
People who say "less" when they mean "fewer" ought to be turned into soup, the soup fed to baboons and the baboons fired into an active volcano. What has you grinding your teeth with rage, and why?
Suggested by Smash Monkey
( , Thu 31 Mar 2011, 14:36)
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pronounce 'th' as 'f'.
People who use the phrase 'to be honest' (or it's sibling 'if I'm being honest') - because they almost certainly are not.
The news - because it's mostly opinion masquerading as fact. eg "a shocking incident occurred today". An incident it maybe, but why use an adjective unless it's about making your news programme more popular than your rivals'?
[edit] One further peeve is people who say 'baby' (eg "what's baby's name" or "how does baby feel") without using 'the' or 'your' (or other equally useful pronouns*)
*may not actually be pronouns, my 1980's comprehensive education wasn't all that comprehensive
( , Tue 5 Apr 2011, 2:06, 8 replies)

because I just used that phrase 'to be honest' and I wasn't being honest at all.
Spoooooooky.
(also, you must be grinding your teeth with rage in my direction)
( , Tue 5 Apr 2011, 4:05, closed)

I'm pretty sure 'the' is a (definite?) article and 'your' is a possessive pronoun...
( , Tue 5 Apr 2011, 7:21, closed)

( , Tue 5 Apr 2011, 8:19, closed)

and it pisses me right off. I can't stop myself from doing it though....
( , Tue 5 Apr 2011, 9:51, closed)

But then it was pointed out that using the gender-neutral 'baby' is better than accidentally referring to someone's new-born son as a 'she'.
( , Tue 5 Apr 2011, 10:12, closed)

Although, "your baby" might perhaps be preferable.
What I have found very annoying is a solicitor who writes to me referring to my mother simply as "mother"; "Please have mother sign these" etc. Why? If you don't want to call her "Mrs Ugi Snr" then no problem, call her "your mother" but I don't refer to her as "mother" so why should you?
( , Tue 5 Apr 2011, 10:43, closed)

My parents tried teaching me this when I was a child but I just couldn't hear the difference. And then, in my thirties, I got it. I don't know why this is.
Trying to correct your speech patterns in your thirties is no joke.
( , Tue 5 Apr 2011, 10:20, closed)
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