# What mispronunciations/grammatical errors drive you absolutely batty? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148 "2005-08-15T21:32:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![missbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@missbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missbunny)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/81 "2005-08-16T15:10:13Z")
I don’t like when people say they aren’t “phased” by something that can be normally bothersome. I guess that means they are part of the anti-moon movement or something. **"Very unique"** or **“one of the most unique”** also bugs me. “He gave the book **to myself** ” makes me wince, as does using apostophe-S to construct a plural word. How can people not understand that last one? DUH. But the one I notice so often these days, which makes me want to take my business elsewhere, is **“Your call will be answered in the order it was received.”** That one really makes me cringe, and it seems to be everywhere all of a sudden. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/82 "2005-08-16T16:10:15Z")
“Impordunt” That dippy broad on PBS is always saying that. Drives me knuts! ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/83 "2005-08-16T17:10:06Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > No you weren’t confused I did list it as an error. I was brought up to pronounce it as orction just as I was taught to say ortomatic. I can’t tell from your location – do you have a British or otherwise non-rhotic (drops syllable-final Rs) accent? In that case I could see what you mean by “orction.” Otherwise – seriously, you were taught to put a pronounced R in there? ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/84 "2005-08-16T17:10:22Z")
> [@Elret](#): > > Other missing "ed"s I would like to find belong to whip cream, cream corn, and corn beef. Although, maybe they could borrow one from my friend who makes his hamburgers out of grounded beef. Some of your lost "ed"s have found their way to my county, where the farmers talk of fields being drownded out in huge storms. Darling Mr. Stuff (a former full-time farmer) has stopped using this little gem because he was afraid I would have a stroke. Although he did first point out that “drownded” is more like a superlative “drowned” – meaning really, super, extra drowned – than an incorrect pronunciation. Why isn’t there a “grinding teeth” smilie? ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/85 "2005-08-16T18:43:30Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > You need to stay far far away from Georgia then. It’s cities include Cairo (KAY-ro), Buena Vista (rhymes with Tuna Mister), Albany (all-Binny), Perry (Parry) and several others that aren’t pronounced as they probably are elsewhere. You lost me on Albany. It’s our state capital (NY) and we pronounce it “all-binny” too. What do you think it should be? “Al-binny”, with Al as in Al Franken? No sir. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/86 "2005-08-16T18:44:33Z")
People who go. As in a (paraphrased) dialog I overhead the other day: “And then Sally goes, ‘Blah, blah’ and Jenny goes ,‘Yadda, yadda’. And then I went, ‘Argle, Bargle’”. Myself, as in “John and myself went to the game.” That’s as bad as me, as in “Me and John went to the game.” ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/87 "2005-08-16T18:44:42Z")
> [@PaperBlob](#): > > One of the few things that really makes me cringe is the mispronunciation of **applicable**. It’s ap’-lik-a-bul, NOT uh-plik’-a-bul! My dictionary says both are acceptable. I have heard both used by so-called educated people, for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/88 "2005-08-16T18:47:13Z")
On auction. Is this “orction” supposed to replicate the way it’s pronounced in New York? I would say “awk-shun”. In our regional accent, ock and awk are not the same. You need to round the lips a bit to get the “w” part. ---
**Author:** ![madcossack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@madcossack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madcossack)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/89 "2005-08-16T19:07:33Z")
If I hear my daughter call it a “swifter” one more time, I will make her dust the entire house every day for a week. I heard it so often that I thought I might be wrong, so we both looked iin the pantry at the “Swiffer” box. Ha! (she rolled her eyes) And the next day the grocery list on the refrigerator let us know that we needed a new box of: Swifters I mean, come on! You just read the damn box yesterday, and obviously noted the fact that you were WRONG. I blame my wife. She seems to have passed along the math gene, but as they are my stepkids, I did not have the opportunity to convey my genetic predisposition for language and spelling. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/90 "2005-08-16T19:43:57Z")
“Myself” abuse makes me grind my teeth. Sad to say, I have heard it from English teachers. Makes you sad for the future, doesn’t it? “Hopefully,” as in “hopefully, it will not rain tomorrow.” No, it should be “I hope it will not rain tomorrow.” That one is so prevalent even I have been guilty of it when I have opened my mouth before my brain was firmly in gear. Another that hasn’t been mentioned is persuade/convince. I was taught that one could be persuaded by another but became convinced from one’s own mind. Is that an outmoded distinction now? Loose/lose, past/passed, effect/affect and discreet/discrete confusion also irritate me. slight hijack: how many times did **you** preview your post in an effort to thwart Gaudere’s Law? ( my answer: 5, and I bet I’ll spot one more in the ten seconds after I hit “submit reply.”) ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/91 "2005-08-16T20:06:23Z")
