# Mutually annoying sayings in the Anglosphere? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 31, 2016, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762 "2016-03-31T17:52:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/61 "2016-04-06T15:16:59Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > The aluminum/aluminium thing bugs me, but the other one that launches me metaphorically into the stratosphere is “My point being…” Gaaarrgh! Literally. 😃 What’s your point? That Brits don’t use it and Gringos do? Or vice versa? Or that you don’t like the phrase no matter who uses it? My point being that I can’t begin to understand what your actual position is. You’ve given us none of your context and only half of your “facts.” If indeed they really are facts. ---
**Author:** ![funky\_little\_lee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@funky\_little\_lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funky_little_lee)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/62 "2016-04-06T15:56:22Z")
Ha! I was actually going to start a thread about this! I’ve been reading a book about Augustus Caesar, written by a Brit (Anthony Everitt). It’s a great read, but the author keeps using “will have” where I would use “would have.” Example: “Gaius was only four years old when his father died. In addition to the sadness of his loss, his premature death will have caused a family crisis.” This is so irksome I have to contain myself from actually scratching it out and writing “would have” over it. I keep on wanting to yell, “\*Will \*is the **future!** _Would_ is the **past**!” I read a lot and I can’t say I’ve found this construction anywhere before, but it must be acceptable British English…but damn, it’s annoying! ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/63 "2016-04-06T16:56:33Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I don’t think anyone has yet mentioned “in hospital” vs American “in \*the \*hospital”. On one hand I don’t know why the former sounds weird to me. We say “in jail”, not “in \*the \*jail”, as if there’s only one jail. So, I can’t say it’s grammatically wrong or anything, it just seems a bit awkward. And now that I’ve gotten started despite what I said earlier, “on holiday” feels a little fusty. Finally (not really; I’ll probably think of more) what kind of nonsense is using"fancy dress" for “costume”?To sensible ears, fancy dress means formal or “dressy” and “costume” is what one where’s on Halloween (and not to go swimming in". I lied before; I’ve got a lot of problems with you people and now you’re going to hear about it 😃 Well, traditionally it’s “in gaol.” Sartorial: you put pants on. You don’t buy “a pant” to wear. :mad: Does the British fashion world sell “trouser”? > [@LSLGuy](#): > > What’s your point? That Brits don’t use it and Gringos do? Or vice versa? Or that you don’t like the phrase no matter who uses it? British people aren’t gringos!? French pronunciation is mentioned, but have you heard what they do to Spanish words? Or Japanese? ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/64 "2016-04-06T19:12:42Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I don’t think anyone has yet mentioned “in hospital” vs American “in \*the \*hospital”. On one hand I don’t know why the former sounds weird to me… I’m the same way, except when it comes from a Yorkshireman: “She’s gone to market.” For some reason, that strikes me as quaint and economical, while a Londoner saying “in hospital” grates on my nerves. The only solution as I see it is for all of the English to adopt a Yorkshire accent. ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/65 "2016-04-06T19:37:01Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Am I the only one who’s hearing the OP said in Hugh Gran’ts voice?😛 > > Off hand I can’t think of any Brit or Oz slang that annoys me; I love you all. I do notice that Brits do not like to use the French pronunciation of words like garage and massage and herb. I half jokingly accused a group of my English friends of hating the French so much they don’t even want to say words they way they do. Nobody denied it. But seriously, what’s that all about? But the British pronunciation of “restaurant” sounds so French. Here in the USA we say the last two consonants in the non-French way, but across the pond the nasalized “n” sound is used and the “t” sound omitted. What’s up with that?😕 ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/66 "2016-04-06T19:39:30Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Am I the only one who’s hearing the OP said in Hugh Gran’ts voice?😛 Thanks – I feel complimented! I like image of self as a rather prissy, old-fashioned, wordy, socially upper-echelon Brit… > [@](#): > > Off hand I can’t think of any Brit or Oz slang that annoys me; I love you all. I do notice that Brits do not like to use the French pronunciation of words like garage and massage and herb. I half jokingly accused a group of my English friends of hating the French so much they don’t even want to say words they way they do. Nobody denied it. But seriously, what’s that all about? The English and the French and their at least a thousand-years-old love-hate relationship – it’s a complicated business. > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I don’t think anyone has yet mentioned “in hospital” vs American “in \*the \*hospital”. On one hand I don’t know why the former sounds weird to me. We say “in jail”, not “in \*the \*jail”, as if there’s only one jail. So, I can’t say it’s grammatically wrong or anything, it just seems a bit awkward. And now that I’ve gotten started despite what I said earlier, “on holiday” feels a little fusty. Finally (not really; I’ll probably think of more) what kind of nonsense is using"fancy dress" for “costume”?To sensible ears, fancy dress means formal or “dressy” and “costume” is what one where’s on Halloween (and not to go swimming in". I lied before; I’ve got a lot of problems with you people and now you’re going to hear about it 😃 As alluded to in my OP: all this stuff is basically petty; and its pee-ing off the different language-users, to the extent that it does – doesn’t make sense. But feelings frequently don’t make sense – “they just are”. > [@Esox\_Lucius](#): > > I’m the same way, except when it comes from a Yorkshireman: “She’s gone to market.” For some reason, that strikes me as quaint and economical, while a Londoner saying “in hospital” grates on my nerves. The only solution as I see it is for all of the English to adopt a Yorkshire accent. Oh, please, no – I’m from the southern parts of England: we and the folk of Yorkshire, “have issues” with each other. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/67 "2016-04-06T20:45:41Z")
