Pet word hates

michael

Bring out the vacuum
I just got off the phone from sorting out a bill. The woman on the phone said she cancelled the incorrect portion, "but you still need to physically pay" however many dollars.

A computer trainer I know says stuff like "to get this to work you have to physically select the icon you want".

Aargh. Hate it. I guess it'll become like "manual" over time, ie. just an acceptable antonym to "automatic" rather than implying physical activity / manual labour, but to me it just sounds so wrong.

Anyone else got pet word hates they need to rant about?
 

michael

Bring out the vacuum
Oh yeah, just in case this takes too serious a turn, I'm very pro-language change generally, but I think it's human to be upset by certain shifts as they happen. I just needed to vent and would be keen to hear what bugs other people in this regard.
 

Helen

Tumbling Dice
The word dude. The Melbournian predilection for replacing the last syllable with a z. Tomoz. Whatevz. The spread of commercially motivated catch phrases - I 'heart', etc. Anything that is derived from sex in the city. I would be glad in my heart to see any or all of these tendencies quashed from lingual evolution.
Currently working on a project to re-introduce 'seed' words of Old English via art vending machines around Britain...kind of a parallel to the re-introduction of wild animals...
 

michael

Bring out the vacuum
Helen said:
The Melbournian predilection for replacing the last syllable with a z. Tomoz. Whatevz.

I know Kiwis who do that. I don't think it's as localised as you might suspect...
 

Helen

Tumbling Dice
Oh no, the spread of tomoz...
A girl I know who is originally from NZ works for the Oxford Press, she is working on getting 'munted' added to the Oxford Dictionary, which would be good.
 
O

Omaar

Guest
mikozzz said:
I just got off the phone from sorting out a bill. The woman on the phone said she cancelled the incorrect portion, "but you still need to physically pay" however many dollars.

A computer trainer I know says stuff like "to get this to work you have to physically select the icon you want".

Literally, as in '... you have to literally select the icon you want"

from dictionary.com .... from a natural tendency to use the word as a general intensive, as in They had literally no help from the government on the project, where no contrast with the figurative sense of the words is intended.

Helen- re: munted - wuld it be be munted or muntered?
i see people use both on the internet < / pedantry>

Also I can't really decide whether I love or hate that tag trend. Actually I just wanted to try it out. I don't think it's for me really. Maybe my timing was off.
 
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michael

Bring out the vacuum
Omaaaaz!

I reckon "literally" will go the way of "actually" or "really", where we don't notice / cringe at it getting used the way you describe.

The thing I find funny about "literally" used as an intensifier is it then gets used directly before a figurative phrase. eg. I was so mad I literally bit his head off.

Teehee.


Oh well.
 

nomos

Administrator
I used to despise the expression "I'm feelin' such-and-such." Then I heard a hyper-hetero famous rapper say that he was "really feelin'" another hyper-hetero famous rapper and I then I decided I liked the idea of all these guys going around feelin' each other.

Agreed on "literally," as well. Especially when news reporters misuse it. Same goes for "terror(ism/ist)."
Peter, Fallujah is literally a beehive of terrorist activity.

I have a personal distaste for the use of "obligated" in place of "obliged."

Also, most things that end with "-izzle."
 

Helen

Tumbling Dice
autonomicforthepeople said:
I have a personal distaste for the use of "obligated" in place of "obliged."
I find the same with botanic and botanical.
<i>Literally</i> is like a funny sort of harness, when words and phrases start shifting semantically I see <i>literally</i> as an attempt to dry it out and keep a meaning close and simple.
 
O

Omaar

Guest
oh, and using orientated where oriented would do just nicely.

was the -izzle thing originated by snoop?

this site is handy for words I'm not cool enough to understand:

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

re:-izzle, peepz say the following things:

"Language invented by Snoop Dog"

"Contrary to popular belief, Snoop Dogg was NOT the originator of the izzles, E-40 created it back in the mid-90's."

"Snoop says, the device first appeared publicly on the 1981 rap hit “Double Dutch Bus,” by Frankie Smith. "

has anyone heard this frankie smith tune? might have to investigate later. I just had a squiz at the lyrics and i don't see any izzles in there.

Anyone?
 

Melchior

Taking History Too Far
Helen said:
A girl I know who is originally from NZ works for the Oxford Press, she is working on getting 'munted' added to the Oxford Dictionary, which would be good.

The only thing I can think to say to that is 'Choice, bro'.
 

Rambler

Awanturnik
"Burglarized"

Who the hell came up with that monster?

Another one is "out there", as in "any people out there who might be listening". No we're not, we've just switched off.
 

stelfox

Beast of Burden
strawman - could happily headbutt the next person to say that either in front of me or on the internet
 

Melmoth

Bruxist
Roll out. As in: this will be rolled out across all departments.

Fuck you, you robot.

also

Ordinary hard working families.
 

stelfox

Beast of Burden
agreed. i just had a meeting at my increasingly intolerable day job where the phrase roll-out muct have been used about 50 times. i think all this corporate claptrap may well be why i'm in such a shitty mood of late.
 
O

Omaar

Guest
martin said:
What sort of cunt uses the word 'proactive'?

Yeah, I heard that word on the radio this morning on my way to work and was going to post on it here. Pretty irritating.
 

michael

Bring out the vacuum
Man, corpspeak could have its own thread really... A work colleague here in the Victorian public service does play buzz word bingo when she goes to meetings.

"I hear what you're saying, but..." (where "but" is the important bit)

Still, that's just annoying because of how it's used, because of the connotations, not because it's irksome for being newspeak.

The ones that drive me nuts are the ones that are used in lieu of perfectly common phrases.

"proactive" = "active" ffs

"let's take a helicopter view on the issues" = "let's look at the big picture for a minute"

"moving forward" = "thinking about the future"

etc.
 
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