Words that often get misused

[Datesad]

I’ll start.

Enormity.

I’ve seen this used incorrectly in books, articles etc! It doesn’t mean huge!

@PinniGig

Unconsciously instead of subconsciously.

I was unconsciously doing this or that.

No you weren't. If you were unconscious you'd be unconscious.

In classical psychoanalysis the word “unconscious” means that which is not accessible to the conscious mind.

The American ego psychologists, post WW2, took some of the concepts of Freudianism and tweaked them a bit. They introduced “subconscious” in place of “unconscious”.

As terms from the psychological sciences have been adopted in everyday speech, the Americanism has become more popular than the original (perhaps to avoid confusion with being in a coma!), but in the practice of psychoanalysis, the term “unconscious” is still used every day.

Quite a few of these drive me nuts but sliver/slither is a real bugbear. I've just read a recipe for a cake that referred throughout to topping it with slithered almonds.

Not necessarily misused but I'd like to take the opportunity to say that I dislike the phrase "cook from scratch".

Alot instead of a lot (meaning many),

Straightaway instead of straight away

"I laid down on the bed" No you lay down in the bed

Very unique - unique = one of so items cannot be "very" unique

I say leeway, when I mean headway quite often.

@Highfive2021

There for their - especially as in my accident they sound different.

Bloody track and trace. Aaaaaaarrrrggghhhhhh! It's TEST and Trace. The whole point is the testing which leads to the tracking. Track and Trace is a Post Office service. Yes, it does matter.

Quite right Chunky; it's not Trick or Treat either!

Alternate spellings that mean something totally different, and are often misused on MN and IRL.

Alternate spellings?

[quote xsquared]@IloveJudgeJudy The word "quite" means completely or absolutely in the OED.

However, it is often used to mean to a certain degree which implies not "quite" and not complete.
For example, if someone says "It is quite old outside, so bring a coat." then in their opinion it is cold to a certain degree but not complete or absolutely.[/quote]
I think this is a word that has just got two meanings:

dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/quite

I didn't think fewer and less was anything to do with plurals ? ( I'm going to check later). I thought it was to do with tangibility. So if you can hold it, it's fewer. Fewer toys, fewer books. Less for liquids. Less water, less rain. ( I like a pp's explanation if you can count them, it's fewer. If not, it's less). But then the plural slant would make sense!

It's no wonder we're confused though when supermarket signs say, less than 10 items only. It definitely should be fewer.

Fewer things you can actually count eg. fewer cars on the road. Less things you can't count eg. less snow

My personal pet peeve : of instead of have. It's rampant on MN.

So people say "I shouldn't of." And I think "No, but you should have."

Also, not a mistake per se but I hate hate hate when someone uses & instead of "and". It's three letters, can you truly not be arsed to type it out ?

"Anti-social" instead of "unsociable".

You're feeling unsociable if you don't fancy going out - you're anti-social if you spend that time pissing in the neighbours' gardens and spraying graffiti on their garage doors

People hear the contraction could've, would've, should've and wrongly understand it to be could of, would of, should of, but it drives me mad too. So common on MN.

Apostrophes peppered everywhere. Just because a word ends in the letter s, it doesn't always require an apostrophe!

‘I’ when it should be ‘me’, as in e.g. ‘Between you and I…’, or ‘She told dh and I…’.

Just in case anyone might be wondering, you can tell by turning it around to see whether it sounds wrong like that.

Between I and you….
She told I and dh….

@HoollyWugger - great image!

@Maggiesfarm

Quite right Chunky; it's not Trick or Treat either!

Is it not? What is it then?

@Gladioli23 so it does too! The funny thing is I used to use the word quite to mean "fairly" until someone "corrected" me and then I would only use it to mean "completely"! Don't know why I never questioned it attention time!

I'm a member of many Facebook groups where people are always trying to LOOSE weight and it boils my blood.

Someone I know calls a lorry an 'Arctic' rather than artic (as in short for articulated )

I also know someone who says labtop instead of laptop

Drives me Bonkers

@PinniGig

In the last few years there's been a huge rise in people that start with "So..." and it drives me nuts.

I don't know why it is or what prompted it but "So..." just took off and often goes along with someone whose voice trails higher at the end of a sentence.

Another one that drives me nuts is "Obviously" which I hear often and usually when you're speaking to someone about something which isn't obvious at all.

An old teacher of mine would always ask 'obvious to whom'?

We all stopped using it sharpish!

It does my head in now.

I obviously belong on this thread - my username came from the misuse of definitely.

You may be delighted by the grammar grumble mugs on this site www.theliterarygiftcompany.com/collections/mugs-1

"Like you said". No, I didn't. I've never said that.