less' when it should be 'fewer', the proper meaning is still obvious), others can really lead to a few seconds of "Huh??!!!"
Homophones (to/too/two, etc) can be VERY confusing, but then, so can simple typos, and of course some folk genuinely struggle!

[SarzWix]

One I've just heard on the news which really gets my goat.. When some unfortunate service-person has lost their life or been badly injured, they no longer seem to say "Their family has been informed" it's now "Their family has been told"... Is it just me, or does that seem a much more harsh way of saying it?!

[shirlthegirl43]

One I've just heard on the news which really gets my goat.. When some unfortunate service-person has lost their life or been badly injured, they no longer seem to say "Their family has been informed" it's now "Their family has been told"... Is it just me, or does that seem a much more harsh way of saying it?!

That one has been brassing me off somewhat - to the extent that the boys are fed up with me ranting about it. It sounds way too blunt and extremely harsh and it is seems very unsympathetic to the feelings of family, relatives and friends.

[taff]

I get annoyed with whatever it is 'impacting' on someone...what? did it squash them really flat then?

[singleseeder]

Some 'laziness' ones, while undesirable, at least don't confuse (eg 'less' when it should be 'fewer', the proper meaning is still obvious), !"

I have to say this is my biggest hobby horse......... I was always taught if you could count something it was always fewer. 'Less sugar' but 'fewer sugar lumps'

When even the newsreaders on BBC news say 'less people' I want to throw something at the TV or radio!!!!

[Hilary B]

I have to say this is my biggest hobby horse......... I was always taught if you could count something it was always fewer. 'Less sugar' but 'fewer sugar lumps'

When even the newsreaders on BBC news say 'less people' I want to throw something at the TV or radio!!!!

I have a vague idea in the back of my mind that there is one place it is correct, when it mentions a proportion, eg 10% less....? Could be completely wrong.
Talking of 'less', can anyone tell me how something can be a number of times 'less' or 'smaller' than something else?
You wouldn't describe something as 'twice smaller', surely, so how come 'ten times smaller' is acceptable?
Oh, and that brings up another one the number of times you see that someone has confused 'accept' and 'except'....
Do people not KNOW what words mean any more?????

[julesapple]

Pedancy....

OH says I'm a pedant, and I've taken it as a compliment.

One of my favourite books is 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' by Lyne Truss.

We used to drive past a shop that sold beds. The signs said 'Mattresse's, bed's, futon's, bunk's'

Oh for a long ladder and a chisel-tip marker!

Typos are different though, they are simply genuine mistakes.

Jules

[zebedee]

In my book, orgasmic meant 'hot and sticky'.

valmarg

Hot! Sticky! That qualifies for either of the following, based upon your tastes and/or proclivities

EEEEEUUUUUWWWW or

PHWOOOAAARRR

[maytreefrannie]

Does any body else get irate over the indiscriminate use of words or phrases that are totally inappropriate to the context? The other day, my wife and I watched a cookery programme, and the lady presenter tried the savoury sauce and announced, in a loud voice;
"That is SOOOO orgasmic!"

Either she is easily pleased or has the wierdest sex life! (Body chocolate? Gravy? Strawberries out of the belly button?)

Ok, I am going to lie down in a cool dark room now with a cold compress on my head

Plus, a number of times I've heard - 'that's sexy' or 'this'll make it sexier' when presenters or participants are referring to food. I cringe when I hear it - how short of descriptions are they? I've even heard the adjective used when describing paint brightening up a room - at the end of the 'makeover' the room was lovely, but an ordinary dining room just the same.

[Flummery]

I have to say this is my biggest hobby horse......... I was always taught if you could count something it was always fewer. 'Less sugar' but 'fewer sugar lumps'

When even the newsreaders on BBC news say 'less people' I want to throw something at the TV or radio!!!!

One of my favourite gripes, this. 'Less peopole' sounds like you are describing them as a lower form of life.

Another is quantifying something that doesn't exist. I remember, many years back now (that's how pedantic I am, it sticks in the memory for so long!) a newsreader telling us that because of strikes, 300,000 copies of the Observer weren't printed at a certain place. - NONE of them was printed. It was a strike! You could say 3 million weren't printed! Calm down, Flum!

I also hate to hear 'almost unique' or 'slightly pregnant' - or even 'very pregnant' - you can't say that. It is or it isn't with these things.

[taff]

Another pet hate...'I'm very weary of her/him/it'
NO YOU'RE NOT!!! you're WARY!!WARY!!!

[zebedee]

One of my favourite gripes, this. 'Less peopole' sounds like you are describing them as a lower form of life.

Another is quantifying something that doesn't exist. I remember, many years back now (that's how pedantic I am, it sticks in the memory for so long!) a newsreader telling us that because of strikes, 300,000 copies of the Observer weren't printed at a certain place. - NONE of them was printed. It was a strike! You could say 3 million weren't printed! Calm down, Flum!

I also hate to hear 'almost unique' or 'slightly pregnant' - or even 'very pregnant' - you can't say that. It is or it isn't with these things.

Another of mine, Flum, is this awful habit that loads of peopole have of putting Ah on the end of certain words, like Nevah, instead of never

[Lottieknees]

I love this thread!

My pet hate is the use of them when it should be those or these?

As in "In them days" and "Look at all them people over there" etc

Grrrrrrr

[Hilary B]

While it isn't correct, describing A as 'more unique' than B, does explain that A differs by a greater degree than B does from the nearest other. "Almost unique" is a daft way of saying 'uncommon'.