Language usage pet peeve

[SoMAn]

I heard this again yesterday and I realize that it’s petty but it’s just one of those things that bothers me. 
When we would go outside as kids and throw the football or baseball to each other, we’d ‘play catch’.  
I heard one of the female protesters at Columbia U who was on the news yesterday saying they had a football because they were going to “have a catch’.  ???   I’m starting to hear this more and more. It just sounds wrong.. Let’s hear your opinion. It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s divided by generation.

 

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

Blame Kevin Costner:

 

 

[Warcodered]

8 minutes ago, ICanSleepWhenI'mDead said:

Blame Kevin Costner:

 

 

and suddenly a different version of this scene where his ghost baseball dad corrects him and says "No but I'd like to play catch." has now entered my consciences. For some reason it's not as heartwarming.

[Augie]

37 minutes ago, ICanSleepWhenI'mDead said:

Blame Kevin Costner:

 

 

 

That was my first thought regarding “having a catch.” 

 

My first thought looking at the title was “I could care less.” That one just annoys me. If you say that, stop and think about it. 

[DrW]

Two more recent ones:

 

1) Wrong present perfect:

"I have went to the store" is wrong; it should be "I have gone to the store" (or "I went to the store").

 

2) "of" instead of "have", because of similar pronunciation:

"I should of gone to the store" is wrong; it should be "I should have gone to the store".

 

 

 

[Wacka]

People saying "kilbossy"  instead of kielbasa, especially if they are from WNY.  Enough of us Poles in the area that everyone should know how to pronounce the word.

[Bob Lamb]

"sus"        

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

Drives me nuts when people drop the infinitive “to be” from sentences.

 

For example, they say, “the car needs washed.” It should be “the car needs to be washed.”
 

 Seems like this is common in areas around the Great Lakes ( NY, PA, OH, and MI). 

[SirAndrew]

Referring to route numbers with the, such as “just off the 190”. 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

35 minutes ago, SirAndrew said:

Referring to route numbers with the, such as “just off the 190”. 

You would prefer the Buffalonian "just off da Niagara Truway"?

*
Although it is good fun listening to 'out of towners' struggle with the Scajaquada Expressway. 🤔

[LabattBlue]

I also don’t get the whole “on line” vs “in line”.   Whether it is a store, arena, event,  grocery shopping, etc…you are “in line”. 

[Nextmanup]

Too many for me to list.

 

Near the top would be, as demonstrated daily at TSW, a complete inability for many to understand the differences between "THEIR", "THERE", and "THEY'RE".

 

It's really not that hard guys. 

 

Another that is used so universally incorrectly now it might have gone from "wrong" to "correct":  "HONE" vs. "HOME".

 

"I am going to "hone" in on something."

 

Correct usage is "HOME" as in radar homing, as in a term developed in WWII with the advent of radar.

 

You look at a broad expanse of sky, sea, or space, and try to narrow down or, narrow in, or radar home-in on your target.

 

I.E., go from broad to narrow.  Go from vague to specific.  

 

People say "HONE" as though they are somehow talking about a blacksmith sharpening something.  I don't get it.

 

Using "HONE" in this context makes no sense; you don't "hone in" on a blade.

 

Next time, use "HOME" and correct others who do this; you'll be 1 in 1,000.

 

 

[US Egg]

Maybe a Buffalo thing, often hear crick instead of creek.

[GETTOTHE50]

proper English doesn’t exist anymore. Especially in America. time we all get used to it. 
 

what does upset me, however is how people are still particular over your and you’re over texting. get over youreself ####### 

[muppy]

The usage of the word  "effect" as opposed to "affect" I am a English speaker from birth and I honestly to this day don't know the rule of which  is it's correct usage/ context. I'm going to Google and post the answer in case I'm not alone in this.

 

to use effect vs affect . 

 

verb: action word, easy enough to define

 

Noun on the other hand 

Quote

A noun is a word that names something, such as a person, place, thing, or idea. In a sentence, nouns can play the role of subject, direct object, indirect object, subject complement, object complement, appositive, or modifier.

 

 

Quote

Affect is usually a verb meaning "to produce an effect upon," as in "the weather affected his mood." Effect is usually a noun meaning "a change that results when something is done or happens," as in "computers have had a huge effect on our lives." There are exceptions, but if you think of affect as a verb and effect as a noun, you’ll be right most of the time.

 

effect is  NOUN"?? Clear as MUD I'm sorry that is confusing.

