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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be annoyed when people misuse words?

184 replies

acsec · 24/08/2013 15:46

My DH is a prime example of this. The two which annoy me most are "My thesis is..." and, usually when he is playing a computer game and dies on it "Argh! Death becomes me!"
Unless you have written a dissertation on this subject, then you mean theory and I don't think dying on a computer game makes you look especially fetching.
It winds me up so much and I have given up telling him what he actually means.

Please MN, tell me I am not suffering alone!

OP posts:
PurplePidjin · 25/08/2013 13:33

Monkey and me
Monkey and me
Monkey and me
We went to see...

Fantastic book but ARGH!!

Dawndonnaagain · 25/08/2013 13:41

Thing is, language does matter. Language is the way we communicate. Language is what is used to start and stop wars. It's what is used to let us know what is or isn't happening in the world. It's the language used by this government that has started the benefit bashing threads. They've created a nasty little narrative. Yes, it changes, but it is important to use the language of the majority at a particular time, ergo getting your message across without ambiguity. Unless you are the government of course, in which case ambiguity is part of the narrative!

Dawndonnaagain · 25/08/2013 13:42

Oh, and my tuppence worth: News readers who insist they are noosreaders, presenting the noos!

DropYourSword · 25/08/2013 13:52

When people pronounce hospital as hos-pick-al.

KarmaBiatch · 25/08/2013 14:08

I really dislike when people use the following words:

"I got hut by the ball" no, you didn't, you were hit

or,

"I bet him at golf" no, you didn't, you beat him

Angry
DidoTheDodo · 25/08/2013 14:14

Oh well said DawnDonna.

PipkinsPal · 25/08/2013 14:18

Granny's going into resbite.

makemineamalibuandpineapple · 25/08/2013 14:28

My boyfriend says tuth brush instead of toothbrush. It makes my cringe every time he does it, he is 33 fgs Grin I love him really although when he does that I want to ram the fecking TOOTHbrush up his nose.

sashh · 25/08/2013 14:34

Tee

Get thee to Barnsley lass, thee might learn a thing or two.

Also I'm well aware language evolves, but these are not examples of the evolution of language.

A man's hat no longer being called a bonnet is evolution of English, saying 'very unique' not only murder's the English Language but takes a stab at Latin too.

How can you teach a child that words begging with 'uni' are often derived from Latin and that 'uni' means one if it doesn't any more?

Unicycle, unify, uniform, all start with uni and all have uni as meaning 'one'.

badbride · 25/08/2013 16:02

People which are phased by these things are such loosers Grin

newforest · 25/08/2013 16:04

Practise and practice
Me and I - it's not always I!
There/their
Effect and affect
Fewer and less
Whom and who...

I'm such an English language snob; I refuse to use abbreviations even when sending a text.

sparklingstars · 25/08/2013 16:05

My pet hate is the misuse of 'pre-' - for example to pre-plan, pre-warn, pre-prepare etc

badbride · 25/08/2013 16:11

Abuses of English that ruin the logic of what is meant have me reaching for pointy objects.

Classic example is "Frankly, I could care less." If you could care less, it means you do care. If you couldn't care less, then yes, you're not remotely bothered about something.

And don't get me started on "met with"...

sparklingstars · 25/08/2013 16:13

I dislike people saying 'Alright?' as a greeting, is it a question that is meant to be answered?
and where did 'Back in the day....' come from?

tabulahrasa · 25/08/2013 16:17

"I've also heard or read several people saying their recently immunised child has just "had their jags"."

That'll be because they're Scottish.

Fakebook · 25/08/2013 16:19

I was talking to someone the other day about old photographs and apparently she'd seen some photos of her family members from the 1800's.

I told her that must be amazing and general chit chat and she kept saying "I couldn't believe they'd been kept in good condition since the 18th century." She kept saying 18th century about 3 or 4 times until I told her it wasn't 18th century it was 19th, because cameras hadn't been invented in the 1700's! She didn't understand what I was saying, and kept saying 18th century, so I gave up!

Nancy66 · 25/08/2013 16:21

"oh my days" seems to be the phrase of choice for today's teens....makes absolutely not bloody sense and really annoys me.

sparklingstars · 25/08/2013 16:23

DS's 60 something sports coach says 'oh my days' as well. He's the only person I've heard say it, I wonder if it is regional expression?

Nancy66 · 25/08/2013 16:25

In that One Direction docu the other week ALL the girls were saying it and my teenage nieces use it all the time.

WildThongsHeartString · 25/08/2013 16:28

I hate "I was sat listening" for "I was sitting"
"We were stood" for "We were standing"

It's heard on the BBC where language should be used properly. I'm not so pedantic that I feel the need to correct informal comments during chat on t'interent forums though. Smile

mrspremise · 25/08/2013 16:57

People using 'myself' instead of 'me' because they think it makes them sound intelligent (it doesn't)

The wilful misuse of 'literally' and 'ironic' as already mentioned, and similarly the bandying around of 'iconic', that one really pees me off.

My DH confuses 'guarantee' and 'warranty'; instead choosing to use his own version, which he pronounces 'warrantee'. Argh! He also describes things ad being 'unpossible' and 'displeasant'. Double argh.

mrspremise · 25/08/2013 16:58

as being, silly auto-correct...

GangstersLoveToDance · 25/08/2013 17:05

Df uses 'off of' constantly.

'I picked it up off of his mum'

'I took it off of him'

'I jumped off of that wall'

Grrr. He is otherwise very well spoken, much more so than me, but this really makes me cringe.

SarahAndFuck · 25/08/2013 17:15

DH often muddles up 'common' and 'popular' when he speaks.

He once described a terrible illness as "being really popular all of a sudden" when he actually meant it seemed to be getting more and more common for people to be ill with it.

He also uses 'disposable' aspirin when he has a headache.

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 25/08/2013 17:26

It's people's pronunciation (not pron-ounce-iation!) that irritates me.

I really hate it when people say "home-osexual".

Also, there's sometimes a difference between a 're' sound and a 'ree' sound at the beginning of a word. There's a difference between remarking and re-marking!