# People who say irrigardless **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 15, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987 "2011-11-15T06:18:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HazelBelleBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/9de0a6/32.png) [@HazelBelleBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelBelleBlue)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/1 "2011-11-15T06:18:58Z")
Please tell me you’re with me on this one. I work in customer service and i hear co-workers use this word. I have given up trying to tell them its not really a work and the cutomers they are saying to are laughing at them. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/2 "2011-11-15T06:30:06Z")
> [@HazelBelleBlue](#): > > I have given up trying to tell them its not really a work . . . “Jazzercize” is really a word. People **can** make up new ones, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/3 "2011-11-15T06:40:42Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > “Jazzercize” is really a word. People **can** make up new ones, you know. Irregardless of what you say, it’s true that it isn’t a _work_. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/4 "2011-11-15T06:58:11Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > “Jazzercize” is really a word. People **can** make up new ones, you know. I think “jazzercise” is one of those words that’s really just made up to be a _trade name_, like “grape-nuts,” “band-aid,” “kleenex,” “rollerblades,” or “tylenol.” ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/5 "2011-11-15T07:22:05Z")
It’s simple confusion, really. _Irrespective_ and _regardless_ are synonyms, so it’s easy to put _irr_ in front of _regardless_ by mistake. And, since we are creatures of habit, it becomes a word. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/6 "2011-11-15T07:30:58Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > It’s simple confusion, really. _Irrespective_ and _regardless_ are synonyms, so it’s easy to put _irr_ in front of _regardless_ by mistake. And, since we are creatures of habit, it becomes a word. It’s funny, not 30 seconds before I read this thread, I saw a tech blog post that used “irrespective” and I instantly had a kneejerk reaction, because I so rarely see that word used. More often, I see blogs using the abomination “irregardless”, and like the OP, this word drives me batshit. _Although_ this Pit thread gets a -1 on style. I’m far from the grammar police, but if you’re going to post a pit thread about improper use of a word, please spell-check and capitalize thoroughly. Otherwise it just looks ironic in all the wrong ways. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/7 "2011-11-15T07:35:22Z")
irregardless it’s in the dictionary. irrigardless is how it might be pronounced or heard. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/8 "2011-11-15T07:40:07Z")
> [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](#): > > _Although_ this Pit thread gets a -1 on style. I’m far from the grammar police, but if you’re going to post a pit thread about improper use of a word, please spell-check and capitalize thoroughly. Otherwise it just looks ironic in all the wrong ways. No kidding. I see no less than six spelling or grammar errors in the OP. I mean, there’s Gaudere’s law and all, but six errors in a post with under fifty words? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/9 "2011-11-15T07:47:59Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > No kidding. I see no less than six spelling or grammar errors in the OP. I mean, there’s Gaudere’s law and all, but six errors in a post with under fifty words? Inconceivable! ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/10 "2011-11-15T08:32:51Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I think “jazzercise” is one of those words that’s really just made up to be a _trade name_, like “grape-nuts,” “band-aid,” “kleenex,” “rollerblades,” or “tylenol.” Doesn’t matter. “Escalator” and “zipper” were trade-names once, now they’re just words. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/11 "2011-11-15T09:55:56Z")
> [@Crazyhorse](#): > > Irregardless of what you say, it’s true that it isn’t a _work_. Jazzercize can be a lot of work. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/12 "2011-11-15T11:48:36Z")
At least ‘jazzercise’ makes sense. ‘Irregardless’ is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/13 "2011-11-15T12:30:51Z")
“Irregardless” is a word. It’s not a good word, but technically it is a word. Once I caught myself saying this word while talking to a nitpicky co-worker and I saw him making a little check by my name in his brain. He’s the type who constantly talks about how so-and-so doesn’t talk well and how he heard, say, Anderson Cooper use a word incorrectly two weeks ago. Well, once I read something that this guy had written, expecting it to be Shakespearean in quality. It was the worse thing I’ve read in a long time…and that includes those horrible posts on yahoo! comments. And yet I still think the guy is intelligent. I don’t know why he feels the need to judge people on a superficial thing like word choice when he’s so bad at communication himself. So yeah, I try to speak “right” and have worked to rid my speech of non-words like “conversate”. But I’m not about to get my panties in a wad over stupid shit like this. Blame my right-brained mentality, but there just isn’t enough time in the day for me to think about how someone is talking. What they say is more important to me. (Now when it comes to being nitpicky, I’m not totally immune. It does grate when I hear someone say, “I’m on my menstrual cycle.” Um…aren’t all child-bearing women? I don’t ever correct them, mind you, but it does make me shake my head inside.) ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/14 "2011-11-15T13:27:38Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > “Irregardless” is a word. It’s not a good word, but technically it is a word. I’m with your colleague on this. ‘Irregardless’ doesn’t make any sense - it’s a double negative. Like saying “don’t not pay regard”. It shouldn’t be considered a word any more than the belch of a mental defective. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/15 "2011-11-15T13:44:26Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > I’m with your colleague on this. ‘Irregardless’ doesn’t make any sense - it’s a double negative. Like saying “don’t not pay regard”. It shouldn’t be considered a word any more than the belch of a mental defective. The thing is, it’s not relevant that you don’t think it’s a word. It’s not relevant that it doesn’t make sense. Language rarely makes sense. If it’s used and understood, it’s a word. Whether it’s formal or informal is another matter. But that’s rarely the issue–people who get upset about this word tend to do so in informal contexts. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/16 "2011-11-15T13:57:28Z")
I have a co-worker that I like and respect and then one day she broke out irregardless and dropped a few steps on my esteem scale. It’s possible to climb back up, but still… ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/17 "2011-11-15T13:59:11Z")
> [@HazelBelleBlue](#): > > Please tell me you’re with me on this one. I work in customer service and i hear co-workers use this word. I have given up trying to tell them its not really a work and the cutomers they are saying to are laughing at them. [Inflammable](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/inflammable) means [flammable](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/flammable)? What a country! ---
**Author:** ![M.Constant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ab097/32.png) [@M.Constant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/M.Constant)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/18 "2011-11-15T14:13:22Z")
I’ve been know to use Irregardless in a valid context. \ It’s the name of a pretty nice cafe in Raleigh, NC: [http://www.irregardless.com](http://www.irregardless.com) \ Fun place, menu changes daily ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/19 "2011-11-15T14:28:40Z")
> **[Definition of IRREGARDLESS](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irregardless)** > > regardless… See the full definition > [@](#): > > Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is that “there is no such word.” **There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose.** Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead. (bolding mine) At least it’s still not considered to be in general acceptance; usually with this type of pit thread the word/usage being pitted ends up being in accepted use for a couple centuries. And then the OP never admits he or she is wrong, no matter what evidence is provided. Remember that thread about “loan” being used as a verb? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987/20 "2011-11-15T14:43:03Z")
Irregardless barely shows up as a blip on my radar. This, however, causes me to reach for the button that will launch nuclear missiles: > [@What is the Mission of the SDope?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-mission-of-the-sdope/602817/46): > > You could of at least acknowledged I asked you a question. I was going to add emphasis, but if you can’t figure it out, know that your location has just been added to the nuclear missile targeting database. P.S. For those that don’t yet know, if you want to see that quote in the original thread, click on the arrow [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-say-irrigardless/602987.md?page=2)