# Cliche cutesy-isms that set your teeth on edge **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 25, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162 "2004-02-25T19:58:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/101 "2004-02-28T03:57:30Z")
I really dislike the habbit of British spelling of inserting u’s into words. Why? What do you gain? Does the u fairy leave money under your pillow for the extra business? I don’t know the u’s bug me so much but they do. You should focus your attention away from inserting unwanted u’s and instead on exporting Mr Bean, and Monty Python’s flying circus episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/102 "2004-02-28T05:23:19Z")
How is inserting the letter _u_ into a word any different from having, say, an _h_ in _what_, _why_, _when_ etc? It is the correct spelling for the word _colour_ in all of the english speaking world other than the USA. ---
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/103 "2004-02-28T06:53:20Z")
I agree those random silent h’s are pretty dumb. Who ever thought them up should have been drug out into the street and shot, or atleast chewed out. Somewhere between those two extremes. Still I think those u’s are worse. They just bug me alot. I don’t expect the British to change there spelling to suite me. I’mjust saying I understand what so great about them. ---
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/104 "2004-02-28T07:05:54Z")
Oops sorry, it’s 2 in the morning for me. Let me amend my last post. I don’t expect the rest of the English speaking world to change their spelling anymore then I expect them to use American standard for measurement. I’m just going to be reading their posts slightly annoyed on the rare occasion I notice one of there random u’s. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/105 "2004-02-28T07:53:04Z")
> [@netscape 6](#): > > Who ever thought them up should have been drug out into the street and shot They used to be at the beginning of the word, e.g. “hwat” instead of “what”, and some people still pronounce it HW. My WAG is that the HW is related to the Latin QU, since so many of our wh- words have Latin equivalents like quo, quae, and quid. ---
**Author:** ![Cerri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@Cerri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerri)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/106 "2004-02-28T11:32:04Z")
> [@netscape 6](#): > > I really dislike the habbit of British spelling of inserting u’s into words. Why? What do you gain? Does the u fairy leave money under your pillow for the extra business? > > I don’t know the u’s bug me so much but they do. You should focus your attention away from inserting unwanted u’s and instead on exporting Mr Bean, and Monty Python’s flying circus episodes. No, no, no…you see, we _need_ the British to keep using u’s in their language, to keep them away from the Net-speak or l33t-speak people. The more u’s we can keep out of _those_ people’s hands, the better, I say. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/107 "2004-02-28T12:07:31Z")
> [@gluteus maximus](#): > > Re: Britishisms in the hands of Americans… > > Would you guys _please_ stop signing-off from your posts with ‘_Cheers!_’…? > > What are you? Some kind of alcoholic that thinks we can all see you raising your martini glass to us as you hit ‘Submit Reply’? I know this was written with tongue in cheek, but in case you didn’t know, “cheers” in that context means “thank you” in British slang - it’s not the toast. As for me, I have a real issue with the cutesy Irish “let’s have a goo”, where “goo” means “look”. Ignoramus that I am, I’m not sure if “goo” is a word from the Irish language and therefore legitimate, but even if it were, it would still annoy the living piss out of me. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/108 "2004-02-28T12:15:30Z")
> [@netscape 6](#): > > I really dislike the hab **b** it of British spelling of inserting u’s into words. Why? What do you gain? Does the u fairy leave money under your pillow for the extra business? > > I don’t know the u’s bug me so much but they do. You should focus your attention away from inserting unwanted u’s and instead on exporting Mr Bean, and Monty Python’s flying circus episodes. I myself dislike the habit of inserting extra Bs into words where they don’t belong. Also, please recall that it was you chaps who removed the Us from the spelling, not us who inserted them. Perhaps I should also take exception to people who miss out the accent on the word “cliché”, and use the noun “cliché” when they should use the adjective “clichéd”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/109 "2004-02-28T12:28:05Z")
Apropos of nothing, I’m reminded of an excellent book of criticism by the sometimes aligned Martin Amiss entitled ‘The War Against Cliché: Essays and Reviews 1971-2000’. For dipping into and extracting chuckles, astute insights and biting observations, I can’t recommend it higher. You might find in the ‘Lit Crit’ section, always a good place to go for a browse. ---
**Author:** ![WILLASS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/54ee81/32.png) [@WILLASS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WILLASS)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/110 "2004-02-28T13:07:42Z")
The use of ‘meh’ to indicate (I think) a shrug of the shoulders really, really pisses me off especially if used as the first word in a counter argument, it makes me imagine the person as a moody teenager for some reason. People (mainly Americans I’m sorry to say) who think it is ‘bullocks’ rather than ‘bollocks’. Couples who say ‘we are planning on getting pregnant’ or ‘we became pregnant’. Look here you fuckknuckle, _she_ is pregnant you are not and you never will be, in fact you should count your lucky stars that you aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/111 "2004-02-28T14:52:10Z")
