# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Ivar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ivar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ivar)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/41 "2000-10-09T18:05:59Z")
Homer Simpson to the Admiral “Nuke-yoo-ler. It’s pronounced Nuke-yoo-ler.” ---
**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, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/42 "2000-10-09T18:14:12Z")
**ladybug** , when I read your post regarding **“entitled,”** I decided to double check your argument with a dictionary; it seemed a little weak to me. (Besides, 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. ---
**Author:** ![Sn-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sn-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sn-man)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/43 "2000-10-09T19:08:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don Jaime \* > \*\*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. \*\* Their ewe go disin mea bout my PP. U should have know better then messin round. Basically, I passed my english class and you have know idear how hard thqat was. I really had to insure I had time to study. I betcha did not think you post were going to have this affect. Just except it. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/44 "2000-10-09T19:25:42Z")
And let us not forget the travesty to our culture known as \*Whassup \* I could just punch the next idjit who uses it. Oh, and my personal annoyance: Whatever. As in, “What do you want on your pizza?” “Whatever” And then they bitch when they don’t like something on their pizza. Please, strike this word from your vocabulary. A moment of silence to hear me gnash my teeth is requested. Oh wait…while I’m gnashing: “Here is your two _cent_.” Two is plural. As in MORE THAN ONE, YOU MORON. It would be \*Two Cents \*. Thank you and have a nice day. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/45 "2000-10-09T19:39:12Z")
A lot of the complaints above are dialectal idioms. As in “you’re entitle” does not mean “you are entitled to…(whatever)” but “It’s your privilege.” It seems to me that one ought to give some leeway to that sort of thing. “Sure as pigs is pigs” loses a lot of flavor if you make the verb agree properly with its subject and complement. On the other foot: I absolutely despise it when somebody makes a response post to one of the religion threads, here or elsewhere, that shows he/she must have thought for about ten seconds before posting it. And it’s generally a supposed refutation of a well-thought-out position from someone who is sincerely espousing a position and trying to make clear a complex line of thought. (This could be a fundy, an atheist, a pagan, or any of seventeen flavors of Christian – but it’s clear that whoever it is, is trying to make something make sense to his/her readers, and doesn’t deserve a putdown for it.) And, as sure as the Lord made little green Martians, the response will contain “the _tenants_ of your faith.” Hey, a single doctrine that somebody holds is a **tenet**. It comes from the Latin _teneo,_ "to hold. As, of course, does tenant, “one who is holding someone else’s )(real) property in exchange for a rent.” I don’t rent out my faith to anybody. Neither does anybody else I know. And if my faith has tenants, I’m gonna give them an eviction notice and have them move into their own faiths! :::wanders off muttering:::: ---
**Author:** ![Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@Siddhartha\_Vicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siddhartha_Vicious)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/46 "2000-10-09T20:07:08Z")
Just curious, can you have more than one “pet” peeve? I agree with Robot Arm. I hate it when people use the term “literal” in a figurative sense, as in “That movie was so funny, I literally shit my pants.” ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/47 "2000-10-09T20:10:23Z")
“Impact” as a verb grates horribly on me. When I hear someone say he was “impacted” by an event, I picture a giant tooth lying sideways against him. “Affect” is such a nice word, too! However, I suppose I should give up gracefully and let the language evolve. Grrrrr. ---
**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, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/48 "2000-10-09T20:19:35Z")
Hold on, **poly**. Wander back here for a sec. You wrote: "A lot of the complaints above are dialectal idioms. As in “you’re entitle” does not mean “you are entitled to…(whatever)” but “It’s your privilege.” When you wrote this, were you responding to my post about **ladybug’s** complaint? If so, you’ve got the gist of my post all wrong. **ladybug** claimed that it was incorrect to use _entitle_ to describe the name of a book, movie, play, etc. (As in, “Joe Blow’s latest novel is _entitled_ The Story of my Cat.”) I said it was not incorrect, and the dictionary agreed; in fact, it listed that usage _first_. ---
