Words/phrases you’re very particular about

[Soubriquet]

It winds me up when people use poisonous regarding snakes. Noooo it’s venomous

If you bite it and you die it’s poison
If it bites you and you die it’s venom

Refute is almost always used incorrectly. It doesn't mean to deny something, it means the systematic, logical rebuttal of points, winning an argument without any shadow of a doubt.

I'm not excusing it. I'm pointing out there's a) nothing wrong about it (unlike some other peeves on the thread) and b) people who moan about Americanisms usually don't realise that they are almost always the "original" expression, whilst it's British English that has been much modified.

You're entitled not to like it. But you're plain wrong to say it's wrong.

Disinterested vs uninterested

Yes, this is very annoying and I agree about pissed v. pissed off.
Also, ‘begs the question’ didn’t used to mean ‘demand the question be asked’ but I think that battle is lost.

People confuse it with "repudiate". I thought the distinction would be more well-known since Sarah Palin coined the term "refudiate"!

Someone did a thread on this a while ago, but confusion between "suffice to say" and "safe to say".

I have found my people.

My current bugbear is the use of "And just like that.. " to describe something which is not just like that at all. You don't suddenly have a child going off to university. It's taken 18 years.

Others are the use of "space" where room would suffice. Particularly prevalent in the area of instagram interior design.

See also "cheeky" when used to describe a glass of wine, a cake or a night out.

But 'lesser mortals' isn't a fancier way of saying 'less mortals' (or indeed 'fewer mortals'), it's a reference to some people perceiving/designating themselves, often sarcastically, as people who are lower in rank/status/ability/comprehension that certain others.

Exactly as @HeidiWhole uses it above -- she's saying 'Could those of you who are superior enough to understand the fewer/less usage (ie. 'greater mortals') explain it to those of us who don't (the 'lesser mortals'?

See also 'mere mortals' (ie. not gods, ordinary human beings).

This is a summary of the less Vs fewer argument that's an easy read.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/fewer-vs-less

In particular:

Despite the rule, less used of things that are countable is standard in many contexts, and in fact is more likely than fewer in a few common constructions, especially ones involving distances (as in "less than three miles"), sums of money (as in "less than twenty dollars"), units of time and weight (as in "less than five years" and "less than ten ounces"), and statistical enumerations (as in "less than 50,000 people")—all things which are often thought of as amounts rather than numbers.

...

A definitive rule covering all possibilities is maybe impossible. If you're a native speaker your best bet is to be guided by your ear, choosing the word that sounds more natural in a particular context. If you're not a native speaker, the simple rule is a good place to start, but be sure to consider the exceptions to it as well.

I don't have the same expertise as @TheLongGloriesOfTheWinterMoon though, so very much open to her thoughts.

' What' instead of 'which'.

Eg, 'Which colour would you like?'

'Do you want?' instead of 'Would you like?'

Well, I've never known a pavement to be called a sidewalk here, likewise a car park to be called a parking lot, to use a couple of examples. So, I'm not wrong.

Not grammar as such. But I loathe the prevalent pronunciation of ''str' as ' Shr' so the sibilant sound of 's' is lost. As in, for example ' Shtreet instead of ' street'.
Also heard it without the 'r', as in ' Indushtry' instead of 'industry'.

Neither have I.
It still wouldn't be wrong though if we did.

Yep, that's about it.

I think, given the frequency that we actually find "less" v "fewer", the latter, over time, will also become obsolete.

Same, I've noticed and been annoyed by it since I was a kid (I'm sixty). It's bad enough having a lisp and being picked on for that as a kid, without having to listen to the same clowns not bothering to say the same words correctly!

Invite is perfectly acceptable as an informal version of invitation.

I’ve given up with « to beg the question » too… it’s been used incorrectly by so many people - even highly educated friends of mine.

Well I don't use sidewalk or pavement, I use footpath. It's the Aussie version. Will that make you break out in hives?
It is a car park though....

But what about swimsuits? There are so many regional variations just in Australia it's crazy! Bathers, swimmers, cossie....

But grammatically, the misuse of words that really gets on my nerves is borrow/lend. If you own it and let someone else use it then you are lending it. If someone else owns it and they are letting you use it then you are borrowing it.

"Very unique" / "quite unique" etc - something is unique or it's not!

Hahaha saw this and had to add it

We use footpath in Ireland too and have togs for swimming in. Togs is also used for Gaelic football gear just to keep everyone on their toes.

I'm with you on less/fewer. I had to explain it to my husband and now he wouldn't dare use the wrong one 😆

I'm Scottish and a phrase that really bothers is to say something "needs doing"..... IMO it "needs to be done"

That wall needs painting.....no it doesn't it needs to be painted.
My hair needs washing......no it needs to be washed.
The garden needs doing....no, it needs to be done.

It may be more common in certain areas of England but makes me irrationally angry & I inwardly cringe every time I hear it.