# Ahhhhhh, stop typing that!



## Goldmoon (Jun 21, 2007)

After reading this I got to thinking about what words annoy me. I came up with "Pwnd", "n00b" and "1337 or leet" as my most annoying words. Anyone else?


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## hafrogman (Jun 21, 2007)

There is a gaming company called Blizzard.  They made a certain MMORPG.  There is a web forum dedicated to that game.  Time spent on those boards has removed a chunk of my soul and any hope for the future of humanity.  My least favorite parts are the acronyms and abbreviations used.

QQ
GTFO
DIAF
ORLY
YARLY
SRSLY
NO WAI
WAI
GG

I'm going to go QQ now.


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## crazy_monkey1956 (Jun 21, 2007)

I can't stand acronyms in general.  Comes from my time in the military, I suppose.  FIFY is my current least favorite because of what it implies.  "Fixed It For You (or Ya)" is, to me, a direct violation of what someone else said...effectively putting words in their mouth that never issued from that person...placing your own views onto someone else.  It aggravates, even when it is done in jest.


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## Finster (Jun 21, 2007)

Although it's not internet jargon:

*Nuculer*. Pronounced Noo-Keu-ler.

I have nothing but contempt for this non-word-mispronounced-look at me I'm an ignoramus-crap. This word needs to be stamped out before it's too late! And I fear it may be too late already.

The word is nuclear. Because it's used to refer to a nucleus, not a nuculus.

Thank you for providing a forum for my pet peeve.


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## Thornir Alekeg (Jun 21, 2007)

It makes me feel like some old luddite when I don't understand most of these acronyms or text speak or whatever the heck it is.  

Just what is 1337 anyway?


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## Galethorn (Jun 21, 2007)

1337 = LEET, pronounced either like it's spelled, or 'EL-EET' (i.e. 'Elite'). Basically, some numbers and punctuations can be used to look like letters, and, as such, they're used to say things and look k3\/\/1 (kewl -> cool). This is Leetspeak.

Pwned/Pwnd: came from the common problem of hitting P instead of O when typing 'Owned' (generally said after beating someone at a game, or by a third party seeing someone beaten badly).


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## kenobi65 (Jun 21, 2007)

Finster said:
			
		

> Although it's not internet jargon:
> 
> *Nuculer*. Pronounced Noo-Keu-ler.
> 
> I have nothing but contempt for this non-word-mispronounced-look at me I'm an ignoramus-crap. This word needs to be stamped out before it's too late! And I fear it may be too late already.




Especially because a certain man from your home state, who has risen to a position of extreme power, tends to pronounce it that way.


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## Piratecat (Jun 21, 2007)

kenobi65 said:
			
		

> Especially because a certain man from your home state, who has risen to a position of extreme power, tends to pronounce it that way.



Veiled political references aren't any better than overt ones. Avoid them, please.


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## Angel Tarragon (Jun 21, 2007)

Whats QQ?


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## hafrogman (Jun 21, 2007)

Frukathka said:
			
		

> Whats QQ?



Cry more, n00b.

It's two eyes with tears falling from them.


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## Angel Tarragon (Jun 21, 2007)

hafrogman said:
			
		

> Cry more, n00b.
> 
> It's two eyes with tears falling from them.



ah.


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## Mouseferatu (Jun 21, 2007)

My hate leans more toward phrases than words (though I loathe anything to do with "leet speak").

"I has" or "I can has" was cute the first 2,497 times. Now it makes me want to take a chain saw to someone's gonads.

Misunderstandings of common terms also bug the crap out of me. "Should have" or "should've," not "should of."

"All intents and purposes," not "intensive purposes."

And about a dozen othes than I see all the time, but have blocked from my memory like a traumatic event.

And don't even get me started on "less" vs. "fewer."

But now we're drifting into basic grammar, not net-specific idiocy.


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## kenobi65 (Jun 21, 2007)

Piratecat said:
			
		

> Veiled political references aren't any better than overt ones. Avoid them, please.




Yeah, I thought, in retrospect, that might've been out of bounds.  My apologies.


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## Goldmoon (Jun 21, 2007)

I have the abbreviation "wat" for "what" Its 1 freaking letter you lazy ass.......


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## hafrogman (Jun 21, 2007)

Goldmoon said:
			
		

> I have the abbreviation "wat" for "what" Its 1 freaking letter you lazy ass.......



For that matter "u" "r" "ur" "c" and also, while we're on it,  "i" . . . it's not even an extra letter!  Just the shift key!  

i c u r 2 la-z 2 capitalize ur werds.


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## Angel Tarragon (Jun 21, 2007)

hafrogman said:
			
		

> For that matter "u" "r" "ur" "c" and also, while we're on it,  "i" . . . it's not even an extra letter!  Just the shift key!
> 
> i c u r 2 la-z 2 capitalize ur werds.



You are right, that is just wrong.


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## Atavar (Jun 21, 2007)

Lose v. Loose

Correct: "This Pistons will lose to the Cavaliers."

WRONG: "This Pistons will loose to the Cavaliers."

Not exactly 'net-specific, but the only time I seem to see this one is on the 'net.

Later,

Atavar


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## Asmo (Jun 21, 2007)

lolz

Asmo


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## Hypersmurf (Jun 21, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> And about a dozen othes than I see all the time, but have blocked from my memory like a traumatic event.




Harden up, or you'll never survive.  It's a doggy-dog world out there.

-Hyp.


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## hafrogman (Jun 21, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Harden up, or you'll never survive.  It's a doggy-dog world out there.



Snoop?


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## Jeysie (Jun 21, 2007)

Finster said:
			
		

> *Nuculer*. Pronounced Noo-Keu-ler.
> 
> I have nothing but contempt for this non-word-mispronounced-look at me I'm an ignoramus-crap. This word needs to be stamped out before it's too late! And I fear it may be too late already.




Or non-word-mispronounced-look at me I have a speech impediment-crap.

It always drives me insane... when it comes to *writing* I have excellent spelling, good grammar (the comma/run-on sentence is the bane of my verbal existence), and a broad and accurate vocabulary. Yet when it comes to *speaking*, if there is a way to mispronounce a word, I will manage to do it every single time, even if intellectually I know what the correct pronunciation is. Sigh. 

Anyway. Back on topic, pretty much all l33t speak and lazy Net abbreviations drive me insane. Of course, poor spelling and grammar *also* drive me insane, if I know the person is a native English speaker. I've had discussions of laziness vs. caring about clarity of communication with a fair number of fellow internet dwellers.

And I have a special hatred for the word "alright". 

Peace & Luv, Liz


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## Mycanid (Jun 21, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Harden up, or you'll never survive.  It's a doggy-dog world out there.
> 
> -Hyp.




WHO LET THE DAWGZ OUT?!   

http://youtube.com/watch?v=He82NBjJqf8


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## kyloss (Jun 21, 2007)

My problems lie more with proper usage such as use of the word penultimate where they mean ultimate, and misuse of phrases like let alone, the greater/rarer thing is supposed to go second.


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## Dog Moon (Jun 22, 2007)

Asmo said:
			
		

> lolz
> 
> Asmo




I don't mind lol, but I can't stand roflcopter or lollerskates and similar words.  lol is at least short for something, but in an age where we're shortening everything, how did people start ADDING parts to words?


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## Michael Silverbane (Jun 22, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> Misunderstandings of common terms also bug the crap out of me. "Should have" or "should've," not "should of."
> 
> "All intents and purposes," not "intensive purposes."




