Very unique!

Blossoming

Almost unanimous.

I don't consider that wrong.

How is it different from "almost everyone / nearly everyone", as in "Almost everyone agreed that John was the best candidate?

Yes, if one person votes against the rest of the room, the motion would be carried (or lost) almost unanimously.

I think the meaning of this thread is a little misunderstood? It’s in Pedants’ Corner - as in words and phrases that GNs find annoying.

Almost unique - no such thing. The reference to dogs wasn’t about real dogs, but the wording of the phrase.
My pet dislike is PIN number -it’s just a PIN.

The misuse of the word 'contemporary'.

Contrived example:

The house was built 400 years ago and there is an exhibition of contemporary furniture on display on the first floor.

When was the furniture made?

Then there are those with something missing.

For example, in an email:

Please find attached a PDF

Agree very unique is just wrong. Last heard on Radio 4 this morning.
A phrase I find annoying but perhaps it's those who say it is my dog has separation anxiety which is used as an excuse to never leave the dog or always bring it

Saying a couple when they mean more than two. As in I'll just have a couple of peas. My nephew once said this to my Mum and was very surprised when there were only two peas on his plate!

Oldnproud you’ve quantified your sentence by telling us that Goldie was a guide dog. If you’d said ‘Goldie is one of the only dogs allowed on the bus,’ that wouldn’t be telling us anything. One of the only what dogs?

At this moment in time, what`s wrong with "now"?

Georgesgran

My pet dislike is PIN number -it’s just a PIN.
That’s why I dislike ATM machine.

NotSpaghetti

I'm loving all of these!
... it's not just me then.
I hate having to "confirm" my address when they mean "tell me".

There is, or is if used properly, a difference between the two.

If the person already has your address you can confirm it by saying it at ordinary speed, but if they ask you to tell them your address you may need to say it slowly so they can key it into a computer and you may need to spell some words.

That is because it is bad security for the person to say "Can you confirm that you live at 29 Chrysanthemum Gardens, Cherrytown?" as that could give your address away to a fraudster, who might just say "Yes".

I have known some call centre staff to say "Can I take your name?"

I have sometimes said "No, but I'll tell you what it is."

I have actually replied to a lady asking me that question "A gentleman has to be very careful how he answers when a lady asks him that" and we shared a giggle.

This may be straying off-topic, but related, is that some organisations purport that "security" is satisfied if the caller correectly states the name, address and date of birth of the person he or she is claiming to be.

Also, the utter silliness of some organisations trying to use Mother's Maiden Name as a security check.

StarDreamer

Then there are those with something missing.

For example, in an email:

Please find attached a PDF

what is wrong with that sentence?

or do you mean it says that when no PDF is attached?

AussieNanna

StarDreamer

Then there are those with something missing.

For example, in an email:

Please find attached a PDF

what is wrong with that sentence?

or do you mean it says that when no PDF is attached?

PDF means Portable Document Format.

So it should be

Please find attached a PDF document

as PDF is the format, not the document that has been constructed in accordance with that format.

My bugbear is the often heard 'SNP Party'

I also notice when television presenters use "company" and "firm" as if they mean the same, sometimes using one then later the other, when referring to the same business entity.

Journalists often seem to try not to use the same word twice in one piece of text.

I think it is optional in British English, but I notice when "different to" is used rather than "different from".

Honeysuckleberries

I hate ‘mental health’ when it’s used for someone who has problems. We all have mental health. It’s just sometimes good or bad in varying degrees.

I agree Honeysuckleberries also "I have blood pressure" we all do otherwise we would be dead.

The 'very unique' comment always grates on me as well.

It always annoys me when television presenters and journalists veer between referring to a company in the singular and plural. A company is a single entity.

Germanshepherdsmum

It always annoys me when television presenters and journalists veer between referring to a company in the singular and plural. A company is a single entity.

Not sure I understand what you mean. A company is certainly a single entity, but the use of they as a singular pronoun in increasingly evident.

It’s the inconsistency in the course of a single piece which is annoying. Pick your pronoun and stick to it!

tv presenters 'i'll just repeat that again' is another bugbear

This is absolutely perfect!

My Latin teacher insisted that perfect can never be qualified, and now I come to think of it, so did my English mistress.

The Danish version of the Co-op jumped on the band-wagon of using English as a gimmick in the 1980s and called their new range of stores "SuperBest"

The stores are still with us, and nobody has managed to convince them that you cannot qualify best either, and if you insist on so doing then you should at least hyphenate Super-Best!

SueDonim

Oldnproud you’ve quantified your sentence by telling us that Goldie was a guide dog. If you’d said ‘Goldie is one of the only dogs allowed on the bus,’ that wouldn’t be telling us anything. One of the only what dogs?

Without qualifying it (which I only did to give context), the sentence tells us that the number or type of dogs allowed on the bus is limited in some way, but that Goldie fits the criteria, and that on this occasion, the speaker doesn't deem it necessary to spell them out.

StarDreamer

This may be straying off-topic, but related, is that some organisations purport that "security" is satisfied if the caller correectly states the name, address and date of birth of the person he or she is claiming to be.

Also, the utter silliness of some organisations trying to use Mother's Maiden Name as a security check.

I was asked my mother's maiden name as a security check on the phone, and when I told him and spelt it out, they replied 'No, it isn't'!
I assured him this was my mother's name, and that whoever had put it into the computer had made a typo. I then asked if the name in front of them was one character different, or had 2 letters reversed. I got through security eventually.