 

SMH

[Bermuda Triangle]

"fewer" vs. "less"

 

"farther" vs. "further"

Edited April 21 by Bermuda Triangle

[HereComesTheReignAgain]

"I could care less."  If you could care less, that means that you do care.  

 

The correct phrase is "I couldn't care less".

[4merper4mer]

If you worry about other peoples use of phrases it just show you’re lacking in self of steam.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

1 hour ago, HereComesTheReignAgain said:

"I could care less."  If you could care less, that means that you do care.  

 

The correct phrase is "I couldn't care less".

this is a big pet peeve of mine too! 

[T&C]

Wonder what 50 Cent thinks about this...

[SoTier]

5 hours ago, US Egg said:

Maybe a Buffalo thing, often hear crick instead of creek.

 

That's definitely a WNY, especially Southern Tier, thing.   I've heard people refer to the village of Silver Creek as Silver Crik.

 

One thing that I've noticed recently on tv is some actors seem to add an extra syllable to some words, most notably on words that end in ing.  Examples:

go-ing becomes go-ing-ga or com-ing becomes com-ing-ga. 

[Augie]

7 minutes ago, SoTier said:

 

That's definitely a WNY, especially Southern Tier, thing.   I've heard people refer to the village of Silver Creek as Silver Crik.

 

One thing that I've noticed recently on tv is some actors seem to add an extra syllable to some words, most notably on words that end in ing.  Examples:

go-ing becomes go-ing-ga or com-ing becomes com-ing-ga. 

 

I thought that was just in Italy! 

 

Is “anyways” a thing? A friend makes fun of me because I’ll sometimes say that instead of anyway. So he’s justified in razzing me I guess, but I’ve seen it with the S at the end here, amongst my peeps. So, maybe it’s a regional thing and I get a pass. And if I’m lying, he’ll never know.  😋

[Bad Things]

I moved away from New York State way back in 1990 and have noticed a lot of changes in the way WNY’s speak since then.

The #1 thing I think of is the use of “Y’ all”.

 

When I still lived there, there was no way anyone would’ve used that term without being laughed at.

Now, I see it used all the time on this board.  It’s just weird for me to see.

[Augie]

5 minutes ago, Bad Things said:

I moved away from New York State way back in 1990 and have noticed a lot of changes in the way WNY’s speak since then.

The #1 thing I think of is the use of “Y’ all”.

 

When I still lived there, there was no way anyone would’ve used that term without being laughed at.

Now, I see it used all the time on this board.  It’s just weird for me to see.

 

Funny, I moved away from WNY in ‘77, spent college years in Cincinnati then moved to Hilton Head, SC. The people from SC say y’all in daily conversation, which I thought was a little rednecky. Until it came out of my mouth. I still remember the first time, kinda stopping me in my tracks. Did I just say that??? 

[Bad Things]

7 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

Funny, I moved away from WNY in ‘77, spent college years in Cincinnati then moved to Hilton Head, SC. The people from SC say y’all in daily conversation, which I thought was a little rednecky. Until it came out of my mouth. I still remember the first time, kinda stopping me in my tracks. Did I just say that??? 

 

I had a similar experience after moving to NZ almost 20 years ago.

The first time I used "G-day", I just about cringed because it sounded so "forced" with my American accent.

[JPPT1974]

All states or countries are not the same. They have their different kind of language. And that tourists that are not familiar in a state not their own, in a sense are like fish out of water. People who have lived there forever like get each other it seems.

[BritBill]

Bills trade Diggs. He's headed to Houston.

 

An absolute abomination. 

Edited April 23 by BritBill

[Steve O]

On 4/21/2024 at 2:16 PM, HereComesTheReignAgain said:

"I could care less."  If you could care less, that means that you do care.  

The correct phrase is "I couldn't care less".

Absolutely.

And don't get me started on "very unique." If something is unique it is by definition one of a kind, it does not require an intensifier!

[SoMAn]

On 4/20/2024 at 4:03 PM, DrW said:

Two more recent ones:

 

1) Wrong present perfect:

"I have went to the store" is wrong; it should be "I have gone to the store" (or "I went to the store").

 

2) "of" instead of "have", because of similar pronunciation:

"I should of gone to the store" is wrong; it should be "I should have gone to the store".

 

 

 

The 'could of', should of', would of' thing is up there on my nitpicking petty pet peeve list.

I've seen writing by reasonably intelligent people who do this.  Apparently, they're completely unaware that it's a contraction. Eventually, it will be acceptable and the OED and Websters will acknowledge it, just as they have with words like 'unique'. 

