# Phrases/terms that aggravate the hell out of you **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 26, 2020, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894 "2020-10-26T02:04:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/181 "2020-11-03T16:54:10Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Oh, peeing is even more dangerous if you’re prostrate. 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/182 "2020-11-03T18:18:14Z")
Its tantamount that misuse of words infers a command of ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/183 "2020-11-03T18:28:05Z")
> [@bump](#): > > > [@Dogginit](#): > > > > Preventative > > Isn’t a preventative some sort of prophylactic treatment or item? Like saying that hydroxychloroquine is a preventative for malaria? Right, I thought “preventative” was a noun, “preventive” an adjective. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/184 "2020-11-03T23:21:59Z")
> [@Dogginit](#): > > Affect & effect - “The effect of his assertion was to affect a change.” It looks to me like “effect” is used correctly there but the “affect” should also be “effect”. “You know, I used to feel just the way you do”. Gee, I’m sorry to hear of your mental deterioration. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/185 "2020-11-03T23:38:26Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > “You know, I used to feel just the way you do”. Gee, I’m sorry to hear of your mental deterioration. But you still seem to be able to effect a rational affect. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/186 "2020-11-04T00:27:34Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > But you still seem to be able to effect a rational affect. Or that is the effect any way. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2020, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/187 "2020-11-04T08:19:22Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Or that is the effect any way Yeah, well, umm. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/188 "2020-11-05T02:42:09Z")
You don’t see that sort of thing everyday. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/189 "2020-11-05T03:05:23Z")
Yeah, I am beginning to think we need to move this to Thread Games. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/190 "2020-11-05T11:41:23Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > “If I can just play devil’s advocate for a moment”… > > You mean, you’re just going to throw up a bunch of imaginary problems without any solutions, on a project you’ve done no work for, in order to make yourself sound clever. That phrase may too often be used incorrectly by insufferable people who don’t really know what they’re talking about, but… the actual practice of looking at a problem or a challenge from a whole different point of view and questioning conventional solutions is a valuable one. But maybe I’m just being defensive because I’ve used that phrase before-- hopefully in a helpful manner, and hopefully I didn’t sound too insufferable when I said it 😊 ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/191 "2020-11-05T13:34:47Z")
Oh I heartily agree that looking at issues from different angles is great - I do it myself. But I also strive to come up with ideas and make suggestions. I tend to find people who throw that phrase around too much don’t offer any solutions. It’s easy to pick holes, it’s much harder to solve problems. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/192 "2020-11-05T14:35:18Z")
Butthurt It sounds like something a 5th or 6th grade boy would say, not an adult. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/193 "2020-11-05T22:23:44Z")
> [@BrickBat](#): > > > [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > > > As a contraction of “you all”, I think it would have to be spelled “y’all”. > > > > Is it any better when written like that? > > No, I’m afraid it isn’t. It’s not the grammar, it’s the attitude behind it. Flippancy maybe? I can’t really say. It’s just a nebulous pet peeve I have Sorry it bothers you, but for a good chunk of us down here in the lower right-hand corner of the country, _y’all_ isn’t an affectation, but the default second-plural pronoun. In fact, misuse of _y’all_ is one of my linguistic _bêtes noires_. I cringe whenever I hear someone - almost always a non-Southerner - say “Well, how’re y’all?” when speaking to one person. (Or when an author misuses it thusly as a cute way to indicate that a character is Southern; looking at _you_, Christopher Moore.) I perceive the subtext as “Oh, that’s a funny word those quaint Southerners use, aren’t I friendly and cute for using it instead of the _real_ word?” _And_ they usually misspell it “ya’ll”. When in fact, by the rules of English grammar, _y’all_ is a perfectly legal word with a definite role as a pronoun. It is in fact, as @Robot_Arm pointed out, a contraction of _you all_ and the apostrophe marks the missing vowels, as it does with any other contraction. _Y’all_ is no more exotic than “I’m” or “can’t” or “they’re”. And of course, it’s always plural. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/194 "2020-11-05T22:35:23Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > When in fact, by the rules of English grammar, _y’all_ is a perfectly legal word with a definite role as a pronoun. It is in fact, as @Robot_Arm pointed out, a contraction of _you all_ and the apostrophe marks the missing vowels, as it does with any other contraction. _Y’all_ is no more exotic than “I’m” or “can’t” or “they’re”. And of course, it’s always plural. I’ve never understood why “y’all” is considered so awful. I mean, it’s maybe not Standard English, but it does adhere to the rules for the second person plural pronoun. At any rate, it’s better than “youse” or whatever the heck that is. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/195 "2020-11-06T00:28:42Z")
“Y’all” is ok as is, but it can lead to treacherous ground where we end up with bastard children like “y’all’s”. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/196 "2020-11-06T01:14:06Z")
I think the correct term is “all y’all”. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/197 "2020-11-06T02:57:28Z")
I don’t mind “y’all” at all. What I HATE is when fully adult, grownup people use the term “my Daddy” when they mean “my father” or “my dad”. Maybe it sounds fine to other Southerners, but to my Northern ears it sounds infantile. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/198 "2020-11-06T12:16:36Z")
Now there I agree with you wholeheartedly. It’s equally annoying when a grown man, especially a politician, refers to himself by a childhood nickname. As, for example, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald. I get that he might not want to use his real first name on the ballot. But “Bubba”? Makes it sound like he wears overalls with no shirt, and fucks farm animals. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum\_45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum_45/32/3385_2.png) [@eburacum\_45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum_45)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/199 "2020-11-06T12:47:04Z")
‘Needs fixed’ is a fairly standard construction in northern parts of Britain, so I suspect it has a long pedigree. ---
**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:** [November 6, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/200 "2020-11-06T13:58:40Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > As, for example, Georgia Public Service Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald. I get that he might not want to use his real first name on the ballot. But “Bubba”? Makes it sound like he wears overalls with no shirt, and fucks farm animals. Sounds like a winning political formula for many counties in Georgia. Folksy sells. J. Beauregard Pierpont Morgan the IVth? Not so much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=11)