Things that really annoy you ...

[Pete]

I have a suggestion to put to all the good folk here. Each and every one of you is to procure a copy of Fowler's and read it from cover-to-cover. Then come back to this thread.

Hippo, someone, Pete I think, wants the duck riddle.

News to me, old chap. Are we on the grandad-father-son version or something more obscure?

 

[Carwash]

Neither of your statements IS correct.

Neither is short for neither one, which is singular.

Does the verb follow 'neither' (singular... apparently) or 'statements' (plural)? The former sounds wrong. But that could be due to regional variation... there is for example a strong distinction between the UK and the US as to which of the following feel correct:

'The Government are to blame.'
'The Government is to blame.'

 

[Arch]

Quite the contrary. I myself have never heard 'evidently' (ab)used in that way, and frankly your report shocks and depresses me. Still, I suppose language changes, so we shouldn't be too surprised...

Really? Tom used to do it, but I never got round to challenging him on it...

He had a funny way of pronoucing 'detritus' too...

 

[Fnaar]

Sorry Pete, but Fowler's is a pile of plop.

The general confusion around the words 'patently' (as in patently obvious) and 'blatantly' (as in something done openly, which is considered antagonistic to normal everyday behaviour) annoys me. The first gets pronounced as 'paintently' and the second gets used where the first would be more appropriate. And don't get me started on patent leather.

 

[SamNichols]

People who talk on the phone in cinemas. This is something that only occurs in multiplexes, as the average independent cinema goer will not dream of it. I spent nearly 3 hours in a busy cinema watching American Gangster with a conversation nearby saying: 'no he never! Oh you should go round there.'

Add to that bad films. Oh, and insomnia but that's been covered elsewhere of late.

 

[mr_hippo]

Neither is short for neither one, which is singular.

Score 0/10, it is a contraction of 'not either'.

Does the verb follow 'neither' (singular... apparently) or 'statements' (plural)? The former sounds wrong. But that could be due to regional variation... there is for example a strong distinction between the UK and the US as to which of the following feel correct:
'The Government are to blame.'
'The Government is to blame.'

"Neither of your statements is correct." If you are unsure, rewrite the phrase. Replace 'neither' with 'not one', remove superfluous words (of your statements), replace the verb with '_' and what have we got? "Not one _ correct": now would you use 'is' or 'are'? I find the construction rather strange, it would be better to say 'Neither statement is correct'.

'The Government is/are" depends on context, are you talking about a single entity or individual members?
“The Government (single entity) is to introduce…”
“The Government (individual members) are debating…”

 

[Dayvo]

You should rebel. Every time you're greeted with a cheery 'Hej!' respond with a surly 'Tjäna, fan.' A French friend of mine did this, and noted that the frequency of 'hej's he encountered in his daily life dropped markedly.

To people I don't like, I give them a cheery morgon (similar to 'morning'), but sounds like 'moron'!

 

[Andy in Sig]

Hippo, someone, Pete I think, wants the duck riddle.

Go and stand in the corner NOW!

 

[Haitch]

People who start every conversation with 'So, ...'.

Sucks teeth...

So you would never say, for example, 'These are the only cakes left.'? What would you say instead?

 

[Tetedelacourse]

Go and stand in the corner NOW!

OK I'm in the corner, but I'm facing outwards

I've reminded myself of Father Dougal standing next to the big red button marked DO NOT PUSH.

 

[walker]

people who say 'Basically' at the beginning of every sentence.

 

[Carwash]

Sucks teeth...

Well spotted, but that's not really what I was referring to. For a start, I wasn't starting a conversation, I was already engaged in one. But what I was actually referring to was the increasingly common tendency to begin a conversation (usually relating some recent occurrence, now I think about it) something like this:

'So, we went to the cinema last night...'
'So, I bought this new phone...'

I just grates because the 'so' comes from nowhere - it doesn't follow on from anything because there's nothing to follow on from. Say it (out loud or in your head) with a high rising terminal to see what I mean! At the very least it should be preceded by an ellipsis when transcribed:

'...so, I accidentally ate my own legs.'

 

[LordoftheTeapot]

Co***e drinkers.

 

[Tetedelacourse]

So don't you like the song "So Macho"?

Controversial.

 

[laurence]

So don't you like the song "So Macho"?

Controversial.

blatantly not.