Pedant Party: Any Annoying Word Misuse Lately?

[NotQuiteCockney]

I was reading Julie and Julia over the holidays, and found it mostly very good. However, at one point, she uses the term "triage" to mean "perform first aid", rather than it's proper use. Grrrr. The original meaning is useful and distinct from "patch something together".

What misuses have annoyed everyone else lately?

I was once involved with an American guy who used to say "Oh, I could care less about such and such" instead of "I couldn't care less". I would invariably reply "So you do care, then?" and he would look blank.

(I eventually decided enough was enough when he thought Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein as a tie in with the Kenneth Brannagh film)

Oh, satine, I'm afraid "I could care less" is normal usage in the US and Canada. It doesn't make any sense, though.

I know, NQC. I hoped that I might have started a tiny revolution of common sense but apparently not. Ho hum.

The slow spread of the word 'orient' instead of 'orientate' also gets on my nerves. The problem is that the more widespread it becomes, like the dreaded apostrophe, the more people think that it's correct.

Hmmm, this page (and this page) thinks "orient" is right and "orientate" is wrong. Orientate sounds silly and overly fancy and long, to me (admittedly non-British ear).

Hmm, some more digging shows that "orientate" is more normal in the UK, but "orient" is still perfectly acceptable.

Jura, I am with your dh, drives me nuts.

NCQ, I suppose I am only irritated by 'orient' because it seems to me (possibly incorrectly) that it is an americanism that is gradually replacing the more traditionally used (in England) 'orientate'. And the inevitable slide towards US global domination makes me quite sad. Even Little Chef is apparently on the way out, no doubt to be replaced with McDonalds and Burger Kings. I know they were rubbish but still...

I'm with you on preferring 'orientate' to 'orient', satine.

Are Little Chefs really on the way out? Long car journeys won't be the same without Jubilee Pancakes.

The Muller Little Stars advertisment where the voiceover says, "with as little as five ingredients." AS FEW! AS FEW! AS FEW!

The copywriter should be sacked, along with whomever should have realised the mistake before it was aired.

Phew! (Few?) Glad I got that off my chest.

Sainsburys are selling "tuna and corianander" fishcakes at the moment. I used to be a copywriter, and I'd have been sacked for that howler.

Ds1 uses the word "Decimating" to men "Fascinating Christms decortions"

For sale items in the small ads that say "except £50 ono"
instead of accept

I was sat instead of I was sitting. Is that English? I'm pretty sure it's not but I see it all over the place nowadays. Please correct me otherwise as I've been out of the country for a while now .

Also I have took instead of I have taken (rarer but I have heard it around a fair bit).

Brought instead of bought.

And finally.... why can no one ever spell definitely??!!!??

I have a big problem with the word "contemporary". Even though most people use it as a word to mean "modern", I was taught that it means "of the same time". Therefore I always shout "contemporaneous with what?". My DW thinks i'm mad/sad!

I also comment about the patently absurd use of
"he gave it 110%" and similar. Every one knows you can't give more than 100%!!

Has anyone else noticed the extreme over-use of the word 'uber' lately?

If the person doing first aid ment 'to assess casualties to see who has the most urgent need for treatment' then she was OKish. That's how it's used in non-military circles. If she just meant 'to perform first aid' she was wrong. (Original use on the battlefield meant 'to assess who has a chance of survival and needs treatment first' as in, forget treating someone who is dying, save your effort for those who might live.)

hah! Meant, obv.

Palate instead of palette (of colours).

Vocal chords instead of vocal cords.

Straight jacket instead of straitjacket (not seen that one recently).

oh, and discrete instead of discreet

disinterested instead of uninterested and less instead of fewer both really irritate me.

they serve "complimentary" drinks at my hairdressers. I have taken out a red pen in the past and had to give myself a stern look - must not deface the nice lady's sign while she has scissors in her hand.

Haven't read whole thread...but does headed annoy anyone elso too? As in "Where are you headed?" shouldn't that be "Where are you heading"???

The whole disinterested and uninterested really gets my goat too.

An when did we start to take decisions rather than make them?

(probably when we started usung 'an' instead of 'and'...)