Author Topic: Anyone else bugged by the slaughter of common phrases...? (Read 15987 times)

Unisaw · « **Reply #100 on:** February 02, 2007, 11:43:44 AM »

I find it very "flustrating" when people use the term "physical year."

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #101 on:** February 02, 2007, 12:07:00 PM »

grampster? I hate that word. That ain't not in the dictionary, no-how.

Professional grade can sometimes make sense. In terms of tools, there are definitely some things out there that would make no sense in a professional's toolbox, but are acceptable and affordable for occasional use by the homeowner, hobbyist, etc.

crt360 · « **Reply #102 on:** February 02, 2007, 01:33:05 PM »

Quote from: 280plus on February 02, 2007, 10:40:29 AM

And while we're on the subject, where the H-E double toothpicks is grampster anyways?

Yeah, where is grampster? He hasn't been around in awhile.

doczinn · « **Reply #103 on:** February 02, 2007, 01:36:24 PM »

My school newspaper, paragon of journalistic virtue that it is, recently had an article sub-titled as ""Workers protest against campus labor relations."

Matthew Carberry · « **Reply #104 on:** February 02, 2007, 03:47:38 PM »

I agitate against my brother the college plumber?

Bogie · « **Reply #105 on:** February 02, 2007, 03:55:35 PM »

His Royal Dudeness is rather affronted by some of the butchery.

I've developed a bad habit.

"Excuse me. I'm a little deaf - comes from a lot of target shooting. Could you say that again, and please speak clearly this time?"

Got to do it three times at a Hardees today... With the manager standing next to the fellow...

gunsmith · « **Reply #106 on:** February 02, 2007, 10:43:29 PM »

So I go to my friend, "yo that girl is off da hook" ...the he goes, "no man she is off da chain"

A cop pulled me over, an, you know what ahmm sayin? he goes "do you know how fast you goin" and I go "no"

grislyatoms · « **Reply #107 on:** February 03, 2007, 07:06:22 AM »

"butt-naked" for "buck-naked"

"spaded" for "spayed"

"my bad" for "my bag"

"libary" for "library"

"ungion" for "onion"

"sellry" for "celery"

"big letters" or "small letters" for "uppercase" and "lowercase"

I get this from users constantly, "Which symbol is a semicolon?"

One of my co-workers has assembled the most ludicrous parcel of butchered cliches and generally poor English I have ever experienced.

"That's gonna be a thorn in our big toe"

" I am auspicious about that situation."

"for say" instead of "per se"

Ugh.

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #108 on:** February 03, 2007, 07:41:11 AM »

Quote from: gunsmith on February 02, 2007, 09:43:29 PM

So I go to my friend, "yo that girl is off da hook" ...the he goes, "no man she is off da chain"

Thank you. People think that means wild or unpredictable, but it actually means "out of danger." I'm glad that a lot of them are preferring the "chain" variant, rather than abuse the earlier "hook" phrase." I think the tendency with Black American slang is to "flip da script" when their slang becomes mainstream. Keeps the man guessing.

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #109 on:** February 03, 2007, 09:39:39 AM »

Quote

"for say" instead of "per se"

Or those who use "per se" to end every other sentence. It's like they are repeating themselves, per se.

Brad

Perd Hapley · « **Reply #110 on:** February 03, 2007, 10:05:04 AM »

Quote from: grislyatoms on February 03, 2007, 06:06:22 AM

"butt-naked" for "buck-naked"

Why is one preferable to the other? Or in other words, why "buck-naked"?

Matthew Carberry · « **Reply #111 on:** February 03, 2007, 10:12:25 AM »

I thought it was a contraction of bare-assed naked.

And that "buck" came from "buck wild".

And that, in the South, it was "nekkid" if you were unclothed and up to no good.

280plus · « **Reply #112 on:** February 03, 2007, 11:01:18 AM »

pasgetti...

doczinn · « **Reply #113 on:** February 03, 2007, 03:28:29 PM »

Drownded.

280plus · « **Reply #114 on:** February 03, 2007, 03:30:17 PM »

K-Marts

Walmarts

There's no S at the end of K-Mart!

280plus · « **Reply #115 on:** February 04, 2007, 04:16:15 AM »

Heh, don't I feel stupid "workmanlike" is a WORD! It means "In a skillful manner" undecided

I still don't like it...

cheesy

Old Fud · « **Reply #116 on:** February 04, 2007, 06:33:40 AM »

How could we get this far without bringing up misuse of "Unique"?
Every sportscaster on the airwaves keeps telling me that what I'm seeing is "very unique" or "Most Unique".

I keep waiting for "Uniquer" and "Uniquest" to enter our vocabularies.
Then we can graduate to "more uniquer" and "Most uniquest".
Bah!!!

Old Fud · « **Reply #117 on:** February 04, 2007, 06:39:44 AM »

"Already" is one word.
"All Right" is two words.

