# 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:** 45
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/882 "2022-05-11T13:34:25Z")
For some reason I thought it was “y’all” for the subject (they) and “all y’all” for the object (them). “Y’all are crazy” sounds fine to me, as opposed to “All y’all are crazy” which sounds awkward. Similarly, “I love y’all” sounds awkward, while “I love all y’all” sounds perfectly cromulent to my ears. I only lived in the south for short while, though, so I really don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/883 "2022-05-13T18:57:59Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Merch I have to disagree on this one, because “merch” is a useful term that means a _specific_ type of merchandise, rather than than just any and all things you might buy anywhere. At the same time, it’s still general enough to leave unspecified the exact kinds of items or where and how they are sold. A band logo shirt or poster sold outside a concert is merch, and so is a logo coffee mug given away during the pledge drive of your local PBS station. For that reason I particularly loathe “flaunt” when it should be “flout”; they’re close to opposites, actually. Also: the one that is close to sticking a grilling skewer through my head from ear to ear is “How dare her/him/them”. Until tecently I thought the correct version was still a natural part of the living language, as opposed to high-falutin book learning, but apparently I was mistaken. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/884 "2022-05-13T20:09:11Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > Also: the one that is close to sticking a grilling skewer through my head from ear to ear is “How dare her/him/them”. Until tecently I thought the correct version was still a natural part of the living language, as opposed to high-falutin book learning, but apparently I was mistaken. This for some reason reminds me of pronouncing _versus/vs./v._ as _verse_. The word has _two_ syllables. Two! ---
**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:** [May 13, 2022, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/885 "2022-05-13T20:27:37Z")
My kids grew up next to a family of DragonBall Z fankids who’d always use “verse” as a verb. “You shoulda seen that episode! Goku was versing Vegeta…” ---
**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:** [May 13, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/886 "2022-05-13T20:55:53Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > This for some reason reminds me of pronouncing _versus/vs./v._ as _verse_ . The word has _two_ syllables. Two! That seems just a little like how it is with “kudos”. Anything that ends with “s” is ripe for depluralization. Like what happened with “pease”. ---
**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:** [May 13, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/887 "2022-05-13T21:41:01Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > > [@Rebo](#): > > > > I use “y’all” all the time, and I won’t stop just because you think it’s inappropriate. > > Fortunately, your post doesn’t count as an email, so I’m not having a stroke. > > What I see all the time, and what makes me nuts, is the use of “y’all” in business email by people who have only the most tenuous, if any, connection with the South. Like maybe the user went to law school in Austin, for example, even though they’re from, say, Highland Park, outside of Chicago. > > Oddly, those who use “y’all” in email are exclusively young white women. It seems to be coming into fashion. That’s in my experience, of course, which is limited (when it comes to business email) to American mega-law firms (i.e., law firms with, let’s say, more than 2,000 lawyers). > > It’s really annoying. > > And I’d bet that even people who perfectly legitimately use, as a regionalism, “y’all” in day to day speech would agree that it’s not exactly appropriate in written business communication. Okay, I realize I’m replying to a year-and-a-half-old post, but the misuse of _y’all_ is a huge pet peeve. Spelling it _ya’ll_, or using it as a singular pronoun, irritates the hell out of me. Both come from the same misunderstanding of the word. _Y’all_ is a perfectly grammatical, perfectly logical attempt to fill a void in the English language - the lack of a specific second-person plural pronoun. _You guys_ is another common solution. I think _y’all_ is better, though, because it’s simply a contraction of the words _you all_, formed according to the standard rules of English grammar; just as in words like _can’t_ or _I’m_, the apostrophe indicates the letters that have been elided. (Which is why _ya’ll_ is a misspelling.) That’s why I think it’s spreading - because it fills a need for English-speakers. I’d guess your lawyer from Chicago isn’t trying to pretend she’s from the South, but picked it up in Austin and adopted it because it’s so damn useful. What _y’all_ is _not_, is a quaint regionalism used by those funny-talking people down South who don’t know how to speak English correctly. Nor is it a synonym for _you_. It’s a valid word that obeys the laws of English grammar, and while it is right now a marker of Southern speech, I suspect that in a century, it will be as common and unremarkable as _won’t_ or _they’re_. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2022, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/888 "2022-05-13T21:45:12Z")
Nationwide and a century past the Great Migration, African American speech retains “y’all” from its Southern origins. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/889 "2022-05-14T02:19:42Z")
My wife and I are Yankees, but we lived in the South for close to two years, and “y’all” was something we picked up ourselves. I’ve always found it rather charming and friendly. It’s a lot better than the two rough equivalents where we live now, north of the Mason-Dixon line: “You’se” and “y’uns.” I cringe when I hear either of those. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2022, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/890 "2022-05-14T06:14:55Z")
