'The word pedants' top 10 | It's specific, not Pacific...' blog discussion.

MrGumby

Paul_Varjak wrote: »

The word 'obviously' is overused in a similar way to 'basically'.

I remember Kate Humble on a weekly TV programme with some zoo workers. I had to give up watching the programme because one of the zoo employees used the words 'basically' and 'obviously' every bloomin' week.

And 'actually' and 'literally'.

redglass_2

esuhl wrote: »

I'm with you all the way on "haitch" (it even pains me to type it!)... but what's wrong with "fewer"?!

Like many others, I was so enjoying the thread that I fell victim to my own self-righteousness and didn't make myself clear. I meant people who say 'fewer' when they should say 'less' (and vice versa).

KimYeovil

Heal thyself! From the front page of the site:

Assuming you've got the cash, rate shopping as a leisure activity (5 = high)

2 – I mostly try and avoid it

try to, surely!

Azari

"You can borrow money off somebody,"

No, you can borrow money from someone.

Saturnalia

Literally used incorrectly (which it is most of the time!) "I literally wet myself laughing" - well you're not wet & smelly so no you didn't.

The fad for spelling The as Teh - where has that come from and how can we kill it? I suppose it's meant to be ironic (hey, another word used incorrectly nearly all the time! For the record, I'm unsure what the correct usage of ironic is, so I avoid the word - but I do know enough to realise that doing/wearing something to !!!! a snook, to provoke, to deliberately go against the current or because you simply find it funny isn't irony). Sighs.

People who get a shock and claim they were electrocuted. The word electrocution comes from execution, so if you're still alive to say you were electrocuted then you weren't, no matter how severe the shock was.

Saying "J and I"/"J and me" wrongly. You put the sentence together as if J weren't there, and it is immediately apparent whether it is I or me. (Myself is trickier though and again I don't know when to use it correctly so I avoid it - that isn't difficult to do.)

DVardysShadow

Saturnalia wrote: »

... The fad for spelling The as Teh - where has that come from and how can we kill it? I suppose it's meant to be ironic ....

It came afaics from the more nerdy early days of the internet, which originated with someone who frequently wrote 'teh' as a typo. I assume it was picked up and used to lampoon the individual. I first came across it being used with ironic intent to lampoon people who are overenthusiastic by misquoting them. When used in that way, it does suggest rushed typing and being so keen to get the message across that self checking is not regarded as important.

Sir_Alan

My own current pet hate is the indiscriminate and inappropriate use of "icon" and "iconic", usually by lazy journalists describing anything from a Routemaster 'bus to an iPhone.

Sir_Alan

missbishi wrote: »

I can think of loads but my real pet hate is when people say "drownded" instead of drowned!

It does at least have a long history, having been used colloquially for many years. Gosling, the porter at Greyfriars School, considered that "all boys should be drownded at birth".

jobbingmusician

There's a wonderful poster on Waterloo station. The bit in red is verbatim, the rest is my best memory. Sorry I can't remember who was advertising.

Waffles should only be served with syrup.
We specialise in plain English.

Personally I like to eat my waffles. The correct phrase is 'Waffles should be served only with syrup.' The 'plain English' the company has used actually means that the only thing you should do with waffles is to serve them with syrup. They are then presumably left to rot.

Frogletina

jobbingmusician wrote: »

There's a wonderful poster on Waterloo station. The bit in red is verbatim, the rest is my best memory. Sorry I can't remember who was advertising.

Waffles should only be served with syrup.
We specialise in plain English.

Personally I like to eat my waffles. The correct phrase is 'Waffles should be served only with syrup.' The 'plain English' the company has used actually means that the only thing you should do with waffles is to serve them with syrup. They are then presumably left to rot.

This reminds me of a poster that I saw in a local cafe.

Only food purchased here can be eaten

Oh dear!