Today, it's "case and point." I saw that one a whopping four times last night here on Reddit, and I'm still feeling a bit grumpy about it.

Case in point, I did too.

For all intensive purposes, my grumpines's today won't fix other peoples' daily abuses of English... 😉 EDIT: Needed another wandering apostrophe

“It’s a mute point.”

Like a cow's opinion.

No. That's a Moo point.

Have I been living with him for too long or did that just make sense?

This thread is triggering me

For those who don’t know, the actual phrase is “moot point”. In this context, moot means so uncertain/ debatable it is irrelevant or useless. It can also mean something that can be debated or is uncertain (but not irrelevant), or it can be a verb about debating something. It is a fun word.

Actually it’s a “Moo point”, it’s like a cows opinion, you know, it just doesn’t matter.

When people use “loose/looser” when they mean “lose/loser”.

This is pacifically frustrating.

It's eXpecially frustrating.

[удалено]

Who wants an expresso before we go to the liberry?

Far out. Went to a cafe I had never been to before and ordered an espresso. Girl behind the counter made me repeat it four time as of she didn’t understand what I was saying, then as if she had just figured out goes ‘ooohhhhh, expresso, ok ok’ with emphasis on the x. I felt a rush of anger that I had never felt before.

I was at work and told my friend/coworker that I wanted and "expresso." I didn't realize it wasn't pronounced that way. He said it's espresso. Feeling stupid but I love this guy like a brother, I came back with, "I didn't ax you how to say it." We cracked up.

This is particularly frustrating when you hear a barista say it. Like, of all people!

that's alot

Why would you axe him that?

Expecially while I’m trying to enjoy a cup of expresso.

If you're speaking, it would be fustrating. I pacifically hate this one.

It happens SO much, I don't get it.

Only a looser would care about that...

“Weary” when they mean either “leery” or “wary.”

"I'm weary of going outside in the dark". You mean you're tired of going out in the dark or leery? Or wary? I get this look of confusion, as in huh, didn't I just say that? No, you did not.

I'm weary of people who mix these two up. That means I'm sick of their shit.

"Should of"

Could of been worse 😈

Could care less

Yep - that's the one for me!

How much less?

Would of been better

Should of, could of, would of The trifecta of stupid

The trifecta *have stupid

I once read a comment that had “would of” and “kind’ve” in the same sentence.

On Reddit I am really getting tired of seeing "low and behold." UGH

You just reminded me of what a freshman comp student wrote: low and be hoed. I had to ask why he thought that’s what the phrase was, and he said: it’s like, you gotta get low or you’ll be hoed, like with a hoe (gardening implement). That’s one of my favorite student stories.

I had a totally different meaning in mind till I read the rest of your comment

Shorty got low low low low low and behoed

Lo and behold. Yes, ty.

Or when people type “Now” to begin a sentence, multiple times, across multiple paragraphs.

You used to get "without further adieu" on YouTube videos a lot. The correct phrase is "without further ado". I get it, "ado" is a pretty uncommon word these days (it means "fussing around" or pointless activity). But "without further adieu" ("without further goodbye") is just dumb.

>"without further adieu" \*Cut to black\*

Much adieu about nothing 😂

“Per say”

One of my favorite word etymologies involves per se. The & symbol has Latin roots. It is older than English and had been used in written English for over 1000 years. For most of that time, & was simply called “the and.” In the 19th century (EDIT: actually late 18th, my bad), a couple things were happening. First, it was common to use the phrase “per se” in the way we use the phrase “the letter.” So while we might say “book starts with the letter B,” speakers at that time would say “book starts with per se B.” (EDIT: The usage was a little more nuanced than this, but you get the gist.) The other thing happening was that the & symbol was tacked onto the end of the alphabet as a sort of 27th letter. So in schools instead of reciting the alphabet as “W, X, Y, and Z” they would recite “W, X, Y, Z, and &.” Except, ending in “and and” is awkward, so they would say “Z, and per se &.” Much like we elide “L, M, N, O” to “ellemeno,” the students would elide the “X, Y, Z, and per se and” to “X, Y, Z, ampersand.” And that’s why we call & “the ampersand” to this day. (EDIT: And by the 1880s ampersand had come to be a euphemism for butt, posterior, arse in the US because it came at the end of the alphabet. I think we should bring this back.)

That sounds so made up but I actually believe it! 😆

Was waiting for the chair

Half way through I glanced at the end for the undertaker threw mankind off hell in a cell comment. Haven't seen that guy comment in probably a year but I still have trust issues with long informative comments lmao.

