This is a living post. I’ll add to it as I hear more offensive language.
A few words that make me cringe when I hear them uttered:
- Meme
- Avatar
- Frankly
- Utilize
Words people commonly use/pronounce incorrectly:
- Frustrated = fustrated (where did your R go?)
- Supposedly = supposably (seriously? c’mon.)
- Asked = axed (would you rather be cool or respected?)
- Regardless = irregardless (thanks, Holly!)
Phrases people slaughter:
- Could care less (really – then why are you bitching?)
Please feel free to offer suggestions. I’ll incorporate them if they offend my sensibilities.
I hate the word “Refreshments”…ugghh reminds me of mints and old ladies!
improbable for impossible (both legit words, just a question of usage). Similarly drastic and dramatic (the latter used when the former is intended).
And finally, inevitably for invariably.
Oh! And what about “literally” when it’s not literal? As in, “It was so cold my nuts literally froze.” Really? Did they get amputated?
I am the last person to be posting in the “grammar police” section – but . . .
1) irregardless – really?
2) “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less”
Here are two grammar errors that get under my skin…
1. The use of ‘have got’ rather than ‘have’. Example: “We’ve got to stop and get gas.” rather than, “We have to stop and get gas.”
2. The excessive use of ‘that’. Any time you use the word, ‘that’, stop…remove the word ‘that’…and read the sentence again. Does the sentence still work? Yes? Then you don’t need ‘that’. Leave it out.
In reading kids books to my daughter, I see these (and other) mistakes all the time. It’s sad when the books our kids learn to speak from are riddled with mistakes.
I will admit to abusing “that.” But I’m working on it.
There’s one I’ve been working on with myself: [Doing something] in order to [accomplish something]. It should just be “to” do something, I know. Struggling against the lawyer-speak I was trained into.