# Words and phrases that grate on me (not quite a pitting) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 6, 2008, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492 "2008-01-06T13:40:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/21 "2008-01-06T20:39:29Z")
No, I’m not keen on y’all or all y’all. But like I said, \*you \* can be singular or plural. I’m wondering if students learn that in English class these days. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/22 "2008-01-06T20:54:30Z")
Mine, and I actually see it here more than anyplace else, is the use of “wiki” as a verb, as in: “I wiki’d it” to say that you went and found the article on Wikipedia. Hello, Wikipedia is not the only wiki out there. It may happen to be use of wiki software that is most commonly known, but there are many other wikis out there - it’s a name for a type of collaborative software. Even the type of wiki software used for Wikipedia is not the only type used. Every time I see it I just want to take the poster to the pit. I’ve held off so far, because I do understand that languages change, but I’m having a hard time with it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/23 "2008-01-06T20:59:26Z")
A phrase that irks me, and one I’ve yet to see addressed anywhere, is “try and”. I am going to try and finish this puzzle. To me, that says that the person is going to try to finish and is going to finish the puzzle. It makes more sense to say “I am going to try to finish the puzzle.” Anybody know if I’m completely off base with that? ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/24 "2008-01-06T22:19:18Z")
I just posted this in the little rants thread in the pit. Our local news crew doesn’t know the difference between “bring” and “take.” The most recent story was about a child who had collected toys for the local Children’s Hospital. The newscaster, while sitting at the desk in their studio, said, “(The child) brought the bag of toys to the hospital.” Ms Newscaster _was not at the hospital!_, therefore, the child _took_ the toys. The same news team also uses, “On the loose” exclusively, to indicate an unapprehended criminal. Are we in Tombstone? No, Seattle. I wish they read The Straight Dope. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Real\_Thing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@The\_Real\_Thing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Real_Thing)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/25 "2008-01-07T02:20:14Z")
**FloatyGimpy** , I also hate “try and”. I’m pretty sure others here have expressed disgust at this one, but another one I can’t stand is “10 items or less”. Less is for things you can’t count! If I wasn’t already used to the layout of the Superstore in my town, I’d switch to Sobey’s solely because they use “fewer”. ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/26 "2008-01-07T02:35:28Z")
“Try and” ticks me off. Waiting “on line” as in “I was waiting on line at the store.” On _what_ line? Oh you mean you were _in_ a line [of people]? “Boughten” instead of “bought”. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/27 "2008-01-07T02:49:40Z")
[QUOTE=Ms. Pumpkin] “Boughten” instead of “bought”. [/QUOTE] Boughten is a surprisingly old construction. I remember reading it in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s _Farmer Boy_, which was written in the late 1700s. As a Briton, I have to say that the use of “bought” as an adjective, as you suggest, would have been just as grating. Personally, I can’t stand a lot of things sports announcers say, but chief among them is “winningest”. I can’t imagine _what_ journalist could have come up with this one and not immediately scribbled over it. Also, when they say that a team that, having just scored, has “pulled within 3” when they are losing by three. “Within” is _not effing inclusive._ That’s all. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/28 "2008-01-07T03:13:36Z")
A bank teller told me my balance “after I minus this withdrawal”. Minus is a verb? Since when? ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/29 "2008-01-07T03:41:06Z")
[QUOTE=Really Not All That Bright] Boughten is a surprisingly old construction. I remember reading it in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s _Farmer Boy_, which was written in the late 1700s. As a Briton, I have to say that the use of “bought” as an adjective, as you suggest, would have been just as grating. Personally, I can’t stand a lot of things sports announcers say, but chief among them is “winningest”. I can’t imagine _what_ journalist could have come up with this one and not immediately scribbled over it. Also, when they say that a team that, having just scored, has “pulled within 3” when they are losing by three. “Within” is _not effing inclusive._ That’s all. [/QUOTE] _Farmer Boy_ was published in 1933. Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in 1867, and died in 1957. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/30 "2008-01-07T04:08:36Z")
[QUOTE=fisha] _Farmer Boy_ was published in 1933. Laura Ingalls Wilder was born in 1867, and died in 1957. [/QUOTE] _ahem_ Late 19th century… that’s what I _said_😃 ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/31 "2008-01-07T04:16:41Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] “Guys” is rapidly hurtling toward a gender-neutral meaning. I’ve seen people call a group consisting solely of women “you guys”. The same does not apply to the singular “guy”, which retains an exclusively male definition. [/QUOTE] Yeah, like in some languages the male pronoun is used in mixed groups even if it’s mostly women. In French, for example, “Ils” is used for a mixed group even if it’s many women and one man. “Elles” is used if it’s a women-only group. What irritates me is confusing “imply” and “infer”, the problem usually coming when people use “infer” when they mean “imply.” Just so we’re clear: if I ask you if you’re sure you didn’t drink the last soda, I’m implying you did; if you hear what I say and decide that I’m implying that you did, you’re inferring my implication. Learn it. Live it. Love it. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/32 "2008-01-07T04:21:47Z")
