I know that the English language is ever evolving (though I try in my own way to keep it from evolving into incoherency), but there are some popular phrases that just make my skin crawl. I hereby vow to never use these in any form, written or spoken:
- Across the pond
- Pout â to describe lips in general, not an actual pout
- Wow factor
- Culture vulture
Here are words and phrases that bug me because theyâre actually incorrect:
- All intensive purposes (should be âintents and purposesâ)
- âIncidencesâ to mean âincidentsâ (âincidenceâ is actually a technical word which is not pluralized)
- âAweâ as an alternate spelling of âawâ (I mean, itâs an entirely different word!).
- âComprised ofâ, but Iâve talked about that one before.
- âShould ofâ, âwould ofâ, etc.
- âPenultimateâ to mean âthe most ultimateâ (it actually means ânext to lastâ â very far from the way itâs commonly used, which is a shame because itâs a great word).
- âReoccuringâ
Posted in Language.