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

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I blame the consolidation of global political power and the diminution of class mobility on people who write in the passive voice.

I also have a horror of people who write prolifically in all caps.

― felicity (felicity), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:07 (twenty-two years ago)

"It must say something about ILX that this is the most repeated topic of all time..."

This is true.

But, this is a topic that should be dealt with routinely and harshly... the only way we can correct the language and suppress it's organic growth is by exposing and banning every new usage as it occurs... Isn't that what the French do?

― andy, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Least favorite (mis)usage ever - "ON accident..." it's BY accident you fucking moron!!

Also: 'fridge,' girls who refer to each other as 'girl,' proactive...i'll be back when i think of more....

― roger adultery, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I know, oops, but still it pisses me off.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

The recurrence of this topic is always accompanied by the recurrence of complaint about its recurrence.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 01:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Space. All this crap about needing space. Fuck off, then.

― Roderick the Visigoth. (Jake Proudlock), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 03:19 (twenty-two years ago)

All girls must now refer to one another as "guy"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 03:30 (twenty-two years ago)

ok?

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 03:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Using "Sexy" in a business environment that has nothing to do with sex. As in "this is a very sexy proposal for our company". Well, I guess, if ripping people off is what turns you on.

― BrianB (BrianB), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 05:26 (twenty-two years ago)

'exact same'.

― luna (luna.c), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

"bird" instead of "girl" or "woman". AAAAAARGH.

― Melly E (Melly E), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 21:10 (twenty-two years ago)

When people call each other 'babe' and the completely inappropriate use of the word 'literally'. Also can I add at this point, even if it may not be entirely relevant, the unjustifiable grammatical error in Rachael Stevens' song 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex' : "accuse me of things I never done." And I've listened hard for "I've never done" to try and give her the benefit of the doubt but she doesn't say it.

― barbara wintergreen, Monday, 29 December 2003 18:24 (twenty-two years ago)

"Begging the question" and "chomping at the bit." The first is almost always used incorrectly, and the second should be "champing," Goddamn it.

― Salmon Pink (Salmon Pink), Monday, 29 December 2003 20:18 (twenty-two years ago)

or "bits"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 29 December 2003 20:34 (twenty-two years ago)

'any way shape or form'. Most heard in full-media-glare denials of misdeeds. Used by dodgy sportsmen who have been 'coached' by their minders for the occasion. It immediately strips the first dozen layers of credibility from whatever statement is being made.

'poetic justice'. Used by the lazy to describe all 'justice' the speaker approves of, instead of a particular type. The adjective is rendered meaningless.

Agree re 'bird' for woman/girl, and lament its threatened return. Stinks of 'I'm being un-PC, where's my medal?'. Also the C-person uses it, which kinda ends the argument.

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Monday, 29 December 2003 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

optics

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

also photonic inplace of optic

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:10 (twenty-two years ago)

"the....(insert superlative)...in pop."

― barbara wintergreen, Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:19 (twenty-two years ago)

To return to the top of the thread, I still after 20 odd years gag on 'outreach' as a VERB....

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:46 (twenty-two years ago)

the mightily empty "i could care less" variant on being unable to do the same

― ermes marana, Tuesday, 30 December 2003 01:47 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

People who pronounce the word "presentation" as "PRE-sentation".

― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:29 (twenty years ago)

since i was reading some VICIOUS anti- rachael ray sentiment last night and i'm still feelin' the love: "E.V.O.O. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL"

― s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:32 (twenty years ago)

"YUM-O"

― s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:33 (twenty years ago)

cf.

― gear (gear), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:34 (twenty years ago)

Also: 'fridge,'

Wait, huh? Fridge is the thing you put food in, whats wrong with it?

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 18 August 2005 08:01 (twenty years ago)

Saying "it impacted on me" instead of "it had an impact on me"... well that's annoying enough but, just recently, I've heard people say "it impacted me" - which surely would only make sense if the speaker was a molar?

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 09:10 (twenty years ago)

'fridge,'

I'm picturing him saying things such as "Would you like me to remove another beverage from the refrigerator for you, whilst we watch some association football?"

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:29 (twenty years ago)

bougie, instead of bourgeois. heard it four times last week.

― naus (Robert T), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:38 (twenty years ago)

"Chav"

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:39 (twenty years ago)

bourgie?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:42 (twenty years ago)

"Yes, sir, I am bougie, I am bougie... etc."

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:44 (twenty years ago)

"what the...?"

