Me, Myself and Yourselfs

[CactusMactus]

Can't watch The Traitors anymore because everyone says "myself" when they mean 'me" and yourself/s" when they mean "you". Driving me (myself?) up the bloody wall!

It really annoys me too but it's been done since Edwardian times, it isn't a new thing. Also quite normal in Ireland and probably some areas of the UK too.

See also excited "for" when people mean "about"

Speaking "to" a topic, when they mean "about"

Gifted, when they mean given or donated

And impact as a verb instead of affect. Although my son just sighed when I moaned about that the other day and said it was everywhere now, which it is.

Sorry @MissTrip82 I misread your post - I guess you were talking about The Traitors!!

I do wonder what non native speakers think of these weirdnesses in (British) English, although I've seen people like Katja Hoyer (German historian who lives in the UK) using them in her writing.

I was just reading another thread about some Chinese people telling a pianist in a train station not to record them.

The Chinese man, who had excellent English, said "you and me" correctly but quickly corrected himself (gold star for my correct usage) to "you and I".

"The worst thing is, I know that 90% of my colleagues think I’ve used ‘me’ incorrectly when I use it in this context."

I've got a friend who's a bit of a Hyacinth Bouquet, and her lips curl in the tiniest pitying sneer if I say 'he showed it to Ron and me." I'm sure she thinks 'me' is only used by dim people.

DD's mortgage broker would litter emails and speech with 'myselfs' and 'yourselfs' - "As I was saying the other day to yourselfs - ". He got them a great mortgage though!

For me it’s not about “intellectual high ground”, it’s about resenting the mission creep of corporate speak and the fact that people aspire to sounding like press releases.

It’s such a depressing idea that people think sounding like AI generated corporate waffle makes them sound more intelligent.

I’d honestly prefer crude and vernacular English to meaningless corporate jargon.

I hate it when people say this in a professional setting. “it will be Steve and myself attending that meeting”. NO! steve and I! Or me and Steve!

Sounds Scottish to me.

It's me, not I.

"It will be Steve and me attending the meeting", in the same way you would say "It will be me attending the meeting"

If you want to use "I" you can say "Steve and I will be attending the meeting " but never (please) "It will be Steve and I attending the meeting".

I wouldn’t. I know how to use correct grammar and not sure why you thought I don’t?

So if Steve couldn't make it would you say "it will be I attending the meeting"?

Because you said it would be Steve and I, rather than Steve and myself in your post..

This. Presumably they think it sounds more ‘educated’ or somehow more official.
Much the same as people who say ‘Between you and I…’

No - and that’s not the rules! “Steve and I will be attending the meeting” is correct. “Steve and myself will be attending the meeting” is incorrect.

Agreed. Makes people sound really thick

I didn’t mean replacing it directly - I was pointing out anything with ‘myself’ rather than ‘I’ or ‘me’ is incorrect.

See also ‘literally’ used in these shows. “that revelation literally below me out of the water”. No, it didn’t.

Ok. I'm sure you can see how I misunderstood though. I also sometimes expect people to read what I meant rather than what I typed😁

@KarenNotAKaren
Dictionaries list 'figuratively' as one of the definitions of 'literally' now, simply because so many people were using it that way. They're tending to be descriptive rather than prescriptive these days.

Well it’s wrong wrong wrong IMO and I get unnecessarily angry about it!

I don't think people are doing it to sound more intelligent, they're doing it because everyone else is and after a while using words like, 'me' and 'you' sounds rude and impolite.

What annoys me more than that is the loss of 'ly'. "You're doing amazing."
It's amazingly!!

My gf also says needs fixed etc but I think that's a dialect thing.

It reminds me of the mad plane announcements on Cabin Pressure (BBC Radio, John Finnemore, beilliant).
"Wishing yourselves well on your onward journey from here and thanking yourselves for flying with ourselves today" etc

They really take the piss out of incorrect usage of reflexive pronouns on Cabin Pressure, if any of you are fans.

It's something that stupid people do to try and sound intelligent.

Tickled both our funny bones!

Yes my ex did it as well, there's a reason he's an ex though not exclusively that!

I get it a lot from customers over the phone or email "I've got a missed call from yourselfs" I assume in an attempt to make them(selves 😜) sound clever and keep me in my box.

Though it's slightly better than "Yous have rung me" which we also get.

Don't need to posh yourself up really, I already know my place is beneath everyone else as someone in customer service 😂