Yes, it got so bad in Australia that the gummint had to make special laws limiting it for TV stations.
And guess what? Now it's happening in Youtube.
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Words or phrases that annoy you (even if you can't explain why) . . .
- Thread starter usagora
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Yes, it got so bad in Australia that the gummint had to make special laws limiting it for TV stations.
And guess what? Now it's happening in Youtube.
Absolutely agree.
Not just immensely annoying but downright infuriating.
"Loud and obnoxious" sums it up well.
And agree with you: This does not, in any way, persuade me of the merit of your products; if anything, it achieves the opposite result.
Yes, I have noticed that this unpleasant habit seems to be increasingly evident on Youtube.
Here's an article on the subject. It's a little dated, but, bottom line, this problem used to be much worse.
Are Commercials Louder Than Regular Programming?
Are Commercials Louder Than Regular Programming? When commercial break starts do you always dive for the remote to turn down the volume?
physicianshearingservices.com
They know that the commercial break is when everybody gets up and goes off to do something else for a few moments: use the bathroom, get something to eat or drink out of the kitchen, let the dog out for a quick visit to the grass.....so they crank up the volume to ensure that people are still going to hear their obnoxious commercials anyway!
"Winner winner chicken dinner!", "Smoke 'em if you got 'em", and "Rectum, I damn near killed him!"
I hate all three of those with a passion not only because they're stupid to begin with, but because I had a coworker who literally said those three things all the time. He was like an NPC in a video game.
I hate all three of those with a passion not only because they're stupid to begin with, but because I had a coworker who literally said those three things all the time. He was like an NPC in a video game.
Ugh... and about the same cringe level: "Easy peasy lemon squeezy." I'm embarrassed to even type that out.
I’ve noticed the same people who say this are also fond of “play stupid games, win stupid prizes”. 🤦♂️
Latchkey Kids was always drove me nuts back in the day! Sure both parents had to work to keep us Middle Class back in 60s/70s!
I've got a little list... well, quite a long list! But a few that currently set my teeth on edge are:
Burglarize.
That's not a word! The proper term is 'burgle'. It's what a burglar does - he burgles. Of course, it has to be spelt with a Z because Murica. But it's still wrong and not a word and ghastly.
Cadence
There's a trend amongst space commentators and journalists that when describing how many launches there are, it's referred to as the cadence. "SpaceX have an incredible launch cadence" for example.
No! Cadence means either modulation or inflection, or something rhythmical. Rocket launches do not occur at regular intervals!
What they mean is the launch rate - that's what it used to be called. I suspect someone thought it sounded clever without knowing what it means and everyone just followed along without without bothering to find out what it meant. Launch rate!
Gaming
When you operate a motor vehicle, it's called driving. When you make a cake, it's called baking. Not carring, or caking! When you play a game, it's playing! You are a player of the game, not a gamer of the game - makes absolutely no sense!
Of course, it's obvious why it must be gaming - playing makes it sound childish and frivolous - gaming makes it sound much more serious. Back in the distant past (i.e. 10 years ago) we had "Ready Player 1", "Insert coins to play" etc. Yes, I know...multi-billion dollar industry blah blah blah, but it's still playing. That the playing of games has become a multi-billion dollar industry is a whole other can o' worms, but at least be honest about what you're doing and use the correct word - playing.
NB: Gaming properly refers to the playing of games for stakes, i.e. gambling. The authorities which oversee gaming (gambling) are called Gaming Boards or Gaming Commissions - as in Nevada Gaming Control Board
and a final quick couple...
Head over heels
Errr... that means the right way up! If it was supposed to mean upside down, it would be heels over head...
GSW
As an abbreviation for 'Gun Shot Wound'. It's quicker to say 'Gun Shot Wound' (three syllables) than 'GSW' (five syllables) so it's not even an abbreviation!
Burglarize.
That's not a word! The proper term is 'burgle'. It's what a burglar does - he burgles. Of course, it has to be spelt with a Z because Murica. But it's still wrong and not a word and ghastly.
Cadence
There's a trend amongst space commentators and journalists that when describing how many launches there are, it's referred to as the cadence. "SpaceX have an incredible launch cadence" for example.
No! Cadence means either modulation or inflection, or something rhythmical. Rocket launches do not occur at regular intervals!
What they mean is the launch rate - that's what it used to be called. I suspect someone thought it sounded clever without knowing what it means and everyone just followed along without without bothering to find out what it meant. Launch rate!
