As you all know by now, I am a grammar nut. When I used to work for the government, I would often grit my teeth when my co-workers mangled common expressions. For example, there was one guy who often said we should take another "kick at the cat" instead of "kick at the can". He had obviously never played in the streets as a child.
Then there was our librarian, who once told me there would be a great "human cry" if books got out of order. Umm, Sylvia, that's "hue and cry".
I really hated the way no one seemed to know when to use "myself". "Send the report to Jack and myself." Aargh, just no! And what about starting every sentence with "So..."? Why? Just say it.
Then there's the double "is". "The problem with that approach is, is it's too tedious." Just one will do, thank you.
Finally, there was a manager who really irritated me by inserting the phrase "turn around" into every sentence. "Turn around and send me the numbers." "When we get together we will turn around and discuss the issues." "Turn around and I'll spank you." (No, not really. Just wanted to see if you were paying attention.) Once I counted "turn around" used 12 times in a 15 minute presentation.
As Morningstar used to say, "Le sigh!"
Glory to Ukraine
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7 comments:
Irregardless
As per
Expresso coffee
Do a 360 (it's 180, they failed geometry as well as English)
Would of
Just a few examples of the linguistic crimes so many supposedly educated people commit daily.
"Myself" is one of my pet peeves. The word should only be used when "I" is already in the sentence.
- Rosco
"I could care less."
People arguing about which is right, "Math" or "Maths" get me, they are both wrong, dammit. As abbreviations of "Mathematics", "Math'" and "Math's" are both correct. Apostrophes count.
Prefectdt
People will never learn so I stopped caring as well.
Wendel
Great fails Hermione. Social media, text language and acronyms is only making it worse!
Starting sentences with "so" really irritates me.
Hugs
Roz
The one in business that grates on my nerves is "action" used as a verb.
But the one I probably encounter the most comes from people at the counter in various shops who say, "May I help who's next please?"
It sends my brain into an infinite loop.
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