To be sick of pretentious use of “said”

[Driftingawaynow]

Increasingly I notice people using the word “said” where “the” would do fine.

for example:

asked my husband to take out the washing, he left said washing in the dryer.

it’s really bizarrely irritating

I’ve noticed this and used to think people say it when they’re trying to sound soooo posh and British

I have a colleague who thinks (or wishes) that she's posh. She lives in a box room in her mum's flat and wears knock off designer gear for Instagram pictures. She bought thousands of followers and tries to make out she's an influencer to restaurants to get free food.

Tragic.

Anyway, she speaks with a fake posh accent. It's pretty good, but the mask always slips when she says 'done' instead of 'did'. Every. Single. Time.

"I done my shopping yesterday".

It's like fingernails on a blackboard.

The word 'intentional' is beginning to bug me.

I hate: 'I digress' the way it is used on here.

😂Love this!

Absolutely. It's as if the uneducated ones wanted everyone else on their level, and suddenly correct English is pretentious...

I’m really irritated by “excited for” instead of “excited about”. “I’m really excited for the new series of Strictly” It is technically correct usage of the word “for” but feels like it shouldn’t be.

I don't particularly mind any of the things mentioned so far, although perhaps that's because all my irk right now is going on when a poster addresses us with 'reader' or 'dear reader'. It's said something along the lines of "and yes dear reader, I can confirm it did turn out to be blah blah blah". I've never heard anyone else mention that they find it annoying so I suspect it's probably just me being intolerant...

This specific thing doesn’t bother me but other things do.

Me too! Absolutely hate how super is everywhere!

If that's a hanging offence, people who say "Quote unquote" before a quote should be peeled and salted.

I think of it as a variety on tall poppy syndrome

I long for the point in my life when I am so carefree I have the capacity for this elite level of said nit picking - genuinely.

I can’t say I have seen that, but one I do keep seeing is as per an expample ive literally just read on another thread where the OP said her fridge “needs replaced”. Not needs replacing or needs to be replaced. I see this sort of thing quite frequently and find it weirdly annoying.

I hate it too, but I was once told it is a regional thing and it is accepted grammar in some places eg Scotland.

I know a guy who uses that word excessively, in combination with “and bits and bobs”.

It I have a 5 minute chat with him, I reckon he probably says “absolutely” and “and bits and bobs” about 7 times.

Every time I see said used in that way I think of a dated court room drama and a pompous wig wearing wanker.

Do people really say it in conversation?

Yes, and it doesn't have to pompous or pretentious. I teach teens and it's incredibly depressing how poor most of their written English is. Even those going for As at A level do not write at a level they did some years ago. I actually got my old essays from the loft to see if I was just being miserable but at 17 I was writing with more complex, varied and nuanced structure than most adults now..and I wasn't precocious or unusual.

I have an unreasonable loathing of ‘purchased’ instead of ‘bought’. As a noun, it’s fine - ‘just looking through my purchases’ doesn’t bother me, but ‘I purchased a Crunchie’ makes me wasn’t to scream.

I've read peope containing about it before on similar threads.

It's a pastiche of the last line of Jane Eyre - Reader, I married him.

Complaining.

I get increasingly irritated by the dumbing down of language and anyone using anything more complex than text speak being seen as pretentious.

I agree with this.

When I was a teenager, I had a more sophisticated lexicon than my parents and I was often mocked by my mother who accused me of using my intelligence against her and other people by using 'big words'.

I was just using the most appropriate word rather than describing the same concept in half a dozen or so other 'less sophisticated' words.

Now when I read criticism of other people's language for being 'pretentious', I tend to assume they are also accusing others of 'using your intelligence against me', which says more about the person complaining than it does about the person speaking.

If other people are using words you don't understand or in a context you're not familiar with, the failing, if there is one, is probably not with them.

Yes, very annoying, especially if used with hand quotes; in fact anything accompanied by hand quotes irritates me.

Vile and grim are really overused on MN , particularly about ensuite bathrooms, toilet brushes and anyone who doesnt have 5 showers a day or wash their clothes and bedding hourly.

I hate "literally" ....when used inappropriately.

An acquaintance at my running club did a race that she found tough, and said "i literally died" ...erm you clearly didnt because you are here telling me about it!