To find “off of” so incredibly annoying

[Tonylepony]

I keep hearing this all the time at the moment, “she got off of the bus” , “it’s off of the path”. I know in the scheme of things this is completely unimportant, but does anyone else find this as annoying and baffling as me?

[cateycloggs]

Frogartist, perhaps you are just thinking of machines or films etc being hired ? So equating people with things? But people have always been hired for work. I haven't looked it up to check how old it is but have you never heard the saying , "The workman is worthy of his hire", meaning his work merits the payment he gets? Or read for example Thomas Hardy novels where farmworkers attend hiring fairs to get taken on for the year? There is even a novel called 'The Hireling' I think. I maybe mistaken in that, it's very late or early, I should be off to bed.

[cateycloggs]

I should have been abed by now, but had to look up 'The Hireling. It was a book by L P Hartley later made into a film. A bit of a 'Driving Miss Daisy' situation. So I suppose the word does have the sense of using a person as an instrument.

[GraduallyWatermelon]

@EarringsAndLipstick

mic drop

[Okbutnotgreat]

I just googled these and smelt and spelt are correct english grammar apparently

[daisypond]

@NinePremium

What’s wrong with “bored of” *@jessstan2*?

It’s “bored with” or “bored by”. You can’t be “bored of” something.

[Icancelledthecheque]

“Writ” instead of wrote
“Go a walk” instead of go FOR a walk
“On accident” not by accident
You’re/Your
Their/There

I can’t stand it.

[RaspberryCoulis]

MIL says this all the time when asking the kids about Christmas or birthdays - "What did you get off of Aunt Agatha?"

It's not even quicker than saying "from".

[FelicityMingington]

In some situations "off of" is correct - phrasal verbs for example. To fall out, to get off. I fell out of the bus. I got off of the bus.

[borntobequiet]

I use smelt and smelled differently.
Did you like the perfume? Yes, it smelt of violets.
How did you know about the fire? I smelled smoke.

[daisypond]

@FelicityMingington

In some situations "off of" is correct - phrasal verbs for example. To fall out, to get off. I fell out of the bus. I got off of the bus.

No, that is completely wrong. You can never in a million years say “ get off of the bus”. It’s “get off the bus”.

[drinkplease]

It's just get off the bus @FelicityMingington

[DaphneDuBois]

Invite / invitation.

Invite is a verb. You did not receive a ‘party invite’, you received an ‘invitation’.

‘Recommend me a book’. Should be ‘recommend a book to me.’

[Ninkanink]

As others have said, ‘I fell out of the bus’ is correct. ‘I got off of the bus’ is not.

As for language evolving, there’s nothing wrong with adding new words in as necessary or making up hybrid words that make sense and eventually become accepted into common usage, but that’s very different to bastardising a beautiful language by just not paying enough attention to speak or write it properly!

[ElderMillennial]

Would of/ should of instead of would’ve/should’ve is as annoying!

As in you are annoyed because they don't shorten to would've not that "would of" is incorrect and it is "would have"?

[jessstan2]

I would write 'would have', etc.

[Glitterblue]

@Notjustanymum these irritate me too, along with "if I would of" instead of "if I had" 😤

[ElderMillennial]

Me too @jessstan2 but that's not what @Notjustanymum said so I don't really get it

[jessstan2]

[quote Glitterblue]@Notjustanymum these irritate me too, along with "if I would of" instead of "if I had" 😤[/quote]
Yes but 'would've' is an abbreviation of 'would have'. My view is that one may say something (such as 'would've'), but usually writes more formally. That's what I was taught at school.

[EarringsandLipstick]

You can never in a million years say “ get off of the bus”. It’s “get off the bus”.

Of course you can. It's used in Ireland by some people.

Honestly this definitive 'you can't say that' when the opposite is demonstrably true, and is not a case of poor English but actually how the language is spoken locally is incredibly annoying.

[GloriaSilver]

Haitch.
I rest my case.

[EarringsandLipstick]

@GloriaSilver

Haitch.
I rest my case.

And again, read my post. The exact same point applies to 'haitch'. The English language is spoken differently in different countries, including Ireland. And it's not 'wrong'.

[NeverDropYourMoonCup]

And again, read my post. The exact same point applies to 'haitch'. The English language is spoken differently in different countries, including Ireland. And it's not 'wrong'

Bloody well is when somebody who grew up five miles away from me (in London, with parents from the exact same area as they grew up in) shouts in my face that I'm 'Fakkin' pig ignorant' (pronounced ignerint) for saying Aitch when 'EVERYBODY KNOWS IT'S HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAITCH'.

I hadn't even corrected them or done anything more offensive than spell out a word over the telephone to somebody else.


I still won't correct people even though it gives me a slight twitch internally when I hear it. But I'll be damned if I'm going to use it myself on the basis that it's right somewhere else for people with a different dialect/cultural heritage. That would be like writing 'e' down for a spelling being given over the phone because that's the pronunciation of the letter 'i' in other countries (and also one of the reasons behind the creation of the NATO Alphabet)

[EarringsandLipstick]

But I'll be damned if I'm going to use it myself on the basis that it's right somewhere else for people with a different dialect/cultural heritage.

What? 🧐

No-one is asking you to.

I didn't understand the first part of your rant post but it sound like someone screamed at you to use 'haitch'. Clearly that's wrong.

You can say what you want. The point is both are right. 'Aitch' is used by some English language speakers, and 'haitch' is used by others'. Neither wrong. Use which you wish.

[Etulosba]

It’s “bored with” or “bored by”. You can’t be “bored of” something.

Thank goodness! I thought I was the only one.