> [@funky\_little\_lee](#): > > … > This is so irksome I have to contain myself from actually scratching it out and writing “would have” over it. I keep on wanting to yell, “\*Will \*is the **future!** _Would_ is the **past**!” > > I read a lot and I can’t say I’ve found this construction anywhere before, but it must be acceptable British English…but damn, it’s annoying! IMHO you don’t \*quite \*understand what’s going on. > [@](#): > > Example: “Gaius was only four years old when his father died. In addition to the sadness of his loss, his premature death will have caused a family crisis.” From the POV of the time of death, the family crisis IS in the future. It’s only from your (mistaken) POV in the 21st century that it was in the past. Constructing a narrative where everything is in the past, but some is more-past and some is less-past is awkward as heck. We don’t have compact words nor grammatical parts of speech for easily denoting those ideas. It makes much greater logical sense to construct a narrative where the reader is riding along within the timeline as events are happening. Vast amounts of history are written this way. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/68 "2016-04-07T11:59:51Z")
> [@jerseymule](#): > > But the British pronunciation of “restaurant” sounds so French. Here in the USA we say the last two consonants in the non-French way, but across the pond the nasalized “n” sound is used and the “t” sound omitted. What’s up with that?😕 I have never heard a Brit pronounce it that way. It sounds more like “restrent” to me. [QUOTE=Sangahyando] Thanks – I feel complimented! I like image of self as a rather prissy, old-fashioned, wordy, socially upper-echelon Brit… [/QUOTE] It was meant as a compliment 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/69 "2016-04-07T12:06:44Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IMHO you don’t \*quite \*understand what’s going on. > > From the POV of the time of death, the family crisis IS in the future. It’s only from your (mistaken) POV in the 21st century that it was in the past. > > Constructing a narrative where everything is in the past, but some is more-past and some is less-past is awkward as heck. We don’t have compact words nor grammatical parts of speech for easily denoting those ideas. > > It makes much greater logical sense to construct a narrative where the reader is riding along within the timeline as events are happening. Vast amounts of history are written this way. In that case, wouldn’t the sentence be: “Gaius is only four years old when his father dies. In addition to the sadness of his loss, his premature death will cause a family crisis.” ? The original sentence sounds awkward as all get out to me too - I don’t think that’s a British construction, necessarily, just wossisname Everitt writes weird. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/70 "2016-04-07T14:52:48Z")
Whilst on this “saying it like the French” thing, one that really, REALLY gets my goat is when Americans say “naiveté”. Not only does it massively jar as the changing in pronunciation styles makes it stick out like a sore thumb, but the correct word is “naivety”. Whilst I’m at it, cliché isn’t an adjective, stop using it like one. You’re after “clichéd” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/71 "2016-04-07T15:44:06Z")
> [@funky\_little\_lee](#): > > Example: “Gaius was only four years old when his father died. In addition to the sadness of his loss, his premature death will have caused a family crisis.” > > This is so irksome I have to contain myself from actually scratching it out and writing “would have” over it. I keep on wanting to yell, “\*Will \*is the **future!** _Would_ is the **past**!” Uh, subjunctive, innit? That combination is weird as heck… I wouldn’t even use “his death would have caused a family crisis”, it actually did, so it’s “his death caused a family crisis”. The will/would makes it a hypothetical. ---
**Author:** ![OffByOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/45deac/32.png) [@OffByOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OffByOne)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/72 "2016-04-07T16:07:07Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I don’t think anyone has yet mentioned “in hospital” vs American “in \*the \*hospital”. On one hand I don’t know why the former sounds weird to me. We say “in jail”, not “in \*the \*jail”, as if there’s only one jail. So, I can’t say it’s grammatically wrong or anything, it just seems a bit awkward. And now that I’ve gotten started despite what I said earlier, “on holiday” feels a little fusty. Finally (not really; I’ll probably think of more) what kind of nonsense is using"fancy dress" for “costume”?To sensible ears, fancy dress means formal or “dressy” and “costume” is what one where’s on Halloween (and not to go swimming in". I lied before; I’ve got a lot of problems with you people and now you’re going to hear about it 😃 In the US, students who continue their education go to college (despite the fact that it could be a university), while Brits continuing their education go to university (despite the fact that it could be a college). ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2016, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/73 "2016-04-08T06:43:23Z")
> [@Sampsiceramos](#): > > Given that we speak of “inflammatory remarks”, and “inflammable” is similarly to many other words with the _in_- prefix of Latin origin, I consider “flammable” a wholly objectionable linguistic abomination. God forbid “flammatory” ever be considered cromulent in any shape or fashion, lest the language abandon all semblance of Latin roots. Our safety standards recomend / insist that we use the form “flammable”, because “inflammable” is ambiguous for people who don’t already know what it means. My dear old Dad was just slightly irritated by the use of the word “fridge” for refrigerator, and by the general australian tendency to abbreviate to the last part of the word instead of the the front part of the word (“reefer”) as he would. Personally… “schedule”. I know the derivation. I’m not impressed. To my American family, vic.aus schoolmates, teachers, and most of north-east Victoria, that word was pronounced with a hard “k” like “School”. The soft French “shedule” was a pretentious Sydney and bayside affectation. A load, you could say, of schit. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2016, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762/74 "2016-04-09T14:04:01Z")
I’ve secretly wished that Canada used a certain Britishism since that would make the company name Rogers Communications also its mission statement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mutually-annoying-sayings-in-the-anglosphere/750762.md?page=3)