superpeeve Oh my Gawd! - Totally unOfficial Pet Peeve Thread.

[Orwar]

1 minute ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

Eureka!

   Exactly that story, heh.

   There's a joke about that particular scenario actually:

   The teacher was quizzing the students about what they had been going through in the week, so she turns to Sten and asks;
   - "What did Archemedes exclaim when he stepped into the bathtub?"
   - "Eureka!" replied Sten.
   - "Very good - and what did he mean by that?" continued the teacher.
   - "It means 'I found it!'".
   - "Correct. And what was it that he had found?"
   - "The soap?"

[Lindal Kidd]

More and more often, I am peeved by articles, even in mainstream media, in which the authors and editors seem to have abandoned spelling, grammar, and even sense. They've certainly abandoned proofreading.

It used to be I only got annoyed because writers of these pieces misused words: "presently" means "very soon now", NOT "at the present time"; "decimate" means to kill one out of every ten, it does not mean "kill everyone". "Contact" is not a verb. You "make contact" with someone, you don't "contact" them. These misuses have now become so common they're considered correct by everyone except old fogeys like myself.

It's much worse now. Here's an example:

"Razer is among the first names within the PC peripheral space. The company has simply announced a new gaming headset known as the Kraken V3 that options haptic vibrations designed to assist create a extra immersive gaming expertise.

"At least, that’s the concept behind them, however in actuality, they appear like they’d be extra annoying than something. Vibrations across the ears appear to be they’d tickle greater than anything." (Italics mine.)

Each italicized section is wrong. Here's the same content written in actual English:

"Razer is among the first names in PC peripherals. The company has announced a new gaming headset, the Kraken V3. It includes haptics; vibrations intended to increase the immersion of one's gaming experience.

"At least, that's the idea. However, this author found it more annoying than immersive. The vibrations across my ears created a distracting tickling sensation."

This mangling of the English language is happening because we no longer have teachers who know the correct ways to speak and write it. We are in our third generation of illiteracy, and the editors of major media outlets don't know that their writers are spouting drivel, so they don't even think to correct it.

Edited October 21, 2021 by Lindal Kidd

[Silent Mistwalker]

4 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

More and more often, I am peeved by articles, even in mainstream media, in which the authors and editors seem to have abandoned spelling, grammar, and even sense. They've certainly abandoned proofreading.

It's not just articles and magazines, it's printed books and paperbacks, too. It ruins the immersion. I've even stopped reading some things because there are just too many grammatical errors and nonsensical phrasing.

Thank you. Now I know it isn't just me.

[Lindal Kidd]

And don't even get me started on ebooks! I have purchased quite a few electronic versions of old favorites, only to find myself spending a lot of time correcting typos and errors introduced during the OCR digitizing process and not caught by proofreading.

[LittleMe Jewell]

19 minutes ago, Lindal Kidd said:

"Contact" is not a verb. You "make contact" with someone, you don't "contact" them.

I'm guilty of that one.  I think it has been used as a verb for so long that it just seems natural and correct.

Edited October 21, 2021 by LittleMe Jewell

[Coffee Pancake]

A living language changes and drifts with time and regional influence, it's the use that counts, not the original rules.

[Rolig Loon]

14 minutes ago, Coffee Pancake said:

A living language changes and drifts with time and regional influence, it's the use that counts, not the original rules.

That's always been true.  Still, without a common understanding of what the language means at any given time we'd all be in Wonderland with Alice.  There's a world of difference between common colloquial usage, which is always fluid, and standard language, which adjusts slowly.  Colloquial language can afford to be chaotic and playful. Standard language has to be more conservative and careful to keep shouting matches and lawsuits to a minimum. To be successful communicators, we have to be fluent in both forms of the language.

[Madelaine McMasters]

1 hour ago, Lindal Kidd said:

It used to be I only got annoyed because writers of these pieces misused words: "presently" means "very soon now", NOT "at the present time"; "decimate" means to kill one out of every ten, it does not mean "kill everyone". "Contact" is not a verb. You "make contact" with someone, you don't "contact" them. These misuses have now become so common they're considered correct by everyone except old fogeys like myself.

OED's first definitions for "presently" and "decimate" are the ones that peeve you, and they're happy with "contact" as a verb.

I can't let such changes vex me, though. I had to endure my beloved Brontosaurus vanishing from paleontology books, only to reappear.

Better to be an old fogey than an old fossil.

[Silent Mistwalker]

38 minutes ago, Madelaine McMasters said:

Better to be an old fogey than an old fossil.

How about an old fogey fossil?

[Scylla Rhiadra]

2 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

This mangling of the English language is happening because we no longer have teachers who know the correct ways to speak and write it.

Menestow to letten English meete deeth bicause chaunge affraye you?

Fi upon you!

Whilom al speketh thilke tonge of Chaucer. We ben not nou knights!

Edited October 22, 2021 by Scylla Rhiadra
Misspelled "chaunge." I clearly wasn't taught very well.

[Madelaine McMasters]

 

[Madelaine McMasters]

11 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Menestow to letten English meete deeth bicause chaunge affraye you?

Fi upon you!

Whilom al speketh thilke tonge of Chaucer. We ben not nou knights!

From one of the mushroom people to another, you're the ginchiest.

[Silent Mistwalker]

1 hour ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Menestow to letten English meete deeth bicause chaunge affraye you?

Fi upon you!

Whilom al speketh thilke tonge of Chaucer. We ben not nou knights!

[Tex Monday]

One of my pet peeves is probably a pretty stupid thing. 