It was always thus, and no two-bit long-haired hippy dude that used to run with a bunch of bugs can write a song titled "It's Alright with me" and change the rules of the English language, Dammit.
It's NOT all right with me!

Furthermore, those limp-wristed lace-pants snivelling cowards at Thorndike who decide to change the dictionary and SAY it's all right, just because a few million screaming teenage groupies decided to spell it that way ------ huff, puff, pant ---- are WRONG!!!!

There.
I feel better now.
Fud.

Thor · « **Reply #118 on:** February 04, 2007, 06:52:45 AM »

One of my pet peeves is the improper substitution of the determiner, "a", for the determiner, "an". An should be used before any adjective or noun beginning with a vowel or some words that have a silent or soft consonant, like "historical". Seems proper grammar has gone out the window in today's world. It's particularly noticeable with politicians and TV news anchors.

crt360 · « **Reply #119 on:** February 05, 2007, 11:18:54 AM »

Quote from: grislyatoms on February 03, 2007, 06:06:22 AM

"butt-naked" for "buck-naked"

Butt goes with nekkid. Butt-nekkid is the accepted southern term. Buck-naked is appropriate for use in polite company. Once you get to talking about completely nude people doing something, you aren't likely to still be in polite company.

markdido · « **Reply #120 on:** February 06, 2007, 02:05:20 AM »

Some of my favorites:

People using "loose" for "lose", as in "We don't want to loose our rights" (mostly seen in print)

I once heard Cynthia McKinney NJ-GA (Nut job Georgia) say in a sound bite that President Bush "... has taken us to the blink of war"

The press has recently picked up on the word "exacerbate" but routinely pronouce it as "exasperate", as in "It exasperates me that the media can't say exacerbate"

280plus · « **Reply #121 on:** February 06, 2007, 03:13:55 AM »

LOL...I just called the local TV news this morning. They were saying "furnace" explosion in Hartford when it could only be a boiler. They were even saying the furnace was located in the boiler room. laugh

If it blows warm air around and has the fire in it, it's a furnace, if it makes either hot water or steam, it's a boiler.

Hawkmoon · « **Reply #122 on:** February 06, 2007, 01:20:32 PM »

Quote from: JohnBT on December 28, 2006, 12:03:14 PM

I looked all over and walla, there it was. No, not wallah either. Drives me nuts.

It's voilÃ [French < voi "see!" + lÃ "there"]

Finally -- someone got to my all-time favorite mangled phrase. (I often also see it spelled "wallah!"

For those who are interested in the decline of the English language in America, I recommend two books by Edwin Newman: "Strictly Speaking," and "A Civil Tongue" (not tounge). Sadly, what we are really discussing is not the decline of the language but the decline of the educational system. Students are no longer required to read, so everything becomes an exercise out of Hooked on Phonics. In that context, "walla" (or "wallah") makes perfect sense.

Am I the only living American who knows that those long sit-on-em thingies we put on decks are rightly called "chaise longue" (literally "long chair" in French) and not "chase lounge"?

Two other pet complaints, both from the print media:

(1) "So-and-so did not immediately return a call ..." It used to be that, when an attempt to contact good old so-and-so for a comment was unsuccessful, the writer might say "So-and-so had not returned our call at [or "by"] press time." That somehow changed overnight all across the land to "did not immediately return our call," which in my tiny mind conjures up images of an editor hovering over the intrepid reporter's desk with a count-down stop watch as the reporter places the call.

Reporter: Okay, boss, it's ringing. I got an answering machine. Hello, so-and-so, this is the Daily Planet calling and we would like your comment as to the charges against your client in court this morning. Please call me at 234-5678. Thanks. [Click]

Editor: Good, good -- counting down -- five, four, three, two, one. GOT HIM! GO, GO, GO! -- "Did not immediately return call!" PRINT IT! ROLL THE DAMNED PRESSES!

(2) When did "might" (indicative of future conditional uncertainty) get replaced by "may" (indicative of permission)? As in, "If attractive socialite Noel Silverspoon had not ventured into an all-male drug house, she *may* not have been brutally assaulted and decapitated."

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #123 on:** February 06, 2007, 01:27:03 PM »

How about theatre, metre, louvre, and a lot? After that we can skip to 'done' and 'seen', as in "I done seen it."

Brad

The Rabbi · « **Reply #124 on:** February 06, 2007, 01:47:02 PM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson on February 06, 2007, 12:27:03 PM

How about theatre, metre, louvre, and a lot? After that we can skip to 'done' and 'seen', as in "I done seen it."

Brad

Theatre is correct. So is centre. Cigaret drives me nuts.
"Done" as a helping verb is probably as old as Shakespeare.

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Author Topic: Anyone else bugged by the slaughter of common phrases...? (Read 15987 times)