Oz is so common in theatre that I think it might have originated there. The distributor of Poldor CDS there is called “Emerald City.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/112 "2004-02-28T15:38:41Z")
> [@1920s Style Death Ray](#): > > How is inserting the letter _u_ into a word any different from having, say, an _h_ in _what_, _why_, _when_ etc? It is the correct spelling for the word _colour_ in all of the english speaking world other than the USA. Well, for one, the “wh” is pronounced differently than “w” in dialects of American English. In fact, growing up in Chicago, I was taught to pronounce it as (approximately) “hwat”, “hwy” and “hwere.” Although I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a Chicagoan to use those pronunctiations. It’s always been a more Southern thing for me – for example, you’ll hear this pronunciation a lot in the cartoon “King of the Hill.” ---
**Author:** ![CheekyMonkey613](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@CheekyMonkey613](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheekyMonkey613)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/113 "2004-02-28T15:53:27Z")
> [@netscape 6](#): > > I really dislike the habbit of British spelling of inserting u’s into words. Why? What do you gain? Does the u fairy leave money under your pillow for the extra business? No, actually the “U Fairy” ripped you guys off. It’s the correct and original spelling of the word. Americans have shortened it, in laziness I presume. I congratulate you on your spelling of _business_. I’m waiting to see _bizness_ any day now. Conversely, I dislike the “habbit” of seeing the words shortened to non-u words. The labour it saves you regrettably greys the colour of your perceived vocabulary. PS: It’s not just the Brits. It’s the Aussies and the Canadians too. I venture to say that your spelling is confined to the borders of America. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy some doughnuts. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_of\_the\_CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Earl\_of\_the\_CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_of_the_CC)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/114 "2004-02-28T16:11:07Z")
“Make love” is the worst phrase in any language in the galaxy. It’s as stupid as it can get. It sounds moronic and timid, and I dislike its implications. If I’m not in a particularly good mood, it strongly irratates me. If I am in a good mood and you use this phrase, I laugh uncontrollably. It’s so terrible. It’s so terrible. ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/115 "2004-02-28T16:52:25Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I know this was written with tongue in cheek, but in case you didn’t know, “cheers” in that context means “thank you” in British slang - it’s not the toast. Yeah, I knew that. It’s OK for Brits. It doesn’t mean ‘thanks’ in American, though, so when Americans sign-off with ‘Cheers!’, it just looks like they’re answering the question, “What’s on the UHF channel after _Diff’rent Strokes_ tonight, honey?”. Oh, yeah… and ‘whilst’ is just pretentious no matter where you’re from. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/116 "2004-02-28T19:09:06Z")
Imagine the following: “The power of THE Christ compells you!” “Jesus H. THE Christ!” “THE Christ on a cracker!” I don’t care how “correct” it is, the only place “THE” belongs before “Christ” is in the question “What the Christ…?” The last movie to pick my ass in this way was the insufferable **Titanic** where no character ever referred to _the_ Titanic, just Titanic. I can’t explain why, but both make me want to pull out all my hair and comb my head with a cheese grater. ---
**Author:** ![Paradoxical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Paradoxical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paradoxical)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/117 "2004-02-28T20:04:41Z")
Well, I hate the word _ghastly_ . I also dislike any of the acronyms used on the SDMB . I might not hate them so much if I knew what they stood for. So please explain: IRRC- YMMV- IMO- and any other you can think of. Man, I know I’m about to feel stupid… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/118 "2004-02-28T20:09:56Z")
> [@Paradoxical](#): > > Well, I hate the word _ghastly_ . I also dislike any of the acronyms used on the SDMB . I might not hate them so much if I knew what they stood for. > So please explain: > IRRC- > YMMV- > IMO- > and any other you can think of. > > Man, I know I’m about to feel stupid… There’s a thread or three around here somewhere, but here ya go: IIRC - If I recall correctly YMMV - Your mileage may vary (i.e., your experience may differ) IMO - In my opinion IMHO - In my humber opinoin IANAL - I am not a lawyer (also, IANA+profession) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/119 "2004-02-28T20:11:25Z")
Ahem, IMHO should be “In my humble opinion” ---
**Author:** ![Paradoxical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/77aa72/32.png) [@Paradoxical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paradoxical)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162/120 "2004-02-28T22:41:39Z")
Thanks Pulykamell! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cliche-cutesy-isms-that-set-your-teeth-on-edge/231162.md?page=7)