# Real-world examples of 'Ummm, acktually, It's X, not Y' nitpicks, and discussion about them **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326 "2025-06-08T12:47:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/221 "2025-06-13T00:12:54Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The reason that non-native English speakers have trouble with some of our idioms is that they’ve taken the time and trouble to learn the meanings of words in the English language, and the poor fools expect that words will be used in accordance with what they’ve learned they mean. More fools they 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/222 "2025-06-13T00:14:54Z")
That’s the same for just about any human language. They all have idioms. And I’m glad they do. Who wants to live in robot land where language is a dead protocol optimized solely for efficient communication? I guess engineers, but us normies enjoy fun. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/223 "2025-06-13T00:15:55Z")
Plus ungood ---
**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:** [June 13, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/224 "2025-06-13T00:18:56Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > But apparently there is a related issue with respect to “over” and “more than.” Did more than ten thousand people attend the rally, or did over ten thousand people attend? > > Evidently there are some sticklers out there who distinguish between the two. I am not one of them. I’m not clear on this one. Do some pedants insist on one term over the other, or do they have some subtly different connotation? To me they’re two synonymous and perfectly acceptable ways to express “some slight increase over a rounded number”. > [@CairoCarol](#): > > Which reminds me … “between” vs. “among.” I am firmly in favor of reserving “between” for the space between two objects/concepts, and “among” for three or more. But it’s becoming increasingly common to hear sentences such as, “She chose between three dresses.” This one, while I understand the difference, I have no problem with. Using “between” as a choice among more than two items does not set my teeth on edge like the “less vs. fewer” thing does… > [@CairoCarol](#): > > And that reminds me of “such as” vs. “like.” …_such as_ the “less vs. fewer thing” does? 🤪 ---
**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:** [June 13, 2025, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/225 "2025-06-13T00:20:51Z")
No. Language can be playful and fun without being stupidly self-contradictory, as in “my head literally asploded” or “I could care less”. See, for instance, the wonderful turns of phrase from P.G. Wodehouse. They beautify the language, they don’t mutilate it. ---
**Author:** ![Zoobi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/13edae/32.png) [@Zoobi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoobi)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/226 "2025-06-13T00:26:46Z")
Yes. Human language has no obligation to be dry and completely logical. My brain doesn’t lock up into a death spiral when I hear a contradiction or logically unsound statement. Being human is great. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/227 "2025-06-13T00:43:21Z")
As always I value your input, although it’s a little off topic to the point I was making with respect to the OP. I don’t have an issue with the usage, but [this article](https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-sentence-adverb-1691033) lists a number of grammar blue noses who scorn the usage. With that, ‘hopefully’ should be as worthy of a finger wag as any other words/terms/phrases listed that the pedants like to nitpick, but this is one of the ones that gets a pass. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/228 "2025-06-13T00:51:19Z")
“Momentarily” as a synonym for “soon” sets me on fire. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/229 "2025-06-13T00:56:42Z")
Exactly!!! I love the supposed illogical constructions in language, and anyone subject to English spelling should be inured to it. Beauty is in the imperfection. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/230 "2025-06-13T01:40:27Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > See, for instance, the wonderful turns of phrase from P.G. Wodehouse I very nearly referred to Wodehouse - because when he wrote “bimbo” he was talking about men ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/231 "2025-06-13T02:05:52Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The monster’s name was Victor Frankenstein. I think you mean “the doctor’s name”. And acktually, it’s pronounced “Fronkensteen”. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/232 "2025-06-13T02:11:15Z")
Pretty sure the point was that Dr. Victor Frankenstein was the monster in the story, not the creature he animated. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/233 "2025-06-13T02:24:02Z")
Yes, exactly. What the Victor Frankenstein (I don’t know enough about academic customs of the time to know whether he merited “doctor”) did was monstrous. All Adam did was exist, and try to mind his own business. ---
**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:** [June 13, 2025, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/234 "2025-06-13T02:29:15Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > And acktually, it’s pronounced “Fronkensteen”. [Sound of distant horses whinnying] ---
**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:** [June 13, 2025, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/235 "2025-06-13T02:35:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > All Adam did was exist, and try to mind his own business. And kill a bunch of people, including a child, just for being friends or relatives of Victor’s. Oh, and framed a woman for murdering the child, which led to her execution. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/236 "2025-06-13T02:35:54Z")
I see what you mean. “Ideally,” “ironically,” apparently," etc. go well beyond the scope of how I’d hopefully parsed “hopefully.” ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/237 "2025-06-13T02:40:23Z")
Originally, _bimbo_ is Italian for ‘little boy’, a contraction of _bambino._ Babe Ruth was the Bimbo. They dropped Bimbo on Hiroshima. If writing in Italian, that is. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/238 "2025-06-13T03:26:54Z")
ACK-tually 🙂, Victor was not a doctor. He was still a university student at the time, and had not yet received any degree or credential. And ACK-tually, the creature was not named Adam. He compared himself to Adam a couple of times, but no one ever called him that, nor did he ask to be called that. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/239 "2025-06-13T04:11:23Z")
Just to be clear @Chronos already corrected me on that Doctor bit! 😀 ---
**Author:** ![Xocomil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xocomil/32/14927_2.png) [@Xocomil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xocomil)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2025, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326/240 "2025-06-13T04:44:36Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Babe Ruth was the Bimbo. Wasn’t he the Great Bambino? That’s what I saw in _The Sandlot_. He was also known as the Sultan of Swat and Colossus of Clout, according to those kids. Bimbo is a brand of bread products owned by a Mexican corporation. The US dropped Bimbo on Hiroshima in many languages. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-world-examples-of-ummm-acktually-its-x-not-y-nitpicks-and-discussion-about-them/1019326.md?page=13)