Linguisting or Semantic Pet Peeves

DGS49

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2012
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Pittsburgh
What is so difficult about the concept of twelve o'clock NOON? Everywhere I look I see people referring to "12 pm." Even on the Weather Channel!

"p.m." stands for "post meridiem," which, in latin means, "after mid-day (noon)" So saying "12 o'clock pm" is like saying "noon, after noon." For some reason, it drives me nuts.

"I could care less." Total nonsense, yet it is used all the time. To have any rational meaning whatsoever, one should say, "I couldn't care less." To say, "I could care less," is to say that you DO care, which is the OPPOSITE of what is intended.

"He got the shaft." This unfortunate expression refers to anal rape. Same for "He got screwed." Used all the time in casual conversation, but clearly it should be abolished from the current American lexicon.

"This is truly a QUALITY product!" Quality is a NOUN, not an adjective; it cannot properly be used to describe anything. To use it as an adjective is idiotic. The proper expression would be, "This is a high quality product." To say that it is a quality product is like saying, "Manute Bol was a very height basketball player."

Feel free to add your own.
 
If you ever doubted that the liberal dominated public school system was screwed up consider the misuse of "mute" in their maunderings. Though the point is moot; the indoctrinators (formerly known as "teachers") don't take off points for that.
 
Did I really type, "Linguisting"?

Sometimes the Muse types for us. Keep it, there's gotta be a use for that word.

I share your spleen on "12pm". I always have to ask, do you mean noon or midnight? If one insists on recycling the clock every day, there is no such thing as 12 "a.m." or "p.m.". It would depend on whether you're looking forward or back.

In England colloquially they'll say "half eight" and in Germany, "halb acht". One of them means half an hour past eight, the other half an hour before. I can't even remember which is which.

Here's a recent one. In recent years I'm hearing a respondent to a question start off with the word so -- to a question that in no way invites "so", which of course means "thus" or "therefore", so ;) it can't lead off the answer. You hear this in news interviews all the time:

Q- "How does this study apply to frozen food consumption?"
A - "So, we took a survey of....
:banghead:

I can only think of Professor Erwin Corey, the comedian who would shuffle out to the podium, carrying his pile of notes, hair a-shuffle, fumble around with them, and finally begin, "Therefore..."

Prof. Corey will be 101 in July...
 
If you ever doubted that the liberal dominated public school system was screwed up consider the misuse of "mute" in their maunderings. Though the point is moot; the indoctrinators (formerly known as "teachers") don't take off points for that.

Three posts in a row before some asshat brought politics in. Par for the coarse.
 
"It is what it is." What a pointless, apathetic phrase.

"Supposably". Learn to read.

Using the word "cynical" to mean "skeptical". Granted, cynics tend to be skeptical of others' motives and skeptics tend to think others' motives are cynical.

"I was all, like, whatever. You know?" And other such inarticulate modes of speech of my generation.

"Bruh". No comment necessary.
 
What is so difficult about the concept of twelve o'clock NOON? Everywhere I look I see people referring to "12 pm." Even on the Weather Channel!

"p.m." stands for "post meridiem," which, in latin means, "after mid-day (noon)" So saying "12 o'clock pm" is like saying "noon, after noon." For some reason, it drives me nuts.

"I could care less." Total nonsense, yet it is used all the time. To have any rational meaning whatsoever, one should say, "I couldn't care less." To say, "I could care less," is to say that you DO care, which is the OPPOSITE of what is intended.

"He got the shaft." This unfortunate expression refers to anal rape. Same for "He got screwed." Used all the time in casual conversation, but clearly it should be abolished from the current American lexicon.

"This is truly a QUALITY product!" Quality is a NOUN, not an adjective; it cannot properly be used to describe anything. To use it as an adjective is idiotic. The proper expression would be, "This is a high quality product." To say that it is a quality product is like saying, "Manute Bol was a very height basketball player."

Feel free to add your own.
Does "have a nice day" mean to take possession of the day? Does "peace be with you" mean that it's with you, and no one else? Or, does it mean that "peace" is many, and many can have "peace", since we say it to more than one person? Does "no way" mean that "a way" is non-existent?
 
"ATM machine." Automatic Teller Machine machine.


"He got the shaft."

Grammatically correct. Quite often, though, one hears the grammatically incorrect, "He got shafted".


The mistake I hear the most which grates on my nerves is when someone uses me in place of I. "Me and Bob saw a good movie the other day." I even hear on-air journalists make this mistake frequently.

You wouldn't say, "Me saw a good movie."

Also, using us in place of we. "Us customers got shafted by this malfunctioning ATM machine."
 
Nothing is worse (in the written word) that superfluous apostrophe's.

Simplest concept in the world. Why would anyone say "at it is best"? :dunno:
 
To me, the phrases that people use these days like "cray cray", "bestie", and "selfie" for example sound like things that a three year old would say.

God bless you always!!!

Holly
 

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