Misused words
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'Epic'. Its an extended poem about heroics and legends and all that. In its adjective form, its either a poem like that, or something of 'heroic' quality. Something you could potentialy write an epic about.
Aaand yet this word shows up in all sorts of places where it doesnt belong. Everything anyone ever liked on the internet was at some point called 'epic'. Cat videos, traffic jams, headshots, teabag sessions, skyrim item quality, are all things which are not very 'epic'. You cant write an epic about a cat falling off a couch, teabagging is not very heroic, and when I churn out 20 bows at once it wont do to call every one of them 'epic'.
Of course this also points to the internets strange habit either absolutely loathing something, or absolutely adoring something. The latter of which nobody ever seems to know any words beside 'epic' or 'awesome' for. And while neither are incorrect in every case, it realy wouldnt hurt to use one of those many other words for things you like.
Aaand yet this word shows up in all sorts of places where it doesnt belong. Everything anyone ever liked on the internet was at some point called 'epic'. Cat videos, traffic jams, headshots, teabag sessions, skyrim item quality, are all things which are not very 'epic'. You cant write an epic about a cat falling off a couch, teabagging is not very heroic, and when I churn out 20 bows at once it wont do to call every one of them 'epic'.
Of course this also points to the internets strange habit either absolutely loathing something, or absolutely adoring something. The latter of which nobody ever seems to know any words beside 'epic' or 'awesome' for. And while neither are incorrect in every case, it realy wouldnt hurt to use one of those many other words for things you like.
Yeah, as others have said, "entitled" in that context isn't being "misused." It's shorthand for false feelings of entitlement.
OT: I hate it when people mix up "discrete" and "discreet." Although sometimes it can be hilarious if you pretend they actually meant what they typed. Eg, "I'm a married man looking for sex with a discrete woman."
OT: I hate it when people mix up "discrete" and "discreet." Although sometimes it can be hilarious if you pretend they actually meant what they typed. Eg, "I'm a married man looking for sex with a discrete woman."
As someone who is studying Greek/Latin Elements in English, and has looked at old english, middle english, and "modern" english literature, I've got one thing to say to everyone here:
LANGUAGE CHANGES. LANGUAGE CHANGES A LOT. Meanings change, pronunciation changes, usage changes, new words are made by smooshing other ones that exist haphazardly together. And by dirtily stealing words from other languages, especially Latin and Greek, although we don't do that so much anymore (I think).
Yes, it's ungodly annoying, and I find myself going "HAUUARGH" when people misuse language sometimes too, but... there's really not much to be done about that. It's going to happen, regardless.
LANGUAGE CHANGES. LANGUAGE CHANGES A LOT. Meanings change, pronunciation changes, usage changes, new words are made by smooshing other ones that exist haphazardly together. And by dirtily stealing words from other languages, especially Latin and Greek, although we don't do that so much anymore (I think).
Yes, it's ungodly annoying, and I find myself going "HAUUARGH" when people misuse language sometimes too, but... there's really not much to be done about that. It's going to happen, regardless.
Indeed, the meaning has shifted to something which spreads "virally", but it does not necessarily have self-replication instructions included (as should be the case with a meme). But there are "memetic" elements in what people call memes nowadays, so it's not like it has completely changed from the original meaning.BlastedTheWorm said:
Maybe the image macros/captions could be better classified as "visual snowclones" or something similar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowclone
And here I was for a bit of harmless fun...and we feel the need to complain about issues of sexism and entitlement even in threads that do not ask for it. 
"Of" - as in would, could, or should of. This is something that should have been rectified in primary school and it's a disgrace that some people still think it is a real phrase.
"Then" - you would rather something THAN another. THAN. One compares the two things, the other in a stupid way indicates which order you'd have them in.
"With all due respect/no offence" - more often than not, used to say something subtly or blatantly offensive under the guise of being 'protected' by this qualifying bulls***. While 'with all due respect' I suppose works for everything, considering the amount of respect due differs, 'no offence' is just ridiculous. If I'm going to take offence, you think I'm going to consider that you said "no offence" and be all cool about it? No. [small]Imma smash yo head in.[/small]
"People" - this word is sadly underused in the media. It's always "Men, women and children." THAT'S JUST F***ING PEOPLE, WE ALREADY HAVE A SINGLE WORD FOR THAT. Likewise, it is not 'persons', police of the world.
"Of" - as in would, could, or should of. This is something that should have been rectified in primary school and it's a disgrace that some people still think it is a real phrase.
"Then" - you would rather something THAN another. THAN. One compares the two things, the other in a stupid way indicates which order you'd have them in.