These sorts of things bother me, as well...  There was one, in particular, that someone was using that made me just want to kill them So Hard.  I should of corrected them, so they'd see  I was smarter then them.  Yeah...  that's the ticket.

Later
silver


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## Wereserpent (Jun 22, 2007)

I has a shovel.

ROFLCOPTER

LOLLERSKATEZ!1!!!111

You will loose to me!

Pwned noobz!!!111!!

c u l8ter guyz


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## Dog Moon (Jun 22, 2007)

Galeros said:
			
		

> l8ter




See, that never made any sense to me either.  8 already has a t in it, so that way, you'd be stuttering, late-ter.  Should just be l8er.


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## Bront (Jun 22, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> My hate leans more toward phrases than words (though I loathe anything to do with "leet speak").
> 
> "I has" or "I can has" was cute the first 2,497 times. Now it makes me want to take a chain saw to someone's gonads.
> 
> ...



Ya, I can has fewer of thats!


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## Lewis526 (Jun 22, 2007)

It makes my skin crawl when people write _alot_.  Think about it people.  It's _a lot_.  You wouldn't type _alittle_, would you?

And by the way, there's nothing bad about dogginess.  Getting eaten is what would bother me.


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## Mouseferatu (Jun 22, 2007)

Michael Silverbane said:
			
		

> These sorts of things bother me, as well...  There was one, in particular, that someone was using that made me just want to kill them So Hard.  I should of corrected them, so they'd see  I was smarter then them.  Yeah...  that's the ticket.




Cute.


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## Thunderfoot (Jun 22, 2007)

Dog Moon said:
			
		

> See, that never made any sense to me either.  8 already has a t in it, so that way, you'd be stuttering, late-ter.  Should just be l8er.



Actually, it should be  'L8R' since the 'R' is pronounced 'Are' --  L + 8 + R = Later
For as much as I hate 'Leet' speak, and I do hate it, the phonetics used to create the original TXT style words are really no different than shorthand in the steno pool at offices from the 20s - 80s; the word isn't as important as the context and the meaning attached.

'If clarity is achieved, brevity is appreciated' was a common catch-phrase and honestly, 'LEET' has managed to accomplish this, however, the modern language evolving from it, 'lollerskates' for example, is a real problem; it is neither clear, nor breif.


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## Thunderfoot (Jun 22, 2007)

Galeros said:
			
		

> I has a shovel.
> 
> ROFLCOPTER
> 
> ...



My hat of u is gr8!  U suxxor!


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## TarionzCousin (Jun 22, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> And don't even get me started on "less" vs. "fewer."



Grocery stores in the Pacific Northwest USA all have the "X Items or Less" line in their stores. Of course, everyone here knows that this is grammatically incorrect, right?

/except Albertson's, which is local to the area, I think. Their signs say "Fifteen Items or Fewer" but their selection is poor and their prices are high.


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## Mouseferatu (Jun 22, 2007)

TarionzCousin said:
			
		

> Grocery stores in the Pacific Northwest USA all have the "X Items or Less" line in their stores. Of course, everyone here knows that this is grammatically incorrect, right?
> 
> /except Albertson's, which is local to the area, I think. Their signs say "Fifteen Items or Fewer" but their selection is poor and their prices are high.




No, Albertsons is here, too. But I hate them.

At least some HEB stores I've seen get it right.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jun 22, 2007)

For me, it is the persistent abuse of the apostrophe.

All over D/FW, you can see signs that advertise "gun's," "taco's," sales on "weekend's" and "snack's" including "fruit's and nut's"...

I've even started getting similar stuff in emails.

ARGH!


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## Dioltach (Jun 22, 2007)

"End of". End of what?


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## Mouseferatu (Jun 22, 2007)

Dannyalcatraz said:
			
		

> For me, it is the persistent abuse of the apostrophe.
> 
> All over D/FW, you can see signs that advertise "gun's," "taco's," sales on "weekend's" and "snack's" including "fruit's and nut's"...
> 
> ...




God, yes! That's one of the ones I couldn't think of.

I want to have it stamped on my forehead for others to read.

*"YOU DO NOT USE AN APOSTROPHE TO INDICATE A PLURAL!"*

I don't think it'd fit, though. 

(Similarly, what's with the signs I see where people put something in quotes in order to emphasize it?   )


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jun 22, 2007)

I'm pretty sure that among the most common responses you'd get to your tattoo (if it fit) would be:

"What's an _ap-oh-strofe_?"


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## Bront (Jun 22, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> (Similarly, what's with the signs I see where people put something in quotes in order to emphasize it?   )



DON'T FORGET TYPING IN ALL CAPS AND WITH LOTS OF EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!11!!!one1!eleven!


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## Mouseferatu (Jun 22, 2007)

Bront said:
			
		

> DON'T FORGET TYPING IN ALL CAPS AND WITH LOTS OF EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111!!11!!!one1!eleven!




But at least that, while obnoxious as all get out, makes some amount of sense. I can understand how some people would see it as extra emphasis.

The quotations thing, though, just floors me. (In addition to being blatantly wrong by all rules of grammar.)


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## Bront (Jun 22, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> But at least that, while obnoxious as all get out, makes some amount of sense. I can understand how some people would see it as extra emphasis.
> 
> The quotations thing, though, just floors me. (In addition to being blatantly wrong by all rules of grammar.)



I'll still take that over zero punctuation paragraph boy


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## Mouseferatu (Jun 22, 2007)

Bront said:
			
		

> I'll still take that over zero punctuation paragraph boy




Urk. *shudder*

Yeah. Few things will make me just totally ignore a post (or e-mail, or whatever), but that's one of them.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jun 22, 2007)

> I'll still take that over zero punctuation paragraph boy




Ah, the bastard child of ee cummings and William Faulkner...I know him.

But I have a friend?  Who only uses question marks?  And writes his sentences in odd fragments? And it is hard to read? Without chuckling? Especially when I edit his advertising copy?


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## Asmo (Jun 22, 2007)

Jeysie said:
			
		

> Peace & Luv, Liz



  lolz! 

Asmo


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## Mouseferatu (Jun 22, 2007)

Dannyalcatraz said:
			
		

> But I have a friend?  Who only uses question marks?




I've heard people who _talk_ like that, but I can't fathom anyone _writing_ that way...


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## TarionzCousin (Jun 22, 2007)

I lived in New York City for two years, and it was a constant source of amusement/frustration to see improper grammar and misspellings on signs, advertisements, TV commercials, etc. One block from where I lived a bodega sold "Magerzines." I went in and asked for a magerzine and they had no idea what I was talking about. 

They had the word misspelled on their storefront canopy for years and had never noticed.




			
				Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> I want to have it stamped on my forehead for others to read.



Exactly how I feel!

After college, I used my degree in English to correct advertisements sent to myself and my roommates and return them to the senders with a note indicating how much money they owed me. I would mark up the copy in red pen and try to refrain from snarky comments. One friend called me the "Grammar Cop." I have since written several dozen short articles for three employers as the "Chief of Grammar Police," so I have managed to get paid to correct other people's mistakes.


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## Jeysie (Jun 22, 2007)

Jeysie said:
			
		

> Peace & Luv, Liz
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Don't give me an ironic "lolz" *too* quickly.  The short short version of the explanation is that I don't toss around the word "love" lightly in regards to other people. Therefore, the "love" part of "Peace & Love" seemed too forward to me when I adopted it as a signature, so I changed the spelling to "Luv" to make the sentiment seem more a general well-wish and less personal.