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:46 (twenty years ago)

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bougie

― naus (Robert T), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:53 (twenty years ago)

"He's on fire"

As used to describe a footballer running into a streak of good form

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:57 (twenty years ago)

chav, prole, "get one...", but most of all commercials selling relatively expensive goods such as electrcal gubbins, fitted kitchens and the like where people say only "one-nine-nine-nine" instead of "nominally under two thousand quid". do you think not actually saying the proper number is fooling me?!!?!!

― stelf)xxx, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:01 (twenty years ago)

"Raft"

When used in phrases like "a raft of policies" or "a raft of new measures" - why?!?!??!!?

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:03 (twenty years ago)

which surely would only make sense if the speaker was a molar?

Or a colon.

COINKY-DINK, "guestimate," and any time someone ends an interrogative sentence with "at," as in "Where's my keys at?" or "Where's your head at?"

― pullapartgirl (pullapartgirl), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:22 (twenty years ago)

"let's unpack that (concept/policy/statement/generalisation)"

"hating on"

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:23 (twenty years ago)

Oh! Oh! This one REALLY annoyed me the other day:

"Action" used as a verb. (Especially with regards to some annoying little thing I had already been doing.) "Can you please action this?" Actually, no I can't. Action is a noun. If you would like me to DO it, then just ask. Argh.

Especially when coming from the same irritating marketing bods who last week asked me to "manage the relationship" with one of our suppliers. Fuck. Right. Off.

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:25 (twenty years ago)

oh i used to have a PA in the cubicle next to me for a while that said 'diarise' as in 'sure, john is free on tuesday morning, i'll diarise it'. aaaaarrrrggghh

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:26 (twenty years ago)

"Boss"

A term of address directed at Turkish shopkeepers by 13 year old boys and directed by Turkish shopkeepers at everyone else. The most annoying ever.

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:27 (twenty years ago)

I'm not your fucking boss!!!!!!!!!!

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:28 (twenty years ago)

"Madam" when used by shop assistants. This kept happening to me yesterday.

DON'T MADAM ME, YOU LITTLE...!!! OK, according to Watching The English, this means that they have socio-status assessed me as middle class or higher. But it irritates me because it makes me feel old.

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

i like most of these. i just like variety. i do hate 'action', 'impact on, etc, though.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

dude, i call people 'boss'.

― g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:35 (twenty years ago)

I don't want you to think that I obsess over it, but "obsessing over something" as opposed to "being obsessed with/about something"

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:38 (twenty years ago)

People saying 'momentarily' when what they mean is 'in a moment'.

'Whilst'

― estela (estela), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:38 (twenty years ago)

oh yeah i fkn hate 'whilst' and 'amongst'.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:39 (twenty years ago)

i like whilst too! it's kinda romantic, like 'betwixt'.

― g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:45 (twenty years ago)

'betwexit' is ok, a girl i liked used it instead of between all the time. but whilst can fuck off.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:46 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 12482 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Can I still call myself the shabbos goy when doing dishes for my jewish mother-in-law?

― Cow_Art, Thursday, 18 June 2026 16:02 (one week ago)

"The Language Has Stabilized" is not a headline.

Journalism rule 272: The story needs to change.

"Situation Normal, Check Back Tomorrow" is also not a headline.

― Scott Baiowulf (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 18 June 2026 16:20 (one week ago)

McWhorter (and Pinker) are examples of dudes who have written excellent books about linguistics and then... lost the plot in astonishing ways

― fluffy tufts university (f. hazel), Thursday, 18 June 2026 16:40 (one week ago)

Whereas Chomsky has held it together

― Scott Baiowulf (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 18 June 2026 17:18 (one week ago)

a few months ago a friend of mine was talking about his least favorite Black public intellectuals— he is Black himself fwiw— and I asked about McWhorter, and he said “that Tom hasn’t ever been an intellectual” and we both cackled. (my friend is right)

― a tv star not a dirty computer man (the table is the table), Thursday, 18 June 2026 18:04 (one week ago)

McWhorter was a genuinely interesting, insightful & accessible linguistics writer, unlike Pinker who was always an egoist and a crank to some extent, and it's galling to see what a prick he is now.

― Here is the mentioned donkey, (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 18 June 2026 18:12 (one week ago)

Pinker was a popular teacher at a prestige university who started out with a few novel, minimally interesting ideas that excited his students to learn about linguistics which he then determinedly self-promoted into a reputation as a big thinker.

― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Thursday, 18 June 2026 18:45 (one week ago)

one of my tutors at university was in the same class as pinker and told me that he was like this even as an undergraduate

― Here is the mentioned donkey, (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 18 June 2026 18:49 (one week ago)

actually this was 2008 so I think she was the first person to tell me he was like this. she also advised against reading his books and said that Jackendoff was much better and covered the same ground

― Here is the mentioned donkey, (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Thursday, 18 June 2026 18:51 (one week ago)

i am so smart i only like unpopular intellectuals— i call them Oxy-Morons

― just what is it that you think the "ilxor algorithm" directs? (Hunt3r), Thursday, 18 June 2026 23:13 (one week ago)

Jackenidoff

― shaking babies (map), Thursday, 18 June 2026 23:50 (one week ago)

"addicting" in place of "addictive"

― massaman gai (front tea for two), Friday, 19 June 2026 03:15 (one week ago)

oh yes

― Wichita Referee's Assistant (darraghmac), Friday, 19 June 2026 06:22 (one week ago)

The New Yorker
‪@newyorker_com‬
J. D. Vance’s second memoir, “Communion,” tells the story of his decision to become Catholic, but it’s strangely distasteful of the faith he has joined.

happily since changed to 'disdainful'

― mookieproof, Saturday, 20 June 2026 02:25 (six days ago)

This is a good video

this guy is fine but i find it annoying that he mentions his phd in every video

― Cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria de Episcopio, Saturday, 20 June 2026 02:51 (six days ago)

It's a perennial, but adult baby-talk trying to sound cool and hip with the kids: "smol", "chonky" etc. Involuntarily clenches my teeth and fists.

― assert (matttkkkk), Sunday, 21 June 2026 22:41 (five days ago)

And "hungy" for "hungry"

― Hideous Lump, Sunday, 21 June 2026 22:53 (five days ago)

https://media.tenor.com/mtOiOQnbLkkAAAAC/the-simpsons-homer.gif

― The Yellow Kid, Monday, 22 June 2026 00:30 (four days ago)

ugh I actually have some laundry capsules from a brand called smol

― kinder, Monday, 22 June 2026 18:51 (four days ago)

sounds like a danish lager

― Andy the Grasshopper, Monday, 22 June 2026 18:55 (four days ago)

"Weaponize." I'm watching some guy on TV talk about Hairspray, and how its relative wholesomeness was a contrast to John Waters' earlier films, where he was "weaponizing his prurience and dirtiness." I get what he's trying to say, but just because everybody else uses this stupid word, you don't need to jam it into your own relatively straightforward argument.

I hope I haven't weaponized my distaste for this word that annoys me.

― clemenza, Monday, 22 June 2026 21:33 (four days ago)

The US Navy tried to weaponize dolphins, but they failed. The NRA claims that nearly every object or substance in your household could conceivably be weaponized, so it makes no sense to ban guns, although guns never do need to be weaponized, as they are already weapons full time. In contrast, sticks and stones are notoriously easy to weaponize, but spend almost all their lives in perpetual weapon-latency. The more I think about the potential of all manner of non-weaponry to become weaponized, the less I want to think about the whole concept.

― more difficult than I look (Aimless), Monday, 22 June 2026 23:19 (four days ago)

I've been trying to weaponize my tennis racket, with mixed results thus far.

― clemenza, Monday, 22 June 2026 23:36 (four days ago)

I prefer to Martinize things

― Scott Baiowulf (Ye Mad Puffin), Monday, 22 June 2026 23:46 (four days ago)

Are you taking more than an hour? Bc martinizing only takes one hour if memory serves!

― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Tuesday, 23 June 2026 02:21 (three days ago)

I'm being a cranky old man about the current use of the word "plug" to refer to a drug dealer. I mean, it makes sense: connection, hook-up, plug. I get it. To me though, it just feels like the dumbest and ugliest of those words.

― peace, man, Wednesday, 24 June 2026 12:13 (two days ago)

De La Soul definition of plug is more fun

― fluffy tufts university (f. hazel), Wednesday, 24 June 2026 15:27 (two days ago)

They were known to deal dialect drugs tbf

― Cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria de Episcopio, Wednesday, 24 June 2026 16:46 (two days ago)

Foodways: decolonize your kitchen by learning about indigenous foodways

I have already complained about the redundancy of “pathways”
I have accepted “colorways”

― sarahell, Wednesday, 24 June 2026 18:40 (two days ago)

that isn't the most annoying part of that sentence to me

― rob, Wednesday, 24 June 2026 18:44 (two days ago)

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