# Misused words that get on your nerves

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459>\
**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:** 4

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**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, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/61 "2002-05-24T01:10:50Z")

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I know several people who say that a point is “mute” instead of moot.

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**Author:** ![sundog66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@sundog66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sundog66)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/62 "2002-05-24T02:05:16Z")

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I hate the use of the word “verbal(ly)” to mean “spoken”. Say “oral(ly)”! Verbal means relating to words. I know dictionaries have started condoning this mistake, but I cringe whenever I hear it because it’s verbicide (no pun intended). If “verbal” now means “oral”, what takes the place of “verbal”? And don’t give me that crap about context…

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**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/63 "2002-05-24T03:36:28Z")

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I always thought the missing “to be” (“The car needs washed”) was a southern thing. That’s where I’ve always heard it.  
And yes, here in Maryland, you waRsh your car. With wooter.

My pet peeves:  
The would ‘of,’ should ‘of,’ could ‘of’ gripe. It’s would HAVE, should HAVE, could HAVE!

I’ve heard people use “mute” for “moot” as **Khadaji** mentioned. That just grates on my nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard.

My husband and I were recently invited to an engagement party, and there was a note on the invitation about the couple being registered for gifts, (not to mention being tacky) that said, “There registered at Hecht’s and Home Depot.”  
:rolleyes:

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**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/64 "2002-05-24T05:25:07Z")

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Interpolate vs. Extrapolate.

There’s a difference, really. I’m not a mathematician or scientist and I know the difference, so why can’t you? If I know the population in 1980, 1990, and 2000, I can’t extrapolate the population in 1985. I can’t interpolate the population in 2010.

Zoom.

A big lens is not a zoom lens. A zoom lens is one that zooms (chages focal length). My 135mm lens is not a zoom lens.

Coke.

Coke is a drink made by the Coca Cola Company, not every carbonated sugar beverage in existance. I just avoid the south, though, so this doesn’t get on my nerves very often.

Monkey.

This isn’t one of mine, but I know it is for other people. Not all non-human primates are monkeys.

I’ll second millenium. Thank Bob I won’t live through that again.

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**Author:** ![MisterThyristor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@MisterThyristor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterThyristor)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/65 "2002-05-24T06:44:02Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Jorel \*  
> \*\*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. \*\*

To expand on this, it’s the whole issue of impact being used as a verb. “This event will impact the people of the U.S. immensely.” It’s a NOUN, people! It can “have an impact” but not “impact this or that”.

I know, I know, we’ve already lost this one from frequent (mis)use. I’m sure the next versions of dictionaries have it shown as a verb, if they don’t already. :mad:

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/66 "2002-05-24T07:37:28Z")

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I strongly suspect “stupider” must be a valid word, since it logically follows: stupid, stupider, stupidest. As such, it doesn’t bother me. But one of my pet peeves is the misprounciation of a word. One occasionally hears a TV newscaster say “short-lived”, sounds like “hive.”

It’s short-_lived_, you idiot. Sounds like… uh… “lived.”

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**Author:** ![ShadowWarrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7993a0/32.png) [@ShadowWarrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowWarrior)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/67 "2002-05-24T09:29:54Z")

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‘A strange thing happened friday’ - shouldn’t this be ‘A strange thing happened ON friday’ - I’m not sure if this just american as opposed to english, but it annoys me whenever i see it.

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**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/68 "2002-05-24T09:34:14Z")

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This is something that gets on my nerves in Ireland, though it shouldn’t, since it’s a dialectical thing:

“a scissors”.

And I once heard an architect refer to

“a stairs”.

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**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/69 "2002-05-24T09:54:18Z")

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How about “A nit-picky bollocks” 😃

The one that annoys me in Ireland is the way some people pronounce tremendous

Tremengous

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**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/70 "2002-05-24T09:55:05Z")

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:eek:

I seem to have tapped into a vast, previously undiscovered reservoir of discontent.

:eek:

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**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/71 "2002-05-24T10:17:11Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> My granpappy was hanged for horse rustlin’.

You mean horse _thievin’_–\*\*cattle \*\*are rustled.

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**Author:** ![sophbella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@sophbella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sophbella)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/72 "2002-05-24T12:30:23Z")

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my most despised misuse, “deja vu”  
e.g: drove somewhere with a friend two days in a row, a car in the adjacent driveway pulled out at the same time both days, she exclaims “oooh, its like, deja vu”  
ahhh no, its like, it actually happend- yesterday.

