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Words which set your teeth on edge

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12:43 / 13.09.04

Just "tinfoil" in the abstract is a brilliant touch. Eeeee.

13:00 / 13.09.04

I've mentioned this before, but, "Adaption". I think it might be a word in German, but my worst grammatical nightmare is that it catches on to the point where it starts showing up in dictionaries.

Ooh, and using quotation marks as emphasis "shits" me something chronic.

13:06 / 13.09.04

It's OrienTATED, you lazy bastards.

Except that, um, you know, it's not.

You must be the Bizarro me, because "orientated" is itself one of the words that sets my teeth on edge. Except that I've actually got etymology and common sense on my side to justify my bias.

"Orientate" is derived from "orient," and means exactly the same thing. But it's clearly a variant.

In fact it's an exceedingly stupid and spurious back-formation from the noun "orientation," and as such I am frankly appalled by its acceptance in common usage and by its presence in any reputable dictionary without any caveats.

I mean, you wouldn't say "presentated," would you? Or "informated"?

No. And neither should you say "orientated."

13:09 / 13.09.04

I think that's a trans-Atlantic thing, isn't it?

Hattie's Kitchen

13:20 / 13.09.04

Fair point Mr Fear, but indeed it is a Transatlantic variation that riles me in the same way that "aluminium is pronounced "aloominum on your side of the pond. The lovely Huw Edwards of the BBC would never say "oriented".

13:23 / 13.09.04

I think there are occasions when it's OK, aren't there? 'I can't quite orientate myself in this setting' vs 'I can't quite orient myself in this setting'. 'I feel very disoriented' vs 'I feel very disorientated'... in both those instances the 'orientate' version feels more 'right' to me than the other...

13:30 / 13.09.04

Well, you may chracterizate it as "feeling right," but that's a slippery way to justificate it. Language, of course, must adaptate or die—we cannot specificate usage out of some misguided attempt to purificate the tongue—but you must realizate that such irregularities, if not limitated, can lead to a breakdown in understanding. N'est-ce pas?

13:37 / 13.09.04

Depends to a certain extent how widely spread they already are in common usage, really - and since 'orientate' and versions are already commonplace over here, and readily comprehensible to many, it's too late to do anything other than fulminate.

I am sure there are many neologisms, back-formations, etc. which are more disgusting, after all...

13:41 / 13.09.04

Advise to mean inform, so that notices read (for example) 'We would like to advise the public that pissing off this bridge will result in electrocution and possibly death' rather than 'Pissing off this bridge will result in electrocution and possibly death: we would advise you not to do it'.

I am pretty much alone in this one, since it's a perfectly legitimate use of the word. At least, my old history teacher thought so when he ditched about half an hour of lecture on the Weimer Republic to get a dictionary and make sure I knew I was wrong.

Also - being called a 'customer' and not a 'passenger' while on trains. It makes me feel as though I'm being mocked for choosing that particular train company, and they're telling me it's my fault that I've been waiting somewhere outside Darlington for the past 3/4 of an hour.

13:43 / 13.09.04

I am sure there are many neologisms, back-formations, etc. which are more disgusting, after all...

True. But it's a personal peeve of mine, and the smug certainty of HK's post, with no absolute authority to back it up, kind of irritated me.

Aluminum vs. Aluminium—blame Noah Webster for that one: he was a notorious advocate of "simplified" spelling, and, believing the role of lexicographer included advocacy as well as mere reportage, slipped that one through, along with a number of others. "Aluminum" stuck: "soop" for "soup" didn't.

I'll concede that the British "aluminium" is more correct—but judged so using the same criterion by which "orientate" is less correct—that is, it conforms to a pre-existing pattern of usage (calcium, magnesium, et cetera), which "orientate" fails to do.

Dropping this now.

13:45 / 13.09.04

Speaking of changes in usage that became accepted, when the fuck did "I couldn't care less" become "I could care less"? Doesn't that mean the opposite?! I feel like I'm missing something but I can't see it ...

Less searchable M0rd4nt

13:59 / 13.09.04

"Momentarily" to mean "in a moment." It may be correct but it's WRONG WRONG WRONG!

