Words people use incorrectly that drive you mad...

[Phookah]

Skip over my whole post and go for that, well okay then.

Im talking about spelling not pronounciation.

So you'd rather it be spelled one way and pronounced another?
That's not confusing at all.

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Momentarily. This one grinds my gears. You will not be leaving momentarily...you will be leaving presently. Momentarily means briefly. As in "I will be at the store presently, where I will stop momentarily to take a piss."

Unfortunately for me, popular usage has gotten to the point where it doesn't agree with me, and momentarily has evolved to mean just what means when people use it incorrectly. Oh well.

Wouldn't "leaving momentarily" be leaving in a short while? Or used when you're leaving for a short amount of time and plan to return shortly?

[belfpala]

Momentarily. This one grinds my gears. You will not be leaving momentarily...you will be leaving presently. Momentarily means briefly. As in "I will be at the store presently, where I will stop momentarily to take a piss."

What if... "I'll be leaving momentarily, after I finish this beer."

[blankfaced]

At no point in time do i get mad over someones improper English or spelling. I correct them and move along. Those that do get upset over it need to get a hobby.

[MMKing]

Words often used to describe destruction, either in buildings, land or people. Words like obliterate, decimate, annihilate, demolish, eradicate, quell and exterminate. Why are there so many different words you ask? BECAUSE THEY HAVE DIFFERENT FUCKING MEANINGS!

It's especially bad when used incorrectly in video games by allegedly professional developers.

[Adam Jensen]

Liberry is my favorite.

A long time ago I remember my friend and I making fun of his five year old cousin for constantly saying "skagetti" (spaghetti.) We were only about 10ish at the time ourselves.

My youngest nephew "renumbers" things (remembers.) He's now six, and I don't think he says it anymore though.

It's hilarious when its little kids though. It's downright fucking scary when it comes from adults.

[Speedlance]

What makes me mad is the fact that people who have English as their first language expect some one who doesn't to write perfect English.

[lopk]

At no point in time do i get mad over someones improper English or spelling. I correct them and move along. Those that do get upset over it need to get a hobby.

*eyeroll* What do you expect in a thread like this? Do you really think we scream, or get genuinely upset when someone says something wrong? Of course not.

[Deleted]

Im not sure if its on topic but I really hate it when people can't be bothered to type out the words when texting or chatting in instant messenger. Even if I understand what "u w go 2 mvs 800 pm" or whatever they're trying to say means, I pretend I don't or ignore it. I can look past an occasional u instead of you or 2 or 8 if they slip in but never when they skip half the letters.

[Kivana]

My mum drops this one every now and then:

Pacific instead of SPECIFIC ! Really pisses me off for some reason.

[Deleted]

My nan always says on thing that really grips my shit. Instead of telling me to teach my brother/sister/whatever to do something, she tells me to learn them how to do it... eg "Learn your brother how to play that game". It doesn't even sound right ffs!

[Deleted]

Literally now literally means figuratively.

So what word should we use when we mean literally? And should figuratively be considered outdated and taken out of the dictionary?

I agree that languages evolve over time and we need to make the necessary adjustments, both in spelling and in terms of meaning at times, but we already have a perfectly valid word for the meaning people seek, and they simply mistake the word for another due to lack of knowledge of the word and the fact that they have heard other people use it like that.

In some cases it's a matter of that the person should really know better and use the proper term, in some cases when the majority agrees that the meaning should be changed, that's when it should be changed, and no sooner.

Until such a day, I will not find it valid to use the word literally instead of figuratively.

[Deleted]

Indeed what two posts above me was said, learn your brother, instead of teach your brother!

[Powerogue]

I bookmarked dictionary.com specifically to avoid misusing words I don't use very often. Hopefully that doesn't occur as often.

Now excuse me while I peruse TVtropes for the next few minutes.

[Deleted]

As a Canadian: center vs. centre really bothers me.

For people who don't know:

Center is for the center of an object, e.g. "City hall is in the center of the city".
Centre is for a building, e.g. The Rogers Centre.

In case nobody has said anything to that: There is no difference between 'centre' and 'center' except the spelling; 'center' is the American spelling whereas 'centre' is the British version. Same applies to 'meter' and 'metre'. It's similar to 'realize' and 'realise', or 'color' and 'colour' etc.


The one and only word that annoys me when people misspell it is when they mean 'definitely' but write 'defiantly'............. not is it just spelled incorrectly, it has also a completely different meaning. I dislike 'definately' and 'definitly' etc as well but 'defiantly' just makes me mad.

[ringpriest]

People who use "normalacy" at all. It's not a word, the word that means what people think "normalcy" means is "normality". "Normalcy" is a result of (then) U.S. Presidential candidate Warren G. Harding demonstrating a failure of basic vocabulary, and the press of the day being unwilling to call him on it. It's an awkward, ungainly word, that doesn't fit well in the mouths of English-speakers and it should be abolished in favor of a return to normality.

[s_bushido]

"Disorientated" drives me insane. But apparently it's an accepted pronunciation/form of "disoriented" so I guess I have to get over it...BUT I CAN'T!!! Argh!

Also, I hate it when people make a big deal about "decimate." As if anyone has actually used its "one in ten" meaning in conversation since...forever. It always reminds me of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-R4cceH6f0

[godofslack]

spelling lose l-o-o-s-e, like I don't know how people mess that one up lose is such a low level word.