# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2002, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/101 "2002-05-26T03:03:56Z")
Seen all too many times on the web: cite for site for sight … And I thought these were different words. (But my biggest peeves are “correctors” who complain about usage that is really correct. E.g., “quantum leap”.) ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2002, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/102 "2002-05-31T03:02:42Z")
Celibacy for chastity Celibate, no marriage Chaste, no sex. Yes, chaste and chastity have old-fashioned and victorian connotations, but the words have different meanings. for some reason t his drives me bat-shit ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/103 "2002-06-07T07:11:12Z")
Ooh! Thought up another one and remembered this thread. **Electrocuted** Electrocuted means killed by electricity. I’ve never been electrocuted. I’ve done a few high voltage experiments where I’ve had big arcs burn holes through my skin, I’ve stuck a screwdriver in a 120v socket, and I’ve made my arms numb for a few hours by grounding a large capacitor through them. I’ve shocked the hell out of myself, but I’ve never been electrocuted, and chances are that you haven’t either. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/104 "2002-06-07T07:59:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rib Eye \* > \*\*Tib - My wife and I have long standing and good natured argument about this. Where I grew up (Western Maryland, pronounced west-urn mer-lin) we all said “the car needs washed”, “the grass needs mowed”, etc. > > Mrs. says that’s wrong! “To be” must be there, or alternately it must be phrased as “the car needs washing.” I’m not sure this is right either. > > Whatever. I’ll keep right on saying “the grass needs mowed” with the “to be” understood. > > Heck with my logic the most famous line in Shakespeare could be altered to “Or not.” \*\* OH MY GOD! So THAT’S why people do that. That’s been driving me nuts. It’s like an epidemic on eBay, e.g. “This lamp is in good condition, but needs polished”. I see this constantly, and every time I think to myself - WTF??? why are so many people making the same mistake? I’m going to start checking the sellers to see what state they are from. Being from California, I can’t begin to tell you how strange it sounds. Or, as we say in California, “It’s hell of strange”😃 Hmmm… looking back at my post, I guess I shouldn’t have used a preposition to end a sentence with. **I’m going to start checking the sellers to see what state they are from** ---
**Author:** ![QueenAl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/d26b3c/32.png) [@QueenAl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QueenAl)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/105 "2002-06-07T10:41:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tiburon \* > \*\*“Why don’t you take me more serious?” > > _SERIOUSLY_ Adjectives and adverbs people. Learn the difference! > > I can’t stand it when people ALWAYS say ‘I’ because they don’t know the rule and don’t want to say ‘me’ - for example, my co-worker said, “She gave a gift to my mother and I.” Nooooooooooo!! She’s so afraid of using ‘me’ when it should be ‘I’ that she always says ‘I’! > > \*\* I’ve even been corrected by these people! I’ll say, for example, ‘are you coming with Anne and me?’ and be told, in patronising tones, ‘that’s Anne and _I_.’ Gah. The worst kinds of idiots are those who think they’re smart. ---
**Author:** ![QueenAl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/d26b3c/32.png) [@QueenAl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QueenAl)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/106 "2002-06-07T11:17:50Z")
‘Ignorant’ for ‘someone who ignores people, is stand-offish.’ Mind you, it is quite a quick way of picking the ignorant people out … ‘Quick’ as an adverb instead of an adjective. I do not run quick, I run quickly (especially after correcting the grammar of ignorant people bigger than me). Over-correction of -er suffixes: yes, I CAN say ‘cleverer.’ It’s a pretty simple rule - you can ad -er to the ends of single-syllable words or to two-syllable words where the second vowel is a schwa (you know, the very small hardly-a-vowel sound like the second e in clever.) I quite like the word y’all. It fills a linguistic niche. I’m English and I sometimes use it, in writing at least. (It would sound bizarre if I said it out loud). Oh, there’s another one: bizarre versus bazaar. While I may at times be odd, I have never once been a small garden fete selling knick-knacks and collectors’ items. Mistakes with it’s/its and their/they’re don’t bother me when they are written by ordinary people, such as greengrocers, who have other things to worry about than punctuation. When copywriters and printers of official documents and advertisements get it wrong, however, I want to hunt them down, choke them, then when they’ve come round, show them how _it’s_ done. Toward and towards are regional variations. I’m English, I say towards. ---
**Author:** ![QueenAl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/d26b3c/32.png) [@QueenAl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QueenAl)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/107 "2002-06-07T11:47:55Z")
This thread reminds me of a conversation Hololofernes has with Nathaniel in Love’s Labours Lost: Holofernes: … I abhor such fanatical phantasimes, such insociable and point-devise companions; such rackers of orthography, as to speak dout, fine, when he should say, doubt; det, when he should pronounce, debt,—d, e, b, t, not d, e, t: he clepeth a calf, cauf; half, hauf; neighbour vocatur nebour, neigh abbreviated ne. This is abhominable, which he would call abominable,—it insinuateth me of insanie: anne intelligis, domine? To make frantic, lunatic. I dout not that he would find modern speech abhominable. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/108 "2002-06-07T13:41:25Z")
**"mute" for “moot”** has already been mentioned . . . I was moaning and wailing and rending my garments upon finding this in a newspaper article the other day when my husband pointed out that the Micro$uck spell-checker marks “moot” as a misspelled word and suggests “mute” as a replacement. AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!! ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/109 "2002-06-07T13:55:14Z")
I have a friend who uses the words “condone” and “condemn” interchangeably. They’re exact opposites for crying out loud! No matter how many times I correct him, he can’t seem to keep their meanings straight. This has led to some ridiculous conversations in which I’ve completely misinterpreted his meaning and had to force to backtrack and start over. **him:** “Well, I’m not condoning his actions but,…” **me:** Here we go again, :rolleyes: Jeebus!! If you don’t know what a word means, then don’t use it. ---
