WHAT'S YOUR PET PEEVE?

APOLOGIES: As the first of these posts have been transferred from the blog: "This is not a perfect world!" there may be some repetition...

A commentator (Josie C) points out, most strongly, how irritating it is to have to listen to conversations peppered with the word 'like'. I agree with her, and she has a famous supporter in the British comedian John Cleese - if this observation is indeed attributable to him:
"Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as 'like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication!"

THE WRITTEN WORD
Leigh v.d.S writes:
“I know your blog is mainly concerned with spoken English, but I have often been annoyed by the written use of an apostrophe s in a non-possessive plural.
Watermelon's for Sale.

Reply: You're quite right about the written word, Leigh. Thank you for writing.
Take, for instance, the following statement from the Vancouver sun: "...the house in East Vancouver, where she lived with her deceased husband for 22 years." - YIKES!

There's one consolation, however. We don't have to keep reading the same thing over and over again!

YOUR PET PEEVES

Author Nancy Steinbeck contributes:
My pet peeve is "orientated". I have three other peeves, but they're French. One is the use of "cliché" instead of "clichéd". As in, "that's so cliché." Then there's "Walla" instead of "voila". And "conciere" instead of "concierge". They make my skin crawl because they sound so pretentious, instead of coming from a person who has actually studied French in high school!

Rita:
What annoys me is the habit some of the people interviewed on the news seem to have. … That of using a double 'is'. For example: The trouble is, is that etc. etc.

Stan Webber:
Saw this today on my Yahoo browser.
"Jury stumped by cop killing of man mistook for bomber."
My peeve is the incorrect version of the verb. Should be 'mistaken'.
Please post on main page.

Audrey Clarke:
Can't stand it when they talk about the second month of the year as 'Febury'.

Elizabeth Cruickshank said...
It irritates me when people use an 'a' before a word commencing with a vowel. Eg. 'A apple' - instead of 'An apple'.

I'm so picky:
You've already alluded to this. Ignoring the spelling of a word - Access is not the same as assess. One has a 'c' in it. So why are accessories (like handbags and shoes) often referred to as assessories? I've even heard this on the top TV stations.

Les Blake said... Re: Canadian Press report, Dec 22. 08
What's this supposed to mean?
OTTAWA: - Prime Minister Stephen Harper has officially named Thomas Cromwell of Nova Scotia to the Supreme Court of Canada, forgoing a public hearing that had been promised into his appointment.

Not only is the word order clumsy, but the meaning is ambiguous. After pondering the statement for some time I've figured out that that it refers to Cromwell's appointment and not the Prime Minister's.


Now you're invited to post your own.
You are indeed welcome to 'get if off your chest', but WE ASK YOU PLEASE to refrain from using bad language or making libellous statements.