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StephanieDC said:
I am fairly tolerant of incorrect word usage by most of my “normal†friends, and (almost) never point it out in social settings. However, “irregardless†will set my teeth on edge everytime. “Regardless†is a perfectly good word unadorned, why make it redundant? The times I have heard it uttered, it was usually from a person I looked up to academically- and I felt “let downâ€. Not to say I haven't let them down in some way, irregardless of my intentions. (sorry, had to)
Next time you hear it, ask if they really mean "without irregard".
Scads. I think it reminds me of both scabs and scabies at the same time and swarming bugs over open wounds.
Moist. I think I've heard this word used to often in sexist dialog or descriptions of where mold and yeast might make a home. Like a yeast infection. YUCK. Still...moist cake is okay by me.
In general, I hate it when people take nouns and verb them. "Gift" is a case in point: "Our suggested minimum pledge level is thirty-five dollars, but several callers have gifted [sic] in excess of one-hundred dollars..."
The verb is "to give." "Gift" is the nominal form. There isn't any reason to use one in place of the other. I have a feeling that those who use "gift" as a verb think that implies an act of greater generosity than does the verb "to give", but who really know what they think?
lux rationis said:
In general, I hate it when people take nouns and verb them. “Gift†is a case in point: “Our suggested minimum pledge level is thirty-five dollars, but several callers have gifted [sic] in excess of one-hundred dollars…â€
The verb is “to give.†“Gift†is the nominal form. There isn't any reason to use one in place of the other. I have a feeling that those who use “gift†as a verb think that implies an act of greater generosity than does the verb “to giveâ€, but who really know what they think?
So you don't like it when people verb nouns?
lux rationis in my world nouns and verbs have always been interchangeable. In the Navy we would take phrases, titles, anything we wanted, and make acronyms out of them. Then we would make nouns and verbs out of the acronym. Grant even mentions it in his Official Dictionary of Unofficial English. (*^-^*)
As for what word do I hate I would have to go with irregardless. Don't be afraid of commitment. Irregard or regardless, pick one and be proud of your choice.
Although literally is getting pretty sickening (nothing personal just over used)
Tukaram said:
As for what word do I hate I would have to go with irregardless. Don't be afraid of commitment. Irregard or regardless, pick one and be proud of your choice.
One time I meant to say irrespective and changed my mind to regardless mid-word. Thus, out came this hated utterance.
I had never before experienced such self-loathing.
samaphore said:
Arne Duncan, the new Secretary of Education, loves to use the word incent, and for reasons I don't understand it drives me crazy. Up until now I've always heard incentivize. Maybe it's the frequency with which Duncan uses the word that bothers me, as well as the policies implied by it. I'm getting tired of hearing for decades that the way to fix the problems with education is to incent teachers, principals, students, and parents, and the way to do that is with money. I heard Duncan say that even the school janitors need to be incented. Why? Do clean restrooms make better students? ' class='wp-smiley' />
Both incent and incentivize are cringe-worthy for me; they just don't sound right to my ears. I have heard both equally and oftentimes from the same person. When I tried to explain to a former boss that both words were back-formations from incentive and the root word of incentive is actually incite, he became oddly defensive. I suppose incite has some negative connotations since it is rarely heard in common usage without being followed by "riots."
My personal cringe word these days is respecting. I was taught to give respect to those who earned it and to be respectful. (the noun and pronoun) You could talk respectfully or respect your elders. (the adverb and verb forms) How in heaven's name can I be respecting someone when I already respect them? Did I miss an infinitive in school? I had not heard this form until about 20 years ago so I try to shrug it off like other neologisms, but this one is hard for me to get past.
- When I was growing up...
--- Underwear was not an appropriate topic of conversation.
--- A "thong" was "what Thinatra things."
- I am another person who dislikes turning nouns into verbs (or using certain parts of speech in other roles).
--- "revisioning" - How is this different from "revising"?
--- "You're harshing my mellow." - Did this really originate with the Grateful Dead?
