Do you have pet hates for certain words or phrases? I have many. This topic may have been discussed before, but in the absence of a word index, it's hard to know. In case this catches on, here are three of my hates, which are more noticeable in spoken lnaguage on radio or TV than in written articles/books.
1. 'Basically'. ( a uselss and gratuitous intrusion repeated ad nauseam, and worse.)
2. 'You know'. (Crops up everywhere, and does not seek to confirm either your knowledge or comprehension.)
3. 'Like', or 'like, yer know'. (Another repetitive and meaningless intrusion, with no sense of comparison)

They seem like ways of clearing your throat, ahem, or filling in time for someone unable to express themselves. Therefore some degree of sympathy is needed, I suppose. But G*D they do irritate. It's all a matter of personal taste, and I am sure you will have better or worse examples.
These three can actually be counted in a conversation or talk, and can then be used as a negative index for IQ testing. Now there's an idea.

Non-words (um, ah) and filler words are commonly used by untrained speakers to fill the silence that would otherwise ensue.

Trained speakers allow the silence to build since they know just how powerful a pause can be. Just listen to Winston Churchill to appreciate the power of silence.

My main one is a combination of two of yours pearce -

Y'know worra mean, like?

I also particularly dislike "innit" used as universal question tag.

He's comin', innit?
We di'n't do it, innit?
They won the match, innit?
Bloody irritating, innit?

Yes, I suppose we have discussed this before, but it is always a great subject.

Besides my ongoing Wordcraft whine about preferring "epicaricacy" to "Schadenfreude," I really hate it when people say, "It's no biggie." "Biggie?" Isn't there a better word than that?

One thing that can really get on my nerves is the speaker who constantly uses "and" or the like to concatenate several sentences into a particularly long one, which among other things gives him a pause to think, or perhaps even to breath, but also prevents anyone from getting a word in edgewise, which come to think of it is perhaps why they do it, and I guess it's hard to believe someone would be so selfish, but still what other reason could there be for talking that way, if you know what I mean, unless it was some form of insecurity or even an overblown attempt to avoid any chance of a pause in the conversation, and by the way people who talk this way are also apt to stretch out each clause or phrase with with more words than it requires, and not by a little but by a lot, too, until the verbosity could make you scream, but you can't complain because that would be terribly impolite, so you just have to grin and bear it, but your eyeballs glaze over, and ...

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Originally posted by BobHale:
Y'know worra mean, like?

I also particularly dislike "innit" used as universal question tag.

'Innit' and 'Know worra mean' are, as you say common, but I think they are most frequent or at least started in the London area and Southern England. Now they also jar our sensitive souls in the North. But it seems as if these devices are regional, at least when they start. I suspect that 'Innit' and 'Know worra mean' are less familiar in the US, so maybe we Brits have tasted slight revenge for the many comparable US terms which crossed the Atlantic to pollute the language.
How about the ubiquitous 'great', which now means nothing, certainly nothing to do with size?

One of my favourite hates is "As I was saying..." -- they then say something for the first time. Similar is "As I said before" and variants, often used as the first thing someone says. Politicians are especially guilty of starting their replies in an interview in this regard.

My mother, who could talk for England, has a clever technique to ensure that she's not interrupted. When she needs to take a breath she takes it in the middle of a sentence, not the end, so her listeners assume she's just pausing for rhetorical effect and politely wait for her to finish the sentence. Which she never does.

The only way to get a word in is to interrupt her while she's speaking, since she never pauses at a conventional point.

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Originally posted by Richard English:
My mother, who could talk for England, has a clever technique to ensure that she's not interrupted. When she needs to take a breath she takes it in the middle of a sentence, not the end, so her listeners assume she's just pausing for rhetorical effect and politely wait for her to finish the sentence. Which she never does.

The only way to get a word in is to interrupt her while she's speaking, since she never pauses at a conventional point.

R.E, my wife ("she who must be obeyed") does exactly the same, but a quiet, considerate lady, she only does it when I am listening to a radio or a TV programme, in which I am concentrating with unusual attention.

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Originally posted by pearce:
.

Here is another. Not technically incorrect, but clumsy, unecessarily long, and I find it intensely irritating:
AUTHORED. As in :
"She authored numerous pithy and
penetrating quotes, some of which I have found very useful "

What is wrong with the simple, shorter and more explicit 'wrote'?

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Originally posted by arnie:
One of my favourite hates is "As I was saying..."

They STILL asy, "As I was saying" there? The as/like distinction has all but disappeared around here, alas. The anti-prescriptivists don't care, but it bothers me.

I kind of like "innit", mostly because it is what I think of as a quaint Britishism. No one in Ohio uses it. But it's fun to slip in little bits of another culture like that, just to give some variety to one's ramblings.

One phrase that has recently been niggling at me is "with all due respect" as used in so many TV shows these days.

I also tire of the word "nice".

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"As I was saying..."

But, Arnie, if I can't say that, what do I do when my hubby interrupts me?

