# Things that annoy you (Language Pet Peeves, get 'em while there hot!) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 9, 2000, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265 "2000-10-09T15:06:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/21 "2000-10-09T16:07:45Z")
Between you and I, Crunchy Frog can ensure you people that I seen people go nucular when they hear others disrespecting the language. Pacifically, when supposably smart people say **ideal** or **idear** instead of **idea**. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/22 "2000-10-09T16:10:48Z")
How about when people say “axe” instead of “ask”? Oh and by the way, thank you America, for giving us Jerry Springer 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/23 "2000-10-09T16:19:07Z")
It’s vs. Its. There’s a difference people. It’s = It is. Its = possessive. Hello? Irregardless. It’s (it is) either without regard or regardless. Irregardless is a double negative. Local -isms: Instead of saying envelope, my step-monster calls them “en-ve-lophs” In the midwest: you occasionally hear acrost, instead of across. Anywhere not on the coast: sometimes “hurricane” is pronounced Hyur-i-cane. Egad. I’ll think of more and come back! ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/24 "2000-10-09T16:20:37Z")
There are alot of language things that really bug me alot. Alot of people don’t know proper English. They should really go to the liberry alot more. (not typing the space physically hurt me) ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/25 "2000-10-09T16:35:48Z")
Someone I used to know managed to pronounce “Neanderthal” as something like “Nay-thander-hal” and it would have been pretty rude to correct him, so I suppose I’m glad that it doesn’t arise too often in everyday conversation. Does anybody else remember James Thurber’s cute illustrations of his pet peeves? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/26 "2000-10-09T16:38:41Z")
The it(’)s dilemma is the one that ticks me off more than any other. Period. ---
**Author:** ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/27 "2000-10-09T16:39:11Z")
Whenever I have a bad cold, I _hate_ to be told that I need to be careful NOT to catch AMMONIA! ---
**Author:** ![stofsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@stofsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stofsky)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/28 "2000-10-09T16:41:49Z")
Alright you little fuckers (addressed to my students, not the highly intelligent denizens of this hallowed site), if I see “would of,” “should of,” or “could of” rather than the properly apostrophized “'ve,” I will fail not only this paper but your next one as well. Is that clear? Thank you for your time; now go tap a keg. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/29 "2000-10-09T16:41:58Z")
I cringe when people begin sentences with “basically” when they’re explaining something. It’s an overused, meaningless syllabification. I also hate when people make up words. 😉 But the misuse of apostrophes has to be the among the worst irritants… ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/30 "2000-10-09T16:55:17Z")
If it happened only now and th **e** n, that people misused th **e** n and th **a** n, I’d be happier th **a** n a pig in slop. It happens so often, though, that it drives me NUTS! Why, oh why, can’t people figure out the difference between those two words?! ARGH!!! ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/31 "2000-10-09T17:04:09Z")
Sn-man: Please, keep your “PP” in the bathroom, where it belongs. My father was from Montana, and he and his whole entire family were required by state law to slam “fluster” and “frustrate” into “flustrate.” I hate this thing. I refuse to accept it’s a word. Also, to go with “affect” and “effect,” “accept” and “except.” Plus, “alright” should be quietly disposed of. Also, can we bag “-al” when we make adverbs with “-ly?” I’m trying to kick the “basically” habit, and basicly it would help if I had fewer letters to work with. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/32 "2000-10-09T17:10:49Z")
Am I the only one who wants to go postal when I hear some moron say, “orientated”? Isn’t “oriented” completely adequate for the task? On yet a higher plane, let us revile the cretins who say “heigth” instead of “height” (rhymes with “fright”). Can’t we garrotte them with their own shoelaces? Or, is there some niggling amendment in the Constitution prohibiting it? Now, shall we have a go at these newspeak mouthbreathers who simply adore turning nouns into verbs? An office supply house has an ad that exclaims, “The new way to office!” May I please officiate at the firebombing of every one of their stores? Pretty please? (I feel that we should assemble a compendium of these particular language felonies for future reference.) ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/33 "2000-10-09T17:13:57Z")
All of the above. Except the made-up words part - that’s high entertainment in my family. 😉 Misuse and/or misspelling of “y’all”, one of my favorite contractions. Misspellings and misuses of punctuation on signs. Every time I see something for “sale”, I wonder what they’re really up to. What are those red things, if they’re not “Ripe” “Tomatoes”?? Whelps. Evidently many people here have puppies as an allergic contact reaction. I know there’re more, but I can’t think of them off-hand. I too wander through my days in a state of continual grammatical disgruntlement. ---