Call it a collison between personal hang-ups and an attempt at precision of communcation of sentiment.

Peace & Luv, Liz


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## Hijinks (Jun 22, 2007)

> Grocery stores in the Pacific Northwest USA all have the "X Items or Less" line in their stores. Of course, everyone here knows that this is grammatically incorrect, right?




I saw an ad in Walmart that said how "nutritional" bananas are.  I mentioned to the deli guy that they might want to change that to "nutritious," and he just gaped at me.  Ah well.

My pet peeves are:

* Writing one huge paragraph .. I won't read it.  Break it out if you want people to read it.

* KWIM.  This apparently means "Know What I Mean" but take away the K and replace it with a Q and it's a slang term from the Victorian era for a woman's hooha.  So whenever I see KWIM, I say the naughty word in my head - I can't help it - and it squicks me out.  I've tried to break women on my boards of using it, but they don't get it.


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## kenobi65 (Jun 22, 2007)

Hijinks said:
			
		

> I saw an ad in Walmart that said how "nutritional" bananas are.  I mentioned to the deli guy that they might want to change that to "nutritious," and he just gaped at me.  Ah well.




This is related to what Dannyalcatraz posted about the signs misusing the apostrophe.

What gets me is when you see (allegedly) professionally-created signs that have obvious spelling or punctuation errors on them.

Walking to my car from the train station last night, I passed a taxicab that had, on its back window, the sign, "Driver's Wanted!"

Then, while driving home, I passed a dry cleaner.  This dry cleaner changed hands a few months ago, and the new owners (a chain that owns a half-dozen dry cleaners in the area) had some big vinyl banners made, to hang on either side of the big marquee sign, probalby until they could afford to replace the sign.

On one side of that sign, the banner tells me that they will "proffessionally clean" my clothes.  On the other side, the banner tells me that they will do this using "Environnmentally safe" ingredients.

:weeps:


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## Dioltach (Jun 22, 2007)

As a translator/editor, I come across a lot of weird stuff. But one of the things that gets me most here in the Netherlands is that everyone thinks that their English is perfect. And fair enough, their spoken English is better than most and good enough to get by, even in business meetings. But their written English is all the worse for their thinking that it's good enough.

I once edited a CV of a chap who said of his language skills, 'I speak perfect English and rather French.'


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## werk (Jun 22, 2007)

Orientate 

I don't care if it is technically right, it's a bastardization used to make you sound smarter than you really are.

like irregardless...


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## Thunderfoot (Jun 23, 2007)

werk said:
			
		

> Orientate
> 
> I don't care if it is technically right, it's a bastardization used to make you sound smarter than you really are.
> 
> like irregardless...



Actually, that was a military term used in jest that seems to have 'gotten loose in the wild', so to speak.  

Before you use a map, you must orient the map - the pharse "make sure you orientate" was never supposed to be taken seriously.  Then again, when I was a Soldier, you had to have a HS diploma just to enlist and most folks had degrees of some sort..  :\


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## Cabled (Jun 23, 2007)

TarionzCousin said:
			
		

> Grocery stores in the Pacific Northwest USA all have the "X Items or Less" line in their stores. Of course, everyone here knows that this is grammatically incorrect, right?
> 
> /except Albertson's, which is local to the area, I think. Their signs say "Fifteen Items or Fewer" but their selection is poor and their prices are high.




Well, Albertson's did start up here, though it has spr3ad all over now lik3 ev3rything els3.


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## babomb (Jun 23, 2007)

Dog Moon said:
			
		

> I don't mind lol, but I can't stand roflcopter or lollerskates and similar words.  lol is at least short for something, but in an age where we're shortening everything, how did people start ADDING parts to words?




_lol_ doesn't bother me _per se_, but people use it when they aren't really laughing at things that aren't really funny, so it bothers me quite a bit.

_Cyberspace_ has always irked me, probably because I've never seen it used by anyone who was computer literate. The dreaded non-word _irregardless_ makes me want to scream, especially when I see it in professionally edited books.

A lot of people use _literally_ to mean "figuratively", the exact opposite of literally! It irks me to no end, except when it makes me laugh.

There is a phrase I hear often, "That's so diculous, it's RE-diculous.". Oy! On the other hand, I quite enjoy meaningful back formation, such as _sheveled_, meaning "having tidy hair".

_Verbing_ is an autological word that I rather enjoy, even if it [http://www.ourlocalstyle.com/images/uploadImages/2006/05/03/cnhVerbingWeirdsLanguage.gif]"weirds language"[/url]. But some verbs are just not meant to be, like _efforting_ (*shudder*). There's already a perfectly good word for that: _trying_. _Heart_ is pretty annoying as a verb, too.

I also find it amusing when quotation marks are used for emphasis, because it reads to me as though the people don't believe it themselves (or else they would assert it without resorting to quoting some unnamed source) and are being ironic. We don't have fresh fruit, but we have "fresh" (which is to say, rotten) fruit.

One of my friends uses commas as though they were semicolons, which is to say he uses them to combine sentences without a conjunction.

Some of you will enjoy this: http://www.angryflower.com/bobsqu.gif.

N. B., as you may have noticed above, I deliberately break the rules regarding punctuation going inside of quotation marks. I think my version makes a lot more sense, although I suppose the same could be said of the attempts at English spelling reform; my grammar house rule, if I may call it that, is simply more meager and arguably looks less ridiculous.


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## Bront (Jun 23, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> I've heard people who _talk_ like that, but I can't fathom anyone _writing_ that way...



I'm Ron Burgandy?


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## Mouseferatu (Jun 23, 2007)

babomb said:
			
		

> _lol_ doesn't bother me _per se_, but people use it when they aren't really laughing at things that aren't really funny, so it bothers me quite a bit.




I've heard people--including some fairly intelligent folks whom I normally really like--using "lol" or "lolz" in _spoken conversation_!!     

Every time I hear that, I want to bury my head* in the sand.

* (Or sometimes _their_ heads.)


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## Bront (Jun 23, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> I've heard people--including some fairly intelligent folks whom I normally really like--using "lol" or "lolz" in _spoken conversation_!!
> 
> Every time I hear that, I want to bury my head* in the sand.
> 
> * (Or sometimes _their_ heads.)



I've never heard that.  That's just downright sad.


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## Barendd Nobeard (Jun 23, 2007)

Here is Milwaukee, you get a lot of:

It's a mute point. (What, did Helen Keller first make the point in question?)
It's not my billy-whack. (Who is Billy and what--or who--is he whacking?)
I borrowed him some money.  (Good--now, I'll learn you some grammar.)


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## Pbartender (Jun 23, 2007)

babomb said:
			
		

> The dreaded non-word _irregardless_ makes me want to scream, especially when I see it in professionally edited books.




It's in the dictionary...



			
				Webster said:
			
		

> Main Entry: *ir·re·gard·less*
> Pronunciation: "ir-i-'gärd-l&s
> Function: _adverb_
> Etymology: probably blend of _irrespective_ and _regardless_
> ...


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## Lewis526 (Jun 24, 2007)

_Irregardless_ bothers me only a little less than _utilize_.  I know it's also a word in the dictionary, but it's almost always a pretentious waste of syllables.

