# Misused words that get on your nerves **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 23, 2002, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459 "2002-05-23T10:04:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Neptune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Neptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptune)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/41 "2002-05-23T17:25:25Z")
The past tense of “hang”, when referring to the form of execution, is “hanged.” My granpappy was _hanged_ for horse rustlin’. ---
**Author:** ![Neptune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Neptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptune)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/42 "2002-05-23T17:30:45Z")
You say you’re attending your friend’s _marriage_ this afternoon? That’s going to take a long, long time! Oh, you mean you’re attending the _wedding_, which is the ceremony that marks the beginning of the marraige. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/43 "2002-05-23T17:30:55Z")
So, there I was riding on a steam-driven train, when I was persuaded to get into a get-rich quick scheme. I was totally enthused. He orientated me on the direction I needed to go. I was so eager to get rich that I was literally jumping out of my skin to get started. I axed the conductor where the nucular plant was in the city were heading to. He said that it was off-limits to the public. “Irregardless,” I said, “I want to know.” So he told me. The snack cart came rolling by a short time later. I saw some delicious cake, but, being allergic to certain things, I asked the waitress what the cake was comprised of. She asked me what I was allergic to. I told her I couldn’t eat nuts. I was than informed that there were none; thusly I could eat the cake. I overheard a woman discussing how she was so happy because she was getting money back from IRS. I told her that if she was getting a tax return than she wasn’t so lucky, because it just means she overpaid during the year. She looked at me acrosst the aisle and shot me a look that caused me to literally sink into the floor. She told me that if she was in my place, she would of kept quiet because she wasn’t being talked to and that I should of done the same. The conductor came around to tell me that we would be arriving at the stop momentarily, but that presently I should get ready to get off the train. When the steam-driven train stopped I walked towards the door. I got off the steam-driven train and saw the nucular plant in front of me. “OK,” I thought to myself, “this is doable.” Just then a woman came up to me and asked me if I knew where the stadium was. “Sorry,” I told her. “Alls I know is that I’m not from around here. For all intensive purposes, I’m a tourist here.” I walked up to the plant. I was stopped by the guard who axed to see my driver license. I was ascared. I wasn’t authorized for entrance. I presumed I’d be able to just walk in. The guard inferred that I needed to have authorization to enter. I lied and told him that my brother worked at the plant. I said I can even produce a picture of him and I. No go, he said. That can supposably be anyone. Alls I needed to do, he said, was to have my brother call the guard station. Well, I couldn’t do that. There went my very unique way of getting rich. At least I didn’t get hung for tresspassing. 😃 😛 Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Tiburon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e36b37/32.png) [@Tiburon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tiburon)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/44 "2002-05-23T17:35:13Z")
You’re married, **EchoKitty**? Ah, who cares when you needs fucked? Oh man, pardon my language. Tibs. ---
**Author:** ![EchoKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@EchoKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EchoKitty)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/45 "2002-05-23T18:19:51Z")
Oh…my…god! I don’t think I could live in “Merlin”. ---
**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/46 "2002-05-23T18:21:01Z")
I’d never heard the missing “to be” until I met my girlfriend. Her family is from Michigan. It’s undoubtedly a regional thing. You’ll never hear someone from Texas say “The grass needs mowed”. It’s “the grass needs to be mowed” (or possibly “the grass needs mowin’”, but I digress.) The misused words that get to me are the use of “predjudice” and “bias” as adjectives. They’re nouns! You can’t be predjudice! You can be prejudic_ed_. You wouldn’t accuse someone of being racism, would you? ---
**Author:** ![Rib\_Eye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@Rib\_Eye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rib_Eye)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/47 "2002-05-23T18:41:14Z")
Minor Hijack - Merlin is nice! Here we “warsh ar close in the crick and hang 'em on the booshes to dry.” and we always start our day with a “shar and a nice glass of arnch juice.” ---
**Author:** ![Rib\_Eye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@Rib\_Eye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rib_Eye)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/48 "2002-05-23T18:55:07Z")
We got crabs, hon. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/49 "2002-05-23T19:15:40Z")
How about affected vs. effected? I’m going to go nuts if I see another job description in the line of duty that explains how, say, a new polymer will effect the success of American industry… ---
**Author:** ![eschewObfuscation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e57/32.png) [@eschewObfuscation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschewObfuscation)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/50 "2002-05-23T19:29:05Z")
Amazed that no one has picked on these: you’re vs. your its vs. it’s their vs. there vs. they’re Are we not teaching our children these things? The rampant misuse of ostensibly simple words drives me up a wall. \ I dated a woman (for exactly 2 weeks) who could not get these things straight. We communicated via AIM during the day, and by quitting time I was ready to strangle her…that or hit her over the head with a copy of Webster’s (unabridged hardcover, of course). In the end, it was this total lack of grammar skills that did her in. \ ---