- At times "verbing" a noun can communicate quite economically: During canning season I asked a friend how she spent her afternoon. She said "Janis and I were apple-saucing it." Folksy and simple, but if that became more than a one-time expression, it would bother me.
- "as being" - One of my former bosses used to insert this phrase into almost every sentence.
--- "Lock the door when you leave for lunch, as being twelve o'clock."
- I never understood what he thought it added to his speech.
- misuse of "myself"
--- "My brothers and myself did that" (instead of "my brothers and me").
--- "They presented the award to my boss and myself" (instead of "...to my boss and me").
- Why?
--- Is this intended to emphasize "my" involvement? to show exclusiveness?
--- Is this an attempt to sound more educated or elevate one's social standing by using bigger words?
johng423 said:
- At times "verbing" a noun can communicate quite economically: During canning season I asked a friend how she spent her afternoon. She said "Janis and I were apple-saucing it." Folksy and simple, but if that became more than a one-time expression, it would bother me.
I've been known to burst into a sushi place where I'm well-known, plop myself down onto a stool, and call out to the chef: "Eel me!"
- misuse of "myself"
--- "My brothers and myself did that" (instead of "my brothers and me").
--- "They presented the award to my boss and myself" (instead of "...to my boss and me").
- Why?
--- Is this intended to emphasize "my" involvement? to show exclusiveness?
--- Is this an attempt to sound more educated or elevate one's social standing by using bigger words?
Mostly I'd guess it's an attempt to complete the thought without getting caught up in "do I use I or me in this context".
Mostly I'd guess it's an attempt to complete the thought without getting caught up in "do I use I or me in this context".
I'd support that hypothesis. I think people are really confused, angry, weary, indifferent — or some combo of the aforementioned — about the entire I/me selection. Using myself helps them dodge that. It is further my observation (unscientific) that people will tend to avoid 3rd-person pronouns in such constructions. They will repeat "my brothers," "my boss," etc. rather than enter the minefield of they/them or he/him.
e.g. Yesterday my boss was out of town, so they waited till today to present the award to my boss and myself.
lux rationis said:
In general, I hate it when people take nouns and verb them. "Gift" is a case in point: "Our suggested minimum pledge level is thirty-five dollars, but several callers have gifted [sic] in excess of one-hundred dollars..."
The verb is "to give." "Gift" is the nominal form. There isn't any reason to use one in place of the other. I have a feeling that those who use "gift" as a verb think that implies an act of greater generosity than does the verb "to give", but who really know what they think?
I'm completely with you on this one - the phrase "he gifted it to her" drives me crazy. What's wrong with "gave"?
I also get a bit bent out of shape about "persons", as in "certain persons have been known to...". "People" just sounds so much nicer.
David Hoffman said:
lux rationis said:
In general, I hate it when people take nouns and verb them. "Gift" is a case in point: "Our suggested minimum pledge level is thirty-five dollars, but several callers have gifted [sic] in excess of one-hundred dollars..."
The verb is "to give." "Gift" is the nominal form. There isn't any reason to use one in place of the other. I have a feeling that those who use "gift" as a verb think that implies an act of greater generosity than does the verb "to give", but who really know what they think?
I'm completely with you on this one - the phrase "he gifted it to her" drives me crazy. What's wrong with "gave"?
I also get a bit bent out of shape about "persons", as in "certain persons have been known to...". "People" just sounds so much nicer.
At the risk of painting a great big bullseye on my forehead, I will go on record as saying that I see "to gift" as filling a semantic gap. Consider these two sentences:
Leslie didn't have a pen to sign in, so I gave one to her. (could be a loan, a gift, or someone else's pen to use)
Leslie didn't have a pen to sign in, so I gifted one to her. (can only be a gift)
Of couse, I could disambiguate this in a number of ways:
Leslie didn't have a pen to sign in, so I gave one to her as a gift.
And, in lux's example, I also would prefer "given" since the context makes it abundantly clear. I suppose if I were to use "to gift" I would fantasize air quotes around it. I guess that puts me at least 3 inches beyond the tipping point on that slippery slope.
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