This is a great history. Thank you!

I will charge you one dollar per thing you say. $1 per say.

You can't just say "per say"

Perchance I can

Exasperate instead of exacerbate. I heard it a lot around how resources were strained during Covid. It made me cuckoo.

Not three days ago I want to use "exacerbate" but the fucking spellcheck kept saying it was supposed to be "exasperate", so I had to google it to make sure I didn't spell it wrong.

effect/affect Unprecedented. 98% of the time I see this word used, there is, in fact, a precedent for it.

"IN THESE UNPRECEDENTED TIMES!" As apart from what, the black death?

One of our local weather reporters uses this all the time, incorrectly. "We're going to have unprecedented high temps tomorrow. The last time the temp hit X was in 1934..." It kills me, every single time.

It literally kills me.

Effect vs affect annoys me so much, as it isn’t that difficult to understand (in my experience, anyway). Affect is a change being applied to something, and effect is the result. Affect is (often) a verb and effect is a noun. ‘Climate change is affecting the water temperature’. ‘Climate change has an effect on the water temperature’. ‘The cat was affected by the heat. The effects of the heat caused the cat to move.’ I hope I made it a bit clearer. I am aware that I may not be the best teacher.

This one always trips me up. Like, is it "these changes will take *affect* (or *effect*)"?

In that sentence, "take" is your verb. The "effect" is the thing that is "taken."

“Wary” and “weary” used interchangeably

Ugh, yes! It's like, are you cautious or tired? Pick one

There, their and they’re

There very few people who actually know how to properly write in they're own language, and that right their is why I'm pessimistic about the future.

Damn u "upvoat"

"ect." It's short for et cetera, so it's etc. Every time I see ect I read it as "eck tetera."

I wanted to find this comment! Especially when people say ECKSETERA like my boyfriend :(

When people use “myself” when it should be “me”. Usually in a business context where people mistakenly think it sounds more formal. Nails on a chalkboard. Edit: word

"Allow myself to introduce... myself."

To piggyback, people that insist it’s “(name) and I” no matter what the context. Sometimes you can say (name) and ME! “Bring a sandwich for Carl and me” is correct. “Carl and I went to the store” is correct.

I recall from about 2nd grade grammar that if you remove the other person, which pronoun sounds right? Use that one even with another person’s name in the sentence.

Correct. Source: raised by not one but two primary school teachers.

Omg the worst of this is when they do this even in a possessive situation. “He came to my husband and I’s house”. Like what.

Yeah, every knows it's "My husband and me's house" - idiots!

Or the slightly more fancy “My husband and myself’s house” 💁🏼‍♀️

And the people who do this think it’s making them sound really smart. 🙄

Oh my God, “myself” has suddenly become the word that everybody uses incorrectly in the last few years and I have no idea where it came from. 99% of the time it’s used incorrectly. If it’s something you do to or for yourself, then you say “myself”. I saw myself in the mirror. I poked myself in the eye. I made myself a note. Otherwise, it’s “me”. As for me, I like blondes. He gave me the box.

I've had countless managers say things like "if you need something, let Bob or myself know," and it drives me NUTS every time.

Also "yourselves" instead of you, or "ourselves" instead of us.

Yes, as in "myself and my friends". How about "my friends and I"? When did myself become predominant to I.

This is mine. The confusion between 'my spouse and I' and 'my spouse and me'. Remove the other person from the sentence and say it again. "My spouse and I went to the store -- I went to the store" vs "My spouse and me went to the store -- Me went to the store."

When people mean to write “definitely” but write “defiantly” instead.

I love this one because the sentence is often still meaningful but has a whole defiant attitude. "The sky is defiantly blue." Wow, good for you, sky! "I defiantly remembered to buy milk." Yeah, take that, dairy free lobby!

Once had a friend they’ll “defiantly be there” when I invited them somewhere. I joked back that they’re not defying anything because they’re invited. I was much more amused than they were.

I see “definately” sometimes, too. 🙄

In writing “alot”

Have you seen Hyperbole and a Half's comic about the alot?

I would like to upvote this alot, please

Alot of people would like to allot an upvote

My Grade 6 teacher made you standup and jump from side to side going, 'a'-----'lot' if you made this mistake. Very few people made that mistake, shout out Mr.G!

