I quarterbacked a client call this morning, accompanied by several of my colleagues. The client asked if a particular deliverable could be accomplished by a close of business ("C.O.B." for those of you down with super cool corporate lingo), to which one of my colleagues replied "I can't do that by C.O.B. today, irregardless of how I change my schedule..."
I put the phone on mute and let out a howl of a laugh. After collecting myself, I went to Google to gain some perspective on what I just heard:
The origin of irregardless is not known for certain, but the consensus among references is that it is a blend of irrespective and regardless, both of which are commonly accepted standard English words. By blending these words, an illogical word is created. "Since the prefix ir- means 'not' (as it does with irrespective), and the suffix -less means 'without,' irregardless is a double negative. (Wikipedia)
Interesting. It’s a documented phenomenon. And here I was, thinking that my colleague and Tony Soprano were the only offenders! I’ll add this to my list of verbal pet peeves, along with pretty-but-dumb TV reporters that erroneously employ the term “it begs the question” when trying to say "it raises the question."
Anyone else have any such pet peeves that evoke nails-on-chalkboard?
I put the phone on mute and let out a howl of a laugh. After collecting myself, I went to Google to gain some perspective on what I just heard:
The origin of irregardless is not known for certain, but the consensus among references is that it is a blend of irrespective and regardless, both of which are commonly accepted standard English words. By blending these words, an illogical word is created. "Since the prefix ir- means 'not' (as it does with irrespective), and the suffix -less means 'without,' irregardless is a double negative. (Wikipedia)
Interesting. It’s a documented phenomenon. And here I was, thinking that my colleague and Tony Soprano were the only offenders! I’ll add this to my list of verbal pet peeves, along with pretty-but-dumb TV reporters that erroneously employ the term “it begs the question” when trying to say "it raises the question."
Anyone else have any such pet peeves that evoke nails-on-chalkboard?
8 comments:
It’s strange when someone whom you heretofore thought was pretty darn intelligent puts foot in mouth and totally shatters your notion. I too have some pet peeves that just drive me nuts - Here in Washington there are a lot of people who have quite successful careers who still talk like farmers from the south. (Pardon me if I sound judgmental –I do not mean to be at all – It’s just a matter of description) We have one friend who is a successful Civil Engineer and another who is a Biomedical Engineer who both occasionally make me cringe. I’m always telling Phil that the English language is evolving, but sometimes it really hurts and actually feels like de-evolution.
Pet peeve #1 - ending sentences with prepositions. Downright offensive!
"alls" That's a big one for me.
And even though this is the correct term, I can't believe that "Canadian Geese" are truly called Canada Geese. It doesn't make sense. I don't eat Mexico salsa. Explanation? {Brad won this argument. We even looked in 2 different dictionaries/encyclopedias! Crazy.}
Mike, I totally agree wid ya' regardin' yo' puh'cepshun uh de English language bein' puh'verted by dose who should know better. Ah be baaad... Especially dose who gots higha' educashun and consida' demselves mo'e literate dan de average sucka'. ah' dink dey should be required t'go back t'farm t're-learn de English language befo'e dey is allowed t'interact wid oders who practice some mo'e refined fo'm uh 'spression. 'S coo', bro. Keep vigilant and duzn't compromise yo' own standards plum a'cuz de average sucka' uses language dat be typically found in de script uh television sitcoms. Phil
hahaha. Well done, Phil. You need to get your own Google ID - I thought for a minute there that Jan had gone thug.
Wait, Kelli, who calls them "Canada Geese?" That a new one to me. Although I can't be considered the expert given that I live in a city populated primarily by pigeons and seagulls.
Google it. It's everywhere!
Oh man, I have a million.....
When people are writing something and instead of "you" always right "ya." (Common in Utah and Idaho.) I also cannot STAND when people pronounce the word "across" with a T at the end, like "acrosst." It makes me insane and it's amazing how often people do it!
I totally can't stand it when people refer to California as "Cali." That might not fall into this category, however, as it's not grammatical.
Post a Comment