 

'Unique' used to be defined only as 'one of a kind'.  Now through misusage, the dictionaries accept it to mean uncommon. So wrong. Stupid wins again!

 

[SoMAn]

On 4/21/2024 at 4:47 PM, Augie said:

 

Funny, I moved away from WNY in ‘77, spent college years in Cincinnati then moved to Hilton Head, SC. The people from SC say y’all in daily conversation, which I thought was a little rednecky. Until it came out of my mouth. I still remember the first time, kinda stopping me in my tracks. Did I just say that??? 

Y'all is actually a huge improvement over 'youse', 'yuns', or even the ambiguous 'you' in it's plural form. 

WNY has it's share of unusual colloquialisms. Nobody outside of Buffalo says the word 'mock', 'mocked', 'mocking' as a compound companion to  'out'. 

(with exaggerated Cheektowaga accent): I got 'mocked-out' for wearing my Zubaz sport coat to da prom.

 

If I remember correctly,  Vince Gallo used that local expression in Buffalo '66.

Edited April 23 by SoMAn

[teef]

On 4/21/2024 at 4:37 PM, Bad Things said:

I moved away from New York State way back in 1990 and have noticed a lot of changes in the way WNY’s speak since then.

The #1 thing I think of is the use of “Y’ all”.

 

When I still lived there, there was no way anyone would’ve used that term without being laughed at.

Now, I see it used all the time on this board.  It’s just weird for me to see.

if someone lives in this part of ny and uses, "y'all"...they're total #######s.

[GoBills808]

On 4/21/2024 at 3:22 AM, Nextmanup said:

 

People say "HONE" as though they are somehow talking about a blacksmith sharpening something.  I don't get it.

 

Using "HONE" in this context makes no sense; you don't "hone in" on a blade.

 

 

 

 

hone

 

1. : to sharpen or smooth with a whetstone.

5 hours ago, BritBill said:

Bills trade Diggs. He's headed to Houston.

 

An absolute abomination. 

what's wrong w headed

[Augie]

2 hours ago, GoBills808 said:

 

what's wrong w headed

 

Much better to be headed than beheaded! 

[Mark Vader]

On 4/21/2024 at 8:31 AM, GETTOTHE50 said:

proper English doesn’t exist anymore. Especially in America. time we all get used to it. 
 

what does upset me, however is how people are still particular over your and you’re over texting. get over youreself ####### 

 

[shrader]

Seen

[US Egg]

I warsh my hands before drarwing.

[Tuco]

Yutes.

 

Little lone.

 

For all intensive purposes.

 

Looser is not the way to spell loser, losers.

 

The whole thing is rediculous.

 

Makes me want to throw up in my mouth. What does that even mean? Where the hell else does one throw up?

 

Not for nothin' it just pets my peeves.

[The Poojer]

Acme is Ac-A-me in the philadelphia area, i don't understand that one

On 4/21/2024 at 4:16 PM, SoTier said:

 

That's definitely a WNY, especially Southern Tier, thing.   I've heard people refer to the village of Silver Creek as Silver Crik.

 

One thing that I've noticed recently on tv is some actors seem to add an extra syllable to some words, most notably on words that end in ing.  Examples:

go-ing becomes go-ing-ga or com-ing becomes com-ing-ga. 

[Behindenemylines]

On 4/21/2024 at 4:16 PM, SoTier said:

 

That's definitely a WNY, especially Southern Tier, thing.   I've heard people refer to the village of Silver Creek as Silver Crik.

 

One thing that I've noticed recently on tv is some actors seem to add an extra syllable to some words, most notably on words that end in ing.  Examples:

go-ing becomes go-ing-ga or com-ing becomes com-ing-ga. 

I still say Crick and “mocked-out” as another.  
nephews just can’t wait to make fun of me when I say either.  

[Buffalo716]

On 4/21/2024 at 4:16 PM, SoTier said:

 

That's definitely a WNY, especially Southern Tier, thing.   I've heard people refer to the village of Silver Creek as Silver Crik.

 

One thing that I've noticed recently on tv is some actors seem to add an extra syllable to some words, most notably on words that end in ing.  Examples:

go-ing becomes go-ing-ga or com-ing becomes com-ing-ga. 

Idk why but I am born and raised Buffalo 

 

And I always say crik... I say Cayuga Crik instead of Cayuga Creek 

 

I don't know