**Author:** ![andyman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8491ac/32.png) [@andyman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andyman)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/34 "2000-10-09T17:30:10Z")
The one that really gets to me is when people say that they “could care less” when what they really mean is that they “couldn’t care less.” Also, yankees trying to use the word “ya’ll!” Wasn’t there a thread about that not too long ago? ---
**Author:** ![ladybug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@ladybug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladybug)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/35 "2000-10-09T17:34:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by FairyChatMom \* > **I cringe when people begin sentences with “basically” when they’re explaining something. It’s an overused, meaningless syllabification.** This sounds like my contracts professor. He would almost explode if someone started a case presentation with “basically.” I can’t stand when people use “entitled” instead of “titled.” Entitled means the right to do or have something; they’re not synonyms. It drives me crazy whenever I see something like “the movie is _entitled_ ‘Gone With the Wind.’” AAARRRGGGHHH! Also, I cringe every time I see adviser spelled with an O (“advisor”). Most of the time I see this in ads or on billboards, and it never fails to irritate me. ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/36 "2000-10-09T17:42:23Z")
In my line of work (copy editor), I’d go out a window if I took these things too much to heart. But I do have a peeve with people who make up words out of a misunderstanding of the roots of other words. For example: “They destructed the building,” “The bride and groom processed down the aisle,” or – an especially creative one I heard just this morning – “Dry cleaning degradates the fabric.” “Destroy,” “proceed” and “degrade” are perfectly good words, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/37 "2000-10-09T17:55:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xizor \* > \*\*I can’t stand it when people refer to themselves in the third person. It makes the veins in my forehead pop out. \*\* owwwwwww! There was a resume sent to my company by a guy. The ENTIRE first page referred to himself in the third person “as a young man, Richard…” and “When **H** e entered high school”. I chose to not interview him. Oddly enough, several years later, when I was at the county jail doing “employability classes”, he was on the list to join. ---
**Author:** ![Chickenhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chickenhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenhead)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/38 "2000-10-09T17:56:08Z")
I’ll tell you what truly shits in my eyeballs: > [@](#): > > …trying to use the word “ya’ll!” The word “Y’all” is a contraction of the words _You_ and _All_. The apostrophe does not come in the middle of the word, although I would venture the guess that most of us who write it are too ignorant to know the difference. > [@](#): > > you-all (yôl) also y’all (yôl). > pron. Chiefly Southern U.S. > > ``` > You. Used in addressing two or more people or referring to two or more people, one of whom is addressed. > > Regional Note: The single most famous feature of southern United States dialects is the pronoun you-all, probably heard more often in its variant y'all. You and you-all preserve the singular/plural distinction that English used to have in thou/you. You-all functions with perfect grammatical regularity as a second person plural pronoun, taking its own possessive you-all's (or less frequently, your-all's, where both parts of the word are inflected for possession): You-all's voices sound alike. Southerners do not, as is sometimes believed, use you-all or y'all for both singular and plural you. A single person may only be addressed as you-all if the speaker implies in the reference other persons not present: Did you-all [you and others] have dinner yet? > > ``` > > Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/39 "2000-10-09T17:56:30Z")
Pet peeve: People who mistake regional differences in pronunciation for genuine stupidity. Thank heavens those people don’t live in the U.K., where the people on the next **street** might speak differently. First Runner-Up: People who don’t want to let language evolve in useful ways. Anyway, **Catrandom** , have you ever read anything by Steven Pinker? His last book,_Words and Rules_, in part addresses what you’re talking about from an interesting perspective; that is, the creation of new words by people who mistake an inflected word for a stem or root. Good book–Joe Bob says, “Check it out.” ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/40 "2000-10-09T18:03:48Z")
**ladybug** , when I read your post regarding “entitled,” I decided to double check your argument; it seemed a little weak to me. (I’m “guilty as charged” for using it the way you hate.) Sure enough, the **first** definition of “entitle” is _“to give the title of; call by name.”_ The example they use is “A book that explains words is entitled a dictionary.” The second definition is _to give a claim or right to_. As in, “The one who guesses the answer is entitled to ask the next question.” So, **ladybug** , better fly away home and check your dictionary next time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265.md?page=3)