I don’t like POTUS and SCOTUS. Very Tinny. ---
**Author:** ![CardboardBoxx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardboardboxx/32/7079_2.png) [@CardboardBoxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CardboardBoxx)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/891 "2022-05-14T14:33:24Z")
“Veggies” when referring to the foodstuff. That should be shortened to “Veg” only. Veggies are vegetarians, the people who eat veg. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/892 "2022-05-14T14:45:50Z")
> [@CardboardBoxx](#): > > That should be shortened to “Veg” only. Where are you from? Here in the US I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say “veg.” Is it pronounced “vej,” or as if it rhymed with “beg”? ---
**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:** [May 14, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/893 "2022-05-14T17:58:05Z")
I’ve only heard it with soft ‘g’ and I’ve only heard Brits say it. In fact, I can’t remember when I’ve ever heard a Brit say ‘vegetable’ instead of ‘veg.’ The abbreviation seems to me to be almost universally used. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/894 "2022-05-14T22:00:54Z")
Both “veggies” and “veg” grate on my ear, though I get how “veg” is basically Standard British. “Veggies” in particular is too cute to live. Having gotten that out of the way: in my workplace, quite a few people of all genders have the constant habit of referring to all women co-workers as “Miss [Firstname]” or “Ms. [Firstname].” It’s rather insufferable, but I can’t put my finger on why people do this, or why it bugs me so much. “Ms. Margie, I want to thank you for bringing that to my attention; please loop in Ms. Justine, Miss Amy, and Peter as well.” As with “veggies,” I guess there’s something just too cute about it. I think it cutesifies women, which is weird because it’s women who are about 85% of the offenders. Nobody ever says “Mr. [Firstname]” of a man, which, thank God for small mercies I guess. (And no, we’re not in the South.) ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/895 "2022-05-14T22:13:11Z")
Both most recent seasons of my two favorite reality shows – Survivor, and MTV’s The Challenge – had contestants refer to the host as Mr _FirstName_. On the challenge it was a woman from…Romania?.. who consistently addressed TJ Lavin as “Mr TJ.” It was cute the first few times, but quickly began grating on my nerves. Now on the current season of Survivor, the biggest buffest alpha male consistently addresses Jeff Probst as Mr Jeff. I’m starting to get really annoyed by it. (And that stupid hand clasped namaste bullshit when accepting compliments for dominating challenges. I find that prayer hands move insufferable.) ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/896 "2022-05-14T22:28:06Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > Both “veggies” and “veg” grate on my ear, though I get how “veg” is basically Standard British. “Veggies” in particular is too cute to live. Even worse is vegee. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/897 "2022-05-14T23:26:26Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > (And that stupid hand clasped namaste bullshit when accepting compliments for dominating challenges. I find that prayer hands move insufferable.) Hee hee. I’ve been doing this ever since pandemic-era Zoom meetings began. Guess I should cut it right out. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/898 "2022-05-14T23:31:12Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > Nobody ever says “Mr. [Firstname]” of a man, which, thank God for small mercies I guess. (And no, we’re not in the South.) I’m not sure if i’ve ever been addressed as “Mr. [commonfirstname]”, but the opposite thing sort of grates on me sometimes, that is, if people call me only by my [unusual last name] without my first name. I’m not even sure _why_ it sort of grates on me. Maybe it seems too informal: in the same way that parents using a child’s entire name sounds like they are in trouble, it seems that using only my last name is reaching for some informality that they assume I might reciprocate. However, that is only a mild annoyance to me, and since my first name is pretty common amongst my cohort, calling me just by my last name is actually preferable sometimes if there are more than 1, and definitely when there are more than 2, people of my name that they could be referring to. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/899 "2022-05-14T23:46:03Z")
In the old business culture, equals called each other by their first names, addressed superiors as Mr. Lastname, and subordinates as only lastname. This lives on in the military. Supposedly our more egalitarian culture encourages everyone to refer to and address everyone including the CEO by their first name only, even though good old Jerry can and will fire thousands of people with no more care than a mule breaking wind. ---
**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:** [May 15, 2022, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/900 "2022-05-15T01:07:58Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I don’t like POTUS and SCOTUS. > > Very Tinny. I hate these also. Just use the words! ---
**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:** [May 15, 2022, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/901 "2022-05-15T01:10:27Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > “Miss [Firstname]” or “Ms. [Firstname].” It’s rather insufferable, but I can’t put my finger on why people do this, or why it bugs me so much. “Ms. Margie, I want to thank you for bringing that to my attention; please loop in Ms. Justine, Miss Amy, and Peter as well.” Referring to women in the workplace with “Ms. [given name],” particularly older women, is something that definitely part of African-American culture. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=44) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=46)