Words that drive you crazy...

[pam]

Irregardless- I am pretty sure that this isn't even a word but my Bishop and second counselor use it constantly. Drives me up a wall. I haven't had the heart to say anything.

It actually is a word but a word that is non standard.

 

Irregardless is a word commonly used in place of regardless or irrespective, which has caused controversy since the early twentieth century, though the word appeared in print as early as 1795.^[1] Most dictionaries list it as nonstandard or incorrect usage, and recommend that "regardless" should be used instead

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

Here in the Midwest or the part I live in .....lots of people when speaking will say warsh for wash. They will spell it the right way but when speaking and they pronounce the word wash they put a R in it.

 

This made me laugh.  Back when I was a newlywed, my dh tried to correct my pronunciation of "wolf".  I said "woof,"  that "L" is hard to slip in there!  I didn't think it was a big deal until . . . one day I heard a woman say wash with the R as you describe.  I cringed at how uneducated it made her sound (no offense intended!!!!)  So I went home and told my dh that I wanted to say "wolf" correctly, and any other pronunciation mistakes I made please tell me!  

Wolf, wolf, wolf...I still have to think before I say it, but I do say it correctly, LOL!

[Guest]

Most malapropisms make me cringe.  "I'm old enough that I need to worry about my prostrate."

 

"Sexy".  I often have to do designs that will fit into existing, very congested areas.  In order to do so, the design is often very non-standard.  The geometry is hideous.  But most of the people don' understand just how bad it will be when I say "it will be highly non-standard"

 

I've found that the most effective way of communicating the idea with the right feeling is "I can make it work, but it just won't look sexy."  For some reason, they all understand that.

[Guest]

Sean Hannity is on the radio when I pick the kids up from school.  I can only stand 2 minutes of his monologues because he says "In other words" sooooo many times it drives me nuts.

[EarlJibbs]

ponderize

 

YES!!!!  haha!

[EarlJibbs]

• The phrase "it is what it is"

 

• The pronouncement of the fast food burger joint, Whataburger (What a Burger) here in Houston. Everyone says "Waterburger". I made it a point when I first moved here to say the words seperately and people didnt know what place I was talking about. 

 

• When on a conference call and someone says "off line" EG: "We can discuss that off line". 

 

• "Bro"  Although I use it with my 13 year old son when I want to get his attention (He hates it when I do it) I can't stand adults using it. Especially in an office atmosphere. 

[LeSellers]

There is no /t/ in "often", just as there is no /t/ in "listen", nor in "whistle".

List => listen

Whist => whistle

Oft => often

One wonders why those who pronounce "often" incorrectly don't, consistently, say "combing".

When Webster wrote his "Blue-backed speller", he changed the spelling of a lot of words. Examples include "often" for the existing "offen", and "det" which he changed to "debt" so as to preserve the connection to the Latin debit. But no one pronounces it "debt".

Lehi

[Guest]

This reminds me of the first thing that really irritated me about the English language.  English is not my first language, so I had to learn the thing in school... So, in Kindergarten, we have the big and small letters of the English alphabet accompanied by a picture running on top of the blackboard.

 

Aa Apple

Bb Ball

 

was my very first experience in fighting with the teacher.  My 5-year-old self insisted the teacher is wrong because the A in apple means Ball is spelled wrong... because, you just told me A is apple, then you use A in the word Ball and it does not sound the same.  So, you misspelled it.

[Backroads]

There is no /t/ in "often", just as there is no /t/ in "listen", nor in "whistle".List => listenWhist => whistleOft => oftenOne wonders why those who pronounce "often" incorrectly don't, consistently, say "combing".When Webster wrote his "Blue-backed speller", he changed the spelling of a lot of words. Examples include "often" for the existing "offen", and "det" which he changed to "debt" so as to preserve the connection to the Latin debit. But no one pronounces it "debt".Lehi

I love it when these things come up in second grade spelling lists. The kids find the oddities great.

[NeuroTypical]

• "Bro"  Although I use it with my 13 year old son when I want to get his attention (He hates it when I do it) I can't stand adults using it. Especially in an office atmosphere. 