14:00 / 13.09.04

Urban used to mean black. That pisses me off so much, if you mean black say black for fucks sake. How is hip-hop any more urban than rock and roll or even opera for that matter (last time I checked very few villages had symphony orchestras). Garrrgh.

Goodness Gracious Meme

14:20 / 13.09.04

urghhh. well said. can't bear that.

see also MTVBase, or more accurately MTVBlackmusic. argh.

14:50 / 13.09.04

I don't like people pretentiously using French loanwords for "high society" matters, as though Anglo-Saxon equivalents would just be too barbaric. Like haute and de rigueur.

Y'all realize this thread is just begging for a Creation project using all the hated words...

Tryphena Absent

15:13 / 13.09.04

ROFLOLMAO!!!!!1!!!!one!!!!

that's not SMS, that's Internet. Blame mIRC. Blame Microsoft.

15:36 / 13.09.04

PENAL - Urrgh! A proper tinfoil reaction, this one. Causes instant, almost physical repulsion. Images of cocks, institutions and toilets. Imagine being forced to spend long hours hanging around a prison exercise yard on a cold, damp October afternoon with your knob hanging out. Grurgh.

PENILE - Even worse! Sweaty dog's cocks, or tubes of spongy pink meat saturated with clear, yellowish fluid, like the oily spam fritters we had to eat at school. Or wires being drawn - a fine sinew being pulled through a withered pizzle. Yuck.

INTERLOCUTOR A frustrating word, there's nothing to get your teeth into, no fat section, no climax. Each syllable is a half inflated bin bag. You get to the end of it with your lungs bursting to exhale but they're still only half full.

16:14 / 13.09.04

What about pianist?

Stop saying tinfoil! Augh, I said it!

16:16 / 13.09.04

Radix hates the words tasty and juicy, for some reason.

16:42 / 13.09.04

Hate to get all autobiographical, but...
Sharp scratch!
Nurses say this when they give you an injection. Every time. I suppose it's preferable to 'Just a little prick', but on the 35th occasion it gets... a little... wearing...

16:46 / 13.09.04

Loomis, thank you. I've always thought the same thing. "I could care less" would imply that you actually do care. So why do people use it to mean the opposite?

16:47 / 13.09.04

Oh, and "panties" always makes me want to run screaming off into the distance.

20:32 / 13.09.04

My boss won't stop saying irregardless. Aluminium and orientate sound and look awful, from over here (Los Angeles). Orientate is particularly bad since it sounds as though it's an attempt to dress up the otherwise perfectly fine orient.

21:16 / 13.09.04

As Sax says, orientate/orient has become a transatlantic thang, with the back-formation version far more common over here. To me, 'orient' looks wrong simply because I'm used to 'orientate', but it's not one of my prime filling-tinglers. 'Aluminum', on the other hand...

Oh yeah, and while we're on the subject of Americanisms

herbs
The 'h' is not a toy.

tightie whities
Gnaaargh! Worse than 'knickers'; worse than 'panties'.

Agree with Fridge on 'chemical imbalance' (because it's a crappy pseudoscientific way of saying nothing at all). File alongside

psychotic
When used to mean psychopathic. Jonathan Porritt did this on Any Questions, making me want to hurl the radio at the cat.

energy
In the 'I am channelling positive healing energy into your fractured spine' sense.

And some more broadly Barbe-flavoured ones:

fuck shit up
For extra Tinfoil, be sure to extract all traces of Selfawaria.

Dizzee Rascal
Nothing at all against the man or his music - but 'dizzy' is, for me, uncomfortable close to 'ditsy' (even without the wackaday spelling); and 'rascal' is what old ladies call their dogs. I just can't get past the name.

sheeple
Bah.

