After seeing this rant about 'as', I figured I wanted to hear about all the words that you really can't stand. I hate the word 'hung'. Especially when absolutely nobody uses it correctly to denote the death of someone with a noose around their neck. I absolutely cringed when newscasters reported the death of Saddam Hussein by saying "Saddam Hussein was hung today..." I wanted to say "Look, he might have been hung, but I really don't want to know about it. And, if he was 'hung' today, he was probably also 'hung' yesterday and the day before that. But again, that is just TMI!!" If he died with a rope around his neck, he was hanged!!.
Well, he could have been hung as well, technically speaking. Most of the words I truly despise are ones which are demeaning toward some subset of people or other.
I don't necessarily hate the word comprise, but I hate the way most people use it. For example, I can't stand when someone says something like "The United States is comprised of 50 states." WRONG! "The United States comprises 50 states." is the correct way. The whole comprises its parts, not the other way around. The colloquial/idiomatic meaning (and the one I despise) has the OPPOSITE meaning as the true definition of the word.
Saying you hate a word is a craftsman saying he hates a hammer. The problem isn't the tools, its the way people misuse or abuse them. (Do not misuse the words irony or literally on my watch, or I will figuratively stab you with them.)
I'd have to agree with OneMoreNameless here. There is no word in any language that I hate. The misuse of any word is annoying and frustrating, but the words themselves? I love all words ~Lynn
I don't like "American" words such as "gotten". Such an ugly word which did not originate in the home country of English but sadly is perculating into Irish English these days and no doubt will move over to the UK in no time. Argh!!!!!
I don't think I've ever heard the word "gotten" and I'm an American... I've heard "forgotten" but not simply "gotten." I don't even think it's technically a real word.. wouldn't "I went and got that" or "He got that" be accurate grammatically... who uses gotten... >< seriously confused here! ~Lynn
You'll get over it. / You haven't gotten over it. (Or) A thief's house is full of ill-gotten gains. I'm pretty sure those are valid uses of the word.
Oh okay. Thanks for the examples. "You haven't gotten over it," eh. Wouldn't that work better as "Aren't you over that yet?" or as a statement "You're not over it yet." ~Lynn
OK, granted. I guess that is what I was meaning. I can't change the title of the post though. What mis-used words or phrases *drive you crazy?*
I don't hate any particular word but what I do dislike (intensely) is overusing a word to the point of exhaustion. Because if you overuse a word like because it irritates people because you are just being repetitve because you are too lazy to look for a dictionary because...
The word that I really loathe is 'closure' - an American word people have started to use in the UK. To quote a common use - "You need closure" - bloody hell, it sounds like something off a terrible soap! Clichéd and utterly trite.
So true! I dislike that word too It is sometimes used in magazine articles, even in the UK, and ugh it is an ugly word. 'I'd gotten sick' - why not just say 'I'd been ill'? Makes more sense and sounds better.
Another American here who's never heard of "gotten." Are y'all sure that we started that trend? I too love all words but I suppose if I had to decide on one to pick on, it would be the word inconsequential.
Um two different meanings. "I have been ill" indicates very recent in the past whereas "I had been ill" indicates further in the past than have been. It'd be easier to simply say "I was ill." ~Lynn
:redface: I use the word "gotten" all the time. My least favorite words are swear words. There are dozens of different ways you could get the same meaning across with out using those particular words ad nauseam.