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**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/73 "2002-05-24T13:19:13Z")

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Being from the south, I’ll admit I’m very guilty of calling everything a Coke. I see Pepsi just put out an ad with Bernie Mack talking about that same thing. I thought Pepsi sure did waste a lot of money to hire Bernie and pay for air time just to correct little ol’ me. They could have just sent a letter. When I was young, I had no idea how to order an orange soda because ‘soda’ sounded (and still sounds) so weird!

But in defending southern speech, let me speak out against the misuse and mispelling of **y’all**. First off, if you’re going to use it, spell it right. It’s a contraction for “you all,” therefore the apostrophe goes in between the ‘y’ and the ‘a’ to signify the ‘ou’ was left out. Don’t spell it ya’ll. That is so wrong.  
Also, please remember “y’all” is plural. You say “Y’all come back now,” and there had better be more than one of us around.

You=singular  
Y’all=plural  
Your=singular possessive  
Y’all’s=plural possessive

Of course if you really want to drive the point home that you mean everyone, feel free to use the redundant “All y’all” as in “All y’all Yankees best larn howta speak southern!” 🙂

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**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/74 "2002-05-24T13:24:10Z")

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Oh yeah, and **aluminum** is pronounced like it looks: uh-loo’-min-um. Not owl-you-min’-ee-yum. There is no extra “I” in there.

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**Author:** ![MachV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@MachV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MachV)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/75 "2002-05-24T13:34:41Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Max Carnage \*  
> \*\*  
> You=singular  
> Y’all=plural  
> Your=singular possessive  
> Y’all’s=plural possessive
> 
> Of course if you really want to drive the point home that you mean everyone, feel free to use the redundant “All y’all” as in “All y’all Yankees best larn howta speak southern!” 🙂 \*\*

What Max, you ain’t gonna mention how this is taught in all of the finest southern schools? They learn us real good down here, don’t they?

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**Author:** ![dono](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e0b2c6/32.png) [@dono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dono)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/76 "2002-05-24T14:00:30Z")

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**dono** takes trusty lance in hand, once again to tilt at windmills.

“Oxymoron” as a synonym for “contradiction in terms”.

From the Random House College Dictionary on my desk:

**oxymoron**. _Rhet._ a figure of speech by which a locution produces an effect by _seeming_ self-contradiction, as in “cruel kindness” or “to make haste slowly.” [\< NL \< Gk: _pointedly_ foolish …]

(Emphases mine.)

So while an oxymoron seems contradictory on the surface, it actually conceals a deeper truth. Thus, when someone says, “‘Military Intelligence’ is an oxymoron!”, meaning that the military could not possibly be intelligent, they’re actually undercutting their own argument, by saying that although the two terms _seem_ contradictory, on a deeper level, there _is_ intelligence in the military. You mean, “… is a contradiction in terms!” Gaaah! Grrrrr!

::stands up, wipes froth from mouth::

OK, I realize this is a losing battle. In common usage, “oxymoron” is quickly evolving from its precise rhetorical meaning to become synonomous with “CIT”. I, for one, am sorry to see this lovely and useful term go down that road. Thank you for allowing me to vent, and I’ll go quietly now.

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**Author:** ![Neptune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Neptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptune)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/77 "2002-05-24T14:16:51Z")

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You can nip things in the _butt_ all day.  
Me? I’ll nip them in the _bud_.

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**Author:** ![Neptune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Neptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptune)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/78 "2002-05-24T14:27:09Z")

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From [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com):

> [@](#):
>
> rus·tle …  
> 4. To steal livestock, especially cattle.

> [@](#):
>
> live·stock …  
> Domestic animals, such as cattle or horses, …

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**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/79 "2002-05-24T15:42:53Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Max Carnage \*  
> \*\*Oh yeah, and **aluminum** is pronounced like it looks: uh-loo’-min-um. Not owl-you-min’-ee-yum. There is no extra “I” in there. \*\*

Depends where you come from boy!  
[Merriam-Webster and ALUMIN-I-UM](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=aluminium)

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**Author:** ![TheNerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@TheNerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheNerd)\
**Post date:** [May 24, 2002, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/80 "2002-05-24T16:10:45Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Katisha \*  
> \*\*
> 
> 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.)
> 
> \*\*

I don’t actually know. Dearborn sounds right, but I could just be making that up.

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