21:43 / 13.09.04

Loomis, thank you. I've always thought the same thing. "I could care less" would imply that you actually do care. So why do people use it to mean the opposite?
This has occasionally got on my tits, too (and I'm sure there's someone out there who hates _that_ expression), but I'm reconciled to it now, as I noticed it is usually only used in conjunction with the sarcastic positive, much like "Yeah, right" or "chinny reckon".
For example: "You have a fat arse"
"Yeah, and I could care less."
Which basically means "You think I could care less about it, but you're wrong durrrr...", so sort of turning it into a statement of position and a snide insult.
That said, it seems like an awful lot of effort to avoid using a perfectly good and logicaln't. I reckon it must have been some badly imported and misunderstood slang, rather like "Wanker" seems to be becoming in the States.

Oh, and learn to live with 'erbs and spices. It first annoyed me when I was 11 watching Shake'n'Bake ads, it takes a long time to get over, but for some reason, they just DON'T pronounce that H.
Just think of it as being like learning to pronounce New York as Noo York. It's ingrained, it's just right for them. You wouldn't mock a yank for being unable to pronounce Grosvenor, Farquhar, Urquhart, Penicuik, Milngavie, Cholmondley or Featherstonehaugh, would you?

Actually, that's not true, it's quite fun watching their faces when you tell them about the last three. Hell, it's fun watching anyone's face when they learn about those.

21:49 / 13.09.04

You wouldn't mock a yank for being unable to pronounce Grosvenor, Farquhar, Urquhart, Penicuik, Milngavie, Cholmondley or Featherstonehaugh, would you?

No indeed - but 'herb' is a four-letter word. How tricky can it be?

21:58 / 13.09.04

AAAAGGHH! Just remembered my all time most hated word ever!

Snuck

Where did this fucking horrible abberation come from?
Present tense:
Freak
Leak
Peak
Sneak

Perfect tense:
Freaked
Leaked
Peaked
SNEAKED! It's fucking SNEAKED, OK?

Yes, I could MAYBE accept it if there was some sort of obscure imperfect use going on, like "He used to snuck around all the time", and sneaked was used correctly, but it isn't! It's JUST WROOOOONG! and if anyone sends any copy past my desk with that word in it, expect a homicide in the Central Belt.

23:34 / 13.09.04

I routinely laugh whenever I hear any American say "erb". I've been here two years and it still cracks me up. "Erb" to me is, you know, "the 'erb". It makes infomericials fun.

While I'm on American pronunciation... "carmel". There's no fucking excuse for that. It's even spelt "caramel" (whereas "aluminum" really is spelt that way, that's legitimate).

23:37 / 13.09.04

Rural. It took me a long time to master the pronunciation. Even now, I can't tell if I'm pronouncing the word correctly, or if it's just an exceedingly stupid-sounding word.

04:53 / 14.09.04

psychotic: When used to mean psychopathic.

Ganesh, could you give me a one or two line description of both?

Lilly Nowhere Late

06:21 / 14.09.04

Ahhhhrrrrrrggggghhhhh! (I really hate that but...) I'm the displaced amerikan who does all the above! I'm going to be forever self-suspecting now while talking.
Except "oriented". I could never say "orientated". Sounds just like something G.Bushman would say.

And I hate the "better/other half" reference.

Whisky Priestess

07:45 / 14.09.04

Thank God we found you in time, Lilly ...

And speaking of unpronounceables, how about Menzies? And Mainwaring?

P.S. Milngavie: how do you pronounce it?

ONLY NICE THINGS

08:05 / 14.09.04

Ah, well, the "z" in Menzies is not in fact a "z". It's a yogh. Once you've got that down, it's simple...

08:08 / 14.09.04

WP: Milngavie= mull-GUY

08:16 / 14.09.04

Ganesh, could you give me a one or two line description of both?

Psychotic: severe psychiatric illness, typically characterised by delusions (eg. the paranoid belief that one is being pursued by shape-changing aliens) and hallucinations (eg. hearing disembodied voices giving a running commentary on one's actions). Best-known examples: schizophrenia, briefer drug-induced psychotic states, etc.

Psychopathic: severe personality disorder, typically characterised by extreme self-centredness and lack of guilt/remorse/ability to take responsibility for the harmful effects of one's actions upon others. Best-known examples: serial murderers, Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, etc.

Now read on...

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