[QUOTE=Shodan] A woman was interviewed on TV about the people who broke into her house and shot her. She kept referring to the one who shot her as “the gentleman with the gun”. I’m not Miss Manners, but it seems that some things put one outside the boundaries, including [ul][li]Not RSVP-ing to a wedding[_]not sending a thank you note when one receives a a gift, and [_]gunplay.[/ul]Especially without a formal introduction.[/li] Regards, Shodan [/QUOTE] Omigawd, yes. This has irritated me for yonks and yonks. Even the cops do it. A man in BC was recently convicted of murdering 6 women and is probably going to be tried for another 20 murders and is believed to have murdered or participated in the murders of a total of 63 women. And the bloody cops referred to him as “this gentleman”. I also loathe, despise and abominate the use of “male” when they mean “man”. I don’t know why that is, but to hear some cop pontificating about chasing some thug and referring to the thug in this fashion: “the alleged suspect (don’t get me started on _alleged suspect_), a white male . . .” They don’t say “young man”, either, when it is, in fact, a young man. No, they say, “youth” or “underage male”. Words fail me. Well, actually, they seldom do. “Bring” and “take” drive me bats. Right around the bend. But worst of all? Those who flaunt their ignorance of English by using “flout” instead of “flaunt” or vice versa. I really don’t like it when people flout the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/33 "2008-01-07T04:28:26Z")
[QUOTE=vison] Omigawd, yes. This has irritated me for yonks and yonks. Even the cops do it. A man in BC was recently convicted of murdering 6 women and is probably going to be tried for another 20 murders and is believed to have murdered or participated in the murders of a total of 63 women. And the bloody cops referred to him as “this gentleman”. [/QUOTE] Hang on. Referring to a suspect in any way but respectful could be construed as interfering with a suspect’s right to a fair trial by trying to inflame public sentiment against him. That’s just not professional police work, and it isn’t fair. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/34 "2008-01-07T04:57:23Z")
Every two or three minutes, on every college sports broadcast, I hear a reference to a “mid-major” conference. It bugs the hell out of me. I went 45 years without ever hearing anything described as mid-major, and now I can’t go 45 minutes. Nothing is ever high-major or low-major or (God forbid) minor, it’s just wall-to-wall mid-major. Maybe professional baseball will replace the minor leagues with the mid-major leagues. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/35 "2008-01-07T05:40:55Z")
[QUOTE=Freddy the Pig] Every two or three minutes, on every college sports broadcast, I hear a reference to a “mid-major” conference. It bugs the hell out of me. I went 45 years without ever hearing anything described as mid-major, and now I can’t go 45 minutes. Nothing is ever high-major or low-major or (God forbid) minor, it’s just wall-to-wall mid-major. Maybe professional baseball will replace the minor leagues with the mid-major leagues. [/QUOTE] The SWAC and Colonial Athletic Association are generally referred to as minor conferences, if I remember rightly (among others). ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/36 "2008-01-07T05:51:41Z")
Here’s mine: “on accident” as in “I dropped the plate on accident” eergh, you do something on purpose or by accident. “I borrowed him $10” No you LENT him $10 $.69¢ $0.69¢ .69¢ Often times I’ll correct people on these things telling them it sounds (or looks when they are using a price gun) dumb and uneducated. Of course if they are dumb an uneducated, I’ll let the verbal stuff fly but when they mark stuff like that in my store they get to redo it. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/37 "2008-01-07T05:55:01Z")
[QUOTE=Malienation] Hang on. Referring to a suspect in any way but respectful could be construed as interfering with a suspect’s right to a fair trial by trying to inflame public sentiment against him. That’s just not professional police work, and it isn’t fair. [/QUOTE] And what is disrespectful about calling a man “a man”? This truly baffles me. It’s not like saying “the thug” or “the malefactor” or “the nasty piece of work”. Using the term “this gentleman” for the man convicted of murdering 6 women renders the word “gentleman” meaningless and even absurd. It might have arrived at that stage of its career in your neck of the woods, but not in mine. ---
**Author:** ![Dottygumdrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Dottygumdrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dottygumdrop)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/38 "2008-01-07T07:51:52Z")
I’m only going to say this once and no correspondence will be entered into. It’s not different **than** anything, and you don’t compare the red one **to** the blue one. Similar **to** Different **from** Compared **with** Thank you. I have been wanting to get that off my chest for some time. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/39 "2008-01-07T08:42:01Z")
Hyper and hypo are _antonyms_. To be ‘ **hypo** active’, your child would need to stop the screaming and kicking, lie down on the floor, and just calm the hell down. Comatose calm. **Hyper** allergenic baby wipes would \*not \*be a good thing. They would not help with diaper rash. Really. Thank you, I feel better now. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2008, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492/40 "2008-01-07T08:48:57Z")
Supposably ought to be a real word, meaning _able to be supposed_ - that is, describing a situation where something can logically be (but perhaps has not yet been) assumed or guessed. Of course nobody is trying to use it that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-and-phrases-that-grate-on-me-not-quite-a-pitting/432492.md?page=3)