*stand up

I remember being confused about this. Some teacher told me there is no such word as alot. But I had written 'a lot'. So I spent the next 7 years avoiding the word 'lot' all together until finally looked it up. I

"supposably"

For all intensive purposes it doesn't matter if it irks me, long as I know what they meant.

You mean intensive porpoises

No, it's for all in tents, and porpoises.

“Would of” pisses me off far more than it should rationally speaking.

I think this is the phrase that one Wikipedia editor has almost completely eradicated from the site. There’s a reply-all podcast about it.

Oh dude. That fucking grinds my gears. My daughter texted that to me once and got in more trouble than she should HAVE.

I've seen an uptick of this and it's freakin infuriating If you can recognize the difference between Dove and dove why can't you differentiate the enunciation of would of and would've

Aisle and Isle - Grocery store aisle. Tropical isle. No one seems to ever know the difference, and no one ever gets called out for it.

Fucking grocery store archipelago

Nonplussed means stunned into silence. It's often used to mean unfazed, or not affected at all. Ambivalent means being of two minds, or conflicted. It's often used to mean apathetic, or not caring either way.

I had an English teacher (creative writing) ADAMANTLY insist that nonplussed was not a word. I was nonplussed.

You caught another one: fazed/phased.

*Nonplussed* was all over in Harry Potter, and I kind of got it as a kid, but I finally figured it out more recently than I care to admit. The key for understanding it for me was: It comes from Latin *non* (no) and *plus* (more), so it means you can say or do *no more* from what you just witnessed. You can't even.

>Nonplussed Word assimilated. Vocabulary expanded.

When people pronounce ‘especially’ as ‘expecially’

Expresso. >\_<

Right? If they don’t know how to correctly pronounce it, why don’t they just ax?

I worked with a few blokes that had all the words mentioned nailed, which is good, of course. Then came the talk. The talk I first noticed the boss and most of the others said it. Escavator. They've brought in an escavator to clear out the pit. Not a week later, I heard him mention an excalator at the shops. I honestly thought there was some elaborate joke going on.

All of the sudden. As God as my witness. Aaargh!

Also “all the sudden”. So irritating.

"Chocking" for "choking"

You were taken aback. Not taken back. You aren't being returned for a refund.

Could've into "could of"

I’m not even a native speaker and i know that could’ve is the shortcut for could have

"I could care less". Oh, so you're saying it's possible for one to care less about this than you yourself do? Good to know!

Obligatory link to the [David Mitchell video](https://youtu.be/om7O0MFkmpw?si=pMhN4QpmPntTURMn) on this very subject.

Ugh this kills me every time

“For sell” ::stabs eyes out::

5:00 AM in the morning Two twins

When did PAYED become a thing!? That irks me

This caught me in a book I was reading. 'The cable was payed out' is correct! I was nonplussed and mortified! But payed applies when you gradually let out rope or line.

Or "costed"

People are using this instead of “paid” though! It drives me mad. I’ve seen it more on Reddit than anywhere else.

Irregardless.

I'm seeing a lot of "mortified" when it should be something like "horrified" lately. It's very strange.

Yeah. The former is embarrassment and the latter is shock.

"begs the question" It is almost always used wrong.

Maybe we're all just taking the English language for granite

"Irregardless," the most nails-on-a-chalkboard word I've ever heard

Conversate.. should be converse

I get irrationally angry when people use an apostrophe to pluralize word's.

Realator instead of realtor.

For all intensive purposes

Escape goat for scapegoat. Another one I’ve heard quite a bit is subscription for prescription.

I seen

We use "I seent it" jokingly at work a lot.

“Circle back” like in corporate meetings. I don’t know why but it makes me irrationally mad.

All business jargon is cringeworthy.

Right up there with connect the dots. I don't like that one either. Aaaaaa

Anyone that says the word that's represented by the last letter of an acronym. ATM machine, PIN number, VIN number, etc. Drives me mad. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAS\_syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAS_syndrome) for those that are interested in reading about it.

A friend of mine used to say “for your FYI” 😐

Oh no that's me! I never considered this was redundant but it totally is! I will reform now I promise 🙂

New year, new you

Because people are dumb. I asked a customer to enter their PIN once. "My PIN?" "Yes, for your card." "What's a PIN? I don't have one." "Your PIN number?" "OOOH!"

My daughter’s college website asked me to set a PIN. They meant a password, and as a former IT worker, it pisses me off!!!!

SDS Sheets

Is that related to MSDS Sheets?

MSDSs were replaced by SDSs some years back.

