Words that annoy me for no particular reason.

[slowmotion]

Maybe time to start one, then.. 😊

I just did some research on "codpiece". Apparently it comes from "cod", an old English word for scrotum. Anyway, here's an interesting article about that magnificent fashion accessory.
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/what-goes-up-must-come-down-a-brief-history-of-the-codpiece

 

[RichardB]

If we are including phrases and similar - what about when you call a call centre and they say the waiting time is long because of 'high demand'

NO IT ISN'T

I worked as a call centre manager for a while, and your remarks are spot on. We had a policy of answering within four rings, and incentives were based on performance against target. However, Saturday afternoons often used to see queues of 200 or more (we ran a sports channel and the equipment was well below par) and dealing with abusive, screaming football fans was part of the job.

But answering calls properly and on time is a well-understood science. I have phoned call centres at 2 am to be told (by a machine) that 'we are expeiencing unusually high demand' and 'our staff are busy serving other customers' (hate that one), which simply could not be true. Plan ahead, forecast your demand, and rota staff on accordingly - it costs more, but a happy customer is a loyal customer.

They can be fun places to work, but I'm glad I'm out of that sector.

 

[RichardB]

"Human being", as in "he was a decent human being".

I'm glad you clarified that, as I was under the impression he was a decent Thompson's Gazelle.

 

[RichardB]

I just did some research on "codpiece". Apparently it comes from "cod", an old English word for scrotum.

Or bag, or pouch. You are correct of course. I'm supposed to know about stuff like this, but I spent years under the misapprehension that the 'cod' in 'codpiece' was 'cod' as in not genuine, intended to deceive. As in "See the size of my codpiece? My knackers* are THIS BIG!"

(* Nakers - middle ages, small drums played in pairs and suspended from a belt round the waist, medieval.)

 

[newfhouse]

Not that big of a deal. Is it a dialect form or just wrong? I hear it quite frequently on the radio, often during vox pops.

 

[slowmotion]

"Too little, too late".

 

[matticus]

Not that big of a deal. Is it a dialect form or just wrong? I hear it quite frequently on the radio, often during vox pops.

Hmmmm - that's a good spot! I hadn't really noticed that, but people do say it ...
If it's a "mistake", then perhaps it's like "It's a bit of a problem, bit of an issue." Both perfectly well-established phrases, then with big mixed in ?

I really don't know!

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Not that big of a deal. Is it a dialect form or just wrong? I hear it quite frequently on the radio, often during vox pops.

I’ve only ever heard that from Americans and it’s always puzzled me.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I’ve only ever heard that from Americans and it’s always puzzled me.

Yes, but then they do quite like using "of" superfluously, it's a common tic. They might "get off of" something rather than just getting off something.

What puzzles me the most with our American cousins is use of "I could care less".
Argh! Surely if you want to illustrate that you really don't care about something, it can only be "I could not care less". That places you on the scale of caring right at the lowest end. Excellent, it's now very clear that it's impossible for you to care any less!
Now, if you could care less, that means that your level of caring is somewhere along the scale, that you at least care to some degree. It's even possible that you might care an awful lot! What it can't possibly illustrate is that you don't care, which is precisely what you're trying to convey.

(I love you really Americans, but that one thing fries my brain. You can probably tell that).

 

[swee'pea99]

There's a radio presenter who has guests and callers on his program. He constantly says "Indeed" to them at the end of sentences. I cringe listening to him,knowing that another 'indeed' is on the way.🧐

There's a bloke called Ekow Eshun who used to appear on pointy-head arty-farty programmes, who had a habit of punctuating almost everything he said with 'actually' - almost always completely redundantly. Like you say, I used to sit there unable not to anticipate...anticipate...flinch, to the point where I honestly felt like throwing stuff at the telly.

 

[matticus]

Yes, but then they do quite like using "of" superfluously, it's a common tic. They might "get off of" something rather than just getting off something.

"Off of" has had a resurgence in the UK Media recently. I think it started jokingly, then seeped into people's subconscious:
"Next on the Chattering Today sofa, we have the lovely Clark Able, off of big TV hit show Monkton Abbey ... "
that sort of thing!

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I love you really Americans, but that one thing fries my brain.

Me too. However, another American oddity is the reversal of the order of words in the phrase "exact same" [correct English] to "same exact" [AE].

I've heard Americans say, for example, "I saw him do the same exact thing last week" and that word order just jars.

 

[matticus]

the phrase "exact same" [correct English]

... has always sounded clunky to me. (Does it mean identical?) I think it's a sort of slangy exaggeration. No doubt i'll be told it's been in the dictionary for 185 years, etc ... etc ...

 

[randynewmanscat]

Eroica.

Just in case anyone missed this the first time, E-R-O-I-C-A!
Buying second hand bike parts on ebay is becoming a schlep, almost as bad as when I used to buy good tools from there and a search turned up loads of ads with NOT Facom for Chinese made leadloy tools.

 

[randynewmanscat]

Me too. However, another American oddity is the reversal of the order of words in the phrase "exact same" [correct English] to "same exact" [AE].

I've heard Americans say, for example, "I saw him do the same exact thing last week" and that word order just jars.

"Just sayin' is all".😂