I also hate it when people use _I_ as the object of a preposition, as in "Jim is going to the store with Jane and I."  I realize most people don't have the interest in grammar really to learn when to use _me_ and when to use _I_, but this is getting way too common among people who should know better.


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## Tiberius (Jun 24, 2007)

Lewis526 said:
			
		

> I realize most people don't have the interest in grammar really to learn when to use _me_ and when to use _I_, but this is getting way too common among people who should know better.




Pfft. It's not that difficult. If you'd use the nominative case in Latin, then it's "I." Else, it's "me." Same goes for who vs. whom. See? Easy.


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## Jesus_marley (Jun 24, 2007)

With regard to using quotation marks for emphasis on signage, I believe it may have originated out of necessity. A lot of the signs that I see that use this format are the portable billboard signs with the removable letter sets. The sets generally do not provide much in the way punctuation or emphasis tools so the users resorted to using what was available. This of course then translated into everyday usage.... unfortunately.

Well, this is my theory, anyway.


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## kenobi65 (Jun 24, 2007)

Tiberius said:
			
		

> Pfft. It's not that difficult. If you'd use the nominative case in Latin, then it's "I." Else, it's "me." Same goes for who vs. whom. See? Easy.




LOL.  Yeah, easy for the 0.000001% of the population who both (a) had to take Latin in school, and (b) actually *remember* enough of it to know what "nominative case" means.


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## Mouseferatu (Jun 24, 2007)

Jesus_marley said:
			
		

> With regard to using quotation marks for emphasis on signage, I believe it may have originated out of necessity. A lot of the signs that I see that use this format are the portable billboard signs with the removable letter sets. The sets generally do not provide much in the way punctuation or emphasis tools so the users resorted to using what was available. This of course then translated into everyday usage.... unfortunately.
> 
> Well, this is my theory, anyway.




It makes sense, but I'd say that--at least for many people, myself included--their efforts backfired. I'd rather see no emphasis than blatant grammatical mangling. Even on those portable signs, when there may be no other option, if I see something in quotes when it shouldn't be, I don't think "I guess they didn't have any other symbols to emphasize with," I think, "What an idiot."


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## Hypersmurf (Jun 25, 2007)

kenobi65 said:
			
		

> What gets me is when you see (allegedly) professionally-created signs that have obvious spelling or punctuation errors on them.




There's a place I drive past on occasion, with a sign proclaiming (names changed to protect the guilty) "John Smith Phototography".

Even scarier was the number of phototographers you can find out there with a Google search...

-Hyp.


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## Mycanid (Jun 25, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> There's a place I drive past on occasion, with a sign proclaiming (names changed to protect the guilty) "John Smith Phototography".
> 
> Even scarier was the number of phototographers you can find out there with a Google search...
> 
> -Hyp.




Ya know Hyp ... I have seen plenty of these around these parts as well.    I wonder if maybe there is some kind of secret joke going on? That all photographers are initiated into some kind of secret society and deliberately write things like this as part of their guild's "cant'" or something. And then they laugh at the rest of us behind our backs, snickering in their sleeves.  :\


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## Merkuri (Jun 25, 2007)

Barendd Nobeard said:
			
		

> It's a mute point. (What, did Helen Keller first make the point in question?)



That reminds me of a scene from Friends that goes something like:

Joey: It's a moo point.
Rachel: A "moo" point?
Joey: Yeah, it's like a cow's opinion.  It doesn't mean anything.  It's moo.



			
				Lewis526 said:
			
		

> I also hate it when people use _I_ as the object of a preposition, as in "Jim is going to the store with Jane and I."



I think that started because people used to say, "someone and me" all the time, like, "Bob and me are going to dinner."  This was considered normal, but grammatically incorrect.  You sounded more intelligent if you said, "Bob and I are going to dinner."  The problem was, people didn't understand WHY you say "I" instead of "me", so they try to sound intelligent by saying "and I" all the time, even when "and me" was technically correct.  The end result is that the "norm" has changed and people still don't sound any smarter than they actually are.


----------



## babomb (Jun 25, 2007)

Pbartender said:
			
		

> It's in the dictionary...




That doesn't mean anything other than enough people have made the same mistake. Dictionaries are entirely descriptive and not prescriptive. To quote Anatole France: "If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.".


----------



## Bront (Jun 25, 2007)

babomb said:
			
		

> That doesn't mean anything other than enough people have made the same mistake. Dictionaries are entirely descriptive and not prescriptive. To quote Anatole France: "If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.".



But if millions of people use it everyday, it becomes standard language


----------



## Pbartender (Jun 25, 2007)

babomb said:
			
		

> That doesn't mean anything other than enough people have made the same mistake.




That's the point...  the word's included the dictionary, but only to point out that it's a stupid word.

I thought that amusing.


----------



## Style (Jun 25, 2007)

The horror.  The horror.  Where do I start?

As mentioned above, FIFY is just awful.  Death to all who use it.  Specifically, death by vomit drowning.

People who use "frak" from BSG in conversation or in their posts.  Ridiculous.  It's on the same level as saying "May the Force be with you" or "Live long and prosper" with any degree of seriousness.  For pity's sake, get a life.  Or just swear like a normal person and let the filter FIFY!

Phrases like "keep it real" or "take it to the next level" drive me into paroxysms of postal rage.

And I wholeheartedly concur with the absurdity of "nucular", "intensive purposes" and (my current hate) "persay".

I'll come back when I have thought of some more.  There are plenty, believe you me.

People.  Hate them all.


----------



## Atavar (Jun 25, 2007)

Style said:
			
		

> People who use "frak" from BSG in conversation or in their posts.  Ridiculous.  It's on the same level as saying "May the Force be with you" or "Live long and prosper" with any degree of seriousness.  For pity's sake, get a life.  Or just swear like a normal person and let the filter FIFY!




I disagree with this one.  I've found a well-placed "frak" to be quite useful and amusing.

Later,

Atavar


----------



## Tewligan (Jun 25, 2007)

babomb said:
			
		

> That doesn't mean anything other than enough people have made the same mistake. Dictionaries are entirely descriptive and not prescriptive. To quote Anatole France: "If a million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing.".



Just to nitpick, I think you're off by 49 million...


----------



## Goldmoon (Jun 25, 2007)

Tewligan said:
			
		

> Just to nitpick, I think you're off by 49 million...




Nice, was that always your sig?


----------



## Style (Jun 26, 2007)

Atavar said:
			
		

> I disagree with this one.  I've found a well-placed "frak" to be quite useful and amusing lame and pathetic.  Oh, what a witless geek I am.  The shame.
> 
> Later,
> 
> Atavar



FIFY.


----------



## Wereserpent (Jun 26, 2007)

I really dislike the term "Jones" as it is sometimes used on this forum to indicate that someone wants or likes something.

I mean WTH is up with that.  I want to kill it!


----------



## werk (Jun 26, 2007)

Barendd Nobeard said:
			
		

> Here is Milwaukee, you get a lot of:
> 
> It's a mute point. (What, did Helen Keller first make the point in question?)
> It's not my billy-whack. (Who is Billy and what--or who--is he whacking?)
> I borrowed him some money.  (Good--now, I'll learn you some grammar.)





I can confirm this assertion, at least for #1 and #3.

Mute point...I hear this in corporate strategy meetings [rolleyes]


----------



## kenobi65 (Jun 26, 2007)

Galeros said:
			
		

> I really dislike the term "Jones" as it is sometimes used on this forum to indicate that someone wants or likes something.
> 
> I mean WTH is up with that.  I want to kill it!