I can see that I annoy people right and left with my talk. Many of the phrases posted here, and posted previously on this subject, I use, such as "as I was saying" or "with all due respect" or "the fact of the matter is" or "basically." I do try to keep the "you knows" and "likes" to a minimum, though.

I don't like the phrase "he passed away" or especially, "he passed." Why not just "died?"

I saw a short interview with a footballer on the TV news this morning. In about ten sentences he came out with "as I was saying" once, and "as I said before" twice. GRRRR.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: arnie,

"With all due respect" essentially means "I think you're talking bollocks and I'm about to say so"! When someone says "no offence!" they are about to say something offensive to you and are rather hoping you don't bop 'em on the nose!

Funny how when people say hopefully instead of I hope that grammar mavens get all bent out of shape. Surely one word is better than three.

[Added URL to Quinion.]

This message has been edited. Last edited by: zmježd,

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Originally posted by zmjezhd:
Funny how when people say hopefully instead of I hope that grammar mavens get all bent out of shape. Surely one word is better than three.

[Added URL to Quinion.]

Quite so ( and that's another one). 'Hopefully' is occasionally necessary, but nearly always is yet another spacefiller, with no added meaning to the conversation, merely a device to allow the speaker time to clarify his/her ideas. Although it's seldom successful. It's worse in written language, where the writer does have time to think before he/she writes.

'Hopefully' is occasionally necessary, but nearly always is yet another spacefiller, with no added meaning to the conversation, merely a device to allow the speaker time to clarify his/her ideas.

When somebody uses hopefully as a sentence adverb, it is not the same thing as when it is dropped from the sentence.

1. Hopefully, the weather will improve.
2. The weather will improve.

(1) and (2) have two different meanings (for me). (1) expresses something about the speaker's hopes and wishes; (2) indicates a monomaniac or a meteorologist.

In general, "hopefully" is used in contexts like zmjezhd's example. I don't think it is a spacefiller.

quote:

Originally posted by zmjezhd:

1. Hopefully, the weather will improve.
2. The weather will improve.

(1) and (2) have two different meanings (for me). (1) expresses something about the speaker's hopes and wishes; (2) indicates a monomaniac or a meteorologist.

For me, (1) has the following meaning: "The weather will improve, and as it does so, it will be full of hope." Perhaps I've got it wrong. (2) indicates not a monomaniac, nor a meteorologist but a Micawber.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Duncan Howell,

For me, (1) has the following meaning: "The weather will improve, and as it does so,it will be full of hope." Perhaps I've got it wrong.

That's funny. You are not unright. For me, both linguistically and metaphysically, it can only have the meaning: I hope that the weather will improve. Usually, I can see the other side of one of these shibboleths, but, for me, the adverb hopefully can only be used as a sentence adverb and not mean in a hopeful manner.

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Originally posted by zmjezhd (quoting Duncan):
For me, (1) has the following meaning: "The weather will improve, and as it does so,it will be full of hope." Perhaps I've got it wrong.

That's funny. You are not unright. For me, both linguistically and metaphysically, it can only have the meaning: I hope that the weather will improve. Usually, I can see the other side of one of these shibboleths, but, for me, the adverb hopefully can only be used as a sentence adverb and not mean in a hopeful manner.

Perhaps I tried to be too cute in my last post. I'll try to be clearer: I think "hopefully" has been so ill-used of late that the only kind thing to do is to BANISH IT FROM THE LANGUAGE! Hopefully, this will happen soon....OH! DAMN!!!!

BANISH IT FROM THE LANGUAGE!

But, if you banished it from the language (and whither), how could you describe the weather doing something in a hopeful manner?

How do you feel about these banishee candidates:

1. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
2. Mercifully, the play was brief.

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Originally posted by zmjezhd:
BANISH IT FROM THE LANGUAGE!

But, if you banished it from the language (and whither), how could you describe the weather doing something in a hopeful manner?

How do you feel about these banishee candidates:

1. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
2. Mercifully, the play was brief.

O.K. O.K. I'm convinced. Frankly and mercifully gotta go too. Now, give this up! We're gonna start running out of words.

We're gonna start running out of words.

Well, we still have eh, eh?

quote:

Originally posted by zmjezhd:


Well, we still have eh, eh?

Eh, you say? Eh? Lemme think......Oh,yeah. I once heard an Upper Canadian use that term. On TV I think. But, I don't allow that it has ever been used within a couple of thousand kilometres of where I live. Man, this is a BIG country!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by zmjezhd:
BANISH IT FROM THE LANGUAGE!

Originally, I said "'Hopefully' is occasionally necessary, but nearly always is yet another spacefiller, with no added meaning…"
I still think it's better to use plain English, saying 'I hope the weather will improve', rather than 'hopefully the weather will improve.'
'Mercifully' and 'frankly' have mecifully not been so overused, and frankly do not need to be banished.
Hopefully (I hope) they will stay.

quote:

Originally posted by pearce:
I still think it's better to use plain English, saying 'I hope the weather will improve', rather than 'hopefully the weather will improve.'

