Words that irk you

L Gilbert

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Nov 30, 2006
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Everyone probably has words that irritate them.
A few of mine are kilometer when it's pronounced as clawmitter instead of kilometer, contrawversy instead of controversy, ruff instead of roof, crick instead of creek, tounge instead of tongue, groovy, phat, rad (a thing that keeps engines cool), irregardless instead of regardless, etc.
 

Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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Words that irritate me are the really long words, such as "floccinaucinihilipilification", which is the longest non-technical word in the English language.

Other horrible words are "Antidisestablishmentarianism" (a nineteenth century movement in England opposed to the separation of church and state) which, at 28 letters, is still in colloquial currency for being one of the longest words in the English language.

The longest word which appears in William Shakespeare's works is the 27-letter "honorificabilitudinitatibus", appearing in Love's Labour's Lost. It looks like Latin but it's English.
 

Curiosity

Senate Member
Jul 30, 2005
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Words which are mispronounced incorrectly make me shake....

Surprisingly some words are now accepted even when they are mispronounced by so many they have become "the correct way to say the word".....

Two words which are famous:
REALTOR...... becomes RE - LA - TOR
FEBRUARY..... becomes FEB - U - ARY

Verbal slang used in the media has changed the way we speek....

GOING TO..... becomes GONNA
WANT TO......becomes WANNA

I guess as long as people understand what the word is - even when mispronounced - it isn't important
 

Curiosity

Senate Member
Jul 30, 2005
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Hi ITN

Ha - Bush is the prime offender - can you believe the top of the heap talks like a high school drop out????

He was too easy for an example and thought if I put his name up we'd spend the rest of the topic writing "Bushisms"......

I also hate the way he pronounces EYE-RAK..... hee.

Happy and satisfying Christmas ITN - stay safe in the big city!!
 

ottawabill

Electoral Member
May 27, 2005
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the ones that irrate me is when the CBC comes up with their own way of saying a word....

it was alway harrasment until the cbc started calling it "harris-ment" that drives me up the wall...

I know there's many others too but it's too early for me to think of them at the moment..

and I agree it's KILO metre on ki LOM etre..

Oh and on other.....in the U.S. they call it a ruff not a roof....can't stand that!! :)
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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Everyone probably has words that irritate them.
A few of mine are kilometer when it's pronounced as clawmitter instead of kilometer, contrawversy instead of controversy, ruff instead of roof, crick instead of creek, tounge instead of tongue, groovy, phat, rad (a thing that keeps engines cool), irregardless instead of regardless, etc.


I love "groovy", still use it from time to time...:)

But, words that really get under my skin when used around me..:

"network" or "networking"..hate that term all round when used in any capacity to do with discussions and/or dialogue or meeting new people.

"gay", instead of homosexual

"humankind", instead of mankind

"womyn" ,instead of woman/women

"spirituality" ,instead of faith

"how you doing?", when no one clearly expects an answer

"let's do lunch", something I eat, never "do"
 

ottawabill

Electoral Member
May 27, 2005
909
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I love "groovy", still use it from time to time...:)

But, words that really get under my skin when used around me..:

"network" or "networking"..hate that term all round when used in any capacity to do with discussions and/or dialogue or meeting new people.

"gay", instead of homosexual

"humankind", instead of mankind

"womyn" ,instead of woman/women

"spirituality" ,instead of faith

"how you doing?", when no one clearly expects an answer

"let's do lunch", something I eat, never "do"

Oh boy here we go!!!

Yep "spirituality drives me crazy....it's a term for people who don't want to commit!!

all the business terms..."do" lunch
take this off line
calling a board room a war room
happy seasonal greeting!!! aarrgghh the worst!!
calling financial services "products"
 

Curiosity

Senate Member
Jul 30, 2005
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Sanctus

Watch it fella - I like "humankind"..... why should women get left out of the all inclusive phrase???

Mankind is only one part of the species.
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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Sanctus

Watch it fella - I like "humankind"..... why should women get left out of the all inclusive phrase???

Mankind is only one part of the species.


heh heh heh, but it is not a debate thread, I think. The question was "what words irk you"..and that word irks me..mankind stands for both sexes, traditionally:)
 

Sassylassie

House Member
Jan 31, 2006
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I hate the phrase: Think outside the box, I could crawl through the phone and beat the person to a pulp with my rolling pin. The phrase: You betcha, really annoying. The phrase: Um as I was saying, it's like finger nails going down a chalk board to me. People who call me Mon--i-KA, it's one word not a sentence.
 

Zzarchov

House Member
Aug 28, 2006
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I always find topics of pronunciation and spelling hilarious.

Its a little hypocritical, the concept of "Correct Spellings" is fairly new and frequently prone to change as the world and the people in it change. Its a little silly to use what previous generations would consider incorrect spelling, grammar and pronunciation then claim "This is the only correct way from now on". Im afraid it will never work that way.
 

mabudon

Metal King
Mar 15, 2006
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Oooh- Harris-ment IS indeed annoying, good call

Another m=one, more of a pronunciation thing too, is the word "primer", for some reason over the past year or two, I've heard it pronounced "Primmer" and it gets to me for some reason

A pronunciation I find funny, too is "melk" instead of "milk", it doesn't so much bother me as I find it odd/funny

Actualy words I hate just for how they sound/look - hmm... infant, toddler, tot (honestly not a theme there) paint named "egshell" anything, debutante, and thye name of that musical act "Gnarls Barkley", for some reason I shiver when I hear it and promise to never utter the name aloud

Good topic, I'll keep my ears open for more fodder :D
 

Tonington

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Oct 27, 2006
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Theres lots of phrases that irk me, like before Budweiser made that commercial I could stand "What's up?", now it's been twisted to "wassup", or just "sup". Drives me up the wall. Also that language Snoop Dogg made, shizzle izzle, I wanna blow out my brizzle. As far as spelling and grammar goes, we can thank Microsoft and Corel and the other spell checking bastards for bastardizing our language. Just like the calculator has replaced basic math functions, I even heard that schools aren't teaching the long division algorithm anymore.
 

ottawabill

Electoral Member
May 27, 2005
909
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I know they are both rightr but I hate when they call spices herbs...it rubs me the wrong way it should be 'erbs

I hate hearing horrible renditions of French words from the U.S.

Foy- yer instead of Foyer
Potatoes oh GRAAAT'N

French spicy sausage Andouille pronounced Anne Deany
ARRGGHH!!

African Americans
Italian Canadians

aren't we all just Americans or Canadians??

and still the worst is Seasons Greetings...what season summer!!!
 

mapleleafgirl

Electoral Member
Dec 13, 2006
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lots of my people in my age group-im 18-use words that really bug me that they get from american black people--like "yo"..."wassup".. "dude".. "nigger"...."and stuff like that. it gets on my nerves cos for the most part we are white people in canada and do not talk like that...know what i mean?
 

ottawabill

Electoral Member
May 27, 2005
909
8
18
Eastern Ontario
can you tell me what being white has to do with talking black?? It's a skin colour....

what can you tell by my writing if I am black, white, Chinese, Indian??

I will agree that bringing whatsup etc into the written language is likely not a good thing but it's not racial... Have you ever called someone a schmuck....shouldn't use that word unless you are Jewish..it's yiddish!!!