I'm not the smartest person in the world... but sometimes I like to think I am, especially when it comes to proper word usage. One of my biggest pet peeves when people say the wrong word or make up a word altogether. I personally feel this comes from a bad public education system, as well as an overall lack of respect for the English language. I think that when people use the wrong words, or use them incorrectly it makes them seem “uneducated.” I don’t know why it bothers me if someone isn’t well-read, it certainly doesn’t seem to bother them. Nevertheless it drives me nuts…to the point of wanting to swear.
I have come up with a list of things people say that drive me up the wall. Enjoy
1. “AXE or AXED” instead of ASK or ASKED. This one is very common. I remember the first time I heard someone say this. It was a cousin of mine and they had ASKED my dad if they could AXE him a question. He replied, “No, but you can go stand over there and when you’re ready to ASK me a question, you may.” When someone tries to AXE a question, do they mean to chop it down, or cut in into bits? I don’t know.
2. “BRANG.” The past tense of the verb “to bring” is BROUGHT. I looked up BRANG in the Merriam Webster’s online dictionary and it isn’t there. I once dated a guy who said BRANG all the time. I broke up with him, and explained that the fact that he said BRANG instead of BROUGHT was the reason I was doing so.
3. “EX-PECIALLY” instead of ESPECIALLY. Common among teenage valley girls, I never understood where this one came from because there is clearly no “X” in the word. Interestingly, there is an entire forum online dedicated to do-gooders trying to correct Oprah’s friend Gayle, who frequently says EXPECIALLY. Now, I love Gayle and valley girls alike, but man, this is annoying. Also common is the term EX-PRESSO. For those of you who don't drink coffee, don't make this mistake. It is pronounced espresso.
4. “TOOKEN” instead of TAKEN or TOOK. BF says TOOKEN all the time. I once explained the story of how I broke up with someone for saying BRANG, hoping it would be a subtle “stop-saying-tooken-or-I’m-going-to-drop-an-F*bomb” hint. But he didn’t get it. In two years the only arguments we’ve ever had are over this word. Sometimes I think he’s trying to say, “Token,” to which I respond, “I think you’re a little old, but I guess we can go to Chuck-y Cheese on Saturday.”
5. “150%.” This is just an example. Does anyone remember 3rd grade math? Remember the pie? There is only a whole pie, 100%, there isn’t any more. I know the old Sports adage to give 110% still is common, but mathematically is impossible, and grammatically it makes me want to drop another F*bomb. I understand when someone is really really really sure about something they say something like, “I’m 1000% sure.” But to me, this is so annoying, because being, “100% sure,” would have been sufficient.
I don’t mean to be a snot, but these are peeves. I’m sure everyone has them.
What are some of your pet peeves?
The one that drives me CRAZY is EXcape. It's clearly spelled EScape, not Ecscape. Come on people! (husband!!)
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