I can’t stand it when people say (as most people do), “suspend your DISbelief”
That makes no sense. Don’t people think about what they’re saying?
I get off the car. I go walking to the store. Suposably, oh, and return back. I annoy myself when I screw up further/farther.
On “could care less” – it’s supposed to be spoken with sarcasm as in: “Yeah, like I could care less.” Meaning this is an impossibility. “She told me my shoes were out of style. Like I could care less what that #@)% thinks of my shoes.”
What irritates me is “waiting ON line.” You’re not ON a line, you’re IN a line. Unless there are lines painted on the floor.
Explanations for these ones listed above, please for us heathens:
“as per our conversation” and “per our conversation”
“a good time was had by all” (should this be by everyone?)
I’m with j.c., in that speech is generally an evolving form and unless it’s blatently inaccurate, new words and uses of existing words can give it charm. I’ll tell you though, there is one that drives me nuts:
“Can I help who’s next?”
I think it’s the fact that it’s purpose is to convey a sense of polite interest in helping is what drives me nuts. If someone said “Can I beat who’s next?” it wouldn’t be so bad. But a sentence designed to be nice should be nice. Although I’ll be the first to admit it’s silly to worry about this.
Bill, concerning the ‘good time had by all’, I think many people are tired of others trying to get too wordy. It would be more succinct (and much less pretentious) to say, ‘Everyone had a good time.’ Just a random thought.
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/nonerrors.html#till
That site goes through a number of similar grammatical annoyances. It’s a pretty interesting read as well as a handy reference.
What’s wrong with “suspend disbelief?” I’m watching a movie. I know that aliens don’t exist, yet I’m willing to accept it as a premise for the movie. Suspend as in “to render temporarily ineffective.” I’m suspending my disbelief. Are you just hearing people say it in the wrong situation?
What bugs me is the use of the word “product” for a variety of objects. My friend who works in a backroom will tell me he spent his shift putting product on the shelves. Products! Plural noun! It’s only ‘product’ if you spent all night putting the exact same item off the shelf and putting it back on again!
j.c. says:
:dubious: Sure there is. Now, a mute point, on the other hand, would be hard to make.
Trigonal Planar says:
Well, if I disbelieve something, then I don’t believe in it (kinda like when the acceleration is parallel to the axis of rotation in a space station cough cough Armageddon cough). However, if I wanted to enjoy the movie as if I would put my disbelief into a little box in the back of my head, in other words, I would suspend my disbelief.
And faze versus phase? Never knew that. Neato.
And BraheSilver beat me to it by a long shot. D’oh!
Several of the ones that irritate me have been mentioned, but the one that I hate the most, as I’ve mentioned here before, is the use of lead as a past tense of “to lead”. I’m sorry, people, it doesn’t work the same as “read”. Our local newspaper does this all the time and it drives me right up the wall. I want to mark them all in red and send it back.
Oh, and while I’m thinking of it, the word “constitutional” means “a walk for one’s health.” It doesn’t have anything to do with the bathroom.
Well, since I’ve left New York I don’t hear this as much…“Youse guys” sets my teeth on edge. Of course, if it’s meant humorously then I don’t mind.
Also,
“Just wanted to give you a head’s up.”
(I had a boss that was terribly fond of this expression. To this day if I hear someone say this I want to start shooting from the bell tower.)
Saying “spaded” instead of spayed, to refer to having a bitch sterilized.
People who say “expresso”. It’s eSpresso, there’s no X in espresso!
Irregardless bugs me the most when it’s someone who’s obviously college educated and in a well-paid position.
When people say “you know what I mean?” after a statement or opinion.
As if the person listening to them doesn’t quite understand or they are stupid.
I get so angry that I usually say something and annoy them or stop listening. I hate it that much.
If I didn’t understand I would ask!! :mad: :mad:
The use of ‘like’ when it is completely inapropriate.
e.g “The movie was like so good”
or " It’s like really far man".
:mad:
That would be fine, but most people do not use it that way.
“It effected him quite badly”
Effect is the noun, except when talking in psychology about emotion, which is affect.
Affect is the verb meaning to change. Effect is only used as a verb when talking about making something possible or real, eg “She effected her escape via the parlour window”
My #1 peeve at the moment: “different than”.
“Different”, strange though it may seem, is not a comparative word in itself. “Bigger,” “stronger,” “faster,” “uglier”…these are all comparative words. They mean that something has more of quality X than another. More bigness, more strongness, more fastness, more ugliness. That’s what’s meant by “bigger than” or “stronger than.”
One item does not in itself contain more “different” than another object. “Different than” is a combination that does not exist in English.
Everyone make a note: it’s “different from.” Know it, use it.
You know, everybody else’s annoying frazes don’t phase me one bit.
I guess I’m just special in, like, that way. 
But seriously, here’s one that no one has mentioned yet: noone.
Oh, and a lot is two words people!
SUPPOSABLY instead of SUPPOSEDLY. I actually had a student argue with me about this, until I put a dictionary under his nose.
New-Q-ler instead of NUCLEAR. Why is that so hard?
ALL RIGHT is also two words; ALRIGHT is not a word at all.
However, “willing suspension of disbelief” is a real phrase, describing the phenomenon where a reader or audience member is able to forget he’s viewing a work of fiction. He’s able to let go of his incredulity and believe, a consummation devoutly to be wished by any author.
Perhaps this is a regional thing, but it drives me bonkers is when I hear someone say “warsh”. It’s WASH! Warsh isn’t even a word.
I also have an on going debate with a friend as to whether it’s ideal or idea. I keep trying to get her to understand that when the lightbulb goes off over her head, it’s an idea. Unfortunately she insists it’s an ideal, even when provided with proof.
GAH! MLS, clearly you have missed the point entirely. The phrase, “I could care less” is just plain wrong, wrong, wrong. It is only an impossibility to care less if one could not care less. I’ll try to make this really easy…
WRONG: I could care less.
This flat out says that there is some degree to which you could care less than you currently do, the implication being that you do care (at least somewhat).
That is not what you mean!
RIGHT: I couldn’t care less.
She doesn’t like your shoes? Well, you couldn’t care less what she thinks, meaning, you don’t care at all. There is no degree to which you could care less than zero!
Now that I HOPE we have cleared that up, one of the incorrectly stated phrases that drives me bonkers that has not been mentioned yet is, “all the sudden.”
PEOPLE, it’s “all of a sudden.”
Sometimes I wonder if anyone reads anymore. Has anyone ever read a book – a novel, a biography, anything – and seen the published phrase written as “all the sudden,” anywhere? Then why do you say it that way? STOP IT! PLEASE!