Word use that drives you up the wall!

[puma guy]

Maybe already posted, but the word genius being used inappropriately irks me to no end. I even hear it used to describe actors and entertainers???????????
Marvin Gaye (who I enjoyed immensely) was described as a "genius" I'm sorry, but someone singing or acting other peoples words or songs is hardly qualification for genius.

[Abraham]

Seriously - Waaaaaaaaay overused!

[jimlongley]

Seriously - Waaaaaaaaay overused!

Seriously?

Wow - who would have thought it?

[MeMelYup]

Seriously - Waaaaaaaaay overused!

Seriously?

Wow - who would have thought it?

Almost as bad as "common sense" isn't it?

[Pawpaw]

Seriously - Waaaaaaaaay overused!

Seriously?

Wow - who'da thunk it?

[rdcrags]

I heard one girl say to another: ”You should have come to the concert. A ton of people were there.” I thought: A ton. That’s not very many. Then I realized that she must have been referring to those on the stage. A ton would be reasonable for a band.

Then I looked up “a lot”, the expression my generation uses, and was ashamed for criticizing current usage. You see, “lot” just means a number of like things. So, a lot of people at a concert only means there were no chickens, hogs, or cows, for example, only people, and not a clue as to how many.

[rdcrags]

As you know, a corporate “seagull” is a Senior Manager who visits a branch office to give a pep talk to the troops and tell the local management what they are doing wrong. “Seagull” because he flies in, eats your food, makes a lot of noise, messes all over you, and flies away. The pep talks are full of teeth-grinding expressions.

I wrote this for a seagull to use free of charge:

“Clearly, at the end of the day, the bottom line would be positively impacted, a sea change to a win-win situation, if you would think out of the box, change the dynamics, talk the talk and walk the walk, and give 110%. It would be the tipping point and you would be batting 1,000, reaching out, and making a difference.”

[Dave2]

It would make me so happy (in a "somebody kill me now" sort of way) if they ended up using that.

[Dadtodabone]

Capitol vs. Capital.
The U.S. Capitol(building)is in the U.S. Capital(city)of Washington, D.C.
The Texas capitol is in the Texas capital, Austin.
In common usage only the U.S. terms are capitalized.
Capital is also; principal in financial transactions or deserving a death sentence when used as an adjective.

Also the top of a column, but you get the weirdest looks when you use it that way.

And don't use "finial" in a crowd around here.

The abacus, though now considered an element of a capital, in classical architecture was a separate square slab that rested on the capital providing a final, larger surface to distribute weight. The capital was then the penultimate feature of a column.
Which allows me to submit "Penultimate". I've oft seen this word used in an attempt to create an "ultimate" ultimate, when in fact it means next-to-last. Perhaps the writers/speakers were reaching for "Pinnacle"?

[Abraham]

Barista - Rather than coffee jockey or plain old counter clerk.

In today's world it seems we must have euphemisms for non-professionals, cuz hey man, referencing a job's actual status is just too much truth.

You say you're a sanitation engineer and not a garbage man? - ah, yeah, sure...

You say you mow lawns for a living but call yourself an architectural landscaper, ah, yeah, sure...

Patisserie instead of bakery. Puh-leese, we're not in France.

And we can't forget Bistro, arrrggghhh! Can we get anymore pretentious? Probably...

The list of this foolishness goes on with the replacement of sturdy English words with snooty foreign names that supposedly attract yuppies to the good life.

[MasterOfNone]

"Darned auto-correct!"
1. You chose to use auto-correct instead of disabling it.
2. You typed it incorrectly before auto-correct changed it incorrectly. OR you typed something you should have known was a non-standard word that would be changed.
3. You pressed "Send" without reading what you were sending.

I say "darned auto-correct user!" Quit blaming auto-correct instead of taking responsibility for your sloppy communication.

[RottenApple]

"Darned auto-correct!"
1. You chose to use auto-correct instead of disabling it.
2. You typed it incorrectly before auto-correct changed it incorrectly. OR you typed something you should have known was a non-standard word that would be changed.
3. You pressed "Send" without reading what you were sending.

I say "darned auto-correct user!" Quit blaming auto-correct instead of taking responsibility for your sloppy communication.

I've seen autocorrect on iOS and Android phones "correct" perfectly spelled words. Sometimes it really is "Darned Autocorrect!"

[MasterOfNone]

"Darned auto-correct!"
1. You chose to use auto-correct instead of disabling it.
2. You typed it incorrectly before auto-correct changed it incorrectly. OR you typed something you should have known was a non-standard word that would be changed.
3. You pressed "Send" without reading what you were sending.

I say "darned auto-correct user!" Quit blaming auto-correct instead of taking responsibility for your sloppy communication.

I've seen autocorrect on iOS and Android phones "correct" perfectly spelled words. Sometimes it really is "Darned Autocorrect!"

In such cases, only points 1 and 3 apply.

[fickman]

The use of "ironic" when one means "coincidental" is far too common.

A few other misstatements of phrases:
- For all intensive purposes (instead of "for all intents and purposes")
- Nip it in the butt (bud!)
- Expresso (there's no "x" in "espresso"!)
. . .

[jimlongley]

- Expresso (there's no "x" in "espresso"!)
. . .

Actually, the "x" is quite common in europe, where I used to drink it quite a lot, and the sign on the front window of the "Cafe De Paris" in Woodstock NY, used that spelling in 1964.