Words that Irrationally Irritate You?

[RoughCollie]

I googled the origin because as a Southerner I have always used "Ma'am". I didn't find any evidence that the word was derived from the days of slavery.

 

MA'AM (from) a contraction of Madam, from Madame, "my lady," feminine of "my lord."

 

http://comp.uark.edu/~rhenry/_m.html

 

See also, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ma%27am .

 

If Ma'am is associated with slavery, so are a lot of other things, including cotton. I cannot find even one reference online to ma'am being associated with slavery. I can find references to it being associated with the word madam, however, as a term of polite address.

 

That said, if anyone wants to be offended by it, it's no skin off my nose.

 

RC

[ncmomo3]

Supposably, one can put dungarees over their VaJJ. I could care less. Irregardless.

 

 

I am considering it for my sig and giving you full credit. Way too funny!

[swellmomma]

when someone says borrow instead of lend "can you borrow me the scissors?" etc, HATE it.

 

I also hate when people say retarded, 'tard etc as a way to say someone did something stupid.

 

Or when people says they are going to Safeways, it is called Safeway people, no 's' get with the program

[*anj*]

I am considering it for my sig and giving you full credit. Way too funny!

She gives you full permission. You are way too funny! :)

[Staci in MO]

They are fighting for social security, fighting for health care, and so on.

 

I don't know what to replace it with - although eliminating political commercials would be a good start - but it's so overused.

 

A close second is how they "take on" the big drug companies, etc.

[Pajama Mama]

Well, I'm outside of Pittsburgh and they call alot of things by different words.

soda=pop

rubberband=gumband

shopping cart=buggy

sweatshirt=hoodie

sneakers=tenners

 

I refuse to go grocery shopping if you call the cart a buggy:)

 

I also can't stand nouns used as verbs with -ing or -ed on the end. "Let's go clubbing." "I texted her yesterday." Sheesh

 

ETA: I agree with others who hate the word "Retard!" when someone is angry at someone else. When I have a kid in my house/yard that says that, I will ask them to not use that word. I have a son who is mentally challenged and I don't appreciate hearing that word used as an insult.

[fivetails]

 

Also, any words that allow someone to refer to themselves in conversation in the third person. My MIL is terrible about this when discussing things with my girls. I hear her say stuff like "Grandma loves to sew" and I always think she's referring to my own mother. I think it comes across as very narsacisstic and self-important. Or maybe it is just my own hang-up with my MIL.

 

My grandmother does this all the time when she's talking to kids (any kids) :lol:

 

(except she's called "Meme" {which is said sorta like "may-mee"} so it's "Meme will get you a drink, dear." )

 

(She never does it with adults, just kids.)

 

(She's 80 years old though, so I figure eh....she can talk how she wants. I remind myself of this when she starts in with the "poor little handicapped boy" attitude & terms in reference to our ds9 ...different time, different way of seeing things....old dog/new tricks/not gonna happen. ;) )

 

(brackets for sale, cheap!)

[fivetails]

oh and 'soda' is the stuff you bake with - 'pop' is what you drink at supper time.:D

[ccmom]

"My bad!"

"fannie pack"

"nukular" (instead of nuclear)

"orientated" instead of "oriented" - I heard this a lot in the working world and it used to bug me!

 

I guess I'm a little uptight.

[Diana in OR]

"Hottie"--I just think it sounds stupid

 

When someone says "nucular" when they mean "nuclear"

[ChemMommy]

orien-TATE, as in to orient someone! Students say all the time, "I've got to get orientated" rather than oriented. Drives me bonkers!

 

And my dh says "Mezziah" for Messiah. He uses the "z" sound and I use the "s" sound. I semi-lovingly told him that we could never attend a church with that word in its name because the sound of the "zzz's" drives me crazy.

 

So, we now go to "Our Redeemer Lutheran" church rather than any church with Messiah in the name.

[RoughCollie]

DS1, who just spent 6 weeks in Atlanta, wants me to post this one. He hates the phrase "fixing to" ... as in I'm fixing to go to store.

 

All these years, and he never told me that. I not only say "fixing to", but I also say "fixing to fix to", which means I'm about to be about to start doing something.

 

RC

[unsinkable]

Well, I'm outside of Pittsburgh and they call alot of things by different words.

soda=pop

rubberband=gumband

shopping cart=buggy

sweatshirt=hoodie

sneakers=tenners

 

I refuse to go grocery shopping if you call the cart a buggy:)

 

I also can't stand nouns used as verbs with -ing or -ed on the end. "Let's go clubbing." "I texted her yesterday." Sheesh

 

ETA: I agree with others who hate the word "Retard!" when someone is angry at someone else. When I have a kid in my house/yard that says that, I will ask them to not use that word. I have a son who is mentally challenged and I don't appreciate hearing that word used as an insult.

