# That makes you sound dumb. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 1999, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658 "1999-11-29T22:37:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![torq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@torq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torq)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 1999, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/41 "1999-12-01T06:50:00Z")
What’s wrong with using “contact” as a verb? Actually it bothers me more when people use it as a noun: “I have lots of contacts in the aerospace industry” sounds to me like “I run into planes a lot”. My (probably misguided) amateur efforts at decoding the original meaning of the word is “touching together”, which seems more like a verb than a noun. ---
**Author:** ![smilingjaws](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@smilingjaws](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smilingjaws)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/42 "1999-11-30T19:20:00Z")
True story: Manager uses the term debris and pronounces it de’-bris! One on me–I found out I was mispronouncing facile as though it had a long i sound in the last syllable–and the accent was on the last syllable. They used the word on PRN and I looked it up. Now I am forever embarassed at my ignorance ☹ ---
**Author:** ![saraam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@saraam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saraam)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/43 "1999-11-30T19:21:00Z")
The original noun contact does not refer to people. It is actually an object, as in to make contact. Using it to mean people, or a direct object is as annoying as people who use ‘party’ as a verb, it makes me cringe. My reason for jumping in, though, is another anecdote: Talking to a co-worker who is a college student, she tells me that she began as a finance major, but switched over to marketing because she thought it would be (no joke) a lot more funner. What? You know, though, I be she is real smarter in other areas. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/44 "1999-11-30T19:22:00Z")
Oh, all right…go ahead and use “contact” as a verb. But if I catch you mixing up “affect” and “effect,” I’m gonna open up a whole CAN 'a whoop-ass on ya. * * * Uke ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/45 "1999-11-30T19:32:00Z")
**dhanson** Along those lines, don’t you hate it when middle managers use the word “utilize” instead of “use”? * * * “It is lucky for rulers that men do not think.” — Adolf Hitler ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/46 "1999-11-30T20:36:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Funny, my husband and I were just discussing funny mispronounciations. My husband and I were discussing this the other day, too. I can’t remember what he said first, but it included the word “pronounciation.” I was going to let it slide because I’m nice ( 🙂 ). But then he added, “Ever notice how some people say, ‘pronounciation,’ and some people say, ‘pronunciation’?” So I had to say, “Yes, people who pronounce it correctly say ‘pronunciation’ and people who pronounce it incorrectly say ‘pronounciation.’” That earned me a dirty look or two. What really bothers me is when people say “John Henry” instead of “John Hancock.” John Henry was a steel driving man! His legend has absolutely nothing to do with signatures! Bah! Finally, an item in the paper that amused me once was an article on a local ring of poachers. The list of the poachers’ victims included deer, elk, and a “moo cow.” * * * “I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy [The Kat House](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/home.htm) [Join the FSH Webring](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/fshwebring.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/47 "1999-11-30T21:10:00Z")
I actually thought it was okay to pronounce debris “deb riss”. At least I’ve heard a Briton or two pronounce it that way. And if the British do it, it must be right…? I’ve noticed that some French-derived words are pronounced relatively Frenchly (huh huh I said “Frenchly” huh huh) in the U.S., but get sort of Anglicized in England. For example, beret sometimes gets the accent on the first syllable; then of course there is Marquis being pronounced “markwiss”. Heard this one on the radio: “nuclear armorments”. A fairly common mistake, but I couldn’t help thinking, Would you really want your armor to be nuclear? I get amused when quotes get taken out of context and beaten to death. Once I heard a public speaker railing against the “benign neglect” with which Congress was treating one of his pet issues. At first I thought he intended it ironically, but he used it so much with a straight face that I figured out he just didn’t know what “benign” means. After all, tumors can be benign, and tumors are really yucky, so benign must mean yucky, right? So now I know why, looking back, folks get so mad at Pat Moynihan for saying the Nixon administration should treat the issue of race with benign neglect. My new pet peeve is over-use of “anal”. C’mon, folks, can’t you say “fastidious”? Anal has these … connotations, see. Well, actually they’re not connotations, they are the _primary definition_ fer cryin out loud! Freud gave us a _pair_ of terms (I think it was Freud, anyway): anal-retentive and anal-expulsive. If you’re going to be Freudian, at least spend the extra syllables specifying which kind of butthole you are talking about. * * * Nothing I write about any person or group should be applied to a larger group. - Boris Badenov ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/48 "1999-11-30T21:47:00Z")
dhanson – you must’ve worked for the same guy I did. He would dictate these long over-wordy multi-page missives which I would type out verbatim, then I’d type up my own precise, simplified version for him to compare with. (He at least had the good sense to usually choose mine.) One time however he insisted in using some word so absurd and flowery that I questioned it even existed. (I don’t recall the exact “word” in question, it was something like “thenceforth” or “witherto” or something else made up of two actual words.) I even dropped the giant unabridged dictionary on his desk and pointed out that it wasn’t in there but he insisted I use it because he liked the way it sounded!!! Cristi – this was about a year ago in an ANG newspaper, who is the parent company of the Oakland Tribune (not sure what their web address is). I don’t know if the archives go back that far but I believe the charity involved was Goodwill. Rhythmdvl – in my circle we always pronounced it “nite-ski” because of a friend of ours in Jr. High who had the same last name and pronounced it that way. I can’t think of any situation where you’d need to pronounce it seriously. 🙂 Haha and regarding the mispronounciation of “debris”…every so often when I worked for United Artists’ there would be the same photocopied list from the corporate office reinforcing certain standards in which they spelled the word “DEBREE.” When I finally brought it to someone’s attention I was told “at the time that list was made that was an acceptable spelling.” Huh? Has that ever been an acceptable spelling in this century? And last but not least…“moo cow?” Bwahahahahahaha!!! That is rich! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/49 "1999-11-30T22:20:00Z")
I’ve always felt that on the subject of proper language, slack should be cut. Language at its base has no rules; it’s a human convention and if the majority of humans decide tomorrow that it is proper to pronounce the “g” in straight and the “e” in dope, who’s to say that’s inherently wrong? Or if most people started to spell it “straat doop” on what grounds could you argue that it’s supposed to be spelled “straight dope”? Or if people started using the word fnorple to mean “an exchange of useful information on various subjects conveyed in a humorous manner” and the people they were speaking to understood this, then who could argue that fnorple isn’t a real word? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/50 "1999-11-30T22:27:00Z")
What’s wrong with ‘benign neglect’? It generally means to leave something alone because it’s better that way. To treat the race issue with ‘benign neglect’ means to leave it alone because you think government interference will make it worse. That’s one of the common arguments against affirmative action. Or do you think Moynihan didn’t understand that and was using the phrase incorrectly? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/51 "1999-11-30T23:15:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Example: On some new program recently, and interviewee finished a sentence with, " . . . and then it was just she and I." “Her and me,” dammit, “her and me”! If it was just her, and it was just me, then it was just her and me! People have had the objective case bled out of them in grade school, and now think it is improper in every situation. I agree with you in principle Phil. People who use “I” in the objective case bug me way more than people using “me” in the nominative. However, “to be” is a reflexive verb, and therefore properly takes a nominative pronoun as an object. The following sentences are all technically correct. It is I. It was I. It was just I. It was just she and I. (Those last two sound so bad though that I’d be tempted to change them anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 1999, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/52 "1999-11-30T23:28:00Z")
Saying “it is I” will get you funny looks, too. Speaking of reflexive verbs, I think I am the only person who answers the phone like this: Them: “Hello, is Gaudere there?” Me: “This is she.” What drives me nuts is someone enunciating clearly “I could of done that”. You _know_ they honestly think it’s “could of”. It’s could’ve! Could’ve! Could’ve! ---
**Author:** ![Pixoid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Pixoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixoid)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 1999, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/53 "1999-12-01T00:28:00Z")
I say, “This is she.” But only on the phone, and I start laughing after I do. It just pops out, though…“Is Pix there?” “This is she.” _giggles_ * * * Question authority–just not mine. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 1999, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/54 "1999-12-01T01:01:00Z")
**Boris B** : It’s simple, really. _Affect_(except when you mean facial expression) is a verb. _Effect_ is a noun. When you affect something, you cause an effect. For those interested, my post in which I begin by misusing “effects” contains **10** errors. Can you find them? On lend, loan, and borrow: I was taught that _loan_ was strictly a noun. Not anymore. But I do know that the borrower still owes the lender, not the other way around(I wish!). Of course, the best solution to this particular confusion is to follow _Shakespeare’s_ advice: “Neither borrower nor lender be…” ---
**Author:** ![timmar68](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@timmar68](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/timmar68)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 1999, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/55 "1999-12-01T04:17:00Z")
I used to think that “bedraggled” was pronounced like two words- “bed raggled”. I found out my mistake when I was channel surfacing. An old movie was on and a boy was reading a story to a class. He came across that word and pronounced it like I did and the kids laughed at him. The teacher gently told him the proper way to pronounce it. I was floored and glad that I never had the opportunity to use the word and thus saved myself some great embarrassment (although I DID get the giggles when I saw that!). 🙂 * * * MaryAnn Is there a chair here that I could speak to? ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 1999, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/56 "1999-12-02T06:09:00Z")
