what two words in one/sayings irritate you?

Gloomendoom

catch_me_if_you_can wrote: »

don't you have bus stations?

You do. So called to differentiate them from 'railway stations' or just 'stations' which are where you catch trains.

Train station sounds like baby talk.

peaceandfreedom

LittleMrsThrifty wrote: »

I get upset when people say "there's nothing worse than..." for situations where you can be very sure there is something worse. Examples I've heard are "There's nothing worse than laddered tights / running out of tea bags / itchy fingers". It's disrespectful to people who are going through worse.

I know what you mean but I do this myself. I say things like 'There's nothing worse than undercooked spuds' - well of course there are any number of things a lot worse.

That's just exaggeration though isn't. It's like when people say 'It's your worst nightmare' about something relatively trivial like losing your purse. A big inconvenience certainly, but a long way from being my worst nightmare.

I remember reading a heartbreaking interview from a father whose child had been murdered (now, that really is a good example of your worst nightmare). He said how much it angered him to hear people say "I'm going to kill him" when angry about something, how that word 'kill' was bandied about in an off-hand way.

I suppose we all all say stuff that might be highly upsetting to people because of their experiences but I don't see how it can be avoided without completely sanitising the English language.

peaceandfreedom

I'm getting rather obsessed with this thread but there's something else that's really been annoying me lately - and that's TV reporters who don't seem to be able to use verbs in their sentences any more.

The report starts and the reporter says something like: "A quiet street, three murders, shocked neighbours, a community in mourning. Outside the house, flowers and tributes."

The whole report continues in this vein. What's wrong with a proper sentence with verbs in it?

4nnabella

I hate business jargon... The company I work for (although thankfully I'm on maternity leave at the moment so am having a break!) use it a lot! Things like information being 'cascaded' down, or how we're supposed to be 'thought-leaders' or how people 'champion' things... Oh and there's a 'dashboard' (I.e. spreadsheet...) for everything! And they love acronyms too...

Not quite the same but I also dislike 'Xmas'. And most other abbreviations actually.

blossomhill_2

When Mum used to ask us kids to clarify whether we were saying "M" or "N" we would say "N for Nonkeynuts" and drive her mad!!! What larks!

blossomhill_2

Ohhh, there's nothing worse than a papercut!" (!!!!!)

"Work colleague"

C_Mababejive

tinkle wrote: »

Basically and literally

Both words are extremely over used, especially by teenagers I have noticed, unsure of the reason for that.

My pet hate also. Its spread across the country like some insidious pox no doubt ably assisted by ignorance,lack of education/vocabulary and communication skills.

peaceandfreedom

4nnabella wrote: »

I hate business jargon... The company I work for (although thankfully I'm on maternity leave at the moment so am having a break!) use it a lot! Things like information being 'cascaded' down, or how we're supposed to be 'thought-leaders' or how people 'champion' things... Oh and there's a 'dashboard' (I.e. spreadsheet...) for everything!

I find that that kind of corporate b******t is used most by people who have absolutely no clue whatsoever what they are doing. They hope that throwing in all this jargon will hide their incompetence and general cluelessness. A variation on 'all the gear, no idea'.

'Thought-leaders' - haven't heard that one - what will they think of next?

OK, I am now going to drag myself kicking and screaming away from this thread.

Gloomendoom

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

I'm getting rather obsessed with this thread but there's something else that's really been annoying me lately - and that's TV reporters who don't seem to be able to use verbs in their sentences any more.

How about the current trend for using verbs as nouns?

Invite instead of invitation probably being the most popular.

marywooyeah

peaceandfreedom wrote: »

While having a run-in with a customer service guy, he kept saying 'I hear what you are saying but .....'.

I hate that too - and "I know how you feel". no, you really don't!