Me too, MissAdventure. When addressed as 'Madam' or even 'Gran' by any cheeky young whippersnapper, I sharply remind them to address me as 'Your Ladyship' !
It irritates me when people answer the question "How are you?" with "Yes".
I'm not fond of being addressed as "Madam", either, unless the person saying it is elderly. To me, it sounds terribly old-fashioned, even patronising if used by a young person, and makes me feel about fifty years older than I am.
REsearch is annoying when misused. ReSEARCH is annoying when misused. (One is correct for the noun, and the other for the verb, though I only learnt that as an adult and often have to think which is correct before I say it!) l
I don't like the overuse of "amazing" and "incredible". One of the Princes said the other day that the love showed to them by their mother, Diana, was "amazing". No, it's not amazing to love your children passionately, it's normal.
And I remember hearing a politician saying, "We've got some incredible policies!" I would prefer to vote for a party with credible policies.
Should we adopt the 'Frock and Gussett' as our Gransnet 'local'? The number of bedrooms and suites, and the greatness (or mediocrity) of the booze and cuisine are subject only to the moods and imaginings of contributors, and we could have Alex Polizzi to inspect our humble premises!
Why do previews always have to be 'sneak'? It annoys me every time. If you don't want to give people a preview, don't, but if you do, don't pretend you're letting them into a special secret!
My pet hate is the F word which is being used more and more by old and young alike and also constantly on cinema and TV. Anya don't bother to look if not interesting to you
I think it's ironic that people think 'panties' is verging on pornographic. My MiL always said that and she was very very proper. She thought knickers sounded crude and pants were for men, hence panties for women which she thought sounded more refined. But I never liked it as it sounded twee to me. I think it's shame that once perfectly acceptable words like moist, flaccid, erect etc have become associated with sex and therefore seem a but pornigraphic. As I said earlier a moist cake is fine, so is a flaccid plant (which needs watering) and tents need erecting. We are losing so many words thats used to be ok. Other examples are pussy, muff, and beaver all of which were once used innocently. I learned that hard way (by teaching in a secondary school) that some words I learned as a child could not be used as thy caused sniggering! Sorry, got a bit off track there!
Its an individual thing I would say. Just as a person can't say why the like a particular colour, some words just bring out a little twinge of discomfort.
I'm wondering, also, why so many words are becoming "unacceptable" - at least on here.
I'm also wondering about addressing a whole group of people, especially women. If one doesn't like "ladies" (I have no problem with it, btw), but one also doesn't like "girls" or "guys," then what? Yes, we can just say, "Good morning," as a pp suggested. But must we be afraid to address people? Maybe we need to ease up?
I've never liked the word arse and always asked DSs to use bottom instead. I don't like the American ass either as I always think of a donkey, rather than a bottom!