# 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:** 37
**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:** [January 19, 2021, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/722 "2021-01-19T21:40:27Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@eschereal](#): > > > > I have seen both of those right here, which is none of those 4 places. > > I thought you were talking about C&H sugar. Pure cane sugar from Hawaaaaaiiii. California & Hawai’i Utah & Idaho (presumably, beet sugar) We have both of those here, which is not one of those places. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/723 "2021-01-19T22:45:31Z")
> [@Reeses\_Monkey](#): > > Yinz guys need to read the book **Because Internet** by Gretchen McCulloch. She’s a linguist who has a couple of podcasts all about that issue. I have heard her on at least one podcast. She’s very smart and a very good presenter. That doesn’t mean she’s going to persuade me to stop being irritated by stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/724 "2021-01-19T22:47:49Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > > [@panache45](#): > > > > Leaving out “to be”, as in: > > > > > My clothes need washed. > > > [@Steve\_McQwark](#): > > > > That’s two whole words that can be omitted. You can have my lazy speech patterns when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers. Which, given that I’m just as lazy when it comes to exercising as I am with my speaking, means you probably won’t have to wait that long. > > Interesting - never heard of such an omission. > Wonder how prevalent it is. > > And sure - gross! 🙂 When I lived in South Central (Appalachian) Ohio, it was the standard grammar of the local dialect. When I pointed out that I would avoid that construction in favor of “… need to be washed” or “… need washing,” my local friend group were truly surprised that there was another way to craft that sentence, not to mention two. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/725 "2021-01-19T22:50:38Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@carrps](#): > > > > Between you and I. > > Obv, this should be “Between U & I”. I find it truly astonishing how so many people have no understanding of how the word “I” works. Even more crazy making than “between you and I” is “Harry and I’s car broke down.” > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Yes, in certain circles in Canada, calling someone a « goof » is asking for a punch in the mouth. What does it mean to them? ---
**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:** [January 19, 2021, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/726 "2021-01-19T22:59:04Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > So for him it’s a nguyen-nguyen situation.- Bravo! ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/727 "2021-01-19T23:02:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > What does it mean to them? I googled, and google says pedophile. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/728 "2021-01-19T23:16:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > When I lived in South Central (Appalachian) Ohio, it was the standard grammar of the local dialect. It’s gradually creeping up north and east. It’s already in Pittsburgh. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2021, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/729 "2021-01-19T23:33:42Z")
I suspect it has been part of Appalachian speech all along, which has always run close to the Pittsburgh area. ---
**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:** [January 19, 2021, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/730 "2021-01-19T23:59:45Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > > [@Acsenray](#): > > > > What does it mean to them? > > I googled, and google says pedophile. That’s … disturbing. “Goof” is one of the mildest epithets available in US English. The target isn’t malicious, isn’t evil, isn’t irredeemably stupid. Just a bit careless of thought and maybe eccentric of taste. Cross “oaf” with “odd duck” and you birth a “goof”. So what term, other than maybe “Doug Mackenzie”, might I use in Canuckistan to invoke the US concept of “goof”? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/731 "2021-01-20T00:08:20Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@carrps](#): > > > > I googled, and google says pedophile. > > That’s … disturbing. > > “Goof” is one of the mildest epithets available in US English. > > The target isn’t malicious, isn’t evil, isn’t irredeemably stupid. Just a bit careless of thought and maybe eccentric of taste. Cross “oaf” with “odd duck” and you birth a “goof”. As a Canadian, and lifelong resident of Canuckstan, I have to say that I’ve never heard “goof” used in that sense. Its meaning has always been the innocuous one that @LSLGuy suggests. If there are social circles in which it has a more sinister meaning, they are not ones that I have ever entered. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/732 "2021-01-20T00:58:05Z")
Well, no, but at least you’ll understand why people talk that way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/733 "2021-01-20T01:03:25Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I am PATRICK. I am not PAT. I do not go by PAT. I have NEVER gone by PAT. I will NEVER go by PAT. “Asshole” would be more acceptable to me than PAT. [Brat standing pat, patting Pat on hat…] ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/734 "2021-01-20T01:30:41Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I have no idea what that means. A beer thing? Isn’t _everything?_ ---