I hate it when you're at a restaurant with men and women and the waiter/waitress walks up and says "Are you guys ready to order?" or "Anything else I can get for you guys?"

If there are women/females at the table, use a different way of addressing the group. "Are you all ok?" "Are you all ready to order?" for example. Quick, easy and addresses the group properly. 

"An' dat's what really groinds mah geahs"

[Lindal Kidd]

5 hours ago, Rolig Loon said:

That's always been true.  Still, without a common understanding of what the language means at any given time we'd all be in Wonderland with Alice.  There's a world of difference between common colloquial usage, which is always fluid, and standard language, which adjusts slowly.  Colloquial language can afford to be chaotic and playful. Standard language has to be more conservative and careful to keep shouting matches and lawsuits to a minimum. To be successful communicators, we have to be fluent in both forms of the language.

Excuses, excuses. One of the reasons I loved John Houseman in The Paper Chase was his precise manner of speech.

[Arielle Popstar]

10 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

This mangling of the English language is happening because we no longer have teachers who know the correct ways to speak and write it. We are in our third generation of illiteracy, and the editors of major media outlets don't know that their writers are spouting drivel, so they don't even think to correct it.

Interesting point about the word "decimate" as I've always taken it to mean "kill everyone" or a "large percentage" but I do see what you mean about the 1 in 10 from the Latin root. On the other hand I don't think the fault is all on teachers and others who should know better for the simple fact that with the internet, English has become the universal language spoken by many who have not been trained in it as their first language and then are required to use it for the writing of all manner of communications. One area especially I have noticed the mangling is in so many instruction manuals with products that come from non english countries. Some being almost completely unreadable to the point it is best off to not RTFM. In general though it really is not so surprising when so much communication even between regular people is with the rest of the world where english is not the first language and we all subtly pick up and use words, phrases, and grammar that make language purists cringe. 

[tailpa]

Sometimes we grind our own gears, but eventually you forget how and things are intuitively smooth.

[Maryanne Solo]

10 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Whilom al speketh thilke tonge of Chaucer. We ben not nou knights!

NI!
A trend in Australian media is to recreate how the word Worried is pronounced.
Devotees of some dufus training them all says it should be pronounced "warried" or some nearly unpronounceable
gobbledygoo similar. They just end up sounding like idiots. 
Give it a rest bozos. 🙄

Edited October 22, 2021 by Maryanne Solo
Didnt realise that term would be censored. Shortened. No offence intended.

[Orwar]

2 hours ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Interesting point about the word "decimate" as I've always taken it to mean "kill everyone" or a "large percentage" but I do see what you mean about the 1 in 10 from the Latin root.

   Roman legions charged with cowardice could be ordered to decimate by their commander. It was a disciplinary punishment, in which that the legionnaires were grouped into tens and drew lots - whoever drew the short straw was to be beaten to death by the other nine in their group.

[Lindal Kidd]

1 hour ago, Orwar said:

Roman legions charged with cowardice could be ordered to decimate by their commander. It was a disciplinary punishment, in which that the legionnaires were grouped into tens and drew lots - whoever drew the short straw was to be beaten to death by the other nine in their group.

AHA! Here we have the origin of that excellent management tactic: "The beatings will continue until morale improves".

Although, the way I heard the tale, the legions used decimation as a tactic to subdue those they conquered.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Lindal Kidd

[SarahKB7 Koskinen]

Another peeve....

People who blindly say "I'm excited!", especially when the person is not actually excited,  which undoes the word's actual meaning.

Using "I'm pleased", I'm fine" or "I'm happy" etcetera would be a more honest and sincere way to convey a reaction or current mood.

Saying "I'm excited!" while maintaining an unexcited manner comes across (to me at least) as being very fake, insincere and untrustworthy.

I would theorise that "I'm excited!" has entered the lexicon through television commercials and advertising, as the concept of "excitement" has been marketed as a positive outcome through product or service advertising.

I would never use "I'm excited!" as it greatly irritates me.

Edited October 23, 2021 by SarahKB7 Koskinen
Edited for clarity

[PermaRuthed]

29 minutes ago, SarahKB7 Koskinen said:

Another peeve....

People who say "I'm excited!" when they're clearly unexcited, when they should have used "I'm pleased", I'm fine" or "I'm happy" to more honestly convey their current mood and reaction.

Saying "I'm excited!" while standing still and maintaining a steady heartbeat without displaying any physical or emotional signs of excitement (such as hopping, clapping, leaping, dancing etc) comes across (to me at least) as being very fake, insincere and untrustworthy.

 I would theorise that "I'm excited!" in the manner I have described has entered the lexicon through television commercials and advertising, as "excitement" has been marketed as part of product advertising.

I would never use "I'm excited!" as it greatly irritates me. Bleh.

As excited as Ben Stein:

 

[Silent Mistwalker]

Posted this in the wrong thread... oops.

 

Quote

While we are on the subject and just a minor peeve, I've just seen this a lot lately from quite a few posters. Assuming (ugh) they are non native English speakers, please, remember that the past tense (and past participle) of pay is paid not payed. One of the cases where the y is changed to i. Unless of course you are using the word in the nautical sense, then payed is correct.

*passes out Nerf bats, then ducks and covers

 

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/paid-payed/

 

[Amina Sopwith]

20 hours ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

 

Ooh. John Nobhead's passport. Looks like he's used a flattering filter, the sly thing. You'd better hand it back in to the wardens.

[Zzevir]

I am at work (on my break atm) and depo just send us the wrong trailer. So it will come back around 2 hour time in the same time as the second part of our load should arrive. I just hope I can unload them before my ***** finishes.