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Christmas

Twee phraseology....must be me!

(124 Posts)
TBsNana Sat 27-Dec-25 17:24:21

Arrrrgggghhhh! Sorry - just have to post to get this off my chest. My Dil has just emailed and asked us round to coffee to sample the (very posh) coffee they've been "GIFTED" - I hate this gifted word - where has it come from? Whats wrong with "X has given us some super coffee - would you like to come over and try it?"
It's all unbearably twee these days - I thought we'd be the twee ones by now, not them! must be me, bah humbug!

Pleasebenice Sun 11-Jan-26 08:30:37

Language evolves. Maybe try being happy about a lovely invitation rather than getting hung up on a word.

Wheniwasyourage Wed 07-Jan-26 18:54:03

Shrub

I think Gransnet has cured me of being a pedant!

Language evolves and English is America's language as well. So they should be allowed to change it.

Of course they can change how they use English, Shrub, but there is no reason why we should follow them whatever they do!

hollysteers Thu 01-Jan-26 12:02:55

“Bubbles” when having a drink and “naughty” referring to chocolate or likewise.

JamesandJon33 Wed 31-Dec-25 17:30:52

Exactly Aveline I wrote once about a laundry. It was changed to Laundromat. I had to be quite fierce ans ask them to change it back. There were no Laundromats in 1950s Wales.

Aveline Wed 31-Dec-25 15:58:31

American English is very different from our version. An American copy editor radically altered my first book and I had to spend hours turning it all back into what it was supposed to read like!

JamesandJon33 Wed 31-Dec-25 13:06:55

My mother always said ‘I think not ‘ rather than the usual ‘ I don ‘t think so ‘.
I have had trouble with proof readers turning bowlsful into bowlfuls.
Just say Baa baa black sheep… they didn’t have bagfuls did they 🐔?

Shrub Wed 31-Dec-25 11:00:58

I think Gransnet has cured me of being a pedant!

Language evolves and English is America's language as well. So they should be allowed to change it.

skate Tue 30-Dec-25 20:32:23

'Only three sleeps to Christmas'. Three sleeps?? Seen in newspaper ad. For heaven's sake!! What are we - children? What is wrong with 'only three days' ? That one really makes my toes curl.

Astitchintime Tue 30-Dec-25 17:09:28

OF used instead of HAVE! I could scream when I see/hear it!

hollysteers Tue 30-Dec-25 17:01:34

When making arrangements, my DS often talks about “going forward”🙄

DollyRocker Tue 30-Dec-25 16:50:47

I got a cringeworthy reply from a clothing company responding to a complaint;
Dear Dolly
Super thanks for you reaching out to us & super excited that I can help you in the resolution of this matter.
What the flaming hell??!!

Moth62 Tue 30-Dec-25 12:37:49

I know I said I’d stop now, but I’ve just heard something else that really sets my teeth on edge - “bored of”. One can be bored with something or bored by it, but never, never bored OF. angry

Witzend Tue 30-Dec-25 10:37:26

‘Early doors’ is (yet!) another that irritates me. What a daft expression! When I’m a dictator, whoever first said it will be one of the first to be thrown into a rat-infested dungeon for a fortnight. 😂😈

Moth62 Tue 30-Dec-25 10:22:57

Sorry, I’ll stop now… grin

Moth62 Tue 30-Dec-25 10:22:22

And the modern use of “impacts on”, when I always thought it should just be “impacts”. (Though, again, I’d be happy for someone to tell me I’m wrong!)

Moth62 Tue 30-Dec-25 10:18:45

So many times now you hear “…is comprised of…” when it should just be “…comprises…”

Luckygirl3 Tue 30-Dec-25 10:11:07

It is interesting how many nouns have recently turned into verbs. Not sure why or where the change has come from - US?

People action things - rather than perform an action.

Moth62 Tue 30-Dec-25 10:08:06

I dislike the modern usage of “don’t have”, as in “ I don’t have a thing to wear”, when it should really be “I have nothing to wear”. It’s an Americanism which has crept in and which is now completely accepted here. It irritates me when, in a drama set in Regency England, for example, the characters say “I don’t have…”. As far as I know, it’s a modern usage. Though I’m quite prepared for someone to prove I’m wrong!

Aveline Tue 30-Dec-25 09:53:27

Oh yes. That's dreadfulJennyCee

JennyCee Tue 30-Dec-25 09:46:51

Even Worse is:- “From the Get Go”??????

Aveline Tue 30-Dec-25 07:20:11

It was in use long before that
Calendar girl. It was in my Speech Therapy text books 50 years ago!

Calendargirl Tue 30-Dec-25 07:11:40

I thought ‘word salad’ was a new term, often used in connection with Meghan Markle’s ‘worthy’ pronouncements.

Then, blow me, that phrase was used in a library book I was recently reading, published 20 or so years ago.

mum2three Tue 30-Dec-25 05:31:00

As FranP says, it's the influence of America. They do tend to debase everything. People want to be seen as modern and up-to-date on everything and Americans set the trend for so much. The sheep mentality at work again.

grandMattie Tue 30-Dec-25 04:46:19

Americans love to mess around with words. E.g. “I wrote (to) him”.
Then they stretch words - anaesthesiologist, “expiration date” instead of “expiry”.
Pressurised instead of pressured drives me mad.
Then the less/fewer thing.
I’m a grumpy old woman!

Lovetopaint037 Tue 30-Dec-25 03:50:19

So agree Deedaa about the “sweet” this and “sweet”that relating to the Royal family. They must cringe
if they are reading them.