It changed the course of history

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SUMMARY

This discussion centers on the critique of commonly misused phrases and expressions in the English language. Participants highlight phrases such as "I could care less," "irregardless," and "literally," emphasizing their annoyance and the confusion they create. The conversation also touches on the implications of these phrases, suggesting that they often reflect a lack of understanding or thoughtfulness in communication. Overall, the forum serves as a platform for sharing frustrations about linguistic inaccuracies and their impact on clarity.

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  • Understanding of common English idioms and phrases
  • Familiarity with linguistic concepts such as irony and satire
  • Awareness of grammatical standards and common errors
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Language enthusiasts, educators, writers, and anyone interested in improving their communication skills and understanding of English idioms.

  • #31
Moonbear said:
how do we convince all the others to go on strike?
They probably never will, since they've seen how well this one went over... :rolleyes:
 
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  • #32
Some more:

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response."- That was a response.
"I don't mean to offend you, but..."- Yes you do. If you know that you are about to offend me and carry on purposefully, you have every intention of offending me, whether or not it pleases you.
 
  • #33
She has a great personality... (I guess this actually belongs on MIH's thread...)
 
  • #34
"To be honest" implies one isn't usually honest, so I say "to be candid" --and because my name isn't "Frank." :smile:
 
  • #35
matthyaouw said:
Some more: ..."I don't mean to offend you, but..."- Yes you do. If you know that you are about to offend me and carry on purposefully, you have every intention of offending me, whether or not it pleases you.
Totally -- I knew someone who would say "I don't mean to be mean" and then go on to say something mean.

I like "cuter than a bug's ear" though it's meant to be goofy because most bugs don't have ears...
 
  • #36
This is my absolute favourite out of my button collection. It isn't a stupid figure of speech itself; rather a commentary upon poor grammar habits.
Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend; inside a dog, it's too dark to read. :smile:
 
  • #37
I would say that I have noticed that I use the expression "I would say", when what I mean is "in my opinion", which, according to Danger [I think it was...]immediately gets me in trouble. So from now on, instead I am going to say, "according to the great cosmic source".
 
  • #38
Ivan Seeking said:
I would say that I have noticed that I use the expression "I would say", when what I mean is "in my opinion", which, according to Danger [I think it was...]immediately gets me in trouble. So from now on, instead I am going to say, "according to the great cosmic source".

Would that be your humble opinion?

Okay, I need to settle this once and for all:
Does IMHO stand for "In my honest opinion" or "In my humble opinion?"

There's a problem with it either way, but I'm not sure yet if it's to imply that one usually gives a dishonest opinion, or that the so-called humble opinion is rarely humble.
 
  • #39
I always lean twards the humble side with that.
 
  • #40
I believe it originated as "In my holy opinion"
 
  • #41
Okay now this brings up a good point. Oh yes...I have always understood [edit: I mean, according to the great cosmic source] IMHO to be ' ' humble opinion.

While in college I had a professor and a class mate who both harped about the use of qualifiers such as "in my opinion". If someone used this expression, the professor would say,"we all know that it's only your opinion. You don't need to explain this to the class". My buddy, a real academician [and probably quite insane] would say the same thing frequently. Anyway, I took this to be good academic etiquette. The problem is that the rest of the world expects it. Little quirks of the trade like this appear snobby to the rest of the world. There is a difference between stating a known fact, and stating one's opinion. I have heard objections made by others who are responding to a news or science report, or interview, in which this style of discourse was used.
 
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  • #42
Ivan Seeking said:
Okay now this brings up a good point. Oh yes...I have always understood [edit: I mean, according to the great cosmic source] IMHO to be ' ' humble opinion.

While in college I had a professor and a class mate who both harped about the use of qualifiers such as "in my opinion". If someone used this expression, the professor would say,"we all know that it's only your opinion. You don't need to explain this to the class". My buddy, a real academician [and probably quite insane] would say the same thing frequently. Anyway, I took this to be good academic etiquette. The problem is that the rest of the world expects it. Little quirks of the trade like this appear snobby to the rest of the world. There is a difference between stating a known fact, and stating one's opinion. I have heard objections made by others who are responding to a news or science report, or interview, in which this style of discourse was used.
I tend to use that one a lot. Since reading R.A. Wilson's Quantum Psychology, specifically the section regarding E Prime, I've made it habit to state that things are my opinion and things "seem" a particular way rather than "are". Ofcourse it doesn't really seem to help considering that most people tend to take what I say as blanket statements or absolutes regardless.

One that really annoys me is when someone continually says "no really" or "I'm serious" through out a story even though I haven't done anything to indicate that I'm skeptical.
And a friend of mine cringes any time he hears acronyms used improperly such as "ATM machine" and "MAOI inhibitors".
 
  • #43
TheStatutoryApe said:
And a friend of mine cringes any time he hears acronyms used improperly such as "ATM machine" and "MAOI inhibitors".


Hehe.

