Phrases/terms that aggravate the hell out of you

[wolfpup]

@Northern_Piper

@wolfpup

In Canada we have the same issue, and get around it by calling a member of the federal House of Commons a “Members of Parliament” (MP), while a member of a provincial legislature is called an MPP (Member of Provincial Parliament).

But that’s just as ambiguous as “Congressperson”. Parliament is composed of the Queen, the Senate and the Commons, so a Senator is just as much a “Member of Parliament” as is a member of the Commons.

That’s just silly pedantry. Do you really think that when someone refers to their MP, as in “I’ve asked my MP to help with this issue”, that someone might think they mean the Queen, or Governor General, or a Senator?

Whereas to me, “Congressman” really is inherently ambiguous, though I recognize its widespread use to mean a member of the US House of Representatives. Because if someone is a man, and a member of the US Senate, they are also by definition a “Congress man”.