**Author:** ![crazy4chaucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@crazy4chaucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazy4chaucer)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/110 "2002-06-07T14:15:28Z")
I can’t believe no one’s brought up “mischevious” vs “mischievious”!!! When I was in elementary school, I was looking for a book called “Mischevious Meg.” The librarian very condescendingly told me the word was pronounced “mischievious.” I was too naive to realize you weren’t allowed to argue with the librarian, and I did, and got politely asked to leave the library!! Another thing that drives me insane is the modification of absolutes. As in, “That is so unique! That’s the most unique thing I’ve ever seen before! It’s so much more unique than . . .” And the misuse of site/cite/sight, their/there/they’re, and its/it’s also drive me insane. I want to teach English because? Do I really want to go totally stark staring mad? Thanks for letting me unload! ---
**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:** [June 7, 2002, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/111 "2002-06-07T14:24:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blowero \* > \*\* > > OH MY GOD! So THAT’S why people do that. That’s been driving me nuts. It’s like an epidemic on eBay, e.g. “This lamp is in good condition, but needs polished”. I see this constantly, and every time I think to myself - WTF??? why are so many people making the same mistake? I’m going to start checking the sellers to see what state they are from. Being from California, I can’t begin to tell you how strange it sounds. Or, as we say in California, “It’s hell of strange”😃 > > Hmmm… looking back at my post, I guess I shouldn’t have used a preposition to end a sentence with. > > **I’m going to start checking the sellers to see what state they are from** \*\* Please tell me you did that second to the last sentence on purpose 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/112 "2002-06-07T17:20:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Carnage \* > > Please tell me you did that second to the last sentence on purpose 🙂 O.K., I confess - I wanted a funny sentence to lead up to. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/113 "2002-06-07T17:49:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sophbella \* > \*\*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. \*\* And of course some people insist on appending “all over again” every single time they say it. It was funny and clever many years ago when Yogi Berra said it. It is now painfully tiresome. ---
**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:** [June 7, 2002, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/114 "2002-06-07T17:53:27Z")
Good, that’s what I thought it was for. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2002, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/115 "2002-06-07T19:27:34Z")
**"Myself"** is not a sophisticated way of saying “I” or “me.” “Myself walked to the store.” “Myself never watches television.” “He gave myself the ball.” And I tend to hear it more when the person talking is trying to impress someone. It’s even more scary when it works. **"gots"** is fingernails on a chalkboard to me. But the most recent offense was a conversation where **incenting** was being discussed. “How do you **incent** them in your office?” “Well, we incent our workers by…” Apparently, it takes too long to say “offer an incentive” and “inciting” is passe. ---
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2002, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/116 "2002-06-08T04:34:51Z")
I hate it when people forget to put the ‘s’ on plural words. Eg. “three years old” is said as “three year old” grrrr ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2002, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/117 "2002-06-08T06:27:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GrizzRich \* > \*\*The COMPLETE misuse (myself included!) of the word “hopefully”. > \*\* From Merriam-Webster: > [@](#): > > **hopefully** 1 : in a hopeful manner 2 : it is hoped > _ **usage** _ Only the irrationally large amount of critical fire drawn by sense 2 of _hopefully_ requires its particular recognition in a dictionary. Similar use of other adverbs (as _interestingly, frankly, clearly_) as sentence modifiers is so commonplace as to excite no notice whatever. While it still arouses occasional objection, _hopefully_ as a sentence modifier has been in use at least since 1932 and is well established as standard. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2002, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/118 "2002-06-08T06:33:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by j66 \* > \*\*Celibacy for chastity > Celibate, no marriage > Chaste, no sex. \*\* From Merriam-Webster: > [@](#): > > **celibacy** 1 : the state of not being married 2 a : abstention from sexual intercourse b : abstention by vow from marriage ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2002, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/119 "2002-06-08T06:48:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Neptune \* > \*\*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. \*\* From Merriam-Webster: [QUOTE] **marriage** 1 a : the state of being married b : the mutual relation of husband and wife : wedlock c : the institution whereby men and women are joined… 2 : an act of marrying or the rite by which the married status is effected; _esp_ : the wedding ceremony and attendant festivities or formalities… [QUOTE] The Oxford English Dictionary agrees: > [@](#): > > 1. Entrance into wedlock; the action, or an act, of marrying; the ceremony or procedure by which two persons are made husband and wife. Chaucer and Blackstone are among those quoted for examples of this usage. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2002, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459/120 "2002-06-08T06:56:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Neptune \* > \*\*The past tense of “hang”, when referring to the form of execution, is “hanged.” > > My granpappy was _hanged_ for horse rustlin’. \*\* From Merriam-Webster: > [@](#): > > _ **usage** _ …_Hanged_ is most appropriate for official executions but _hung_ is also used. _Hung_ is more approriate for less formal hangings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misused-words-that-get-on-your-nerves/110459.md?page=7)