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

and any variations of same.

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

why? why not American Security, U.S. Security, of just plain Security.

What are the cultural ramifications of this antiquated, underused, in the contxt of this country, phrase being given new life.

Homelands are where people come from, they are not the new, shiny America. But homelands are often under siege, is this why it must be Homeland Security, so we will realize the great importance of the endeavor. If it way US Security, would we not feel so comforted, protected.

That's exactly what the Homeland Security dept. is.

in other news...

http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/images/300-HSAS-Chart.jpg

That's why Ebonics proponents wanted the state to provide more funding to teach these students English just like it funds ESL programs for kids who speak only Spanish.

there should definitely be a hyphen in between, otherwise it looks like "unabomber." (heh heh.)

I mean, this is just a pet peeve of mine -- the fact that the whole thing was interpreted as some attempt to not teach kids standard English, to be "tolerant" and just say they speak a different language and that's fine. Whereas the actual root of the program was to acknowledge that they did need to be taught standard English, just as much as someone who doesn't speak any kind of English at all.

I hate that, too. I usually tend to say "colloquial" instead, if it fits.

If you're a geek among geeks, you can get away with 'canonical' - generally meaning 'definitive' - in that context.

I have never heard the word 'appie' in my life. Are we sure that the original poster is English?

1. Seeing "could of" or "should of" or "would of"

Bizarrely, this brings on the rage in me like nothing else on this thread. I shouldn't be mad, because 99% of the time, it's like Draw/Drawer, it's just someone who's never seen the word/phrase in print.

Based on this thread, we are all guilty of follies and should be slain.

Yes.

When someone says "Unamerican" it sounds like they mean corrupt, debased, without values.

Socialist, with compassion for their fellow humans, lacking true faith in the free market, internationalist....

Though you're right, unaustralian is just fucking funny.

In general, Americanisms perpetrated by British people are always annoying - I've heard people say "on the weekend" instead of "at the weekend" for instance.

"Negative... It did not go in. Just affected on the surface." ?

nah....

Haha that's horrible! Maybe you should reply with something like "Sure, I'll letter you when I've computered the data so we can recruitment the people needed"?

(Scary thought: within too long that may not seem as ridiculous as it does now)

nah....

Nah (times google)

The main problem with business writing isn't neologism - it's a kind of stiff, flowless formality. People come into business, think "hmm this is serious writing, when was the last time I did serious writing, oh yes..." and so everything is written in the passive-voice style of a GCSE science project.

Meanwhile back vaguely on topic, comics PR continually uses the phrase "bring their A game", eg. Todd Retch promises to bring his A game to his run on LADY JUGS. I assume it's born out of a deep-seated worry comics creators have about being bad at sports (this is also why Chris Claremont wrote 10,000 boring softball scenes in the X-Men).

how about 'twirl'? does that bother anyone? surely it's an amalgm of twist and swirl?

"... EVER SINCE 9/11."

whew. i'm relieved that that one in particular isn't common usage.

Someone from work once got into a snit with a woman from Iran at a dinner party, because apparently my colleague likes to pronounce it "eye-ran" as opposed to "ear-ahn" and she objected to having the difference pointed out to her. That has got to be one of the smallest-minded things I've ever heard. Made me want to say: You do realize that she's FROM THERE, right?

Obviously if there is anyone with an actual physical addiction to chocolate i have nothing but sympathy for them

What's ignorant about it? We're speaking English not Arabic here or else every time I said Paris, for instance, i'd be pronouncing it Par-ee.