Phrases that people get wrong

by sunnyd » Aug 17, 2009

Hahaha I love the moo point episode!! It''s like the air quotes one...oh Joey...

 

by Lesley Harris » Aug 17, 2009

I used to have a coworker who would need to come into my office and "ventilate" when she was worked up!! I never did correct her but really had to control my laughter each and every time she said it

 

by Moh 10 » Aug 17, 2009

Hahaha.

 

by Tuckins1 » Aug 17, 2009

 

by Kaleigh » Aug 17, 2009

Loves it!!!

 

by Ara Ann » Aug 17, 2009

This reminded me of my old boss...she used to say 'let's nab it in the butt' - instead of 'nip it in the bud!' LOL! Made me cringe every time she said it!

 

by Moh 10 » Aug 17, 2009

Are you sure she wasn''t just trying to get . . . uhm . . . "friendly" with you?

 

by atroop711 » Aug 17, 2009

OH that drives me INSANE and when ppl say JEW-LERY instead of JEWEL-RY

 

by Hudson_Hawk » Aug 17, 2009

I dislike the over use of words and phrases more than anything else. The human language has way too many words to use those like "ergo" over and over again. Be creative, go for "as a result" or "therefore". You negate the purpose of using a big word by using it too many times. Instead of appearing intelligent and eloquent, you look desperate; like you want people to think you''re smart.


"fair enough" and "touche" also drive me batty.

 

by LaurenThePartier » Aug 17, 2009

LOL, Stephanie. I'm 100% with you.

I just discovered another offense - homonyms, but especially semi-homonyms like sense and since. I see one substituted for the other constantly.

Oh, and assume vs. presume.

 

by Hudson_Hawk » Aug 17, 2009

You give advice and you advise. You lose a ring when it''s loose, you don''t loose a ring.

 

by treefrog » Aug 17, 2009

It was a slow afternoon. Sorry to put you through that!

Although I have been to many countries, I don''t speak or write any foreign languages. I simply can not imagine trying to learn to speak or write in English...

to, too, two
their, there
wear, where
poor, pour

...in addition to everything mentioned above. I hate to admit it but I live near DC and I have to stop myself from putting the ''r'' in wash and Washington. I guess I picked it up early on and nobody ever corrected me. I think I was in college before I got busted on it. I simply had no idea it wasn''t pronounced that way.

Treefrog

 

by OUpearlgirl » Aug 17, 2009

Rediculous drives me batty. It''s insane how many intelligent people cannot spell that word.

I hate if someone is putting up a caption for a picture and they say it is "John Doe and I." No, you idiot. That''s a picture of "John Doe and me."

My ex NEVER said "I''m going to." Instead it became one word that made my skin crawl.... "In''gunna."


AAAAHHHHH

 

by Kunzite » Aug 17, 2009

Old wise tale

 

by lulu » Aug 17, 2009

It''s desperate and separate rather than desparate and seperate. And don''t get me started on affect vs. effect.

 

by ladypirate » Aug 17, 2009

"Loose" instead of "lose" is one of my biggest pet peeves. Also, I used to have a boss who said "substainability" instead of "sustainability". It drove me batty!

 

by shimmer » Aug 17, 2009

Ex-specially instead of especially

 

by Delster » Aug 18, 2009

"Bare with me"

And why does everyone on this site keep forgetting about the 'u' in 'colour'?

 

by Deelight » Aug 18, 2009

LOL

 

by Magpie09 » Aug 18, 2009

Guilty Although, to be fair, here it's spelt Jewellery.

 

by atroop711 » Aug 18, 2009

OHHHH I wanted to SLAP BUSH every time he said NUCULAR instead of NUCLEAR...when he would open his mouth and say it this way my skin would crawl

 

by justginger » Aug 18, 2009

You''re right, TGal - orientated is the British English version of the American ''oriented.'' It took me a while to figure it out; I wasn''t sure if they were exactly the same.

I am still not quite sure about "while" vs "whilst." Aussies are generally very particular about using "whilst" and look down on the American grammar habit of using "while." Once again, I think they''re the same - but I''m not positive.

Almost all of the things discussed tick me off. I hated being in school and proof-reading peer papers. Pure torture. Take the apostrophe out of that "it''s" unless IT IS doing something!!

+1 to everything suggested.

 

by pennquaker09 » Aug 18, 2009

I''m dying . . .

 

by Ara Ann » Aug 18, 2009

I have a new one this morning...my good friend has said this to me a couple of times now and not sure how to take it!

"Make-shift"


To me, it implies that something has been thrown together in a somewhat cruddy/cheap way...is that what it is supposed to mean?

In two recent instances she''s used the term regarding my home and decorating style, one really kind of hurt my feelings...we re-purposed our formal living room and now use it as our dining room, looks like a dining room, nothing weird going on, but when she was here last she said to her husband,

"Let''s go see their make-shift dining room."

Made me feel like I should have had an old door for a table and cardboard boxes for chairs!

Then today, I showed her some pics of rustic fireplace mantels and shelves, we have a stone fireplace surround and I am trying to choose which look to go with. She referred to the shelf I showed her as a "make-shift" style! Again, to me it sounds like something you throw together with whatever you have laying around...that is not the look I am going for, LOL! And I don''t consider it ''make-shift'' according to my understanding of the phrase.


Am I misunderstanding "make-shift" or is she misusing it? Any advice here?

 

by trillionaire » Aug 18, 2009

I hate when people say "I''m waiting on line" rather than "IN line".

I despise when people say "You welcome" rather than "you are welcome" or "You''re welcome"


My FI says he needs to ''make groceries'' rather than ''buy groceries''. I think this is a regional thing, but always ''s me!

 

by Jen_91909 » Aug 18, 2009

oh jeez...finally this expression actually makes sense to me now! It''s because I have always heard it said incorrectly (the way you wrote it the first time).

 

by curlygirl » Aug 18, 2009

I seriously can''t control my laughter!! I agree with all of these! I''ll also add visa versa instead of VICE versa (I think someone may have mentioned this), ex-cetera instead of et cetera, escape goat instead of scapegoat, ying and yang instead of yin, perscription instead of prescription. I could go on and on, I have serious pet peeves about this stuff. So glad I''m not alone!

 

by blackpolkadot » Aug 18, 2009

I know near New Orleans they say this. One of my professors tells a story about when she moved to Arkansas from New Orleans. A certain day of the week she would go grocery shopping, and she would tell the other professors she had to go "make groceries." They all thought she was going home to cook until one day another professor saw her in the grocery after her last class.

So it is a regional thing to my knowledge, but I still don''t understand it.