# Words that you can't bear to hear used in certain contexts? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 10, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cant-bear-to-hear-used-in-certain-contexts/330486 "2005-11-10T23:01:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cant-bear-to-hear-used-in-certain-contexts/330486/81 "2005-11-16T16:23:58Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Why the rolleyes? There’s nothing wrong grammatically with that sentence. “Me” can be an indirect object of a transitive verb. It’s the survival of the Old English dative case. It doesn’t have a distinct form any more so it’s harder to recognize as the dative case. It’s the same as in “Send me a letter.” The meaning of the dative pronoun is “to me” or “for me.” It’s awkward, unnecessary and sounds ignorant. I’d ask Strunk & White to confirm, but neither seem to be taking calls. > [@](#): > > Both wrong. The /s/ sound in French _grâce_ is unvoiced. Like in “grass” (the same /s/ sound as in grass, but the vowel is different.) Grahs. Do you really see a substantive difference between my “graz” and your “grahs”? Haven’t you heard of Mardi Graz? 😉 > [@](#): > > It’s a normal English word used in international relations, no cause for calling down the infernal realm. It means to make normal diplomatic relations, you know, the ambassadors are at the embassies, you stamp each other’s visas, etc. Christ, the lingo of the diplomatic world is replete with meaningless mumbo-jumbo, said Strunk & White. “Normalize” is among the worst. When the media uses the term in their calls for improved relations between, say, China and the U.S., they aren’t calling for diplomatic minuet. Instead, they are calling for substantive improvement in bilateral relations, which begs the point: What the hell is a “normal” relationship between two countries? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cant-bear-to-hear-used-in-certain-contexts/330486/82 "2005-11-16T17:10:01Z")
> [@sniperfang](#): > > In fact, it seems to me like the average Office functions like some deserted atoll in the Pacific or a Desert in the middle of nowhere - perfectly good nouns are taken there by people who should know better and detonated into oblivion, leaving people to deal with the devastating idiomatic and syntactic fallout. The resultant fallout causes perfectly good nouns to undergo an unholy mutation, and become things that have no place in nature. ::: applause :::: ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2005, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cant-bear-to-hear-used-in-certain-contexts/330486/83 "2005-11-16T19:09:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Do you really see a substantive difference between my “graz” and your “grahs”? Haven’t you heard of Mardi Graz? There’s a difference between gras and grace. “Gras” is pronounced “grah,” with a silent “s”. “Grace” is pronounced, as someone else mentioned, “grahs.” I do see a difference between “graz” and “grahs.” “Graz” has a harder sound, at least to me. ---
**Author:** ![sniperfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@sniperfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sniperfang)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2005, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cant-bear-to-hear-used-in-certain-contexts/330486/84 "2005-11-17T11:36:57Z")
Turnover. When its used to describe monetary revenue within a particular timeframe, great. But when in Og’s name did this become a term to describe the number of people that quit and got replaced? :mad: “ShittyJargon Inc. had a turnover of 500 last year.” WTF? Does this mean that their annual revenue was $500, or that they lost and replaced 500 bods? Ok, so you’ve got to be pretty stupid to to discern the relevance of the term, from the context its being used in, but the last I checked, there was no dearth of words in the english language you jargon-hopped swine! Use another damn term for it. ---
**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:** [November 19, 2005, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cant-bear-to-hear-used-in-certain-contexts/330486/85 "2005-11-19T03:14:55Z")
> [@chaoticbear](#): > > There’s a difference between gras and grace. “Gras” is pronounced “grah,” with a silent “s”. “Grace” is pronounced, as someone else mentioned, “grahs.” > > I do see a difference between “graz” and “grahs.” “Graz” has a harder sound, at least to me. The final sound of the French word “grâce” is simply /s/ – exactly like the English letter “s”, not “z.” The French word “phase,” for example, has /z/ as its last sound, like the English “z.” As you state, the word “gras” has no final consonant; it’s just pronounced /gra/. That’s all there is to it. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cant-bear-to-hear-used-in-certain-contexts/330486/86 "2005-11-19T03:18:54Z")
Skill Set. I hear this phrase all the time lately. Drives me nuts. “Jane has a whole new skill set to share with the group.” “Bob had training over the summer and brings a new skill set to the table.” “We all have differing backgrounds and therefore have differing skill sets.” ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cant-bear-to-hear-used-in-certain-contexts/330486/87 "2005-11-19T03:25:12Z")
> [@Dolores Reborn](#): > > Temperature. > > “Doctor, my son is running a temperature.” > > Well, duh! He’d better be! What you mean is _fever_. Along the same lines: “I have a heart condition.” :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-that-you-cant-bear-to-hear-used-in-certain-contexts/330486.md?page=4)