I wish I had said that!

On TV I think.

Don't underestimate the power of TV. The governor of the state I live in has been quoted using a phrase, girly men, that originated as a stock, gag phrase on a TV show, in a sketch that was mocking the then-actor one-time body builder.

I hear that French is an official national language of Canada, yet you probably don't hear much of that either. They're still Canadians, too, n'est-ce pas?

I wish I had said that!

You will, Duncan. You will.

Who said that, zmj?

(He asked, looking innocent. )

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Originally posted by zmjezhd:
The governor of the state I live in......

What! You mean to say that R'lyeh isn't on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean somewhere between Chile and New Zealand? I was wondering how you could possibly have any interest in the weather. This explains it!

quote:

Originally posted by zmjezhd:
I hear that French is an official national language of Canada, yet you probably don't hear much of that either. They're still Canadians, too, n'est-ce pas?

Oui. Les canadiens francais etaient, sauf pour les autochtones, les premiers canadiens. (Hey, I can keep this up until tomorrow when Phillip goes back to college.)

Who said that?

James McNeill Whistler to Oscar Wilde, but it was in a comedy sketch by Monty Python.

You mean to say that R'lyeh isn't on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean somewhere between Chile and New Zealand?

Yes, it is. California is only a state of mind. The thing to ponder is who is my ISP.

sauf pour les autochtones, les premiers canadiens

I read that Inuktitut is also an official language now, at least up in Nunavut.

(Hey, I can keep this up until tomorrow when Phillip goes back to college.)

I hadn't realized that the Duke of Edinburgh was on a diplomatic mission to the colonies. Delivering a new Viceroy?

I hate "Human resources"- reducing people to a commodity required or to be disposed of as the need requires.

quote:

Originally posted by Erik Johansen:
I hate "Human resources"- reducing people to a commodity required or to be disposed of as the need requires.

I'm with you. The shift from personnel to human resources took the emphasis from the people to the goods and services it can extract from them. Just as we extract non-renewable natural resources, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, from the ground, often at the expense of the environment and the workers' health, we extract "resources" from employees, with little regard to their health and safety.

I prefer to be thought of as a person, rather than a resource to be mined.

Tinman

We've discussed this before, and I'm 100% in agreement with you two!!!

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The thing to ponder is who is my ISP.

I'm pondering, I'm pondering!

Human resources is so 90's. We're human capital now, or didn't you get the memo?

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Human resources is so 90's. We're human capital now, or didn't you get the memo?

I haven't heard this but I would disagree with it. Capital is a resource but resources aren't all capital.

The term "Human Resources isn't a bad one when you think of it. Organisations have several resources - money; physical assets such as machinery and property; intangible resources such as time and knowledge and, of course, staff and other personnel. It makes perfect sense to me to consider all those humans who have input into an organisation, as that organisation's human resources.

What other term is so descriptive and all-embracing?

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What other term is so descriptive and all-embracing?

One would hope that employee would be, but since the rise of business schools, it doesn't seem to be - at lest in the minds of those with MBAs. I don't want my mind mined, I prefer to have my knowledge acknowledged.

So maybe we should call the department that handles recruiting and interviewing and benefits stuff . . . umm . . . Employee Fostering?

Sorry Richard- I completely disagree! "Human Resources" suggests we're the same as that length of metal, that piece of paper, that carburrettor- it makes people 'things'. It's a vile term allowing for no individual characteristics within it. Personally, a job isn't the meaning of life merely a way of achieving the funds to live it.

I agree with the distaste for the phrase "human resources" for people. The word "resource" is a catchall term for a number of raw materials. "Employee," however, is much more specific term for a person. "Employee" could never mean "oil," while "resource" surely could. Since we are linguaphiles, it makes sense that we would want to use the more specific terminology.

Richard (and I know he will be gone for awhile), why would you prefer "human resources" over "employees?"

Another "catchall" word is "solutions." While Shu, Sunflower, and I wandered through a mall, I noticed a bunch of businesses calling themselves, Bla Bla Bla Solutions. None of them offered solutes and solvents, so they weren't talking about chemical solutions. One sold various types of window shades, so maybe they thought they had a "solution" for sunlight on windows. Pretty silly, if you ask me!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:
Another "catchall" word is "solutions."
Clearly the problem is insoluble. Let's use it to precipitate another hate.

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Clearly the problem is insoluble. Let's use it to precipitate another hate.

Very good! Which leads me to wonder if Ionic columns have a negative charge that might hasten the collapse of a building.

Mas Capital: Intellectual Capital

quote:

Originally posted by Asa Lovejoy:

quote:

Clearly the problem is insoluble. Let's use it to precipitate another hate.

Very good! Which leads me to wonder if Ionic columns have a negative charge that might hasten the collapse of a building.

Yes, very true. But, Ionic columns could equally have a positive charge. or would that be phallacious?

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Ionic columns could equally have a positive charge. or would that be phallacious?

I'm not cock-sure of that.