"Mortified" - FGS it means embarrassed/humiliated

[originallyfromLA]

And not desperately upset as most of MN seem to think!

Weary instead of wary is one of mine! So annoying!

Oh and agreed on PP before me who said scratch/itch - people who say itch instead of scratch also annoy me! DP starts to say it and then corrects himself, I’m slowly training him.

Dh calls ds antisocial for sitting in his room and only coming out for meals. I explain all the time it’s unsociable. If he was vandalising the neighbours cars he would be antisocial. Same conversation every month.

I went on a date with a really gorgeous (English) bloke who used "haitch" - could never see him again sad

People who don't understand that different dialects pronounce words differently.

Haitch vs aitch is no different to someone pronouncing saw as sawr.

People who get bought/brought mixed up should be mortified!

"How many eggs?" - I love that!

I agree with most of these. Weary/wary is my particular bugbear. The incorrect use of ignorant always seems so wonderfully ironic. Ahh, look at you using that word to berate somebody. It doesn't mean what you think it does... If only you knew that you're actually describing yourself!

I'm intrigued as to how people use 'enormity' incorrectly though. Any good examples showofhands.

Johnny and I used instead of Johnny and me

Recommend me a....

I was sat/stood

Insure instead of ensure

Affect instead of effect

Viscous and vicious for me. If it was a viscous attack, it was slow moving, thick, and sticky.

Infinitesimal to mean something really big

So...

There is really no need to start a sentence with this word.

It also means deliberately subduing desires through self denial/discipline. I suppose if they are resisting the urge to batter somebody about the head for embarrassing them, it could be appropriate usage at a stretch...

Ignorant is an interesting one. It has a rather niche third meaning - to not agree with someone who has the level of intelligence and literacy that leads them to bellow 'IT'S H-AITCH!' at other times.

I did inwardly groan and cheer for a very cross child who stood up in class and tell the teacher off for saying 'these Pacific islands' with an irate 'It's SPECIFIC'. Sadly, the teacher was referring to islands in the Pacific Ocean.

‘Pissed’ instead of ‘pissed off’. So when someone says “I was really pissed when so and so happened” it has a totally different meaning.

Oooh, I remember another one - my mother isn't particularly literate (her reading level is somewhere around the Mills & Boon/Young Adult/Daily Mirror Rant level). But she believed she was one of the world's Great Minds and if she heard a word that sounded pleasing and sort of understood the context, she'd use it constantly when dispensing her wisdom.

For three months, it felt as though every sentence began with 'Looking back in retrospect...' in a tone akin to Margaret Thatcher's.

Ok here is my question. Can mortified be used as an alternative to "shocked" or "surprised"? I have now heard 2 people use when they mean these things and I only ever thought it ment embarrassed/humiliated.

Decimated. It doesn't mean to totally destroy. It means to reduce by a tenth.

Drogos - you are correct.

Afonavon, that's the American version!

The one I only see on here is 'of which'. It really sets my teeth on edge. I can't think of any real examples now, but things like 'he cut a slice of cake of which he gave to me' its so bizarre and clunky sounding (and makes no sense)

I also see "to which" used in strange ways on MN. I assumed it is accepted in some dialects in the UK as I've seen it more than once.

I'm Canadian and I try not to be so critical of MN English because I know there are regional differences. You don't all talk like the Queen or the folk on Midsomer Murders or All Creatures Great and Small.

Thank you Babyfoal, I did think I was.

@picklemepopcorn I know that it is the American version. It still pisses me off!

"Mortified" is a much-loved word on MN. Here are some other words I have on my MN bingo card, which I rarely hear or see used anywhere else:

Crass
Fuming (or "fewmin")
Tacky
Grabby
Indoctrinate
Raise it (with the teacher)

Perhaps we need to re-read books such as Anne of Green Gables. I loved the chapter title "Mrs Rachel Lynde is properly horrified".

@BlackCatSleeping - prebooking annoys me too. As does the 'advance ticket' window at Victoria. All train tickets are advance surely (so o just go there cuz the queue is shorter).

Defiantly instead of definitely is just a typo though.

I hate the overuse of livid.

Off of when it should be from. Radio 1 DJs seem to be the main culprits. Drives me mad 😠😠

"How would you like it if I came along, and picked something off of you?" Maybe that classic film had an influence!

@Charley50 I knew there was another synonym for angry that was overused on MN - thank you for reminding me!

I think "gutted" is overused too, although that's not just on MN.