words most often used incorrectly

[Rattman]

The one from the North East that is severely misused... "On accident", which is supposedly the counterpart of "on purpose". The actual form of what they are attempting to say should be: "by accident", or just "accidentally".
Just my .02 worth..
. .

 

[DirtDog]

for all intensive purposes

 

[Fleebag]

Oh that title, if only this was a bad grammar/punctuation thread, I'd have yer head on a pole ya scoundrel!

 

[Lobster11]

Awesome.

It usually isn't.

This one reminds me of a fascinating book by Steve Pinker, The Stuff of Thought, the theme of which is that our use of language reveals all kinds of interesting things about our underlying psychology. In particular, we often say things in ways that make little sense literally, but that convey all kinds of hidden messages and meanings.

One of my favorite examples in the book is the sentence, "If you could pass the guacamole, that would be awesome." This of course makes no sense literally: The person obviously is capable of passing the guacamole, and nobody should be particularly impressed or amazed if he/she does. However, the underlying message is something like, "I realize that I'm asking you to exert some time and effort to do something to benefit me, and that you are under no obligation to do so and have nothing to gain by doing so." Plus, who does and doesn't use this construction might reflect things like differences in status: For example, a higher-status person might say to a lower-status person simply, "Pass the guacamole," whereas the "...that would be awesome" construction might be used if the roles are reversed.

/pedantry

 

[guy n. cognito]

There's a gal on my FB friends list that has a "Sorry, not Sorry!" posted at least weekly.
She seems like a really high & mighty type & she does not take kindly to spelling advice.

It's actually bringing her a bit of grief, as the last one I recall from her was a post about how someone called her boss to tattle on her. She was off from work for days, but in the meantime had posted photos of her & some others at a wildlife park.
Again she was contradicting herself, saying that she didn't need to explain herself to anyone. Ok, then why did you need to explain to your boss that those pictures were from January?

I would remove her from my friends list, but it's comical fun if you read it with the right attitude.

Sounds like she will probably beat you to the punch.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Folks used "jealous" incorrectly so often & for so long that the dictionary was actually modified.
Envy is what they usually mean.

Ummm....

jealous definition - Google Search

 

[blastoff99]

This doesn't fall into the category of most often used incorrectly, but I thought it was particularly egregious. The head planner of my city apparently had some sort of brain lock, or at least that's what I'm choosing to assume, and kept referring (in a well attended public meeting) to "high-intensity housing." I would rather not have to assume that he did not know the word density.

 

[Lobster11]

Oh that title, if only this was a bad grammar/punctuation thread, I'd have yer head on a pole ya scoundrel!

You mean, "If only this were a...." -- right?

 

[guy n. cognito]

I am reminded of this particular scene:

 

[Fleebag]

You mean, "If only this were a...." -- right?

It was just a test, yeah that's it, just a test, everyone except lobster failed!

 

[Grumry]

Irregardless isn't even a word.

 

[Coriolis]

Irregardless.
I could care less.

 

[Fleebag]

Irregardless isn't even a word.

Irregardless - Wikipedia

 

[guy n. cognito]

Oh that title, if only this was a bad grammar/punctuation thread, I'd have yer head on a pole ya scoundrel!

When one is picking nits, one doesn't have time for such pedestrian obsessions.

 

[dave64o]

Folks used "jealous" incorrectly so often & for so long that the dictionary was actually modified.
Envy is what they usually mean.

I have that problem myself. And I'm jealous of those who know the difference and use those words correctly.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Sounds like she will probably beat you to the punch.

No, because I noticed she lost her crap when I politely suggested a spelling correction in one of her "Sorry Not Sorry!" diatribes.
I'm clever enough not to do it again & just laugh at how poorly she expresses herself.

Ummm....

jealous definition - Google Search

You obviously didn't actually read my post before trying to poke holes in it.

Folks used "jealous" incorrectly so often & for so long that the dictionary was actually modified.

Of course I noticed your conspicuous attempt at calling me shallow & pedantic!
I'm done here
This is how you so often choose to conduct yourself & I'm fed up with it

 

[Downunderwonder]

A whole goddamm continent says they lucked out when they got lucky.

 

[Savagehenry]

Decimate. I consistently hear it used to describe an utterly crushing win. I don't consider letting 90% of your enemies escaping death as a overwhelming victory...

 

[hrodbert696]

Are you axing me, or are you telling me?

Ironically, that's consonant transposition, which happens in languages from time to time. In Old English the word was correctly spelled "aecs" before Middle English changed it to "ask." So you could say that some modern dialects are finally correcting an 800-year-old misspelling.

My own contribution to the thread would be "off," when paired with "based." I am constantly getting student papers saying that "based off of X, Y must be true," which is nonsensical. A base is what you put things ON. If something is OFF of the base, then it has no basis. Y has to be based ON X.

 

[Coriolis]

Irregardless - Wikipedia

Exactly.
And when people say "I could care less," they really mean "I couldn't care less."