There’re cases where I’d’ve used would’ve, because would’ve wouldn’t’ve been too bad, but it wasn’t the best option, so I didn’t.
My peeves are “added bonus” and “my personal opinion”.
I’d’ve thought this was common knowledge!
When did people start saying “on accident”? Things happen “by accident”!
It drives me nuts, but I’ve heard it so much I caught myself saying something happened “on accident” the other day. AARGH!
I think the reasoning works backward from “on purpose”.
“Did you do it on purpose?”
“No, I did it on accident.”
I’m with you (though not as worked up about it), just offering an etymological explanation of the perversion.
I like this! If a word with two contractions isn’t considered acceptable, it should be. And I mean it – otherwise I wouldn’t’ve said it.
I know I should of stopped long ago, but I still do do it occasionally.
I while ago I saw one that was offering FREE MUFALER INSTALATION.
There was a cheap motel in Sarasota that for YEARS advertised its “LOW RAT S”!
Just to add a different wrinkle, I would say that there are some (very specific) situations in which some of the above might not be altogether incorrect.
Take, for example, “close proximity”. What if something might be only somewhat near to something else (i.e. in moderate proximity to it)? In that case, the phrase “close proximity” could in fact be a correct clarifying description.
Mind you, I’m not at all trying to diminish Stoid’s point, as I’m fairly confident that >99% of folks that use the phrase aren’t making those fine distinctions. But, there are situations where some of the phrases mentioned might, in fact, be correct.
It’s not as bad as “would of” but a good friend of mine is always writing “try and”, as in “I’ll try and call Nancy later”, or “I’ll try and send that to you tomorrow.”
Arghh. It’s “to”: “I’ll try TO call Nancy later.”
Thank you.
“Try and” always pisses me off. I’ve heard it from people who should know better. “I’ll try and see if that’s okay.” So you’re going to try, and you’re going to see? I see.
You guys might find it easier to go through life if you don’t get so upset over the minutiae of how other people speak. It’s not hurting you, is it? Why the anger?
(To address one specific issue: alright, some common phrases are somewhat redundant. Great. So what? What’s the problem with that? What’s so fucking terrible about redundancy?)
It’s not anger. I am displeased with the development because I value precise and meaningful language…I value precise and meaningful communication. As people become less concerned with accuracy, precision, and clarity, communication itself suffers.
But how does marginally redundant language impede meaningful communication or reflect diminished concern with accuracy, precision, or clarity?
I started a thread some a couple of months ago concerning “for free”.
It makes my brain go into a pattern of static. 
The OED has citations for “try and” that go back farther than “try to”. “Try and” appears to be the older structure with respect to making an attempt to do something. It’s certainly less formal in today’s speech, and it doesn’t take the same range of inflections, but it is in no way incorrect English.
Next time I’d suggest you and magellan learn about the language instead of complaining.
The same applies to you. There’s nothing at all wrong with “for free”. It’s a solid English phrase. The only way a person could come to actively dislike it is if they deliberately trained themselves to dislike it, which is a completely idiotic way of experiencing the world.
Again, it’s a little informal, but that’s not a sin. Just speak English naturally, and you’ll find it useful in a lot of situations. There’s no reason to try and impose rules that don’t even exist.
Bonnie Hunt has a regular segment on her show featuring spoken english deviations. I can’t remember the exact wording of the segment title, but it’s a Word of the Day excerpted from daytime Court tv shows. Some examples are “spunt” instead of spent, “solicitated”, “you-ology” (eulogy), etc. I’m starting to like her show.
Spunt? Spunt? That sounds like an invective of some sort, possibly a portmanteau, like “twunt,” only … spun? Spurious? Specious?
Anyway, I can understand where a lot of the mistakes come from, but seeing it written down phonetically the same way the person says it makes me cringe. Some of it is dialectic though; certain words in certain regions are pronounced differently and ultimately end up being written down as such somewhere, thus unfortunately entering the lexicon of bad English. I’ll admit I’ve made a few mistakes along the way as well, but as soon as I learn that it’s wrong I have the good sense to be embarrassed and start using it correctly.
“Could care less” seems to be used the way some people use “penultimate” – their intended meaning is kind of opposite what they wrote or said.
I think what ultimately (heh) bugs me about it though is that such continual misuse often points to a lack of desire to learn and better oneself, which strikes me as terribly lazy and ignorant. I’m sure all of us are ignorant about a great many things – no one knows everything – but something as fundamental and critical as communication shouldn’t be something people slack on. Use of colloquialisms and slang is fine. I do it all the time, and I know the difference, as do most people, and pretty well everyone understands the intend when it’s employed, but most people also understand that it’s very informal and isn’t the sort of thing you use at, say, a job interview, or when talking with an important client, or anywhere else that a modicum of decor is in order. That’s where good communication is most critical.
Bah! That’s my second rant today. I should stop before I become apoplectic.
In the case of penultimate, it’s not even the opposite. It’s an unrelated meaning altogether. Superlative is not the opposite of second to last.