That's an old, old term.  Cheech and Chong had a song called "Basketball Jones" back in the early 70s, and that, I think, was a spoof of a song called "Love Jones."  I wouldn't be surprised if the etymology of "jones" goes back even further.

"jonesing" as a term for wanting / desiring something seems to have had a resurgence in the past few years, however.


----------



## Wereserpent (Jun 26, 2007)

kenobi65 said:
			
		

> That's an old, old term.  Cheech and Chong had a song called "Basketball Jones" back in the early 70s, and that, I think, was a spoof of a song called "Love Jones."  I wouldn't be surprised if the etymology of "jones" goes back even further.
> 
> "jonesing" as a term for wanting / desiring something seems to have had a resurgence in the past few years, however.




I still want to kill it!


----------



## bodhi (Jun 27, 2007)

Galeros said:
			
		

> I still want to kill it!



And loot the body. Can't forget that part.


----------



## Goldmoon (Jun 27, 2007)

bodhi said:
			
		

> And loot the body. Can't forget that part.




"Get all from corpse. Bury corpse"


----------



## Lewis526 (Jun 27, 2007)

Style said:
			
		

> And I wholeheartedly concur with the absurdity of "nucular" ...




Some people who say "nucular" do it to irritate their enemies.

By the way, is there still anyone among us who isn't aware of engrish.com?


----------



## Glyfair (Jun 27, 2007)

In RPG discussions it often annoys me how often I heard about cannons.  Not the things that go *boom*, but as in "Greyhawk canon."

However, I did get to use them together recently.  The recent Xen'drik Expeditions fastplay characters poll has a warforged called "Cannon" supposedly because it's like artillery.  However, there isn't gunpowder in Eberron.  So I got to point out that "cannons aren't canon in Eberron."


----------



## werk (Jun 27, 2007)

Glyfair said:
			
		

> In RPG discussions it often annoys me how often I heard about cannons.  Not the things that go *boom*, but as in "Greyhawk cannon."
> 
> However, I did get to use them together recently.  The recent Xen'drik Expeditions fastplay characters poll has a warforged called "Cannon" supposedly because it's like artillery.  However, there isn't gunpowder in Eberron.  So I got to point out that "cannons are canon in Eberron."




Cannon vs canon.




Cannon wins.


----------



## hafrogman (Jun 27, 2007)

Goldmoon said:
			
		

> "Get all from corpse. Bury corpse"



What kind of froo-froo MUD have you been playing?

Get all.
Sac corpse.


----------



## Halivar (Jun 27, 2007)

Finster said:
			
		

> The word is nuclear. Because it's used to refer to a nucleus, not a nuculus.



From Dictionary.com:

"Since /-kliər/, the common pronunciation of ‑cle·ar, might also be represented, broadly, as /-kləyər/, the /-kyələr/ pronunciation can be seen as coming from a process of metathesis, in which the /l/ and the /y/ change places. The resulting pronunciation is reinforced by analogy with such words as molecular, particular, and muscular, and although it occurs with some frequency among highly educated speakers, including scientists, professors, and government officials, it is disapproved of by many."

I actually grew up with the /NOO-kyələr/ pronunciation (on army bases, no less), and didn't lose it until I moved to the south-east as an adult. I also seem to remember it being presented as a valid alternative pronunciation in one of my college dictionaries (I think it was American Heritage, but I could be wrong).


----------



## Style (Jun 27, 2007)

Oh, I remembered another one:

"I, for one, welcome our blah blah blah..."

Man, this pisses me off.  It was funny the first time I saw it, and maybe the second or third two.  Now it seems like someone has to throw it into every damn thread.  Yawn.


----------



## hafrogman (Jun 27, 2007)

Style said:
			
		

> Oh, I remembered another one:
> 
> "I, for one, welcome our blah blah blah..."
> 
> Man, this pisses me off.  It was funny the first time I saw it, and maybe the second or third two.  Now it seems like someone has to throw it into every damn thread.  Yawn.



I, for one, welcome our new Simpsons quoting overlords.



Sorry, too easy.


----------



## Style (Jun 27, 2007)

hafrogman said:
			
		

> I, for one, welcome our new Simpsons quoting overlords.
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry, too easy.



It is the great clomping foot of nerdism, I tell you!!!


----------



## Mouseferatu (Jun 28, 2007)

Remembered another one.

"Pwned!"   

Yes, I know that I mentioned leet-speak already, but this is even worse than normal. Every time I see someone talk about "pwned" or "pwning," I want to shppt them in the tprsp and let them bleed tp death.


----------



## Tiberius (Jun 28, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> Every time I see someone talk about "pwned" or "pwning," I want to shppt them in the tprsp and let them bleed tp death.




That would certainly pwn them.


----------



## Goldmoon (Jun 28, 2007)

hafrogman said:
			
		

> What kind of froo-froo MUD have you been playing?
> 
> Get all.
> Sac corpse.




I can't believe you got that reference. I am now impresed.


----------



## hafrogman (Jun 28, 2007)

Goldmoon said:
			
		

> I can't believe you got that reference. I am now impresed.



MUDs weren't THAT long ago. . .

. . . right?


----------



## Goldmoon (Jun 28, 2007)

hafrogman said:
			
		

> MUDs weren't THAT long ago. . .
> 
> . . . right?




1999 for me. Not too long ago I guess......


----------



## babomb (Jun 30, 2007)

Style said:
			
		

> People who use "frak" from BSG in conversation or in their posts.  Ridiculous.  It's on the same level as saying "May the Force be with you" or "Live long and prosper" with any degree of seriousness.  For pity's sake, get a life.  Or just swear like a normal person and let the filter FIFY!




Swearing like a normal person is _so boring_. And they're so overused that most people don't notice anymore. I've been known to drop a mean "narf", "joojooflop", "holy zarquon's singing fish", and when the situation calls for it, even a "Belgium".



			
				Tewligan said:
			
		

> Just to nitpick, I think you're off by 49 million...




See, I tried to check this with Google before I posted, and I saw several versions of the same quotation with different numbers. Damned if I know which is the real one.



			
				Glyfair said:
			
		

> In RPG discussions it often annoys me how often I heard about cannons.  Not the things that go *boom*, but as in "Greyhawk canon."
> 
> However, I did get to use them together recently.  The recent Xen'drik Expeditions fastplay characters poll has a warforged called "Cannon" supposedly because it's like artillery.  However, there isn't gunpowder in Eberron.  So I got to point out that "cannons aren't canon in Eberron."




Along similar lines, I'm often amused when people mix up cavalry and Calvary. I have had occasion to point out that there is no such thing as a Calvary saber, though one could make the case for a Calvary spear.


----------



## Thunderfoot (Jul 1, 2007)

babomb said:
			
		

> <SNIP>
> Along similar lines, I'm often amused when people mix up cavalry and Calvary. I have had occasion to point out that there is no such thing as a Calvary saber, though one could make the case for a Calvary spear.



Preach, my exploding brother!  What is really sad is that becuase of the intelligence level of the average cavalry Soldier, most of them don't understand when you correct them on their own branch of service.  

Nothing is more frustrating than talking to a member of the 1st CAV DIV who insists on saying "I'm part of the calvary".  Sheesh.  I've started asking if that's with a big C or a little c?  Most folks don;t get it.  :\


----------



## Style (Jul 1, 2007)

babomb said:
			
		

> Swearing like a normal person is _so boring_. And they're so overused that most people don't notice anymore.