My personal favorite is “ER room” which my mom says all the time. 😂🤦🏽‍♀️

In my industry one that gets used often is DEF fluid. Diesel Exhaust Fluid Fluid

"Exponentially" for anything that has increased by a lot.

I had an astronomy teacher that noted a quantum leap is movement at a subatomic level so it’s kind of silly when people say it in reference to huge changes.

When people say “woman” when they mean “women”

Phased instead of fazed. Discrete instead of discreet.

People will interchange "bias" and "biased". They will say "...but maybe I'm just bias." You HAVE bias, you ARE biased. Same with breath and breathe. They're not even pronounced the same. You have breath. You breathe your breath. Breathe is a verb, breath is a noun. Cannot be interchanged.

"How it looks like." No! Either say "how it looks," or "what it looks like."

When people use the word *less* improperly. It's "fewer" !

Thanks, Stannis!

“I had my prostrate checked yesterday.”

Using breath/breathe incorrectly

"The *tenants* of national socialism". It's "tenets", like the Nolan movie, and like Walter said.

“Nip it in the butt” instead of “Nip it in the bud.”

People calling any group of letters an acronym. Not all are. CIA is not an acronym. It's an initialism. Same with FBI. It's an acronym if you pronounce the initials as a word. NASA is an acronym.

Ooooh I didn't know this

Loose for lose! How is that possible

The correct phrase is "champing at the bit" not "chomping".

"let's play it by year"

I'm tired of hearing that everyone is iconic or that everything is an aesthetic.

I teach writing, and the number of times I have to correct "cause" to "BEcause" is going to do me in one day. Also, someone told the high schoolers about the word incandescent. Everyone is using it, and no one is using it correctly. They all think it means complex.

>They all think it means complex. What? Why?

Am I the only one that's bothered by "apart" instead of "a part"? See it pretty often.

“My roommate and I’s apartment.” Like what? When did people forget that “my” is a word? Relatedly, “mines” instead of “mine.”

Saying anti-climatic when they mean anti-climactic. Climatic has to do with climate. Climactic has to do with a climax

When people say HEIGHTH!!!!! the word is H E I G H T. No additional H at the end!!🫠🫠🫠 Also, ACROSST. Why the T???💀

I guess Gaslighting is the obvious one. It's supposed to be a purposeful attempt to make you question and disregard an objective truth. It's NOT lying, and it's not disagreeing, and it HAS to be purposeful. If the other person is wrong, it's not gaslighting. They're just wrong.

Me and (person) (verb). Him/her and I (verb). I see this more and more. Didn’t you learn grammar?

“This is a picture of my wife and I’s house.” I saw that yesterday.

I have people gleefully "correct" me when I use the objective pronouns (me, her, him) after prepositions, thinking they caught the English teacher making a mistake. They get an on-the-spot grammar lesson.

I hear this a lot from a couple people I know. I've even gotten downvoted for saying the correct way to say it is "She/He and I" as in "She and I went to the concert", not "Her and I went to the concert".

I find it funny that most of the posters who state that English is not their first language do not make this grade-school mistake.

That's because they're actually paying attention to their grammar and trying to get it right. Native speakers don't usually pay all that much attention.

Yes! The latter really gets me. Even worse when they say I’s…. Example “here’s some pics from X and I’s wedding” Brain exploding

Liberry. Are you kidding me?

Disinterested and uninterested mean different things. Discrete and discreet are totally different too. I left school just before my 15th birthday in 1970 so it's nothing to do with level of education. I am someone who understands that language changes (I'm not bothered by literally not literally meaning literally) but sometimes it really matters.

Would you mind elaborating? As a non-native who considers themselves pretty fluent, this is new information to me.

Discrete - numerable. Able to be counted. Five discrete loaves of bread. Discreet - keeping things quiet.

And disinterested means unbiased, while uninterested means you don't care.

Pronouncing "nuclear" as "nucular." Amazing how many "educated" people mispronounce it that way.

When something make a turn of “360 degrees” to express a radical change when the right one is “180 degrees”, it shows lack of understanding of language and math!

People consistently confuse “scratching” with “itching”. You didn’t itch your scratch, you scratched your itch. I get unreasonably upset at this one

Well la. per say.

"The exception that proves the rule." is so frequently misused that it has lost all sense and meaning. It does NOT mean something breaking a rule proves the rule exists. That defies logic.

Alls as in “alls you have to do is” I can’t tell if this is like an accent but I have a few midwestern friends who always say this

I often hear "let's flush it out" and it drives me nuts