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Any words or phrases that you can't stand?

(330 Posts)
Dinahmo Mon 10-Feb-20 18:05:23

An early phrase that I loathe is "can I get" but a more recent one is the word curate which is used in place of collect, or select etc. Recent examples:

The Guardian" the BBC's failure to curate some news event responsibly"

A description of someone's collection of china pig money boxes (once given away free) as being "carefully curated"

A delicatessen which provides "a perfectly curated picnic"

To my mind the misuse of the word devalues the work of museum and gallery curators.

Witzend Sat 28-Mar-20 11:44:33

Ditto to ‘birthing’!
And whatever happened to ‘new baby’?
It always seems to be just a ‘newborn’ now.

Dinahmo Sat 28-Mar-20 13:24:09

I used to know someone who always said, even if it was a conversation between the two of us "down there" or "down below". She also said that she had a "Manchester repair" and i had not idea for several months what that was.

annodomini Sat 28-Mar-20 13:55:28

Phenomenon - singular
phenomena -plural

Far too often one hears on the media (plural) 'phenomena' used as a singular noun. I fear that there are teachers who don't know the difference and therefore pass on the errors to the next generation
I think the boat has sailed (metaphorically) on the use of 'data' and 'media' as singular nouns, Whoever has heard the word 'datum'?

annodomini Sat 28-Mar-20 14:34:41

I meant to add criterion and criteria to that post!