Gransnet forums

AIBU

Any words or phrases that you can't stand?

(330 Posts)
Dinahmo Mon 10-Feb-20 18:05:23

An early phrase that I loathe is "can I get" but a more recent one is the word curate which is used in place of collect, or select etc. Recent examples:

The Guardian" the BBC's failure to curate some news event responsibly"

A description of someone's collection of china pig money boxes (once given away free) as being "carefully curated"

A delicatessen which provides "a perfectly curated picnic"

To my mind the misuse of the word devalues the work of museum and gallery curators.

Delila Tue 11-Feb-20 11:51:03

If I'm honest.

Manmar2 Tue 11-Feb-20 11:49:34

Moving forward
Cuppa
You guys
Can I get

chrisdal Tue 11-Feb-20 11:45:28

pull the other one
at the end of the day
push the envelope

alltime favourite from my mother ,
" wait til your father get's home "

Sealover Tue 11-Feb-20 11:42:12

'On trend'
'Cool'
'Can I get?'
'24/7'
'You Guys'
Someone approaching you with a greeting, "How's it going?" then walking quickly away without an answer!
etc etc

sarahellenwhitney Tue 11-Feb-20 11:37:46

What I can't stand is todays use of the word TO and why so many cannot or do not want to give this word its correct pronunciation referring to it as TER.This must present quite a challenge for those learning the English language.
News, political discussions, interviews are perfect examples when it comes to correct pronunciation of such a simple word.ie He was observed going 'inter' the premises, she was asked will you be going 'ter' the meeting, and many more .

Jan66 Tue 11-Feb-20 11:35:00

Starting a sentence with 'so'.
'Lessons have been learnt' & 'thoughts and prayers' (tends to be included in responses from authorities when something terrible has happened).
Me and ...

inishowen Tue 11-Feb-20 11:32:18

Yesterday my daughter called in after a meeting. She was subjected to a lot of management jargon. She said the only way to get through the meeting was to write down a list of the words that annoyed her. She produced the list and read them out to us. It was hilarious.

Summerstorm Tue 11-Feb-20 11:29:25

Me and whoever instead of whoever and I. They don’t appear to be taught these things anymore

geraniam Tue 11-Feb-20 11:18:21

Kids for Children
Haitch for Aitch
Think for Thing
Second of all
Fur babies ( who ever dreamed up that?)
The get go

MTDancer Tue 11-Feb-20 11:10:25

I use bairns all the time but I am from the North and my parents were Scots

Feelingmyage55 Tue 11-Feb-20 11:08:08

Awesome
Wow
Between four - no - among four
Laters
Like ... like .... like grrrrr
Chill
Hang out together - makes me think of hanging about or hanging socks in pairs
How are you? I’m good. Instead of I’m fine or I’m well (I’m good ... at what?)
I’m cool
I could go on and on. Instead I am going to have a cup of coffee and calm down.

Alexa Tue 11-Feb-20 11:07:27

Same as Pamdixon, I dislike the hackneyed 'back in the day'.

Alexa Tue 11-Feb-20 11:04:44

Beginning an utterance with 'So' when the 'so' is redundant.

Also, most of what estate agents say on television, and their clients who exclaim "Wow!" "Amazing!" " Fantastic!" .

Grandma70s Tue 11-Feb-20 11:03:10

I agree about nearly all of these. However, I’m puzzled by BradfordLass73’s objection to ‘kudos’ used as a singular noun. It IS a singular noun - a Greek word meaning glory or fame. Apparently some Americans took it to be a plural because of the s ending.

Also, someone objected to ‘Wrap up warm’. The use of ‘warm’ as an adverb is perfectly acceptable English. Compare ‘sleep tight’. Of course, you can still object to it, but it’s not incorrect. I cringe every time I hear the lovely Carol Kirkwood say ‘Wrap up warmly’ on the weather forecast. It sounds so unnatural.

Delila Tue 11-Feb-20 11:02:02

Power outage - why not power cut?

justanovice Tue 11-Feb-20 11:01:35

Gifted!!!! What happened to given?

Mtc59 Tue 11-Feb-20 11:00:31

Descriptive words introduced by the media without explaining what they mean and which I then need to look up online. Most recent are “snowflake” and “woke”.

BlueSky Tue 11-Feb-20 10:58:39

I actually like You Guys.
Can't stand Should of, would of etc.
The old LOL annoys me still.

lizzypopbottle Tue 11-Feb-20 10:51:06

Outofstep Some time ago, while working as a teacher, I received a letter from the Head of Assessment for the particular county I was working for. It began:

Dear lizzypopbottle,
Thank you for coming to see Jane Smith and I.

If Jane Smith had been ill that day, I wonder if this person would have begun her letter:
Thank you for coming to see I.

I also attended a training course for teachers where the very highly paid English (subject, not nationality) consultant began her PowerPoint presentation with a screen in enormous letters asking, "Who's job is it, anyway?" I was astonished and pointed towards the screen. No one else at my table had noticed and the consultant changed the screen hastily.

curlilox Tue 11-Feb-20 10:50:15

Hubby
Trip down memory lane
At this moment in time
Off of
I were
We/you was

beautybiz55 Tue 11-Feb-20 10:50:15

So common now even tv presenters...
Bought / Brought ! ‘ I went to the shops & I brought a dress ,& I bought it home ‘!! Aaarrrggghhh!!!

TATT Tue 11-Feb-20 10:46:24

‘Recycled’ when someone in the public eye wears a dress in public that has been seen before...

GrandmaMoira Tue 11-Feb-20 10:45:38

I agree with most of these - "aw, bless" and "hun" are amongst the worst.
I also dislike "love you to the moon and back" and "you're a star".

Willow10 Tue 11-Feb-20 10:44:26

A long, thin garden or room. I hear it on the tv all the time and it drives me nuts. It's either wide or it's narrow, not thin - or fat!

Annaram1 Tue 11-Feb-20 10:39:19

My grandchildren use "like" every second word. It drives me mad. I tell them off but they take no notice.
I hate all the abbreviations used in gransnet.
I don't like strangers saying "Aw, bless" when I say something.
If I hear another American calling herbs "erbs" I will throw up.
I had a salesman yesterday calling me "my lady"!
Somebody I did not know from Adam said "See ya later." To which I responded "No you won't."