You are clearly in dire need of a crash-course in advanced obscenity, my friend... 



> I've been known to drop a mean "narf", "joojooflop", "holy zarquon's singing fish", and when the situation calls for it, even a "Belgium".



Towel or no towel, these are no substitute for proper, grown-up swear words, which are big and clever.  The above, by comparison, are toe-curlingly lame.  Hoopy, but lame...  



> ...though one could make the case for a Calvary spear.



Genuinely funny.  Coolness


----------



## Olgar Shiverstone (Jul 1, 2007)

Thunderfoot said:
			
		

> Preach, my exploding brother!  What is really sad is that becuase of the intelligence level of the average cavalry Soldier, most of them don't understand when you correct them on their own branch of service.
> 
> Nothing is more frustrating than talking to a member of the 1st CAV DIV who insists on saying "I'm part of the calvary".  Sheesh.  I've started asking if that's with a big C or a little c?  Most folks don;t get it.  :\




Only moderately less obnoxious is the pronunciation "cavalary".  As in: "I'm a member of the 1st Cavalary Division."  Sheesh.  Soldier, take off your horsey patch until you learn how to pronounce it!

- Olgar, proud Mustang (8th Cavalry Regiment)


----------



## Thunderfoot (Jul 1, 2007)

Olgar Shiverstone said:
			
		

> Only moderately less obnoxious is the pronunciation "cavalary".  As in: "I'm a member of the 1st Cavalary Division."  Sheesh.  Soldier, take off your horsey patch until you learn how to pronounce it!
> 
> - Olgar, proud Mustang (8th Cavalry Regiment)



HOOAH, Olgar!

-Thunderfoot (701st/704th MI BDEs)


----------



## Finster (Jul 1, 2007)

Halivar said:
			
		

> I actually grew up with the /NOO-kyələr/ pronunciation (on army bases, no less), and didn't lose it until I moved to the south-east as an adult. I also seem to remember it being presented as a valid alternative pronunciation in one of my college dictionaries (I think it was American Heritage, but I could be wrong).




The first instance I can remember of hearing this (mis)pronunciation was on an old TV show called The A-Team. It didn't start getting under my skin until a had a physics professor use Nukyuler in class. That's when I realized it had gont too far!


----------



## Hypersmurf (Jul 1, 2007)

babomb said:
			
		

> Along similar lines, I'm often amused when people mix up cavalry and Calvary.




Listening to Brad Dourif's commentary on one of the LotR DVDs drove me nuts.  He went on and on about how the Rohirrim are a nation of calvary, and how Sauron has no calvary, and it's the calvary of Rohan that make the difference...

Gah!

-Hyp.


----------



## babomb (Jul 4, 2007)

Dinosaur comics just reminded me of another one: http://www.qwantz.com/archive/001025.html.


----------



## Mycanid (Jul 4, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Listening to Brad Dourif's commentary on one of the LotR DVDs drove me nuts.  He went on and on about how the Rohirrim are a nation of calvary, and how Sauron has no calvary, and it's the calvary of Rohan that make the difference...
> 
> Gah!
> 
> -Hyp.




QFT!  :\ 

Another "Yeesh...." from the fungal department.


----------



## Tuzenbach (Jul 5, 2007)

I hate "my bad", in both typed & verbal contexts.


----------



## TarionzCousin (Jul 5, 2007)

*Critical Miss!!!*

Seen this? 

http://www.criticalmiss.com/issue10/GrammarFascist1.html


----------



## Mouseferatu (Jul 19, 2007)

Gonna have to resurrect this thread for a few more...

First, "Made of win." Whoever came up with that expression should be shot. And then nursed back to health just so they're nice and ready when I _shoot them *again*_.

Guh.

And second, something that I see and hear a lot (and you'd think gamers, of all people, would know better), is misuse of the word "dice."

Let's make it simple, shall we, folks? "Dice" is _plural_. Plural. As in "more than one." You cannot have "a dice" or "that dice" any more than you can have "a teeth" or "that mice."

_Plural_!!

When you're talking about _one_, the term is "die." As in "Pass me that 8-sided die" or "If you use the word 'dice' incorrectly one more time, I'm going to bash in your skull with my metal 20-sided _die_!"

Damn it.


----------



## OakwoodDM (Jul 19, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> Gonna have to resurrect this thread for a few more...
> And second, something that I see and hear a lot (and you'd think gamers, of all people, would know better), is misuse of the word "dice."
> 
> Let's make it simple, shall we, folks? "Dice" is _plural_. Plural. As in "more than one." You cannot have "a dice" or "that dice" any more than you can have "a teeth" or "that mice."
> ...




I'm with you there.

The only added complaint I have is less to do with bad words, the internet or mispronounciations, and all to do with my own personal sense of imperial superiority.

WHY when it crossed the Atlantic did the word Aluminium lose a letter? Seriously, it doesn't make it all that much easier to spell, and it changes the pronounciation (unlike armour, colour, favour, etc which, while I accept they make more sense spelled the American way, still need the u in my irrational mind).

Can anyone explain to this old (26 years is a long time) duffer where the word phat came from and why it's a compliment?


----------



## Wystan (Jul 19, 2007)

I actually got a response from a co-worker that said the following:

aight

He actually saved 2 whole letters by not typing alright.

Please help the english language, it is on life support.


----------



## crystal (Jul 19, 2007)

I have no peev,s of my own, for I have no right to get upset on other people,s writing. I misspell all the time, and tend to shorten up words.....sigh, I know I tend to get on peoples nerves with my typing....but oh well


----------



## Tiberius (Jul 19, 2007)

OakwoodDM said:
			
		

> WHY when it crossed the Atlantic did the word Aluminium lose a letter? Seriously, it doesn't make it all that much easier to spell, and it changes the pronounciation (unlike armour, colour, favour, etc which, while I accept they make more sense spelled the American way, still need the u in my irrational mind).




Quoth Wikipedia:


			
				Wikipedia said:
			
		

> Etymology/nomenclature history
> 
> The earliest citation given in the Oxford English Dictionary for any word used as a name for this element is alumium, which Humphry Davy employed in 1808 for the metal he was trying to isolate electrolytically from the mineral alumina. The citation is from his journal Philosophical Transactions: "Had I been so fortunate as..to have procured the metallic substances I was in search of, I should have proposed for them the names of silicium, alumium, zirconium, and glucium."[18]
> 
> ...


----------



## Halivar (Jul 19, 2007)

OakwoodDM said:
			
		

> unlike armour, colour, favour, etc which, while I accept they make more sense spelled the American way, still need the u in my irrational mind



As they say, "gray is a color, and grey is a colour."


----------



## Merkuri (Jul 19, 2007)

I'm American, and I always find myself spelling it "grey".  I have to correct myself to "gray."  Don't know why.  Maybe my aunt in Germany sent me one too many books published in Britain, but gray/grey is the only word I keep wanting to spell the Brit way.


----------



## Mycanid (Jul 19, 2007)

I much prefer the spelling "grey" myself....


----------



## Mouseferatu (Jul 19, 2007)

Mycanid said:
			
		

> I much prefer the spelling "grey" myself....




It's funny. When I take a moment to think about it, I prefer "grey," and I use "grey" in my writing.

If I'm not actively thinking about it, though, and just typing merrily along, I tend to default to "gray."

I've actually had to add it to my (ever-growing and already lengthy) list of terms for which I have to do a word search, when I'm editing all my rough drafts, just to make sure I've chosen one and stuck with it.


----------



## Merkuri (Jul 19, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> I've actually had to add it to my (ever-growing and already lengthy) list of terms for which I have to do a word search, when I'm editing all my rough drafts, just to make sure I've chosen one and stuck with it.




What program do you use?  If you use Word or any other program with an auto-correct feature you can add words to the auto-correct list, so that whenever you type "gray" it'll automatically replace it with "grey" right there as you type.  No search and replace needed.


----------



## frankthedm (Jul 20, 2007)

I detest magical items being refered to as "magicals". 







			
				Galethorn said:
			
		

> 1337 = LEET, pronounced either like it's spelled, or 'EL-EET' (i.e. 'Elite'). Basically, some numbers and punctuations can be used to look like letters, and, as such, they're used to say things and look k3\/\/1 (kewl -> cool). This is Leetspeak.



The Goal was to use various characters to create a highly morphic alphabet that had to be seen, in person, to recognize, to fool simple computerized seaches for a word that could tip off authorities looking at directories. Like "<#!1|)" instead of "child" 

Think of it as a very annoying thieve's cant. Whether or not it could fool Carnivore / Eschelon, I don't know.


----------



## Hypersmurf (Jul 20, 2007)

Wystan said:
			
		

> I actually got a response from a co-worker that said the following:
> 
> aight
> 
> He actually saved 2 whole letters by not typing alright.




And what makes your nonstandard variant usage so much superior to his?

The phrase is 'all right', damn it.

-Hyp.


----------



## Nifft (Jul 20, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> The phrase is 'all right', damn it.



 "Aight" is a word in its own right, just like "ain't" (and used by a similar demographic). You may detest that family of slang, but as an written representation of speech, "aight" is all right.

The main one that kills me is the apostrophe. Almost everything else I can view charitably -- as intentionally being silly -- but homophone confusion and apostrophe abuse just look stupid.

Cheers, -- N


----------



## Lewis526 (Jul 22, 2007)

A linguistics professor at my university told his students that anything a native speaker says is defined as correct.  In other words, it's impossible to make a mistake in one's native language.  He believed that the evolution of language shouldn't be, and perhaps can't be, limited or controlled.  I don't know if he'd extend that view to written language, since I dropped the class before I had the chance to ask him.

He also claimed that the only infix in English is "f---ing," as in "in f---ing credible," but that's a whole nother story.


----------



## Mouseferatu (Jul 22, 2007)

Lewis526 said:
			
		

> A linguistics professor at my university told his students that anything a native speaker says is defined as correct.




 

Wow. That's just...

I cannot begin to express how wrong I feel that is. Rules of grammar and spelling and punctuation exist for a _reason_*. I'm really glad I wasn't in that class; I'd have been kicked out for arguing with the professor.

*(And even if they didn't have a reason, they still exist. Anything that breaks those rules is incorrect. The fact that rules _may _eventually shift and change _in the future_ doesn't alter the fact that something is wrong _now_.)


----------



## Nifft (Jul 22, 2007)

Lewis526 said:
			
		

> A linguistics professor at my university told his students that anything a native speaker says is defined as correct.



 Extremist descriptive vs. prescriptive stances start to make very little sense... as with many extremist stances.  The more reasonable linguist would consider both sides of the debate to have inherently valid points. This particular debate comes closest to how I'd model a law-vs.-chaos debate in D&D, for what it's worth. 



			
				Lewis526 said:
			
		

> He also claimed that the only infix in English is "f---ing," as in "in f---ing credible," but that's a whole nother story.



 I agree with this, though. Or do you have a counter-example?

Cheers, -- N


----------



## Hypersmurf (Jul 22, 2007)

Nifft said:
			
		

> I agree with this, though. Or do you have a counter-example?




Abso-bloody-lutely.

-Hyp.


----------



## Nifft (Jul 23, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Abso-bloody-lutely.



 Oh, sure, in some obscure dialect.

But no-one would say that in American.

Yo, -- N


----------



## Hypersmurf (Jul 23, 2007)

Nifft said:
			
		

> Oh, sure, in some obscure dialect.
> 
> But no-one would say that in American.




Ahh.  When he said "the only infix in American", I somehow misread it as "the only infix in English".

-Hyp.


----------



## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 23, 2007)

Some Americans like to use the "-bloody-" infix, especially those who have watched a lot of Britcoms and Masterpiece Theatre on BBC America or PB-bloody-S.


----------



## ssampier (Jul 24, 2007)

*This thread needs l33t*

I am fond of the expression, "That's not kosher" to describe things that are weird or odd. I am not sure where I picked that up.

Most incorrect English usage does not bother me, the leet I could never understand or want to. I think we need to bring Pig Latin back in vogue.


----------



## TarionzCousin (Jul 24, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Ahh.  When he said "the only infix in American", I somehow misread it as "the only infix in English".



And when you wrote this, I somehow misread it as "the only infix in Kiwi."

/someday, Hong Kong English will be the dominant form. Until then, everyone must suffer under the American rule.


----------



## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 24, 2007)

I want to see some leet Yiddish...0y v3y!


----------



## Thunderfoot (Jul 26, 2007)

I was going to translate the Bible to Yiddish, but thought better of it.  However, who can deny the classiness of such lines as - 'Jesus entered the temple and said, "You schmucks get out of  here!" while braiding a whip of vine.'  or my personal favorite  - 'Jesus was vehclempt.'


----------



## Lewis526 (Jul 26, 2007)

I actually offered a second infix in my last post: "a whole nother."  I split the word in three to make it legible, but I intended to offer "whole" attached to "another" as another infix in English.  Did everybody really miss it, or do we only say that in the Southern USA?


----------



## Thunderfoot (Jul 27, 2007)

Lewis526 said:
			
		

> I actually offered a second infix in my last post: "a whole nother."  I split the word in three to make it legible, but I intended to offer "whole" attached to "another" as another infix in English.  Did everybody really miss it, or do we only say that in the Southern USA?



Nope, the Midwest does it too; the sad part is your useage is still technically incorrect as the proper saying is " a whole other " adding the 'n' has nothing to do with another, it's just poor grammar.  However, I too have done it and it took years for me to realize it was wrong.  Oddly enough, it was when I wrote it on paper whilst writing a story that I realized how poorly my English had been influnced by my 'regional dialect'.


----------



## Elephant (Jul 27, 2007)

One thing that really annoys me is when people use "frex" when they mean "e.g."

Even more annoying is when they use that awful construct to replace "i.e."


----------



## green slime (Jul 27, 2007)

Hypersmurf said:
			
		

> Harden up, or you'll never survive.  It's a doggy-dog world out there.
> 
> -Hyp.




I think I saw that previously on this board somewhere once...


----------



## Thunderfoot (Jul 27, 2007)

Elephant said:
			
		

> One thing that really annoys me is when people use "frex" when they mean "e.g."
> 
> Even more annoying is when they use that awful construct to replace "i.e."



Unfortunately, that has more to do with Literature and English classes no longer teaching proper editorial techniques.  Txt msg abrvs r rplcng rl wrds...


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## GreyRat (Jul 27, 2007)

Misplaced apostrophes are bad, but I'm annoyed by people who use *no punctuation at all*.  They usually don't bother to capitalize words either, so their posts are just a jumble of run-on phrases, like a speed freak's stream of consciousness.       Dood: did you ever hear of the 'semicolon'?  Seriously, it'll change your life...

Some people don't see the big deal about bad grammar, as long as the ideas get conveyed properly, but I feel good grammar is a sign of courtesy, like sending a letter on nice paper, instead of ratty foolscap.  Plus, it's hard to be sure ideas *are* being communicated accurately if people aren't all using the same linguistic conventions.


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## Mycanid (Jul 27, 2007)

GreyRat said:
			
		

> Misplaced apostrophes are bad, but I'm annoyed by people who use *no punctuation at all*.  They usually don't bother to capitalize words either, so their posts are just a jumble of run-on phrases, like a speed freak's stream of consciousness.       Dood: did you ever hear of the 'semicolon'?  Seriously, it'll change your life...
> 
> Some people don't see the big deal about bad grammar, as long as the ideas get conveyed properly, but I feel good grammar is a sign of courtesy, like sending a letter on nice paper, instead of ratty foolscap.  Plus, it's hard to be sure ideas *are* being communicated accurately if people aren't all using the same linguistic conventions.




Hey grey rat - that's a great little avatar you have, btw!

[Sorry for the threadjack folks]


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## ssampier (Jul 28, 2007)

GreyRat said:
			
		

> Misplaced apostrophes are bad, but I'm annoyed by people who use *no punctuation at all*.  They usually don't bother to capitalize words either, so their posts are just a jumble of run-on phrases, like a speed freak's stream of consciousness.       Dood: did you ever hear of the 'semicolon'?  Seriously, it'll change your life...
> 
> Some people don't see the big deal about bad grammar, as long as the ideas get conveyed properly, but I feel good grammar is a sign of courtesy, like sending a letter on nice paper, instead of ratty foolscap.  Plus, it's hard to be sure ideas *are* being communicated accurately if people aren't all using the same linguistic conventions.




I love the mouse' pic i dont really like to speel ather what can u do


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## Lewis526 (Jul 28, 2007)

Thunderfoot said:
			
		

> Nope, the Midwest does it too; the sad part is your useage is still technically incorrect as the proper saying is " a whole other " adding the 'n' has nothing to do with another, it's just poor grammar.  However, I too have done it and it took years for me to realize it was wrong.  Oddly enough, it was when I wrote it on paper whilst writing a story that I realized how poorly my English had been influnced by my 'regional dialect'.




Interesting, and I've never thought about it that way.  I'm not convinced that "another whole" is wrong, unless it's not what you mean.




			
				GreyRat said:
			
		

> Dood: did you ever hear of the 'semicolon'?




Semicolon, hell.  Learn to use a period.


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## Thunderfoot (Jul 28, 2007)

Lewis526 said:
			
		

> Interesting, and I've never thought about it that way.  I'm not convinced that "another whole" is wrong, unless it's not what you mean.
> <SNIP>



Nope, 'another whole' would be fine but the phrasing is context is incorrect, e.g.:

"Give me another whole pie and 3 slices of as well."  (correct/sort of/) While there are better ways to state this, it is technically correct, assuming that the person already had a whole pie.

"That's a whole nother kettle of fish." (incorrect) While your theory of 'another whole' would be correct /but again, a poor choice/ if you were to mean additional kettles, the focus of the sentence here is contrasting points, so the correct choice would be 'a whole other'. (Which is the usual context of that phrase)

Make sense?


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## Impeesa (Jul 28, 2007)

hafrogman said:
			
		

> There is a gaming company called Blizzard.  They made a certain MMORPG.  There is a web forum dedicated to that game.  Time spent on those boards has removed a chunk of my soul and any hope for the future of humanity.




There should be a support group for decent people who, for whatever reason, have immersed themselves in those forums for extended periods of time. For the last year or so I've been reading a fair bit of those forums and not much of these ones, and let me tell you, coming back here is quite a culture shock. 

Regarding the topic, though: I find unintentionally poor spelling and grammar irritating, sure. Internet jargon and acronyms, and the subset thereof used by the gaming community, don't really bother me because normally they're used intentionally, often tongue in cheek. It's just another in-joke of a certain demographic, and if you're not in on it, all I can say is "Don't confuse it with the abundance of actual _stupid_ on the internet."

--Impeesa--


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## Simia Saturnalia (Jul 28, 2007)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> Wow. That's just...
> 
> I cannot begin to express how wrong I feel that is. Rules of grammar and spelling and punctuation exist for a _reason_*. I'm really glad I wasn't in that class; I'd have been kicked out for arguing with the professor.
> 
> *(And even if they didn't have a reason, they still exist. Anything that breaks those rules is incorrect. The fact that rules _may _eventually shift and change _in the future_ doesn't alter the fact that something is wrong _now_.)



Dr. Steven Pinker, author of _The Language Instinct_, would disagree with you.


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## Mouseferatu (Jul 28, 2007)

Simia Saturnalia said:
			
		

> Dr. Steven Pinker, author of _The Language Instinct_, would disagree with you.




I'm sure he would. I'm sure there are others who would, as well.

Doesn't mean I think they're any less wrong, and there are plenty of linguistic scholars and professors who agree with me, too.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Jul 31, 2007)

It occurred to me while watching "Mail Call" that "Damn" has become an infix in the English language as well, evidenced in his common exhortation "Out-*damn*-standing!"


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## Cameron (Jul 31, 2007)

Goldmoon said:
			
		

> After reading this I got to thinking about what words annoy me. I came up with "Pwnd", "n00b" and "1337 or leet" as my most annoying words. Anyone else?



Don't know if it came up already. My vote is for "munchkin". I feel like making up a word just to describe those that like using the word "munchkin" every time I see or hear someone use that word.


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## Thunderfoot (Aug 1, 2007)

Dannyalcatraz said:
			
		

> It occurred to me while watching "Mail Call" that "Damn" has become an infix in the English language as well, evidenced in his common exhortation "Out-*damn*-standing!"



Nah, that's just a military thing.  He would drop the F-Bomb, but the censors would ... um ... crap. 

Doonesbury (the comic) once had a revelatory statement about language in the military when the National Guard troops were called up for the 1st Gulf War.

Unnamed Officer - This is ridiculous, I haven't been on active duty for 15 years, an I'm supposed to lead a battalion?
Doonesbury - Don't worry sir, it will all come back.  They didn't make you a Lt. Col for no reason.
Officer - I don't even remember how to use the "F" word.
DB - It's easy, just use it like a comma.


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## Dannyalcatraz (Aug 2, 2007)

Oh, I know it _originated_ in the military, but I've heard RW uses of Damn as an infix by civilians as well.

It may not have quite the broad usage as "F" but even _that _word didn't start off as an infix.

As for the "F" word, there is a _hilarious_ bit of legal argument out there dealing with it. I used to have a copy of it, but lost it back in 1991- searching for it on the Internet has not revealed it, but has shown me some sites that have obviously paraphrased it, including sites that post it as a joke (typically containing the phrase "With all of these multi-purpose applications, how can anyone be offended when you use the word?")

Essentially, a guy got fired for using the word, allegedly for flinging it at a superior in anger.

His attorney at the hearing tried to make it seem as if the guy had used it one way and the boss had taken it another, and in the process, told the history of the word and its flexibility, denoting how many ways it could be used, providing conversational exemplars for each part of speech.

Abso-damn-lutely stupendously funny.


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