# Mispronunciation/ Poor grammar that bothers you **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 7, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475 "2005-07-07T17:02:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/21 "2005-07-07T18:12:56Z")
> [@Mint Julep](#): > > Here in the South they are quite common, but there is a man in my office that is slowly trying to drive me insane with his creative sentences. I know that dangling clauses and poor subject/verb agreement drives me right up the wall. . . šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/22 "2005-07-07T18:14:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I know that dangling clauses and poor subject/verb agreement drives me right up the wall. . . > > šŸ˜ƒ šŸ˜ƒšŸ˜ƒšŸ˜ƒ Ah, crapā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/23 "2005-07-07T18:13:55Z")
> [@BlueKangaroo](#): > > **ronincyberpunk** , so did Hoss the character come from ā€œhossā€ the brute strength which came from the southernism of ā€œhorseā€? > > Did I just make sense? I believe that Hoss (the character) arose from the aforementioned slang for ā€˜horse.ā€™ But with the age of Bonanze on the decline its meaning is sliding from a nickname as a character from the show and slowly returning to that of slang for horse-like. Thatā€™s my theory, no cite or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Mint\_Julep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/bc79bd/32.png) [@Mint\_Julep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mint_Julep)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/24 "2005-07-07T18:21:30Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I know that dangling clauses and poor subject/verb agreement drives me right up the wall. . . > > šŸ˜ƒ And I tried to be so carefulā€¦ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![BlueKangaroo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@BlueKangaroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlueKangaroo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/25 "2005-07-07T18:23:25Z")
Thanks **ronincyberpunk**. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/26 "2005-07-07T18:37:37Z")
> [@ronincyberpunk](#): > > I believe that Hoss (the character) arose from the aforementioned slang for ā€˜horse.ā€™ But with the age of Bonanze on the decline its meaning is sliding from a nickname as a character from the show and slowly returning to that of slang for horse-like. > > Thatā€™s my theory, no cite or anything. Sorry, nope. It came from the episode ā€œJourney Remembered.ā€ Hoss Cartwright - his real name was Eric - was called ā€œHossā€ - which was a term from Ingerā€™s native country that meant a big, kindly, large hearted man - after promising Ingerā€™s brother that they would when they set out west before Hoss was born. He was born on the trail, and Adam reminded Ben that they had promised Ingerā€™s brother to call him Hoss - but Ben remarked theyā€™d call him both names and see which one stuck. Itā€™s a long story - Iā€™m a Bonanza freak. ---
**Author:** ![Improv\_Geek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b3f665/32.png) [@Improv\_Geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improv_Geek)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/27 "2005-07-07T18:49:45Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > Sorry, nope. It came from the episode ā€œJourney Remembered.ā€ Hoss Cartwright - his real name was Eric - was called ā€œHossā€ - which was a term from Ingerā€™s native country that meant a big, kindly, large hearted man - after promising Ingerā€™s brother that they would when they set out west before Hoss was born. He was born on the trail, and Adam reminded Ben that they had promised Ingerā€™s brother to call him Hoss - but Ben remarked theyā€™d call him both names and see which one stuck. > > Itā€™s a long story - Iā€™m a Bonanza freak. Well then very cool! Iā€™m glad to be corrected since I can count the times Iā€™ve watched Bonanza on one hand. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/28 "2005-07-07T18:50:32Z")
> [@ronincyberpunk](#): > > I believe that Hoss (the character) arose from the aforementioned slang for ā€˜horse.ā€™ But with the age of Bonanze on the decline its meaning is sliding from a nickname as a character from the show and slowly returning to that of slang for horse-like. Nah, ā€œHossā€ doesnā€™t really mean horse-like, it means youā€™re a big, stong son-of-a-gun. Itā€™s complimentary. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/29 "2005-07-07T18:57:41Z")
Lemme aks youse again. Jew esculate dis? (Let me ask you again. Did you escalate this?) ---
**Author:** ![NeitherHeidiNorGretchen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c2a13f/32.png) [@NeitherHeidiNorGretchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeitherHeidiNorGretchen)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/30 "2005-07-07T18:58:06Z")
Iā€™m still not sure how lingerie came to be pronounced lawnzheray :dubious: A phrase my in-laws use is ā€œIf he wouldnā€™t haveā€¦ā€ Look at all those letters youā€™d have saved by saying, ā€œIf he hadnā€™t!ā€ NHNG ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/31 "2005-07-07T19:05:57Z")
