Words & Phrases No One Should Use

At work, we frequently talk about incorrectly pronounced words and phrases that drive us insane. Maybe it’s because we’re in advertising. Maybe it’s just because we’re all Type A.

Before you go searching on dictionary.com to prove me wrong about anything written here, I’ll tell you right up front that some of these words (sadly) are now acceptable because they’re so commonly used, but they’re marked as “uncommon usage.” As I like to say, you can’t stop progress. I guess this is a side effect of the many vs. the few winning again (I’m sure that’s what Ashton Kutcher would say, but I don’t think he’s following my blog yet). I wish I could be the person at Merriam-Webster who gets to decide which new words are added to the dictionary each year! But I know I’ll never get that job, because I’m so anal I’d reject most of the suggestions.

Regardless, the word at the top of my list is “irregardless.” My closest friends use this word frequently (you know who you are). It’s meaningless. Now you’ve read it on the web, so you know it must be true.

But I’ve realized that different “wrong” words drive different people insane. One friend hates the term “same difference”…which is something I say frequently. It never occurred to me that it’s a pointless phrase. I’ll have to wait and see (or is it “wait to see”?) whether or not I stop using it now that it’s been pointed out to me. Other irksome words/phrases include:
supposebly (I still can’t believe people actually say this)
pacificly (for specifically)
pitcher (for picture)
tarot cards (it’s tar-oh)
I could care less (it’s couldn’t)
besides the point (it’s beside)
a mute point (it’s moot…although this term has it’s own issues. Look it up if you’re concerned)
Gorilla Advertising (this is an industry fav! FYI…it’s guerrilla!! Although we argue about the spelling of that one too. My way is right.)

Writing this reminds me of when I was in the third grade. I had a friend named “Wendy” and our teacher used to chastise all of us for pronouncing it “Windy.” We had no idea what she was talking about. We all thought she was insane. And I bet most of you hate the phrase “I’m fixing to ” What can I say…that’s a southern thing that came from my parents. My Louisiana cousins used to torture my 10-year-old self (from California at the time) for saying “you guys” instead of “y’all.” And if you live above the Mason-Dixon line, trying saying a word like “foil” to someone in the deep south…they won’t even know what you’re talking about. (If you’ve never been there, they pronounce it “foal.”) Needless to say, moving around a lot resulted in a confusing childhood for me, from a dialect standpoint.

I guess none of us are perfect (yes, I just admitted I’m not perfect, you can stop laughing now), and where we were raised has a huge influence on our pronunciation. But if you have a word or phrase to add to the list…please share! If you’re too busy…same difference.