A strange one I’ve run across just a few times is “srimp” instead of “shrimp”. Possibly southern. ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/92 "2005-08-16T20:08:35Z")
> [@Sierra Indigo](#): > > IBut what really got on my tits was in a roleplaying chatroom I used to frequent. There was one particular person who always said they were feeling “Piss off” or “Depress”. Their justification for not using the words properly when told the words should be appended with an ‘ed’? “-ed means in the past, and I am piss off right now not yesterday” That reminds me of a friend who was not a native english speaker. She just couldn’t understand the difference between bored and boring so she’d frequently say “I’m so boring.” (meaning she was bored) It never stopped being funny. But getting back to the matter at hand I’ll have to second the redundancy thing. VIN, PIN, SSN do not need the word number after them. ATM, not ATM Machine. And one that drives me batty: “I think we played good.” in reference to a musical performance. No, we played _well_. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/93 "2005-08-16T20:28:32Z")
> [@Fromage A Trois](#): > > Something that winds me up is that Scottish people, like my girlfriend, say “the bed needs made” instead of “the bed needs making” or “the bed needs to be made”. Or “those clothes need ironed”. Arrrrrggghhhhh. Yes! Is this really of Scottish origin? I am starting to hear it everywhere, to the point of questioning my own sanity. The first few times I thought it an oddity. Lately it is becoming more and more common and I had to look up for myself to see if it was a correct usage that I somehow missed in English class. It is spreading. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/94 "2005-08-16T20:35:05Z")
> [@Imasquare](#): > > My grandma gets all worked up about _‘ignorant Australians’_ and _‘flamin Yanks’_ because they don’t speak English the same way she does. I hate this arrogant, narrow-minded attitude of hers but it seems I may have a touch of it myself. What cheerful praise does she reserve then for the Scots and Irish, and their dialects? ---
**Author:** ![Corii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Corii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corii)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/95 "2005-08-16T20:41:38Z")
> [@Elret](#): > > Although, maybe they could borrow one from my friend who makes his hamburgers out of grounded beef. Does it taste better if its been punished first? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/96 "2005-08-16T20:50:51Z")
My single biggest peeve: _ **Expresso** _ If they can’t even spell it right on the menu, am I supposed to think they’ll make it well? ---
**Author:** ![lorinada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b5e925/32.png) [@lorinada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorinada)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/97 "2005-08-16T21:10:35Z")
> [@tremorviolet](#): > > “Pitcher” for picture. _Everyone_ in Texas (especially the Aggies) does it and I think it sounds so uneducated. Drives me nuts… Hmm…you must live in that OTHER Texas, because I would venture to say not even half the population pronounces it that way. Realitor and joolery’s famous cousin - athalete. I know there are many others, that haven’t already been mentioned, that bother me. Perhaps my memory will be jogged when I watch the local news tonight. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/98 "2005-08-16T21:30:01Z")
> [@lorinada](#): > > Hmm…you must live in that OTHER Texas, because I would venture to say not even half the population pronounces it that way. Really? I hear it so often. But I do work in civil engineering and with a lot of Aggies. Maybe it’s a central Texas thing. (I’m not from Texas originally which is why I think it grates so much) I tease one friend (an Aggie) about it and it seems like he’s physically incapable of pronouncing it correctly. He really doesn’t even hear the difference. ---
**Author:** ![moonstarssun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@moonstarssun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moonstarssun)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/99 "2005-08-16T21:43:50Z")
One of my cow-orkers uses “in lieu of” when she means “regarding,” and it makes me want to scream. She has also gotten another cow-orker started doing it. Arg. After that, I think lack of subject/verb agreement is my biggest peeve. It seems to be everywhere now, too. One thing I noticed here in WI that’s a little weird is the pronounciation of “foliage.” They say “fole-age” instead. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148/100 "2005-08-16T21:56:21Z")
> [@moonstarssun](#): > > One of my **cow-orkers** uses “in lieu of”… One of my pet peeves, even though I know it is intentionally done. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mispronunciations-grammatical-errors-drive-you-absolutely-batty/317148.md?page=6)