People who think _oil_ has two or three syllables drive me plumb crazy! šŸ˜ƒ I used to work with someone who used ā€œmisnomerā€ meaning ā€œmisconceptionā€. Sheā€™s a big boss now, naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/32 "2005-07-07T19:19:12Z")
> [@ronincyberpunk](#): > > Hoss: The use of brute strength usually to move or haul something that should be done with machinery or tools. From the Bonanza character Hoss. His size and strength usually overcame any obstacle. Where I come form, we call people like that ā€˜Mooseā€™. ā€˜Die-No-Zarā€™ sounds like a character from ā€œVoltron, Saviour of the Universeā€. šŸ™‚ One that annoys me: ā€˜orientateā€™ for ā€˜orientā€™. Though last week I was wondering about ā€˜commentatorā€™ and the presumed backformation ā€˜commentateā€™ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/33 "2005-07-07T20:00:37Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > Nah, ā€œHossā€ doesnā€™t really mean horse-like, it means youā€™re a big, stong son-of-a-gun. Itā€™s complimentary. Yep. Pretty much the same as saying, ā€œbig fella.ā€ My peeve: ā€œdifferent than.ā€ OH, how I hate this. ā€œDifferentā€ is not a word of comparative degree; something can be ā€œhotter than,ā€ ā€œdarker than,ā€ or ā€œdumber thanā€ something else, because one object can have more hotness, darkness, or dumbness than another. But one object does not contain more ā€œdifferentā€ than another. Itā€™s ā€œdifferent FROM,ā€ dammit! FROM! SAY IT RIGHT!!! ---
**Author:** ![swanky\_glue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@swanky\_glue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swanky_glue)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/34 "2005-07-07T20:11:19Z")
A coworker of mine has a number of mispronunciations that drive me insane, but the most commonly used ones are: **Fift** instead of **Fifth** **Fiteen** instead of **Fifteen** **Draw** instead of **Drawer** She spells it that way as well. Example: ā€œI filed the papers in the file draw.ā€ When writing, she commonly gives me timesheets with her hours written as **7.3** hours instead of **7.5**. She thinks that .3 is half of an hour. I mean, 30 is half of 60 right? She asked me to explain this to her once and I did, but she still doesnā€™t seem to comprehend it. ---
**Author:** ![Ragiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ragiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ragiel)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/35 "2005-07-07T20:25:07Z")
Back when I was in school, the teachers repeatedly emphasized **not** saying ā€œI have went.ā€ It confused me; who would ever say anything that sounded that dumb? Alas. Now I know. ā˜¹ ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/36 "2005-07-07T20:29:54Z")
> [@swanky\_glue](#): > > **Draw** instead of **Drawer** She spells it that way as well. Example: ā€œI filed the papers in the file draw.ā€ I see that so much that for a while I thought that ā€œdrawā€ was correct. Whenever šŸ™‚ you live in a place where Rā€™s at the ends of words are a rare thing, people often run around without drawers. My ex-girlfriend had a few that drove me nuts. ā€œInconfidentā€ was one. ā€œInnundatedā€ was another. As in ā€œIā€™m so innundated at work.ā€ Perhaps I should spell it foe-NET-ick-lee: ih-NUN-dated. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/37 "2005-07-07T20:32:36Z")
> [@Ragiel](#): > > Back when I was in school, the teachers repeatedly emphasized **not** saying ā€œI have went.ā€ It confused me; who would ever say anything that sounded that dumb? > > Alas. Now I know. ā˜¹ There used to be a commercial that would make myself want to have went to utilize a gun against my TV. It was for some toy, about which a kid exclaimed ā€œItā€™s the most amazing thing Iā€™ve ever saw!ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/38 "2005-07-07T20:40:02Z")
Yesterday, I interviewed someone for my job who was a fresh college graduate. She made up her own word (diversitive). Based on the context, I think she meant ā€œversitileā€. Then, instead of saying ā€œI have extensive experience in Quickbooksā€, she said, ā€œI have _existential_ experience in Quickbooksā€. Maybe she was nervous, but, damn! I was nervous when I was interviewing for my new job, but I just spoke really fast, I didnā€™t submit new additions to Webster while I was at it. Needless to say, I didnā€™t recommend her to my boss. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2005, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/39 "2005-07-07T20:46:08Z")
> [@Nutty Bunny](#): > > Based on the context, I think she meant ā€œversitileā€. Or maybe ā€œversatileā€. Damn you and your law, Gaudere!!! ---
**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:** [July 7, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475/40 "2005-07-07T20:51:45Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > ā€œInnundatedā€ was another. As in ā€œIā€™m so innundated at work.ā€ > > Perhaps I should spell it foe-NET-ick-lee: ih-NUN-dated. A Gaudere Daily Double! Bad spelling \*and \*incorrect info. > [@](#): > > One entry found for inundate. > > Main Entry: inĀ·unĀ·date > Pronunciation: 'i-(")n&n-"dAt From [m-w.com](http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=inundate). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mispronunciation-poor-grammar-that-bothers-you/311475.md?page=3)