ATM machine!

I love it!

Ah, what will the masses think of next?
 
  • #44
I believe I've heard "Weapons of WMD" a few times.
 
  • #45
Smurf said:
I believe I've heard "Weapons of WMD" a few times.


That one just hurts my atheistic soul.
 
  • #46
franznietzsche said:
Hehe.

ATM machine!

I love it!

Ah, what will the masses think of next?
It's actually extremely common here in the US. Most ATM signs even say it.
 
  • #47
franznietzsche said:
Ah, what will the masses think of next?
Don't you really mean (m)asses? :wink:
 
  • #48
TheStatutoryApe said:
It's actually extremely common here in the US. Most ATM signs even say it.

Until very recently (when it merged with another company and changed its name) there was a nice shiney sign outside a bank near my house reading "TSB Bank" making it the "Trusty Savings Bank Bank"
 
  • #49
What's your sign? YIELD :biggrin:
"No, I mean what are you? A skeptic; go away, vapour-brain
 
  • #50
Ivan Seeking said:
Anyway, I took this [the use of "in my opinion"] to be good academic etiquette.

Very true. The usage becomes important in scientific talks, especially when it comes to differentiating conjecture or impression from sterner stuff.
 
  • #51
Ivan Seeking said:
Okay now this brings up a good point. Oh yes...I have always understood [edit: I mean, according to the great cosmic source] IMHO to be ' ' humble opinion.

While in college I had a professor and a class mate who both harped about the use of qualifiers such as "in my opinion". If someone used this expression, the professor would say,"we all know that it's only your opinion. You don't need to explain this to the class". My buddy, a real academician [and probably quite insane] would say the same thing frequently. Anyway, I took this to be good academic etiquette. The problem is that the rest of the world expects it. Little quirks of the trade like this appear snobby to the rest of the world. There is a difference between stating a known fact, and stating one's opinion. I have heard objections made by others who are responding to a news or science report, or interview, in which this style of discourse was used.
It depends on the context. If you're talking about the results of an experiment, what happened is a fact while the cause may be proven fact or may just be your opinion of why it happened. If you're writing a pro/con paper for some hot social issue, you're obviously giving your opinion - stating so in your paper is just extraneous noise.
 
  • #52
TheStatutoryApe said:
It's actually extremely common here in the US. Most ATM signs even say it.


*Sigh*

You think a physics major near a california beach in a city where one need not check for traffic before crossing the street reads signs?

No, I'm watching all the half naked women in bikinis.
 
  • #53
franznietzsche said:
*Sigh*

You think a physics major near a california beach in a city where one need not check for traffic before crossing the street reads signs?

No, I'm watching all the half naked women in bikinis.

*lightbulb turns on* Now I suddenly understand why CA drivers have to stop for pedestrians who aren't looking where they are going!
 
  • #54
matthyaouw said:
No... It didn't change the course of history, it simply added to course of history, just like every other event. Changed implies a pre-destined course of history that was altered by an event.

I see your point, though I don't have a problem with this phrase. Discrete events such as dropped bombs or assassinations have a dramatic effect on the world - enough to say that, if that event hadn't happened, the world would have otherwise proceeded fairly uneventfully for quite a while. It is not unreasonable to say that history was on a steady course, and that the event knocked it askew.
 
  • #55
"It goes without saying that..."
 
  • #56
franznietzsche said:
*Sigh*

You think a physics major near a california beach in a city where one need not check for traffic before crossing the street reads signs?

No, I'm watching all the half naked women in bikinis.
Lol... I probably woudn't notice either at the clubs with the girls running around in rubber, vinyle, and leather except that once it was mentioned I always noticed it from then on.
 
  • #57
DaveC426913 said:
Discrete events such as dropped bombs
If you consider dropped bombs discrete, I don't imagine you're a major purchaser of silencers. :biggrin:
 
  • #58
I've seen "Soup de Jur of the day", and other variations on menus...like "with De jur". In fact I think Arbys did this once. It seems that de jur is now a sauce or beef dip. :biggrin:
 
  • #59
hahah I just read this and I guess you guys would be glad that you don't know me :)
But seriously there are some of these that can be used in the right manner.
The 'literally' one severely pisses me off when they follow it with something that is not.
I do have to defend "I don't mean to offend you" though.
I use that when I'm am criticising someone. But I really don't mean any offence. It is just meant to help them.
If someone is being extremely bloody rude without knowing I will say I don't mean to offend and then tell them what they are doing wrong.
It's like with my lab partner at uni. I say the same thing to him 'cause he seems to think it's OK to fudge results and make up values so that they agree with the theoretical values.
The only other one I'm going to defend is "you know".
It's OK to use this because in most cases the person does know. Yes it is used because you haven't thought through what you wanted to say, but I always finish the sentence as soon as I've thought how to put it.
 
  • #60
Oh crud, I was mixing up my stories a bit with the use of au jus; as in "with au jus".
 

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