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Lost for words?...

(34 Posts)
Toots Mon 18-Feb-19 10:26:36

A dear friend of mine very often uses the wrong, but similar sounding word, in a sentence.. Malapropism I believe it is called.. she will burst into laughter if I point it out..which I try not to do too often, but then am struggling to keep a straight face myself!... I wish I could remember her best ones but there have been so many we giggle over...
What I do find annoying though..and maybe I shouldn't... is how some of our words are disappearing completely.. my pet hate is people using the word "convince" instead of "persuade"....to me its an entirely different context... "persuade" being a softer option..more cajoling than commanding maybe....and how people sometimes substitute totally irrelevant words for the correct one...such as "are" for "our"... i.e. "when we got to are house...".. and another is "loose" instead of "lose"... i.e... "I didn't want to loose it" ..an entirely different meaning altogether...
Maybe I'm just being a moaning old minnie!

minesaprosecco Tue 19-Feb-19 19:58:06

I bought some houmous the other day. The shop assistant asked me if it was nice humerus.

Grammaretto Tue 19-Feb-19 18:35:24

Loose for lose, as has already been noted and your for you're. Aagh!!
It's worse on Facebook. I don't think people speak like that do they?
Btw why aren't we in pedant's corner?

Bridgeit Tue 19-Feb-19 17:42:31

When brought & bought are used incorrectly.

RosieLeah Tue 19-Feb-19 16:36:35

Prince Charles says 'hice' instead of 'house'...or am I showing my working class roots?

Toots Tue 19-Feb-19 11:50:18

Another friend always says sangwich for sandwich and Sis-in-law says ospical for hospital and thin for then with the same pronunciation on the th as in then but with an i... very puzzling!. ? I wonder if I say anything that irritates others?... no, Shirley knot!... ???

ninathenana Tue 19-Feb-19 11:49:54

If you don't like misused words, stay away from F.B. It makes me want to scream sometimres.

Are as in aargh our as in 'h'our that's how this Southerner pronounces them.
That's another one, pr'nounces angry

nanasam Tue 19-Feb-19 11:46:12

AKS instead of ask. Hearing it all the time on Eastenders!
Prostrate and massectomy.
Carpohydrates.
Hyperdeemic Nurdle
My aunt said strawberries came in a plunket

Toots Tue 19-Feb-19 11:40:46

Apologies .. *emphysemia for emphysema. ?☺

Toots Tue 19-Feb-19 11:37:37

Very funny everyone.. ? I do mainly mean the written word except in the case of convince/persuade which seems to be disappearing altogether
MissAdventure and Daddima.... it sounds like you know my friend!... ??? ...and I think you have all mentioned words that irritate me...prostrate for prostate. pacifically for specifically....muslim for muslin...and my husband's family ALWAYS say emphasemia for emphasema. I find myself correcting people on the television all the time, and I know it's rude to keep correcting people but I really have to bite my tongue sometimes!
The malapropisms do bring a good old chuckle though.. ? I just wish I could remember them all!

harrigran Tue 19-Feb-19 10:38:43

I often forget the word I am looking for so most things in the kitchen are interchangeable, giving DH a pile of plates he may be instructed to put them in the microwave, washing machine or any other appliance. Thankfully he usually knows what I mean.

cavewoman Tue 19-Feb-19 06:43:51

We must share the same neighbour MissA
Does yours take flowers to the 'symmetry' ?
Or complain about her very coast veins?

Daddima Tue 19-Feb-19 03:54:21

My wee auntie had so many malapropisms! She had ‘embezzled’ wallpaper, talked about the ‘ menstrual cyclone’, ‘muslim’ nappies, the ‘ nuclear detergent’, and many more!

MissAdventure Mon 18-Feb-19 23:11:22

My neighbour is an absolute star for saying all manner of things wrong.
Her P.I.P benefit becomes P.I.E, her copd is all manner of initials, her microwave has changed, in the time I've know her to a 'microven'..
Still, its a learning kerb, as she would say smile

lemongrove Mon 18-Feb-19 23:07:37

Too many mmm’s!

lemongrove Mon 18-Feb-19 23:07:06

I have a swimmming cerstificate! ?

MissAdventure Mon 18-Feb-19 23:03:24

Cerstificate

lemongrove Mon 18-Feb-19 23:02:22

Pacific for specific is a constant howler.

lemongrove Mon 18-Feb-19 23:01:26

callgirl that made me laugh?

callgirl1 Mon 18-Feb-19 21:50:12

And prostrate for prostate.

NfkDumpling Mon 18-Feb-19 19:55:17

(And don’t get me started on ashume and conshume. I’m just waiting to hear conshumpshon.)

NfkDumpling Mon 18-Feb-19 19:53:47

Prince Harry said “I would of done that” in a tv interview a while back. I was really shocked!

Dontaskme Mon 18-Feb-19 19:52:55

It must be a regional thing as already said - there is no "w" in our, its our not "ow er". How does the Queen say it? I don't remember ever hearing her use a "w" in our? Then again the Queen would say glaRss, not glass. Anyway I'm in the South and no W here smile

Tangerine Mon 18-Feb-19 19:47:37

"are country". I think it is perhaps a southern thing.

I don't say everyone in the south says "are" for "our".

MiniMoon Mon 18-Feb-19 19:29:34

The one that is really annoying me is era. I have heard so many people pronouncing it erra. There's been a thread about it recently, but it is still really grating. Is this the American pronunciation?

mcem Mon 18-Feb-19 19:05:10

Certainly don't sound the same to me.
Arr or ow er - totally different!