"With all due respect/no offence" - more often than not, used to say something subtly or blatantly offensive under the guise of being 'protected' by this qualifying bulls***. While 'with all due respect' I suppose works for everything, considering the amount of respect due differs, 'no offence' is just ridiculous. If I'm going to take offence, you think I'm going to consider that you said "no offence" and be all cool about it? No. [small]Imma smash yo head in.[/small]
"People" - this word is sadly underused in the media. It's always "Men, women and children." THAT'S JUST F***ING PEOPLE, WE ALREADY HAVE A SINGLE WORD FOR THAT. Likewise, it is not 'persons', police of the world.
Considering it is so ubiquitous in the modern vernacular, it's always struck me as a simple figure of speech or shorthand for "couldn't care less". In fact, I tend to use it more often simply because it's so much less awkward to say.Vault101 said:
The oxford dictionary recognizes it as an American colloquialism, and what with modern English dripping with sarcasm and wordplay, I don't find it abrasive at all.
"I could care less (so continue telling me about it so my interest in it further decreases)", as a sarcastic expression.
"I could care less (but not much less)",
or it can simply be a shortened less syllable-heavy form of the older saying.
And if none of that satisfies, turns of phrase don't have to make logical sense. (For that matter, how do you turn a phrase?)
Welp, I guess I can't use this imaginary word anymore.Klumpfot said:
Let's see. "Could care less" instead of "couldn't care less" and "should of" instead "should have."
These are honestly the only things that really bother.
The prefix "pre". Mainly because after this was known to people...
...they still use it in ridiculous ways!!! *headdesk*
...they still use it in ridiculous ways!!! *headdesk*
The one thing that really rustles my jimmies is "I could care less". Using it to indicate your complete lack of interest in something is completely moronic and downright irritating. It's couldn't care less. COULD NOT. It's really not difficult to add an "n't" to your could. SO DO IT YOU BASTARDS. I couldn't care less why you refuse to use the phrase correctly, just use it correctly and we can have a nice, civilized conversation about whatever it is the kids are talking about these days.
/rant
/rant
You "ounce" nearly punched a friend? That seems like an odd feat indeed. I think you mean "once"?Biodeamon said:
This is actually an example of the misused words I hate - when people use homonyms, or in this case, words that aren't even pronounced the same at all, or are badly spelled. Not that I'm picking on you.
Another is "Whiteknight". People are allowed to be offended by things that don't necessarily pertain to them directly, you know. Since when was it considered not cool, or even false, to be offended by something? Since when is labeling someone derogatorily going to make you a better person for not being offended by it, and devalue their argument? I feel offended when someone says that homosexuality is against nature, and I'm not gay - does that mean I'm whiteknighting gay people?
I was once called a whiteknight because I was talking about female representation in games....and I am female. How does that even make sense?
Not quite. A meme as defined by Richard Dawkins (who coined the term) is sort of a cultural gene. It's a word for an idea that spreads from person to person within a culture, and just like genes it can mutate. As such it is intended to be an evolutionary explanation for culture. That is my understanding, at least.ThePS1Fan said:
That one really pisses me off. you're contracting "should" and "have" so go with "Should've". There's not even an additional keystroke there.Lilani said:
Anyway, the thing that rustles my grammatical jimmies is when people use apostrophes in the wrong places. Like when they're referring to a plural of something, so they're like "ant's" instead of "ants". Makes me want to strangle the writer of the error in question, especially when they do it repeatedly. I mean, come on: we're writing for other people here, and if you want to persuade them to your lines of thinking, the least you could do is make it easier for them to read your drivel.
I think you should reread what I said, because it's not that at all. I apologise if English is your second language, but that's an unforgivable mistake for someone fluent.Desert Punk said:
I said it doesn't make you cool, or clever. I didn't say that was what the user intended to be. The point of offering an argument is to demonstrate insight however, and that requires 1) Actual fucking insight. Some cleverness, intellect, knowledge, or perspective which advances the discussion. 2) Manner. It's been shown many times that ad hominem and insulting descriptions lower the acceptance of propositions in arguments.
Although, if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that most of those calling "White Knight" are hoping the fact that they made the call alone ends the issue. You know. Kind of like you did. That's not an argument on it's own, and it's not some insight that's been given. It's an insult at best, and ad hominem everywhere else.
I'm insinuating that the call makes you both the opposite of cool and clever. Using it makes the post unlikeable, and shows no real insight or discussion.
Also, you do know what you did there right? Tu quoue. I call you out on something and you say "You too!". That doesn't help things. If I'm wrong, you're still wrong. The response doesn't fix anything, except to make your criticism even worse, because now you yourself have disagreed with it.
Indeed. It's almost never given in the form of an argument though, so you rarely have to stop reading. The post, and their thinking, is done very, very long ago.boots said: