Words or phrases that annoy you

Georgiegirl256

HurdyGurdy wrote: »

The phrase I (currently) hate the most is "Ja nah 'a mean" which translates into "do you know what I mean".

That sounds very Cumbrian!

Pollycat

Gloomendoom wrote: »

And another one... "Lush"

My understanding of the word is green and verdant. It's possibly regional, but I've seen it used on MSE to refer to anything from a wedding frock to a new boyfriend. :huh:

queen_of_cheap wrote: »

"Lush" is part of every day language in Bristol, if not the West Country.

"Gert lush" is that something is totally fab.

I am a user of "lush", both in RL and on these forums

Another meaning of 'lush' is someone who drinks a lot.....

Georgiegirl256

Another phrase that bugs me is 'Middle for Diddle'. You hear it all the time on game shows and it's annoyng. I don't know if it's a phrase that has always been about or it's just a more recent thing.

Oh, and 'On it like a car bonnet' is really annoying too.

pigpen

I LOVE the C word.. it is the best word ever!! At family gatherings we adults (hahahaha) have a contest to see who can use it the most! We love the reaction from other people when it is used in public.. why is it considered any worse than most of 'rude' words?? its kind of nice when you think about it.

HurdyGurdy

splishsplash wrote: »

It gets under my skin when I hear people refer to their car as 'she' or 'her'.

I know it is generally accepted that "she" is used when talking about ships etc, but it irritates me in a disproportionate way. They are not living, breathing things. They are inanimate objects.

I had a friend who had a boat of some kind or another, and I think we were in competition to see who could be the most irritating to the other. She, by constantly referring to the boat as, "she" or me by emphasising "it" when I mentioned it.

benjus

pigpen wrote: »

its always a friend .. haha..

If it were about me I wouldn't have a problem saying so, especially on an online forum that doesn't show my name.

Petra_70

pigpen wrote: »

I LOVE the C word.. it is the best word ever!! At family gatherings we adults (hahahaha) have a contest to see who can use it the most! We love the reaction from other people when it is used in public.. why is it considered any worse than most of 'rude' words?? its kind of nice when you think about it.

The c word is dreadful, and I would never use it in public - ever. However, it is funny sometimes, eg, when it's on a tv programme like a gripping drama or a comedy. If someone said it in public though, I would be shocked! :rotfl:

Pollycat wrote: »

Our buses depart from a bus station.

Maybe it's not so much a 'regional' thing, more a 'London' thing.

I see nothing wrong (and certainly don't view it as 'infantile') with calling a place that a train departs from a 'train station'.

Who said saying 'bus station' is infantile? What an utterly absurd and ridiculous thing to say! How the heck is it 'infantile?' How silly!

HurdyGurdy wrote: »

And this is why I have subtitles on the TV almost permanently!

Going to the cinema is pretty much a waste of time, as despite the excruciating volume, I still can't make out what most of the actors are saying.

I can understand what people are saying (usually,) however, I have noticed that people do mumble. Happy Valley is the worst right now. I love the programme, but they don't half mumble! I have to put the subtitles on too!

HurdyGurdy

AubreyMac wrote: »

Plurals has always confused me, especially with words that end with a s anyway or words that are already plural. For example, I work in children's social services and this is on our headed paper. One colleague said it should be children services not children's because children is already a plural for child.

I do work in children's services, and I think it is correct because they are services for all the children. I am now fretting as I don't want to have my teeth on edge every time I switch my computer on at work

Does anyone know which is correct?

benjus

AubreyMac wrote: »

Plurals has always confused me, especially with words that end with a s anyway or words that are already plural. For example, I work in children's social services and this is on our headed paper. One colleague said it should be children services not children's because children is already a plural for child.

HurdyGurdy wrote: »

I do work in children's services, and I think it is correct because they are services for all the children. I am now fretting as I don't want to have my teeth on edge every time I switch my computer on at work

Does anyone know which is correct?

I think there's some confusion here between adding an s to form a plural and adding a 's to indicate possession.

"children's" is the correct form for "belonging to the children"
"child's" is the correct form for "belonging to the child"

"children services" is not grammatically correct, as it's trying to use "children" as an adjective, which it isn't.

The rule for words that form plurals the regular way, by adding an s, is as follows:

girl - singular noun
girls - plural noun
girl's - belonging to the girl
girls' - belonging to the girls

If you're adding a possessive 's to a word that isn't a plural but ends in s (such as a name, for example), both the s's and s' forms are seen.

For example, there's a tube station in London called St. James's Park. But some people would prefer St James' Park. I believe that both are acceptable.

Pollycat

Petra_70 wrote: »

Who said saying 'bus station' is infantile? What an utterly absurd and ridiculous thing to say! How the heck is it 'infantile?' How silly!

I didn't say that the term 'bus station' was infantile (and as far as I'm aware nobody else did either).

My reference was to 'train station':

Pollycat wrote: »

I see nothing wrong (and certainly don't view it as 'infantile') with calling a place that a train departs from a 'train station'.

If you really want to know who thinks referring to a place that a train departs from as 'train station' is infantile, here you go:

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I'm from the North and it's not regional.

Train station sounds infantile to me. It's a station on the railway, so a railway station, or just "station" for short.