# 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:** 69
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1368 "2022-11-27T00:57:33Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Really nothing at all has changed except that more people can communicate unfiltered with the entire world. It’s not because schools are different. It’s because you are now reading things written by people that would never have reached your eyes in previous decades. A fair point! ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1369 "2022-11-27T09:19:10Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > “Woke” Originally it meant “Yeah, I understand the feelings and needs of others”. Now it has been co-opted by the right wing to mean “I’m a new MAGAbot and I’m gonna post all the conspiracy theories I can find and share every post that smears a Democrat!” And treat every smear of Democrats on my favorite “news” channel (FOX “News”) as if it were actual news reporting! ---
**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:** [November 27, 2022, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1370 "2022-11-27T09:43:19Z")
“I miss you not being here” – Sounds like an insult but it means the opposite. “I can’t stop my cat from not scratching the furniture” ---
**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:** [November 27, 2022, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1371 "2022-11-27T09:59:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Really nothing at all has changed except that more people can communicate unfiltered with the entire world. It’s not because schools are different. It’s because you are now reading things written by people that would never have reached your eyes in previous decades. Still, it isn’t just a matter of the internet making it possible for anyone to send their grammatically bad writing out into the world. The examples I gave of participle errors were all spoken in various contexts. Neither is it a matter of age as far as I can see. The person who used to say “the job’s been ran” was a coworker of mine in the early 2000s, and as best I could guess, had a fairly similar background/education to mine. “I wish he could have saw…” came from a prominent talk show host, off mike. “The spiders have ate the flies” came from an NPR host on air. For some of my examples, check out this NYT [article](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/02/opinion/past-participle.html) . Unfortunately it may be paywalled. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1372 "2022-11-27T12:06:51Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > “I miss you not being here” – Sounds like an insult but it means the opposite. I think this phrase is indeed an insult. Remove the ‘not’, which leaves “I miss you being here.” In other words, “I wish you were here.” Put the ‘not’ back in. In other words, “I wish you were not here.” What am I missing? ---
**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 27, 2022, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1373 "2022-11-27T12:14:16Z")
That like > Paris in the > the spring Most people will not actually parse the sentence literally word for word, but simply (and mistakenly) accept it as fitting the template of the trite “Wish you were here” without further analysis. Separately … The fact there are other common human languages where a double negative does not negate the negation, but rather strengthens it, shows that there’s some underlying innate mental model where that sentence “naturally” interprets as “wish you were here.” ---
**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:** [November 27, 2022, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1374 "2022-11-27T12:29:57Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > The examples I gave of participle errors were all spoken in various contexts. Neither is it a matter of age as far as I can see. The person who used to say “the job’s been ran” was a coworker of mine in the early 2000s, and as best I could guess, had a fairly similar background/education to mine. I’m not sure what you’re trying to say. The grammatical pattern you’re talking about has been standard in several dialects of English for centuries. You’re not observing anything new here. Notably, it’s standard in Appalachian English. ---
**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:** [November 28, 2022, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1375 "2022-11-28T07:49:54Z")
Disregard, coding trouble. Will repost later… ---
**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:** [November 28, 2022, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1376 "2022-11-28T08:02:34Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’m not sure what you’re trying to say. The grammatical pattern you’re talking about has been standard in several dialects of English for centuries. You’re not observing anything new here. Notably, it’s standard in Appalachian English. In dialects, sure. But why, now, are there so many examples of people without the cultural background associated with those dialects using those grammatical patterns? That’s what’s new. Or new-ish, given that it’s been trending for two ir three decades. Walter Cronkite would never EVER have said “the spiders have ate the flies”, but today talk show hosts do. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1377 "2022-11-28T09:20:50Z")
I had to work for a Yeoman 2nd Class some years ago. This guy was not the best example of that rating. He insisted on putting the following blurb in sailor of the month/quarter/year award letters to be sent to said awardees’ parents: > With your support, your son could not have attained this honor. That’s only one example of that jackass’s stupidity. He finally got his comeuppance about a year after I had to work under him. God, it was glorious when Karma kicked him in the nads. ---
**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:** [November 28, 2022, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1378 "2022-11-28T09:38:29Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > In dialects, sure. But why, now, are there so many examples of people without the cultural background associated with those dialects using those grammatical patterns? How do you know they are not speaking in their own dialect? ---
**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 28, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1379 "2022-11-28T14:52:21Z")
I’d suggest that one of the differences from 20 or 50 years ago is we’re all more exposed to more dialects due to the spread of internet & social media. Separate from the vast, vast increase in non-elite non-professional speech that we’re also all exposed to. The multiplicative effect of both those things supercharges the rate of spread of dialect, for good or for ill. So even though Person X doesn’t hail from Appalachia, they may have picked up some of it along the way. As to professionals using “non-standard” speech, I’ll put it down to a conscious effort to not sound fake to their audience. If the entire cadre of show-biz talking heads sounded like William F. Buckley, most of us would reject that as inauthentic and off-putting. Well, maybe not most of us here at the dope, but most of their target audience. One of the innovations in modern marketing in general and show-biz in particular is the recognition that your target market is not all white, cishet middle class with 2.2 adorable kids, one of each gender. ---
**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:** [November 28, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1380 "2022-11-28T16:06:24Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > He finally got his comeuppance about a year after I had to work under him. God, it was glorious when Karma kicked him in the nads. Waiting for the whole story… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1381 "2022-11-28T17:09:02Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > In dialects, sure. But why, now, are there so many examples of people without the cultural background associated with those dialects using those grammatical patterns? Probably a combination of fewer barriers against people from that cultural background entering media jobs, and more people adopting constructions that they find useful/aesthetic as they’re exposed to a wider range of dialects, due to fewer barriers against people from historically disfavored cultural backgrounds entering media jobs. Both good things, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1382 "2022-11-28T20:05:17Z")
There was another sailor, Yeoman Third Class, whose life the aforementioned YN2 was making uncomfortable. Well, the YN3 made YN2 on his first shot at the advancement exam and YN1 on his first attempt at that exam. And then he was transferred to southern California. The YN2 when it was his turn to transfer got orders to a unit in Honolulu so he was quite excited. And then he got a call from the former YN3, now YN1. Turns out that the unit, a regional unit, needed him to work in Honolulu. He was now the YN2’s supervisor. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1383 "2022-11-28T20:31:38Z")
Here’s two things that bug me: “I’mma…” and “X be like…” I see these being thrown all around the internet and it annoys me. Yeah, I get it. People be like, “Hey, it’s how I talk. Deal with it.” But that doesn’t mean I like it. I’mma go crazy. ---
**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:** [November 28, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1384 "2022-11-28T20:33:46Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I’mma…” and “X be like…” I see these being thrown all around the internet and it annoys me. Yeah, I get it. People be like, Looks like AAVE to me. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1385 "2022-11-28T20:35:42Z")
That’s where I first saw it. And if that’s how they want to talk, fine. They don’t need my permission. But it still annoys me. ---
**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 28, 2022, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1386 "2022-11-28T20:44:56Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > “I miss you not being here” – Sounds like an insult but it means the opposite. William Safire told a story about an acquaintance who told him “I’ve missed not seeing you.” Safire launched into an explanation of how he SHOULD have said it, and the guy said “No, I had it right in the first first place. Now I remember why.” Credit to Unca Cecil for passing that one along. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2022, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1387 "2022-11-29T04:12:16Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > How do you know they are not speaking in their own dialect? By their use of General American pronunciation patterns. Normally, if someone hails from Appalachia and uses nonstandard grammar, wouldn’t they have a noticeable accent, to other Americans? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=68) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=70)