Oooh, I’m savoring the irony. The whole thread is about communicating clearly, and I’ve been misconstrued twice. **TennHippie** Are you getting me confused with another poster, or does it really seem like I don’t know the difference between affect and effect? I’m used to people thinking I’m stupid but now I’m just baffled. **dhanson** I didn’t know anything was wrong with benign neglect. In fact I would even go so far as to describe it as benign. I thought Moynihan was using it correctly and other folks were misconstruing him. The public speaker I talked about at the beginning of the paragraph was someone other than Moynihan. Perhaps this just points out the cyclic nature of miscommunication: discussing communication problems often leads to more communication problems. A friend of mine really hates the word “proactive”. I’ve asked him why he hates it so much, but he usually gets so mad since I have to use the word to ask him why he hates it, that he can’t explain it to me. Just one of life’s mysteries, I guess. * * * Nothing I write about any person or group should be applied to a larger group. - Boris Badenov ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 1999, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/57 "1999-12-01T20:51:00Z")
## Last night I was looking through a phrase and word origins book when I stumbled across “John Henry.” I refuse to accept that it is a legitimate alternative to “John Hancock,” though the book says it is. **I don’t care!** The book had no source, just that it originated in the West during the 19th century. Sounds to me like someone goofed, taught the goof to others, and it became acceptable overtime because no one realized it was a goof. That bugs me because it has no historical basis in either fact or legend. It makes no sense. And I still think it sounds dumb and so do people who say it instead of saying “John Hancock.” So there. Nyah 😛 “I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy [The Kat House](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/home.htm) [Join the FSH Webring](http://members.aol.com/gr8kat1/KatGen/fshwebring.htm) ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 1999, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/58 "1999-12-01T21:30:00Z")
PLDennison sed: > [@](#): > > Libertarian, along those same lines, the people who just cannot get a handle on “I” and “me” drive me nuts. > Example: On some new program recently, and interviewee finished a sentence with, " . . . and then it was just she and I." “Her and me,” dammit, “her and me”! If it was just her, and it was just me, then it was just her and me! People have had the objective case bled out of them in grade school, and now think it is improper in every situation. > > Similarly, John is not taller than me, John is taller then I. Taller than I am, to be more precise. Phil, Phil, Phil. Are you not the same person who jumped my ass for being a language snob for decrying the use of “irregardless” in a similar thread several months ago? My opinion of you is shattered, you scurvy hypocrite! * * * Plunging like stones from a slingshot on Mars. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 1999, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/59 "1999-12-01T21:54:00Z")
TennHippie: (I just now realized it isn’t TenniHippie! How about that?) [/QUOTE] What effects me is where supposubly smart people go “I went to colledge,” irregardless of there dumb grammer and mispellings. [/QUOTE] I only found nine: What affects me is when supposedly smart people write “I went to college,” regardless of their dumb grammar and mispelling. Technically, “colledge” is correct as written, since it’s in quotes, and is what you’re complaining about (or are there two more mistakes I didn’t find 🙂 ). Hmmm… Maybe it’s really been “TenniHippie” all along. \ Nope, not lately. Thought I was onto something there! :o (I’m proofing this post more than any other post I’ve ever written here. I think I’ll go find a thread that isn’t so tense ;)) * * * _It is too clear, and so it is hard to see._ ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 1999, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658/60 "1999-12-01T21:59:00Z")
**Boris B** : I most sincerely apologize. How I got your name mixed up with **Rhythmdvl** is anybody’s guess. Let this be a warning to you kids who think you can abuse drugs and alcohol with no ill effects! I agree, **Mike King** , that some slack should be allowed-- especially with the spoken word, as long as we understand each other. I find the regional/cultural dialects delightful, for instance. Also, language does indeed evolve, as all healthy things do. However, if we just abolish the rules entirely the result is chaos. If we decide that we can spell/pronounce/redefine/make up words any way we want, then language would quickly become incomprehensible. Everybody would be pretty much speaking their own tongue. It is especially important that we have some consistency _today_. We don’t just talk with our family and neighbors anymore. We talk with the world. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-makes-you-sound-dumb/11658.md?page=4)