Unpleasant modern expressions

Tesco's catchphrase 'Every little helps ' ungrammatical, means bu**er all to me.

Letters in names of shop being turned around the wrong way which causes problems for people with dyslexia.

Presenters on the late night news saying 'have a good evening' when I am about to go to bed.

I could go on but won't as The C'wealth Games is taking precedence.

Oh yes, those news readers who say 'Enjoy the rest of your evening' at 10.30 or 11 p.m.

I love the way sale rails in some shops are now labelled "Last Chance to Buy".

I must say that the use of stood or sat, when they mean standing or sitting irritates me - it is now in use by the most respected of newsreaders and politicians. It appears to have become accepted. It must make the teaching of grammar very hard.

I also find the word issue irritating for some reason - it is used to imply problem inappropriately. "We have an issue here." Groan.

A few people object to the double conditional, but it is simply normal American usage: people learning English as a second language have to learn both, so that they also understand American English. Like someone else on here, I do dislike the use of two times instead to twice, which seems to be going the way of thrice.

But languages naturally do 'weaken' over the decades and centuries, in that strong verbs and strong plurals tend to normalise. Thus 'dived' replaces 'dove' (even though 'dove' is retained in American). And I've heard 'mice' being replaced by 'mouses'. And as I mentioned above, 'thrice' became 'three times' a very long time ago.

I don't like it myself, but it isn't all bad. Let's face it, losing most of our old complicated Germanic plurals and replacing them with a simple 's' has simplified our grammar. I do appreciate this simplification, because German is my second language, and its grammar is dreadfully complicated. I only cope because I lived in Austria a while as a young woman, and polished my skill through total immersion in the language.

We will all find some linguistic changes to be intolerable: my favourite hates are saying 'I' when 'me' is correct, and saying 'less' when 'fewer' is correct.

As for business and corporate language;much of it makes me want to scream and run!!

Sales people who invite me to "have a nice day" after completing my purchases. Grr.

"Comfort zone" makes my toes curl.

People who "have feelings for" someone and / or who "settle into a routine" - bleearrgh!!

"Bless" and "bear with me".

I don't mind 'bless' or 'aww bless' - I see it as meaning 'how sweet' so it's a positive!

I dislike anything that goes along the lines of 'let's run it up the flagpole and see who salutes it'

Anyone who says '110%' to show how much they mean something

And where the heck did 'conversate' come from

The use of the word 'enjoy' as an instruction, often in a restaurant, annoys me. I will decide whether or not I have enjoyed a meal, I do not want to be told to do so before I've had an opportunity to sample it.

I don"t think it is an INSTUCTION as such, it is just a pleasant remark. Lighten up!

When we eat with our DD and she has cooked she ALWAYS says enjoy !!

Just oils the wheels IMO

"Me time" and "pampering"!! Good grief, what are we coming to?

It's not really a pleasant remark, more an automated response from drill type training from those in restaurants etc.

Why should we "lighten up"? We're having a contented little whinge, to which we are entitled.

'Enjoy' has always been a transitive verb - in my experience. Why should it recently have developed an intransitive usage? It doesn't take much longer to say, 'Enjoy your meal'.

I would like to add 'looking to' to this list. Why is everyone 'looking to' buy a flat or change their hairstyle these days?

On the blurb for a recent tv programme it was stated "Lady So and So looks to hire a new butler". I hate it - where has it come from?

Like rosesarered I can't get hot under the collar about this sort of thing as long as it helps improve communication and doesn't make people sound unintelligent. "Ya know what I mean" and "like" would come under the latter.

Some of the ones mentioned are Americanisms and, as ours has always been a growing language we will absorb them and use them in our own particular way.

I did find it difficult, however, when various work places discouraged the use of "problem" in exchange for "issues" or "challenges" and, naughty me, I still slip up and have the odd problem

(Please don't give me marks out of 10 for this post )

I don't know whether it has already been mentioned but I dislike "You're joking me". To joke has always been an intransitive verb .

This may have already been mentioned but 'shoulder to shoulder' really annoys me. All politicians now seem to be standing shoulder to shoulder with each other!

I caught some of Countdown one day recently and a fairly young contestant made the 'word' 'Whatev' - short for whatever - out of the letters. I could not believe it when they said it is correct and in the latest Oxford dictionary! What is happening to the English language. In the future they will all be talking textbooks

Sorry last word should have been 'textspeak' - my computer thought it knew best!

All politicians seem to start a sentence with 'Look'
When people use 'the' instead of 'thee' before a vowel = 'the' east, 'the' apple, 'the' orange. Grrrrrrr

Further to "enjoy" (am I in trouble if I don't?) or " have nice day"( unlikely as I am about to purchase Preparation H/ have to see my accountant/realise that my parking space expired 35 minutes ago and I am bound to have got a ticket) another absolute no no is the waiter or waitress who waits until I have taken a
my first mouthful of whatever to ask if my meal is OK(?) I am so tempted to spit it out and tell him/her to come back later or even better, not at all.

Oh yes... 'I'm good'...... no. I didn't ask about your behaviour, I asked about your general well-being. That really irritates me.

I've a new teeth-grinder now.... 'I'm beyond excited' Uh? How does that work then?