**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:** [January 20, 2021, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/735 "2021-01-20T02:11:44Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > As a Canadian, and lifelong resident of Canuckstan, I have to say that I’ve never heard “goof” used in that sense. Its meaning has always been the innocuous one that @LSLGuy suggests. If there are social circles in which it has a more sinister meaning, they are not ones that I have ever entered. I found a site or two that explained that it is primarily prison slang, so if you suspect that someone may have done some stir time, make sure to stay clear of it. From what I read, “goof” is used specifically for pederasts, while a molester of girls is a “diddler”. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/736 "2021-01-20T02:59:29Z")
Like **Wolfpup** , I had a sheltered upbringing and did not know about the seamier side of the word “goof”. Until I read this Court transcript and had it explained to me by counsel more seasoned in the criminal _argot_: > [@](#): > > CLERK:Mr. K., do you want to step into the witness box, please. > > B.K.:Okay. > > CLERK:You have to stand up to be sworn. > > B.K.:Oh, fuck. > > CLERK:Please take the Bible in your right hand. Please state your full name for the Court. > > B.K.:B.C.K. > > CLERK:Spell your last name. > > B.K.:K. > > CLERK:Do you swear that the evidence you shall give touching the matters in question shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God? > > B.K.:Fuck it, man, I ain’t testifying. > > COURT:I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. > > B.K.:I ain’t testifying, man. Fucking charge me. Whatever you fucking want, man. I ain’t testifying. > > [According to the presiding judge, in his report to the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, the appellant then threw the Bible on the floor immediately in front of the witness box, sat down in the box, sat back, crossed his arms and put his foot up on the railing of the witness box. Following this behaviour, the judge stated:] > > COURT:I find you guilty of contempt of in the face of this Court. > > B.K.:Up yours, you dick. > > COURT:And I sentence you to a period of incarceration of six months consecutive to any – > > B.K.:Fuck you, you goof. > > COURT:…time now being served. > > B.K.:Goof. > > COURT:Get him out of here. > > B.K.:Fucking goof. > > FIELD:I think that my case has not been advanced much by that witness’s attendance. > > COURT:That would seem to be the case. > > FIELD:And I have no further evidence to call. I commented that the word “goof” seemed rather mild compared to the other terms used by the witness, and the meaning in prison slang was explained to me. > **[R. v. K. (B.) - SCC Cases](https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/1317/index.do)** > > This page contains a form to search the Supreme Court of Canada case information database. You can search by the SCC 5-digit case number, by name or word in the style of cause, or by file number from the appeal court. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/737 "2021-01-20T03:08:14Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I commented that the word “goof” seemed rather mild compared to the other terms used by the witness, and the meaning in prison slang was explained to me. Yes, “goof” is Canadian prison slang for a pedophile. I’ve represented inmates at the local jail when they’ve broken the rules of the jail, and they appear before “warden’s court,” as it’s known. I’ve handled pretty much everything they can get in trouble for, including assaulting another inmate. And many of those assaults resulted from one inmate calling another a “goof.” I always found it strange that inmates routinely called each other something like “fucking asshole,” and nobody took offense (well, not to the point where they would do anything except possibly say it back); but “goof” set them off. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/738 "2021-01-20T15:05:50Z")
Ah, it’s inauguration day. How many talking heads will snoot it up by using the phrase “an historic”? Do they also say an history book or an histamine reaction? ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/739 "2021-01-20T15:15:06Z")
Interesting. I say “an historic,” but never would say “an history book.” Why? I have no idea? I’m not being snooty, honest! It just sounds right to my ear, I guess. English is weird, y’all. 😃 ---
**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:** [January 20, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/740 "2021-01-20T15:28:28Z")
‘Needs washed’ is pretty standard in Scotland, so a linguist might care to investigate Scots influence in those regions. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2021, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/741 "2021-01-20T15:48:07Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Interesting. I say “an historic,” but never would say “an history book.” Why? I have no idea? I think the difference is that, in “historic,” the first syllable is unaccented. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=36) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=38)