**Author:** ![MachV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@MachV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachV)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/51 "2002-05-23T19:44:54Z")
Mechanics in the south will tell you that you have a **“blowed”** head gasket. I even have an invoice that has it written down this way. (It was the ex-wife’s car, btw. I’ve never “blowed” a gasket.) I have to second **axe** for “ask”. Also, adding an “S” to the end of words just drives me up the wall. I had a co-worker axe me once, “Oh, are those papers mines?” I couldn’t resist calling her on it. “What did you say?” “Um, I said are those, uh, mine” “Oh, I could have _sworn_ you said ‘mines’” “…” ---
**Author:** ![Jorel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f19dbf/32.png) [@Jorel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorel)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/52 "2002-05-23T20:04:32Z")
May I add one more? The word is “impacted” When someone says (something like) “our mission is to help children impacted by cancer” UG! Drives me up the wall! I’m picturing kids stuck between the teeth and jawbone. ---
**Author:** ![UWmite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UWmite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UWmite)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/53 "2002-05-23T22:11:41Z")
Rats **Eva** , you beat me to the effect vs. affect problem. I see it incorrectly so often I’m beginning to question my English education! I’ve got two others, both of which are pretty picky, but I hear them constantly, especially in the news. First, no Mr. Putzalot, you mean “raises the question”, not, I repeat **not** “begs the question”. Begging the question is to commit a specific kind of logical fallacy, say, “Your command of the English language is crap because it sucks.” Raising the question is a completely different matter. For instance, “Your idiocy regarding idiomatic English raises the question of how on earth you got a journalism degree.” Second, I really hate the way reporters who can’t come up with a catchy title fall back on “Whither \” It should be “Whither _goes_ whatever”, right? Does anyone know how this got started? ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/54 "2002-05-23T23:12:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eva Luna \* > \*\*How about affected vs. effected? I’m going to go nuts if I see another job description in the line of duty that explains how, say, a new polymer will effect the success of American industry… \*\* **Eva** , this sentence makes perfect sense: “This new polymer will **bring about** (effect) the success of American industry.” – which seems to be an extremely ambitious, though gramatically correct, statement. As opposed to… “This new polymer will **influence** (affect) the success of American industry.” I know, I’m nitpicking. But a better example of poor usage might be: “All this pollen is really effecting my sinuses.” Obviously, the pollen isn’t **bringing about** my sinuses. It is **influencing** (affecting) their condition. ---
**Author:** ![Qwertyasdfg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/ecc23a/32.png) [@Qwertyasdfg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qwertyasdfg)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/55 "2002-05-23T23:32:05Z")
During the year 1999, people using “millennium” incorrectly (saying that 2000 would be the start of the new millenium) drove me insane. Also, it’s “often,” pronounced “offin.” Like “coffin” without the c. ---
**Author:** ![Neptune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Neptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptune)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/56 "2002-05-23T23:49:06Z")
I’m not an expect in law enforcement, but it seems to me they overuse the word ‘suspect’. I hate it when the cop interviewed on the news says “The _suspect_ shot the convenience store clerk, then was apprehended two blocks away.” From this I conclude: A _criminal_ shot the clerk. A _suspect_ was arrested. They suspect that the arrestee is the criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2002, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/57 "2002-05-23T23:57:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GrizzRich \* > -and finally, to Christine, my ex-manager, who used the words “flustrated” (in place of “frustrated”) and “blump” (in place of “blunt”) in THE VERY SAME SENTENCE! I like “flustrated”, it sounds almost Joycean: a portmanteau word meaning flustered and frustrated. My pet hates: infer vs imply hopefully uninterested vs disinterested ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/58 "2002-05-24T00:44:43Z")
Oooh! My turn! **Penultimate**. It means second-to-last, NOT “super ultimate” or utmost. As in “November is the penultimate month of the year.” NOT “Oh man, that was the penultimate roller coaster!” ---
**Author:** ![Katisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bcef8e/32.png) [@Katisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katisha)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/59 "2002-05-24T00:56:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheNerd \* > \*\*I’d never heard the missing “to be” until I met my girlfriend. Her family is from Michigan. It’s undoubtedly a regional thing. \*\* Where in Michigan? I’m from the Detroit area and I’ve never heard anyone say “the grass needs mowed.” (I am very grateful for that.) Misuse of _literally_ came up pretty quickly, but it can’t be mentioned enough. 😉 The same goes for _enthused_. And _ironic_ to describe something that’s merely a coincidence… :rolleyes: My mom has been known to use _clothes_ as a singular when referring to many items of clothing (usually a load of laundry). Drives me up the wall. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/60 "2002-05-24T01:08:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by EchoKitty \* > \*\*How about “supposably” instead of “supposedly”. Grrrrrrrrr… \*\* My dictionary has both… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459.md?page=4)