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

Pretty sure there was an 80s metal band called Jagwire or maybe Jagwah

“my brother in christ” is meant as sarcasm, and is honestly part of a meme culture that is a few years old at this point— haven’t seen it in a while, tho i now use it when i’m driving to avoid totally freaking out at bad drivers. “my brother in christ, you are tailgating the hell out of me” is a lot more calm and assured that “get the fuck off my bumper you fucking KIA piece of shit”

i like it

It doesn’t annoy me, but why did so many people say “Brother Wayne Kramer” on social media recently when Wayne Kramer of the MC5 died? Is it some connection with the John Sinclair/White Panther activism of the late 60s/early 70s?

Yes.

Going against the grain here - I have only ever used myriad as an adjective and didn't know it could be used as a noun.

That's not going against the grain btw.

Depends on who you ask, clearly. This must be regional and/or generational because while I think the proscription is obnoxious (as is any style guide usage recommendation that isn't about consistent spelling or punctuation) using myriad as an adjective in the pedagogy I grew up in is the incorrect usage. If you're trying to be erudite, it is always and only to be used as a noun.

But my interest in the matter is that taking ANY side on the issue at all is toxic to English writing on the whole - both usages are fine, neither are even slightly ambiguous, and all taking sides does is alienate a big swath of the population and make them reluctant to contribute their own writing to the world.

OTM

i use otm as a noun

myriad of otms

whats so great about consistency of spelling or punctuation

by the same token

whats so great about consistency of spelling or punctuation

hard agree, can we celebrate imperfection

/communication

whats so great about consistency of spelling or punctuation

pays my bills so who can say if its good or bad

what's grate about. it is; thatt, you can beter connect! with your frans `

whats so great about consistency of spelling or punctuation

just for the record, there are some practical benefits. it makes reading much less work because it allows familiarity and habit to do some of the heavy lifting of recognition. standardized spelling makes written words more like factory-produced interchangeable parts. before standardization reading was more of a struggle.

a less happy consequence is that it shifts more of the work to the front end, when you're learning to read and write and are expanding your vocabulary. compared to learning a language by hearing ans speaking, reading and writing are unnatural add-ons that our brains are less well adapted for. spelling words phonetically, but haphazardly, is a less rocky path when you don't know or care what the standardized spelling is, but you're making your reader work harder to figure out what they're looking at.

whats so great about consistency of spelling or punctuation

my favorite Elvis Costello demo

typically profiting off nick lowe

Nick lowercase

But my interest in the matter is that taking ANY side on the issue at all is toxic to English writing on the whole - both usages are fine, neither are even slightly ambiguous, and all taking sides does is alienate a big swath of the population and make them reluctant to contribute their own writing to the world.

this is so weird. why would you even open this thread in that case. like are we allowed to have harmless opinions on a thread about annoying usage without being called toxic and obnoxious

i haven't really had time to keep up with the thread but just wanted to be clear that i don't to come to this thread or anywhere for that matter with the sincere intention of telling ppl how to use english correctly, nor do i have any reverence for style guides. and looking back at my posts, if i failed to convey a playful tone, or later on got lost on a tangent about style that made sense in my head but that i only formulated here elliptically, then apologies for coming across like somebody who's interested in actually doling out proscriptions. i do appreciate your dogged descriptivism around the board, even if in this thread of all places it seems to me that it's probably okay to share grumpy thoughts once in a while without worrying that others will take them too seriously. my point, if i had one, was really just about people who evidently are invested in sounding erudite, and whether or not holding them to their own (often nonsensical) standards can work as a tactic for deflation. i wasn't trying to suggest that those standards are worth taking very seriously, or that people who don't adhere to them aren't worth reading/listening to

Bazekali peepl orta tork rite innit.
Uvvawize how dya no vey fink rite.

but it always raises an eyebrow when a writer chooses this word, presumably to sound highbrow

people who evidently are invested in sounding erudite,

Kind of a weird thing to project onto ppl using a fairly common word

“my brother in christ” does seem to be ubiquitous right now and I also hate it

you hate it in this, the year of our lord 2024

otoh I'm pretty sure I have been guilty of some variation of this at times:

One that's been annoying me lately is "technical term" followed by some colloquialism, ie "Her behaviour was certainly unusual, I believe the technical term is 'batshit crazy'".

― Zelda Zonk, Sunday, 3 March 2024 07:08 bookmarkflaglink

have we done verbs yet

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

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This thread-title and post count could be a dril tweet

I don’t think I have seen this one yet, but in various online meetings, during introductions people will say “popcorn” as a verb. And I am not sure where this usage came from but it is annoying because it makes me envision all the meeting attendees faces at the center of kernels of popcorn like some demented Love Boat credit sequence.

I doubt any of those people could do the popcorn if called upon, so they should shut up.

how do they use it as a verb?

yeah, I want to start using this in zoom meetings

always good to have some linguistic strategies for making people want to end zoom meetings

I'm tired of 'circling back' and 'pumping the brakes,' I need some new meaningless jargon

“pumping the brakes” is bad but the verb “brakecheck” to describe trying to lockup a tailgater still feels current.

how do they use it as a verb?

Gross

I've heard it used at in-person meetings as "I'm going to ask a question, and let's just popcorn some answers" meaning you want to hear from a bunch of people around the room really quickly.

Hi I am Jeff, they/them pronouns

Again I ask, why do people who use they/them pronouns not also use the royal we to refer to themselves?

i've never been sure why it takes two slashed pronouns

like with she/* or they/* is there something extra the denominator will impart?

I will popcorn it over to Kathy

Fuck me Ive never heard this usage and this is hilarious.

Corporate world (and I say it as someone in one) is a fucking joke.

yeah that's a new one on me... will get a thrill when it finally makes its way to my institution!

if ever i try to use this ironically please popcorn me in the nuts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_Popcorn

Do cinemas have popcorn machines that pop from kernels. Just wondering where the widespread image to tie to the word comes from. I thought microwave and oven pop it yourself varieties were within containers so you wouldn't see process.
I thought brainstorm was the given term.

Again I ask, why do people who use they/them pronouns not also use the royal we to refer to themselves?

because they/them in this context is not plural

If popcorn is a product that is encountered ready popped in a bag of butterkist or whatever brand or heated in a stand in a cinema where do you get the cognitive link? Thought you'd need one for the term to work. You used to get clear plastic topped machines where you saw the process, popcorn blizzards.
If I'm getting the usage right. You want a fresh idea from a random member of the group popping up like the popped corn you used to see when that was the process. But metaphor falls flat without the image surely?

We make popcorn at home in a pot on the stove. The pot has a glass lid, so we can see the kernels popping. It does often look as though the first kernel to go has caused a chain reaction, even though you know it hasn't.

Husband claims that in his giant tech corporation, they use popcorning to refer to the rate at which people are joining an online meeting. When the popping-in of new people slows to an acceptable level, they start the meeting. "Just waiting for the popcorning to stop before we start." But this makes no sense to me either, because why not just say "waiting for the corn to stop popping?"

disappointing that it doesnt mean that people just sit there bopping along while the hot butter tune plays