 

And "I" refuse to put my groceries in a sack b/c it reminds me of the area where men get the crotch cancer.

[Staci in MO]

So anytime a doctor wrote "take with supper" on a prescription, the intern tried to change it to "take with dinner." I had a difficult time getting him to understand that to a lot of people in this area, dinner is the noon meal. I say breakfast, lunch, and supper, to avoid confusion.

[Miss Peregrine]

'puter instead of COMputer. I hate that!

 

Slider instead of sliding glass door

 

And what really bothers me is all the new speak to make things sound more upscale. "Summer kitchen" UGH! It's a BBQ area!

[Cheryl in NM]

"my bad"

"sweet"

"sycke" or "syck"

 

And I absolutely HATE all the text abbreviations for words! How is this next generation going to know how to spell anything!

[tibbyl]

I am indifferent to others' use of sir and ma'am. Frankly, I do not care what titles, if any, are used as long as they are not disrespectful.

 

But it is inappropriate to attempt to force young people to say "sir" and "ma'am." Our children were taught to say "please" and "thank you" and to address adults as "Mr. ____" or "Mrs. ____."

 

At a dinner at a friend's house, one of my children asked, "Could you please pass the salt?" As Mrs. _____ reached for it, Mr. pulled it back. Staring at my child, he said, "Please pass the salt, what?" My child replied, "Please pass the salt, Mrs. ____." "Please pass the salt, what?" "It's please pass the salt, ma'am, here," he said.

 

At our local elementary school, a 5th grade neighbor girl had to serve in school detention for not using "ma'am" when, like my daughter, she did not understand what word it was the teacher was prompting. This girl had moved here from northern California. She had spent lot of time in my home, so I can confidently state that her manners were impeccable.

 

Both these incidents constitute petty bullying IMO.

[SquirrellyMama]

Hi, I'm new to posting around here but I had to join in. Here are the words I don't like:

 

1. yada, yada, yada

2. 24/7

3. as it relates to (I listen to a radio talk show and the host says this line all the time.)

 

I know there are more but a lot of them have been use already.

 

Kelly

[Crissy]

And "I" refuse to put my groceries in a sack b/c it reminds me of the area where men get the crotch cancer.

 

The Crotch Cancer?!

[LG Gone Wild]

in terms of

I like to think outside of the box

hot (as in he's hot)

shizzle my nizzle

 

and all puns that reporters use to introduce or conclude a story

[Parrothead]

I should have continued to stay away.

 

Here's one that is not irrational but drives me nuts: when Christians refer to the book of Revelation as Revelations. It is one Revelation-the Revelation of Jesus Christ.;)

 

This reminds me of another peeve. People that say the Baby Jesus was born in a manger. Obviously these people have never seen a manger, much less thought of giving birth in one. He was born in a stable and placed in a manger.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Agreeing with you!!! :smash: ESPECIALLY when I hear it HERE on this board!

 

But I LIKE to say it. :D Is mea culpa better or worse?

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I hesitate to even post mine on this board, but I really hate the word "twaddle." For whatever reason, it just gives me weird mental pictures!

 

:leaving:

 

"Twaddle" is the WORST. Blech. P-tooey.

 

(No mental pictures here.)

[Chris in CA]

Besides the normal vulgar words, a word that irritakes me for no reason is

packet - like packet of information - I don't know why, but it bugs me

[anissarobert]

Ok-I'm printing the homeschool newsletter that we publish, so I read the whole post while I've been babysitting the copier. No one has posted my biggest pet peeve yet.

 

I hate it when people forget the adverbial form when using an abverb.

 

You are not going to do things different. You are going to do things differently. I hear people making this mistake constantly. TV news personalities are the worst offenders.

 

I do agree with Bill and Elaine in that I'm not that fond of the abbreviations, but I use them here because they are efficient. I suppose that is why the teens use them on their cell phones too.

 

My father corrects me every time I say dinner meaning the evening meal. That is supper to him, and I had better not forget it.

 

I'm not sure how to spell this, but my sister says Weersh when she means wash. We live in Idaho, so I don't think it is a dialect issue, just her particular quirk.

[SquirrellyMama]

I'm not sure how to spell this, but my sister says Weersh when she means wash. We live in Idaho, so I don't think it is a dialect issue, just her particular quirk.

 

When I was learning to spell I had a hard time with the word wash. My parents and everyone around me (southern Illinois) said "warsh". I remember seeing the word on a spelling test and finally realizing there was no "r" in wash. I have never said it with an r since but my parents do and it drives me nuts. They also say squarsh instead of squash.

 

Kelly

[VaKim]

 

When I was learning to spell I had a hard time with the word wash. My parents and everyone around me (southern Illinois) said "warsh". I remember seeing the word on a spelling test and finally realizing there was no "r" in wash. I have never said it with an r since but my parents do and it drives me nuts. They also say squarsh instead of squash.

 

Kelly

That is funny! :D I had a lot of trouble with homonyms and homophones and all that stuff in grade school because of the way my family talked, too. They said "worsh" for wash, "tar" and "far" for tire and fire, "hire" for hair, etc. :lol:

[*anj*]

Okay, here's another one: womyn. That is all.

[Danestress]

All these things bother me. Except "Sir" and "Ma'am" which I use regularly - always with someone older than me, but often with children and dogs as well. It's just so easy. "No sir. You will not be chasing that car."

 

And "rich." I do think of food as rich. That one surprised me. But most of the things that are bugging the rest of you also annoy me.

[Maria from IN]

orien-TATE, as in to orient someone! Students say all the time, "I've got to get orientated" rather than oriented. Drives me bonkers!

 

I agree with you! I always tell people that "orientater" sounds like an Asian side dish!

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

orien-TATE, as in to orient someone! Students say all the time, "I've got to get orientated" rather than oriented. Drives me bonkers!

 

And my dh says "Mezziah" for Messiah. He uses the "z" sound and I use the "s" sound. I semi-lovingly told him that we could never attend a church with that word in its name because the sound of the "zzz's" drives me crazy.

 

So, we now go to "Our Redeemer Lutheran" church rather than any church with Messiah in the name.

 

My dear sweet dh says "pronounce-e-ation" for "pronunciation." Every. Single. Time. Drives me stark raving mad.

[Renee in NC]

Nummy. It's YUMMY people! LOL

[ThelmaLou]

"Traveling mercies." I hear this all the time in church. Why can't we just pray for safety? What in the world is a traveling mercy?

 

"Ask Jesus into your heart." Where did this come from? It's not found anywhere in the Scripture. I understand what it's getting at, but wonder who came up with the phrase.

 

Signs in the grocery store that say "can vegetables" instead of "canned vegetables."

 

the pronunciation of jewelry as "jew-ler-ee"

 

Finally, I'm sick of hearing about all of the Hollywood stars that have a "baby bump." Oy!

[pqr]

Homophobia, not liking a behavior is worlds away from having a phobia with regard to it.

 

"Write me", were I to "write me" I would write "me," what you want me to do is write TO you or as you should have said "write to me"

 

Hyphenated Americans President Roosevelt put it far better than I could, and while I am not in complete agreement I find value in his sentiment. "There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism.... Americanism is a matter of the spirit, and of the soul...The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans...each preserving its separate nationality.... The men who do not become Americans and nothing else are hyphenated Americans.... ."Theodore Roosevelt

 

Axed......it is asked

 

Near miss.....what is that? A near hit I can understand, but a near miss is a hit!

 

Parents who, at a sporting event, scream "way to go" every time their child, touches the ball. Which way are they going? Sometimes said child kicks the ball in the wrong direction, unless you are supporting the other team this is most certainly not the way to go.

 

The same parents who scream "nice try" when thie child makes a mistake. Sometimes it is a nice try, but most of the time the child has simply flubbed it and it was not in any conceivable fashion a "nice try"

 

(For the last two I understand the concept of encouragement, but this should also guide a child to better performance. Just for my amusement I actually counted one parent in her useage of these phrases. Every time any child on her team touched the ball she screamed "way to go". I lost count when she screamed "way to go" somewhere over 269 times.)

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

"Traveling mercies." I hear this all the time in church. Why can't we just pray for safety? What in the world is a traveling mercy?

 

"Ask Jesus into your heart." Where did this come from? It's not found anywhere in the Scripture. I understand what it's getting at, but wonder who came up with the phrase.

 

I think it's from the verse in Revelation that says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him and he with me." (That's probably not exact, but I'm too lazy to Google. Apologies in advance. :001_smile:)

 

 

Church-wise for me is ending up all prayers with "Lead, guide, and direct us." Pick one, please. :-P

[Merry]

.... the purpose-driven life...the purpose-driven church.... the purpose-driven Bible.

[Crissy]

Okay, here's another one: womyn. That is all.

 

I don't even understand that one.

[Jennifer3141]

Okay, here's another one: womyn. That is all.

 

It's one of my favorites. It's becoming more and more meaningful for me, for sure. :001_smile:

 

Jen

[Laura in VA]

I don't even understand that one.

 

I had to look it up yesterday. :lol:

[Crissy]

I had to look it up yesterday. :lol:

 

Heh. I guess I'm a poor excuse for a feminist. :lol: