Very unique!

I get annoyed by "what was your name again?"
When not only have I not given my name, but I wasn't asked the first time.

I have had a similar problem, being told that the name the road where I grew up was wrong, despite my having lived there until I married, and that the name of my dearly loved first pet was also incorrect. In the end I gave up and dealt with my issue in a different way.

I get peeved by 'the vast majority' when what is actually meant is 'most'. And why does it always have to be 'vast'

If 50 people were voting on an issue and 26 voted in favour while 24 voted against, the majority in favour would be 2. That's not 'most' (or vast)

It’s useless information, though, Oldnproud. What is the point of telling anyone that?

I find it a bit irritating when after I confirm my address they reply "Excellent!"
Then add "excellent" to every reply I give.

StarDreamer

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?

Answer: at the same time as the house.

This use of contemporary isn’t incorrect.

Most of the other bugbears eg ‘very unique’ are called tautologies (I think!)

PS although ‘contemporaneous’ would be better perhaps

Wheniwasyourage

Oh yes, CountessFosco. Every time I hear it, or its friend "almost unique", I can picture my DM with steam coming out of her ears. In fact, that whirring sound you hear as I type this will be her spinning in her grave!

Why isn't 'almost unique' acceptable? 'Very unique'; 'rather unique' are definitely wrong, but I think 'almost' is okay.

You can use pre-modifying expressions with unique. The OED says:

Unique - the only one of its kind; having no like or equal; unparalleled, unrivalled, esp. in excellence. Later also in extended use (especially with pre-modifying expressions): uncommon, unusual, remarkable.

Use in the comparative and superlative and with modification by words such as absolutely, fairly, quite, thoroughly, very, etc., has been criticized on the grounds that an adjective meaning ‘that is the only one of its kind’ should not be not gradable, but in many contexts this meaning is not readily distinguishable from the extended use. Examples:

1908 Kenneth Grahame Wind in Willows ‘Toad Hall,’ said the Toad proudly, ‘is an eligible self-contained gentleman's residence, very unique.’

1934 George Bernard Shaw On the Rocks Too True to be Good You don't appreciate him. He is absolutely unique.

2015 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Mar. 14/1 Spotted nutcrackers are fairly unique, even among seed-caching birds, because they rely on the seeds from just one kind of tree.

I think because it's either unique or it isn't, choughdancer. It therefore can't be almost unique, just not unique.

Say there were 2,000 green widgets and 1 blue one, the blue one would be unique. If there were 2,000 green ones and 2 blue ones, not unique! That's how I see it.

FannyCornforth

StarDreamer

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?

Answer: at the same time as the house.

This use of contemporary isn’t incorrect.

Most of the other bugbears eg ‘very unique’ are called tautologies (I think!)

Britannica Dictionary definition of CONTEMPORARY ...

2 :existing or happening in the same time period:from the same time period

The book is based oncontemporary accounts of the war. [=accounts of the war that were written when the war was happening

www.britannica.com/dictionary/contemporary

Isn't it simply this meaning?

Apologies for the poor spacing- it looked OK in the preview.

Contemporary can mean:

belonging to the same era or period as another thing (or person or event)

but it can also mean:

characteristic of the present time, modern

In the example, the word and is just linking two statements which are both true but may be mutually exclusive. The adjective contemporary describes the furniture in the exhibition which may be modern even though the house is old.

In a restaurant when you order and the waiter says "good choice" .One day I will order and he/she will say "don't have that it's rubbish" .

StarDreamer

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.

I think PDF has become the known lingo for a PDF and you are on a road to nowhere expecting correspondence to say PDF document.

Revert back . ?
You can’t revert forward.

Anything more than 100% drives me crazy!

Love this post! Often when I’m watching TV or reading I will say “ you can’t say that”. Much to the annoyance of my OH. My current bugbear is the incorrect use of “sat”. First world problem I guess

AGAA4

I find it a bit irritating when after I confirm my address they reply "Excellent!"
Then add "excellent" to every reply I give.

AGAA4. I agree. When asked “Do you know your postcode” I do “ fantastic”. Grrrrr.

I have also been asked to "confirm" my name, age etc.. This never means confirm. It always involves them wanting me to tell them my name so that they can see if it matches their records.
If only they would tell me my name (etc) then I'f be able to confirm it (or not).

And yes, being told my knowledge of myself, of my phone number or post code is "excellent" is ridiculous lolypops.

I think that "whether or not" is tautological but I doubt I'll ever be able to stop people from saying it.

JackyB

I think that "whether or not" is tautological but I doubt I'll ever be able to stop people from saying it.

I doubt whether you’ll be able to stop people saying that -sounds OK.
Some sentences with just ‘whether’ sound wrong without the ‘not’ whether it’s tautological or not.

When I have telephoned to file a complaint with customer services somewhere and the person taking the call says "No problem" I am seriously tempted to say that of course there's a problem! Why else would I struggle through innumerable button-pressing options and long recorded messages in order to speak to a real person in customer services if there was NO BLOODY PROBLEM! But I usually just ask their name and thank them...

.

Then of course there is ' forward planning'. Another bugbear for me.