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Saturday, May 22, 2010

PATTY'S P-U-YUK FILE


For years my friend Patty has maintained a "P-U-YUK FILE" for cliches, bad behavior, overused expressions, and just plain bad speech! Included in the file are some of the things which we dislike:

"AIR QUOTES" (My brothers Norman and Les especially HATE that!)

"SPIRITUAL BOWS" (unless, of course, you're the Dalai Lama!)

"I FEEL BADLY" instead of the correct "I feel bad" (Do they also say "I feel sadly" or "I feel madly"? Do they have problems with the digits of their hands working correectly? Do they think "badly" sounds better than "bad"?)

"IT DON'T" instead of "it doesn't"; just yesterday, during a meeting, a college-educated (well, a college graduate; obviously NOT educated)associate of mine committed this egregious gaffe TWICE. I was surprised she didn't see my very visible CRINGING.

Using the word "PENULTIMATE" incorrectly. Penultimate (which means NEXT TO THE LAST)is incorrectly used to mean the greatest or the best!)

"FORTE" (it is correctly pronounced FORT instead of "FOR TAY" when used in the phrase, "That's my forte." I told Patty about one of my factory guys correcting me about it!)Patty hates the fact we've been corrected on this one!

"HOI POLLOI" (I have recently heard two network commentators incorrectly use this term to mean a superior class when in fact it means the opposite!)

The use of the phrase "GOOD, BAD OR INDIFFERENT" (so which is it, folks?)

The use of the phrase "24/7"

The use of the term "BOTTOM LINE"

The use of the phrase "THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT!"

"YOU KNOW" (to which I answer, "No, I don't know!)

"AWESOME" (in a three-hour period on Monday, a young person of my acquaintance used the word 14 times! I think he's adjectivally deprived!) Last night I heard a middle-aged woman say it!

"THEY REALLY CAME TO PLAY" (sports commentators)

"LIKE" (young people using it as an adjective instead of a verb!)

"HE GOES, SHE GOES" (instead of he said or she said)

"IT IS WHAT IT IS" (of course it IS)

"WHATEVER!" (usually from teenage girls)

"IRREGARDLESS" (why do people feel compelled to add the extra IR?)

"I HEARD THAT!" (I'm always glad to know their auditory system is good!)

"STEP UP TO THE PLATE" (what game ARE they playing?)

"LEARN" (instead of teach)

"HAVE WENT" (I told Patty I would scream the next time I heard this and I did!)

"SUPPOSEBLY" (instead of supposedly)

"ME GOING" (instead of "my going"--Gerald says this is "picky")

AND my favorite: a recently nominated local political candidate who uses the word "IDEAL" when he should say IDEA! (It's truly amazing how many times that particular error arises in his conversation)

Come on, Patty, I know you have some new additions!

7 comments:

Sue's News said...

Tonight, I heard someone say "I done got."!
P-U-YUCK!

skymetalsmith said...

If you are from Maine or Boston you have a good idear. Drives me nuts!

Sue's News said...

Norman said, "Like people who use EGREGIOUS too much!" I don't know WHO he could have meant!

Mona Lisa said...

I hate air quotes and whenever anybody does it, I immediately go into my Victor Borge imitation of exclamation points, etc.

Sue's News said...

MORE from Norman:

"At the end of the day"
"I can tell you" (they can tell you but will they be right?)
"Step up to the plate"
People who tell you "for-tay" is not a correct pronunciation
"Trust me"

Sue's News said...

"AT THIS POINT IN TIME" (WHAT IS WRONG WITH "NOW"?)

Sue's News said...

PEOPLE WHO OVERUSE EXCLAMATION MARKS AND DON'T KNOW THE PROPER USE OF DASHES AND ELLIPSES.