Word abuses 9

[SantaMufasa]

(I have tried to find a previous thread that dealt with word abuses, but I cannot locate it. If you can locate it, please let me know, and I'll add to that one, then I'll delete this thread.)

[ul][li]The painful sentence I heard just now on the Noon News was, "Be sure to get the vaccinizations for your children."[/li]

[li]At McDonald's, I ordered two breakfasts. The cashier called back the order, "Two Big Breakfasses."[/li]

[li]I also dislike the misuse of the plurals for instance, incidence and incident:

The two arson incidences occurred within an hour of each other.

[/li][/ul]

Do you have other incidences of word abuse?

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
“People may forget what you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

 

[Andrzejek]

Are you sure the cashier did not call back the order as: "Two Big Break - f - asses."
(with the 4-letter 'f' word in the middle? )


Have fun.

---- Andy

 

[guitarzan]

Santa... is this the one you were thinking of? thread1256-1526907

 

[johnherman]

Slip Mahoney of The Bowery Boys (played by Leo Gorcey) was infamous for them.

From wikipedia: In the Bowery Boys movies, Leo's father, Bernard Gorcey, played Louie Dumbrowski, the diminutive sweetshop owner from whom the boys conned banana splits and financial loans. Leo's character "Slip" was famed for his malapropisms always delivered in a Brooklyn accent, such as "a clever seduction" for "a clever deduction," "I depreciate it!" ("I appreciate it!"), "I regurgitate" ("I reiterate"), and "optical delusion" ("optical illusion"). In the movie Jungle Gents, in which the Bowery Boys went to Africa, Huntz Hall lost the map and substituted a newspaper ad for lingerie. When Slip saw it, he said, "This ain't a map—it's an ad for ladies' griddles! [girdles]"



====================================
Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side because there is more manure there - original.

 

[johnherman]

and then there's this oldie but goodie:

http://birkblog.typepad.com/my_webl...-warning-do-not-read-with-a-full-bladder.html

====================================
Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side because there is more manure there - original.

 

[kwbMitel]

Don't delete, that way we can all complain again.

I hate - irregardless (regardless)
I despise - Needless to say... (suffice it to say)
I'm confused by - I could care less (couldn't)
I'm resigned to verbisms - "Neighbourhood Blading" (snow clearing)
I'm ashamed to admit to using acronyms - TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)


**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[MakeItSo]

I think that trying to do calculations in a table is another major Word abuse.


“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.

 

[mscallisto]

@kwbMitel


According to Merriam Webster, Irregardless is a real (legitimate) word that can be used in place of regardless, but it's use is not recommended.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_fUMcTb1jI

Sam

 

[mscallisto]

Very clever MakeItSo, have a splat.

Sam

 

[MakeItSo]

Ha!
No that was a nice collection, johnherman!

In the words of NC State great Charles Shackelford I can go to my left or right, I am amphibious.

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” (Kofi Annan)
Oppose SOPA, PIPA, ACTA; measures to curb freedom of information under whatever name whatsoever.

 

[djj55]

I am guilty of using optical conclusion instead of optical illusion.


djj
The Lord is my shepherd (Psalm 23) - I need someone to lead me!

 

[kwbMitel]

@Mscallisto, I am aware of some sources listing irregardless as an alternate and have been for over 10 years, I am also aware of numerous sources that I consider more trustworthy saying otherwise.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> According to Merriam Webster,
==> consider more trustworthy saying otherwise.
When you can't trust a well-respected dictionary on a word that has been is use for over 100 years, who can you trust? Even the OED includes an entry for irregardless.

This could easily segue into a discussion of prescriptive vs descriptive language.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato

 

[kwbMitel]

@CajunCenturion, I have sources I trust and I will say that prety much anything online is not amoung them. Yes, I accept that the word exists but experts in the field say it should not and I agree. Cut to the chase, is this a word that you would use?

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[kwbMitel]

I would like to point out as well that whether a word is actual or not is beside the point. You could say that all of my examples exist. The point being whether their use is, in and of itself, an abuse. I feel that my examples are abuses. Even the ones that ,self admittedly, I use (acronyms). I do not feel so strongly about these things that I feel the need to point them out to everyone who uses them. I may reveal to my closest friends how much they annoy me but that usually ends up with an increase in use. I would rather not debate the merits one way or another and should not have responded to mscallisto as such. Nuff said?

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[mscallisto]

@ kwbMitel

I honestly believe that you knew "irregardless" is still in the dictionary and apologize if you feel my post was in any way demeaning to you; it wasn't meant to be.

I read the following is true:
Words become accepted into dictionaries mainly because of usage, some new examples being sexting, f-bomb and cloud-computing and cut when they become obsolete or fallen from current use.

I too hate to hear "irregardless" because it suggests to me that the user is somewhat ignorant.

I never correct their usage because I feel it remains in the dictionary because it is in use very much, and for that reason they have a right to use it, even though I wouldn't.

I also feel the same when someone declares "I seen" when it should be "I saw".

Again I'm sorry if my original response offended you in any way.

Sam

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> I have sources I trust
As do we all. What are the sources that you trust?

==> experts in the field say it should not
And who would those experts be?

==> I will say that prety much anything online is not amoung them
The online version of the OED doesn't say anything that the published hardback version does not say. The same holds true for many, if not all, of the major widely accepted dictionaries. The online version of Britannica says nothing that cannot also be found in the hardback copies. While it's understandable that one would and should be cautious with online sources, to be dismissive of them because they're online, in my opinion, is a prejudicial generalization.

==> is this a word that you would use?
No, it's not a word that I would use. There are lots of words that I don't use, because I don't like them. That's doesn't mean the word is invalid, even if non-standard or informal. That's similar to your post of 5 Apr 13 15:47 where you said you hated the word. That's fine, but to claim that experts believe the word should not exist is a different matter.

--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato

 

[CajunCenturion]

My questions are why can you be discombobulated, but not combobulated? Or why can you be nonplussed, but not plussed?
Why does one debone a chicken when the verb "to bone" means to remove the bones?


--------------
Good Luck
To get the most from your Tek-Tips experience, please read
FAQ181-2886
Wise men speak because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. - Plato

 

[kwbMitel]

One source that I trust completely is anything by Bill Bryson (you may have heard me mention him before)

The reason I trust him is that he states his sources, both those that agree and if applicable, those that do not.

I find his research and documentation to be unparalleled in my experience.

Bill Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words:
- Irregardless is not a real word, though one or two dictionaries do now, lamentably, acknowledge it. Make it regardless.

**********************************************
What's most important is that you realise ... There is no spoon.

 

[johnherman]

My sister, a former school teacher, once recounted how a young city boy informed her that to see how hot or cold it was, you used the mometer. Yes, it was a mometer.

====================================
Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side because there is more manure there - original.