 

My 11 yr old daughter informs me that "Bruh" or "Bra" are acceptable substitutions, and are no longer limited to any particular gender. 

[mirkwood]

May I please have your temple recommend

 

Sure, let me just tape it to this rock I'm going to throw at your head.      

[Guest]

"Trigger" is becoming one.

[Vort]

There is no /t/ in "often", just as there is no /t/ in "listen", nor in "whistle".

List => listen

Whist => whistle

Oft => often

One wonders why those who pronounce "often" incorrectly don't, consistently, say "combing".

When Webster wrote his "Blue-backed speller", he changed the spelling of a lot of words. Examples include "often" for the existing "offen", and "det" which he changed to "debt" so as to preserve the connection to the Latin debit. But no one pronounces it "debt".

 

When people pronounce the word "oft",

They always will rhyme it with "soft".

But often, with "often",

They don't rhyme with "soften".

I wonder why?

  -  Vort (soon aloft)

[Guest]

This reminds me of the first thing that really irritated me about the English language.  English is not my first language, so I had to learn the thing in school... So, in Kindergarten, we have the big and small letters of the English alphabet accompanied by a picture running on top of the blackboard.

 

Aa Apple

Bb Ball

 

was my very first experience in fighting with the teacher.  My 5-year-old self insisted the teacher is wrong because the A in apple means Ball is spelled wrong... because, you just told me A is apple, then you use A in the word Ball and it does not sound the same.  So, you misspelled it.

 

Here are some good ones too:

 

Good Food

To Go

Daughter's Laughter

Tough Bough

(since the thread recently came back to life) Shew and Flew.

[Vort]

Here are some good ones too:

 

Daughter's Laughter

 

Just remember: You can't have manslaughter without man's laughter.

[pam]

"Trigger" is becoming one.

 

Trigger is an important word in my household.  Having a son that is now 18 months clean after years of heroin addiction, we have to talk about triggers all of the time to keep an open conversation going.

[Mahone]

Percieved mispronunciation of words dont bother me so much. There are so many regional variations and it irritates me a little when people here in the US attempt to correct my own pronunciation and then insist the way we pronounce certain words in the UK is simply wrong.

For the most part I attempt to pronounce words in the US variant as I am after all in the USA, with the exception of tomato, route/router and solder. I just can't get myself to use the American pronunciation of those words without shuddering.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Mahone

[Vort]

For the most part I attempt to pronounce words in the US variant as I am after all in the USA, with the exception of tomato, route/router and solder.

 

So then, to-MAH-to, root/rooter, and...uh...SOUL-der? Or do you mean you don't hit the final "r", so it's SOD-duh? I'm trying to visualize (or perhaps more correctly, audiolize) how you would pronounce "solder" differently from "sodder".

[Mahone]

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/pronunciation/english/solder

[Mahone]

Business cliches irritate me a little. Going forward, I will reach out and ping you an email to arrange a time to touch base and we can ensure we handle this paradigm shift.

[lonetree]

Concerning for disconcerting. 

I used to have a tendency to use the phrase 'literally climbing the walls...', though,...

[Guest]

Trigger is an important word in my household.  Having a son that is now 18 months clean after years of heroin addiction, we have to talk about triggers all of the time to keep an open conversation going.

 

That's part of the irritation. It certainly has its place, and an important one. But now every spoiled brat that doesn't ever want to feel uncomfortable starts to use it for the most inane reasons, and it waters it down. 

[NeuroTypical]

Eowyn is intimidating me, and I demand she stop.  LDS.net is my safe space.

 

[For those unfamiliar with statements like mine, they're popping up, by people who are being serious, and everyone needs a slap.]

[Guest]

This isn't a daycare, Neuro, it's a forum.

[Guest Godless]

That's part of the irritation. It certainly has its place, and an important one. But now every spoiled brat that doesn't ever want to feel uncomfortable starts to use it for the most inane reasons, and it waters it down. 

 

It's really getting ridiculous. I'm a war vet, and certain sounds trigger certain reactions in my brain. That doesn't mean I need a "safe space" free of those triggers. I just do my best to avoid them on my own. You know, like any reasonable adult would.