Words, usages, and phrases that annoy the shit out of you...

1. Seeing "could of" or "should of" or "would of"
2. "The hell with..." - this can't be right. It must be "to hell with...", but I've seen the former version in print so many times I'm starting to wonder. But even if "the hell with..." is somehow correct, I still despise it with all my soul.

here here! (sic)

Geoffrey Nunberg in The Atlantic:

Unbiased and impartial will not do the work that disinterested used to be reserved for. But there is no point making a fuss about this change, because it was forgone that disinterested would lose its older sense once interested lost the sense of "having a stake in," which we retain only in the fixed phrase interested party. Even if disinterested had survived intact, therefore, it would eventually have become one of those curious asymmetric negatives like untoward and disgrace, whose senses are not recoverable as the sum of their parts. Invoking the second criterion, we should be prepared to admit that the fight on behalf of disinterested is a "lost cause," as Trilling described it. This may be an occasion for regret, but indignation would be out of place. Isaac Asimov writes, "I'm very proud of knowing the distinction, and insist on it, correcting others freely." The fact that being familiar with a distinction can be a cause for self-congratulation is, however, reason to eliminate it from the canons of standard usage, which should not be repositories of grammatical arcane.

Also, "That being said," and all variations of it. IF YOU WEREN'T RIGHT OR DIDN'T MEAN THE FIRST BIT WHY DID YOU EVEN SAY IT YOU ASSHOLE?

I should get a job

Language witched up by human resource departments (ew) however, deserves its own special place in the fiery hereafter. I recently got an email at work that proudly held forth on our NEW AND IMPROVED orientation program for new employees...except, instead of boring old "orientation", they're launching the new term "on-boarding". As in, getting someone ON BOARD. If you sat within 20 feet of me you'd have heard teeth grinding, I tells ya.

i take "that being said" to be an introduction to a follow-up statement, or a proviso. i appreciate the inverted-pyramid-style organization of thought here: lay down the most relevant information first, then start to put your own spin on things.

i'm sort of curious about the very english thing of diminutizing (infantilizing?) common nouns. "butty" and "sarnie" and "appie" and "footie" (although "footie" usually refers to aussie rules football, right?) and (to name a few where the diminutizations don't come with any shift in literal meaning) watching "telly," paying the "lecky" bill, getting a new "brolly" as a "pressie," etc.

i know i'm posting this on an "annoys the shit out of you" thread, but i have no problem with any of it!

-- caitlin oh no (caitx...), August 19th, 2005.

Well, actually, there's some truth to that. But it wasn't college kids repeating this meme, it was journalists. It was like "NOW THAT SOMETHING BAD HAS HAPPENED, CAN WE EVER NOT TAKE EVERYTHING TO BE SOMBER AND SERIOUS AGAIN???" Of course we can you sanctimonious fucks!

By the way...re words what annoy...the shit...out of...

------->"meme"

matos, once again i say YOU'RE A DOLL.

(i like "meme" too.)

i don't think american english does it so relentlessly though.

This is what I'm wondering. Trend? Fad? Archetype? Cultural development? Idea?

I do concede that maybe, just maybe, this is a case of a new word engendering new thoughts. A meme meme. If you will. As it were.

and any variations of same.

"Values Voter" (as if people vote on anything else)