# Annoying use of words in American **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 27, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449 "2008-08-27T18:33:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/21 "2008-08-27T20:48:22Z")
How is time implied by “at this point”? It could be “at this point in my presentation” or “at this point of the play” or even “at this point in my career”. If I want to mean “at 8:13 p.m., which is now”, it is perfectly acceptable to say “at this point in time.” “How come?” means “How came (it)?” What’s the problem there? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/22 "2008-08-27T20:48:58Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] **Litoris** walks past her _hose pipe_, into her _living room_ and picks up an _ink pen_ to write down all these superfluous words, _for future reference._ On second thought, nah, I live in the South. If we didn’t differentiate between an ink pen and a stick pin, you’d never know what we’re talking about. [/QUOTE] No, no: “Litoris _might could_ walk past her hose pipe, into her living room…” ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/23 "2008-08-27T20:54:41Z")
[QUOTE=Tom Tildrum] No, no: “Litoris _might could_ walk past her hose pipe, into her living room…” [/QUOTE] I am so very sorry, I _might ought to have_ said that. Please pardon my obscurity there. Thank you, so very much 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/24 "2008-08-27T20:56:45Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] **Litoris** walks past her _hose pipe_, into her _living room_ [/QUOTE] Y’all just live in one-room dwellings? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/25 "2008-08-27T21:14:07Z")
[QUOTE=Rasa] Everything from “are you ready?” to “are you done with that?” to “can I help you further?” Maybe it’s just regional, and maybe it’s just because they mentioned it but I noticed it said a zillion times a day now! [/QUOTE] My friend from Texas remarked on my usage of “all set” as in Would you like more soda? No, I’m all set. This struck her as … different. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/26 "2008-08-27T21:18:34Z")
[QUOTE=Spectre of Pithecanthropus] To the OP, can you clarify your situation? Are you American but now living elsewhere and using a different language, or a different variant of English? If so, it would be interesting to know which it is, since different second-language environments might produce different impressions. [/QUOTE] Sorry, I should have made that clear: I’m from the land of the ice and snow, which naturally, knowing your Led Zep mythology, is the land(s) of the vikings, Scandinavia, where we don’t speak English, but where English is becoming close to a second language (music, film, literature, Internet, etc). We will never, however, use the word “already” as you use it, because it’s ridiculous. Ridiculous I tell you. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/27 "2008-08-27T21:24:01Z")
[QUOTE=Gary T] “Already” in this context is an indicator of (sometimes mock) impatience. There is a difference between “stop whining” and “stop whining, already,” with the latter suggesting it’s noticeably past time to stop. “At this point in time” implies a precision not necessarily conveyed by “at this time.” The latter can be a little fuzzy, perhaps meaning “today” or even “this week.” The former suggests “at this very moment.” [/QUOTE] I wouldn’t argue with you, but my firm understanding of the word “already” is “something that has happened (probably sooner than expected)”. Telling someone to do something “already” is therefore nonsense. Of course, I’m wrong, but if you got peeves, you stick with them. Anyways, thanks for explaining the use of the word in this context. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/28 "2008-08-27T21:24:37Z")
[QUOTE=Wakinyan] We will never, however, use the word “already” as you use it, because it’s ridiculous. Ridiculous I tell you. [/QUOTE] I don’t know how common that is outside of NYC. But then, that might just be a stereotype, similar to a Brit’s initiating a conversation with, “I say, old chap,” and departing with “Pip! Pip! Cheerio!” ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/29 "2008-08-27T21:26:14Z")
[QUOTE=tesseract] “Point in time” – I don’t use it, but it doesn’t bother me like some things. I understand why it bugs you, though, if that helps… [/QUOTE] It helps. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/30 "2008-08-27T21:39:08Z")
[QUOTE=Wakinyan] I wouldn’t argue with you, but my firm understanding of the word “already” is “something that has happened (probably sooner than expected)”. Telling someone to do something “already” is therefore nonsense. Of course, I’m wrong, but if you got peeves, you stick with them. Anyways, thanks for explaining the use of the word in this context. [/QUOTE] My pleasure. To elaborate a little, “stop whining, already” could be construed as “you should have already stopped whining by now, so hurry up and stop.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/31 "2008-08-27T21:59:52Z")
[QUOTE=Wakinyan] We will never, however, use the word “already” as you use it, because it’s ridiculous. Ridiculous I tell you. [/QUOTE] It’s not really formal English anyway. It’s kind of a jokey slang. I’ve always thought of it as Yiddish-English, but I don’t know whether that’s its true origin. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/32 "2008-08-27T22:19:30Z")
Doesn’t the American usage of “already” come from the versatile German/Yiddish word “schon”? (ETA as **ascenray** also suggests) That word can be translated as “already” in some contexts, but it is also used in many other ways, which perhaps explains why “already” is used differently in American English than it is in other varieties of English (although, inevitably, the American usage is catching on). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/33 "2008-08-27T22:23:04Z")
I’m English and I use _already_ in that context. Really, the time to be getting upset about this annoying usage creeping in was back in the 1960s or before. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/34 "2008-08-27T22:27:21Z")
You use “already” already, already? ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/35 "2008-08-27T22:34:07Z")
Is the heavy use of “all set” a New England thing? I’ve lived in Pennsylvania, the DC Metro area, and Montana, and I never heard “all set” used as often as I hear it now in Boston. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/36 "2008-08-27T22:38:45Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] Doesn’t the American usage of “already” come from the versatile German/Yiddish word “schon”? (ETA as **ascenray** also suggests) [/QUOTE] It does…it’s Yinglish. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/37 "2008-08-27T22:43:23Z")
No No of course you are wrong, where is option 4 for Opals sake? and you used the worst offensive word **like** in America. Youknow what Iam saying. Give me a break, shaddup. hey its kewl ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/38 "2008-08-27T22:54:00Z")
Here’s one that really does annoy me and I see it here on the boards a fair bit. Responses prefixed with the word count, for example: **Person A:** Why are you late? **Person B:** _Two words;_ Traffic jam! ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/39 "2008-08-27T23:39:55Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I’m English and I use _already_ in that context. Really, the time to be getting upset about this annoying usage creeping in was back in the 1960s or before. [/QUOTE] No, no, and thrice no! 😃 I disagree. There are people who say it but they _do_ sound as though they are just people who think it’s clever to copy some Americanism they have heard. OR are using it facetiously. Oops, I mean I disagree at this point in time and at the end of the day. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449/40 "2008-08-27T23:51:22Z")
Well, in truth, every word I ever uttered was copied from _somewhere_. Except the words I just made up, I suppose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-use-of-words-in-american/461449.md?page=3)