10 words and phrases you hate the most
A couple of months ago, we asked the Over60 community to share the words and phrases people use that they can’t stand, and we were absolutely inundated with comments. Here are 10 of the most popular responses.
1. Somethink
“SOMETHINK instead of SOMETHING.” – Eileen Azzopardi.
“SOMETHINK! When did that become a word? On tele, even ads! Drives me nuts.” – Julieann Oldman.
2. Pet names
“I hate being called ‘darl’ or ‘honey’ or ‘sweetheart’. I’m not your ‘darl’, ‘honey’ or ‘sweetheart’. I also dislike checkout people saying, ‘How’s your day been so far?’ Do they really want to know? I don’t think so.” – Janet Beal.
“Hate being called ‘darl’ by shop assistants, especially men.” – Heather Lewis.
3. “Of” instead of “have”
“Using the word ‘of’ instead of ‘have’ (i.e. ‘I should of done such and such’ instead of ‘I should have done’). I am seeing it more and more these days which brings me to wonder what they are being taught in schools or is it just bad speech. It is not just the very young who are guilty either!” – Beverley Plane.
4. “Zee” instead of “zed”
“Pronouncing the letter Z as ‘zee’ instead of ‘zed’! I always think they say ‘C’! This is Australia not America!” – Diane Selby.
5. ‘Straya
“STRAYA… who for God's sake started that and why can’t we speak proper language?” – Diana Joy Garland.
“At the moment the word that rubs me up the wrong way is STRAYA for Australia.” – Dorothy O’Sullivan.
6. Two thousand and eighteen
“What annoys me is when people say two thousand and eighteen. It’s twenty eighteen. Nobody said one thousand nine hundred and eighteen, it was nineteen eighteen, so why isn’t it twenty eighteen?” – Lorrine Lidston.
7. Youse
“Where do I start? ‘Brought’ instead of ‘bought’, ‘youse’ (or however people spell a word that doesn’t exist, unless you’re a sheep)!” – Snežana Gosden.
“The plural of you is ALSO you. There is no such word as ‘yous’ or any other spelling derivatives.” – Kristopher Mudd.
8. Awesome
“I am so over social media use of ‘awesome’ for things that are not. How often these days are we truly in awe of something?” – Meg Milton.
“Awesome! It seems this word is used for everything much the same as ‘absolutely’. Makes me cringe when I hear those two words.” – Phil Ross.
9. “Less” instead of “fewer”
“The use of ‘less’ instead of ‘fewer’. According to usage rules, fewer is used when discussing countable things, while less is used for singular mass nouns. For example, you can have fewer ingredients, dollars, people, or puppies, but less salt, money, honesty, or love. If you can count it, go for fewer.” – Sarah Lawrence.
10. “His” and “he’s” used interchangeably
“’His’ versus ‘He’s’. His so cute (no, he’s so cute), he’s mum (no, his mum). That is pure laziness. I have friends the same age as I am (mid 50s) that have started with this crap and it’s doing my head in – royally.” – Kezz O’Carroll.
Tell us in the comments below, what word or phrase annoys you the most?