**Author:** ![vix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a88e4f/32.png) [@vix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vix)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/49 "2000-10-09T20:21:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by redtail23 \* > Misspellings and misuses of punctuation on signs. This really cracks me up, too. For a while last winter, there was a handwritten sign on the door of my local post office which read _Please wipe your “feet”_ My “feet?” As opposed to what? My “shoes?” My other favorite is _You must be “21” to buy alcohol_ and the like. Is that a “strict” policy? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/50 "2000-10-09T20:42:28Z")
No, stuyguy. I meant to comment on dialectalisms, and picked up as an example one word I’d noted being used above. Naturally, I used an example that was not quoted, the argument over it being the one you outlined. That should teach me to pay closer attention, I guess. {insert ironic smiley here} ---
**Author:** ![Cogitoergosum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Cogitoergosum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cogitoergosum)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/51 "2000-10-09T20:59:36Z")
It pisses me off when people mix up nauseous and nauseated. I want to say, “Yes, you are naseous, but I think you ment nauseated.” Also when people try to sound correct by using “whom” when they mean “who.” As in, “I don’t know whom did it.” Most of the above as well, especially: \*Irregardless \*Hopefully (this one really pisses me off when my English teacher uses it.) \*Would/should/might/etc + of. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/52 "2000-10-09T21:18:21Z")
OK all you language gods and godesses… Help us poor mortals to improve ourselves by explaining to us the correct words/phrases/punctuation/cases etc. that correspond with your examples of our painfully incorrect usage of the English language. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/53 "2000-10-09T21:26:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stuyguy \* > **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. Not so fast, my friend. The AP Stylebook is quite adamant regarding the usage of “entitled” and “titled.” The entry for “entitled” reads: “Use it to mean a right to do or have something. Do not use it to mean titled.” Their example of the correct usage is the one ladybug used. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/54 "2000-10-09T21:29:47Z")
One word. **Guesstimate** “Get the shotgun maw.” ---
**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, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/55 "2000-10-09T21:50:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lucky \* > \*\*OK all you language gods and godesses… > > Help us poor mortals to improve ourselves by explaining to us the correct words/phrases/punctuation/cases etc. that correspond with your examples of our painfully incorrect usage of the English language. \*\* How about when people misuse the language and then get defensive about it? ---
**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, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/56 "2000-10-09T22:15:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stuyguy \* > \*\*So, ladybug, better fly away home and check your dictionary next time. \*\* Actually, I posted this definition from the AP stylebook, the one I used when I worked as a copy editor. I didn’t mean to start a fight. ☹ ---
**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, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/57 "2000-10-09T22:17:49Z")
Oops. Didn’t see the previous posts. Thanks, Sauron. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/58 "2000-10-09T22:33:55Z")
Here are mine: I keep hearing “was proved.” Shouldn’t it be “proven”? I keep hearing “an historic” (and other h-words). Huh?? My supervisor says “on-velope.” Countless businesses, including McDonald’s: something like: “Low Prices Everyday!” “There’s plenty…” “accidently” “alright” Rrrr!! ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/59 "2000-10-10T00:27:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by andyman \* > \*\* > Also, yankees trying to use the word “ya’ll!” Wasn’t there a thread about that not too long ago? > > \*\* Oh please, you suth’nas don’t have a monopoly on that word. Besides, I remember teachers who would say it wasn’t even a word. It’s a contraction, just because you guys are too lazy to say ‘you all’, doesn’t mean you get to control it’s useage. (i’m joking people, don’t get whipped up over what i’m saying :)) Anyway, my pet peeve: language prescriptivists. You know, people who tell other people how, when, and where to use a word. ---
**Author:** ![Medea\_s\_Child](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Medea\_s\_Child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Medea_s_Child)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2000, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265/60 "2000-10-10T00:49:08Z")
I am beginning to adore y’all. It helps me translate Latin. Yinz works just as well, but it is far more geo-specific. My pet peeve, not that I am entitled to any, is a\_lot. It’s two words. It should remain two words. They are even _little_ words, people. Nothing difficult. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-annoy-you-language-pet-peeves-get-em-while-there-hot/36265.md?page=4)