The "how hard can it be?" thread

[UnquietDad]

It's loth to do it, not "loath" or "loathe".

It's accept something, not "except" it.

It's affect the outcome, not "effect" it.

It's publicly, not "publically".

It's never mind (two words), not "nevermind" (pace Nirvana).

It's liaison, not "liason".

Any more (not "anymore") ?

Aaargh... the shame . I used mismatched brackets [...) on a pedantry thread. I shall be run off the board.

Shame on you, Ellbell, but at least you saw the error of your ways in time.

ooh!

I hate it when people say 'you have two choices' When they mean 'You have 2 options' or 'you have a choice' It drives me mad every time I hear it!!

It's so nice to finally be able to get that one off my chest!

Ooh, got another one:

X bares many similarities to Y

[The mind boggles]

'bare with me'. Saw it today.

how used as why is indeed a scottish (definitely West Coast) colloqualism

i am going oot for a bevvy
How
oh i have got the scunner

i was late for work!
How
Oh i over slept

Yes, scottishmummy, it's used like that in Cornwall too.

How're you all dressed-up?
I'm going out dreckly.

Oh I likey dreckly does that mean now the noo

Ensure and Insure, as used by JaneHH supra.

Scottish mummy - those make sense.

'I was late for work'
'How did such a situation occur?' (shortened to 'how')
'I slept in'

Whats wrong there?

And whats wrong with 'less' instead of 'fewer'?

LOL different interpretations of how
MyMate: im going out tonight
Me: How?
MyMateh bus & train, then walk to bar
Me: NoNo How
MyMate: Ach i've got the scunner
Me:How
MyMate:Well.....

"Say again?" or "Come again?" instead of "Pardon?"
"On a regular basis" instead of "regularly"
"Pronounciation"

'Dreckly' means 'in a little while', 'later'. But it is often used like the Spanish mañana, so 'I'll do it dreckly' means 'not in a month of Sundays'! (It's probably, actually, a contraction of 'directly', which - ironically enough - means 'immediately'.) I've seen a bumper sticker with "Cornishmen do it dreckly" on!

No, I know the interpretation, but really, most of the time saying 'how' instead of 'why' (which is a colloquialism and therefore pedantically acceptable ) actually does make sense.

I am sick of people using 'phased' when they mean 'fazed'.

lickle instead of little (les battersby)

People round here (E Lancs) say lickle and bockle - even proper grown-up people - it's weird

punctuating inane sentences with "DoYa know what i mean" when i don't actually care what they mean

i was going to the shops DoYa know what i mean and there was like a hug queue DoYa know what i mean so like i bought some teabags DoYa know what i mean...

aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Did anybody hear the guy on Radio 5 this morning talking about John Terry scoring for England after his penalty miss in the Champions' League final? - apparently he 'exercised' his demons.

I have visions of him walking them round the pitch on a lead.....

Scottishmummy, in Croydon there's an even more irritating thing where "DyaknowwhatImean?" is used to replace "I understand", (Or American "I hear you"
eg ME: "The train was packed so I had to stand all the way"
Reply: "DyaknowwhatImean?"

Somehow deeply unsatisfying.

Since we're on the subject, one error that always gets me is furnishing catalogues that describe something as PETROL BLUE. No, it isn't. Petrol is piss yellow. PETRELS are blue, little birds, Stormy Petrel etc. So please put Petrel Blue in future!!

Snickers - I didn't know that companies are singular, it's something I've wondered about when I've come across it fromtime to time. Always a pleasure to learn, so thank you

Sorry, left out a bracket there. And a space. And I mis-spelt my own name in an email yesterday . Should we have a Mumsnet Confessional? (Either do three Hail Marys or go to Sainsbury's and complain about 'Five items or Less')

For nothing or free of charge - never for free...

My MIL insists that she isn't a racialist !!!

tearinghairout - It's possible that petrol blue comes from Esso Blue (which was actually paraffin, but was known as petrol in some languages)

You may be too young to remember the famous ad jingles 'Bom-bom-bom-bom Esso Blue' and
"They asked me how I knew
It was Esso Blue,
I of course replied
With lower grades one buys
Smoke gets in your eyes."

But the blue in parafin is bluey blue (IYSWIM) and petrels are... well... petrel blue. I'm with tearinghairout on this one.

tearinghairout - that is interesting about the blue as I was sure it must be petrol blue as I had some Mary Quant tights years ago bearing that name (petrol blue) - so I always imagine petrol to be that colour !