Gaming
When you operate a motor vehicle, it's called driving. When you make a cake, it's called baking. Not carring, or caking! When you play a game, it's playing! You are a player of the game, not a gamer of the game - makes absolutely no sense!
Of course, it's obvious why it must be gaming - playing makes it sound childish and frivolous - gaming makes it sound much more serious. Back in the distant past (i.e. 10 years ago) we had "Ready Player 1", "Insert coins to play" etc. Yes, I know...multi-billion dollar industry blah blah blah, but it's still playing. That the playing of games has become a multi-billion dollar industry is a whole other can o' worms, but at least be honest about what you're doing and use the correct word - playing.
NB: Gaming properly refers to the playing of games for stakes, i.e. gambling. The authorities which oversee gaming (gambling) are called Gaming Boards or Gaming Commissions - as in Nevada Gaming Control Board
and a final quick couple...
Head over heels
Errr... that means the right way up! If it was supposed to mean upside down, it would be heels over head...
GSW
As an abbreviation for 'Gun Shot Wound'. It's quicker to say 'Gun Shot Wound' (three syllables) than 'GSW' (five syllables) so it's not even an abbreviation!
So this is an interesting one. The word “burglar” was not formed from a verb, “to burgle”. In fact, the verb came later. Both “burglarize” and “burgle” were created from “burglar”. “Burglarize” is actually attested first, as early as 1829, whereas “burgle” is attested from 1867. “Burglarize” is more common in North America and “burgle” in the UK, but neither one is wrong; they’re both valid options.
As the other poster indicated, this isn't correct:
Definition of BURGLARIZE
to break into and steal from; to commit burglary against; to commit burglary… See the full definition
"Burgle" sounds very old-fashioned to me, and I rarely hear anyone use that.
Merriam-Webster - US dictionary. 🤔
Dictionary.com has it as "An Americanism dating back to 1870–75".
Etymonline.com has ""commit burglary upon," 1865, American English, from burglary + -ize. Damned as an American barbarism in England and Canada."
"We see in a telegraphic despatch from across the boundary line that a store was "burglarized" a short time ago. We are sorry that any thing so dreadful should have happened to any of our inventive cousins. Truly the American language is "fearfully and wonderfully made." [Upper Canada Law Journal, September 1865, p.228]"
I'm from the UK and had never heard anyone say "burglarize" ever - only "burgle". I first heard it on some US cop show, probably in the late 90's.
Anyway, as this thread is for personal opinion and not lexicographical debate, it's a ghastly word and an ugly Americanism - in my opinion!
Well said.
Agree.
What is wrong with "robbed"?
A nice, expressive verb, which does the job of describing what happened more than adequately?
Besides, theft has a rich vocabulary; there is no need to bastradise a verb to come up with the linguistic horror that is "burglarise".
Stolen? An act of larceny? Feloniously removed? Purloined?
Burglar and a burglary are both perfectly acceptable; however, "burglarise" is not something we ever give voice to - or commit to the written word - Across The Pond. It is ghastly, and quite horrible.
And yes, an ugly Americanism.
Based on a recent thread here on MR, using "pute" multiple times in a post as an abbreviation for computer. 🙄
Yes, nothing wrong with expressing opinions, and I didn’t actually express an opinion on your opinion, but when something is incorrectly passed off as fact here, then I will comment on it. Your initial post implied that "burglar" was derived from "burgle", as an acting of burgling, when in fact both verbs related to this noun were derived from the noun, and "burglarize/burglarise" is attested earlier, so it can't be said to be infringing on semantic space that was already occupied by "burgle" (which OED describes as a "humorous or erroneous back-formation from burglar (q.v.) as though an agent noun"); both words are 19th century neologisms, created separately from each other and through different means (one by adding an affix, one a back-formation). Linguistics happens to be one of my areas of expertise, so this is something I enjoy discussing. To say that "burglarize" is not a word is simply untrue, even if it never caught on in the UK. It is common in the US and not seen as wrong here. There are lots words I don't like, but that doesn't mean they're not words.
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They are two different cultures, I suppose. This is an example of where the quote attributed to G B Shaw, that old "two countries separated by a common language" may be of relevance.
However, when there is such a rich vocabulary of theft - which includes but is by no means confied to - rob, steal, larceny, feloniously remove, purloin - why murder and mangle "burglary" or "burglar" with the introduction of such an ugly verb?
Well, the phrase is taking on a new meaning, but sticking to my London roots: Tea leafing.
Hey, once a language leaves your shores, it's out of your control.
I wonder how this works with other languages, like how do the Portuguese feel about Brazilian Portuguese? Brazilian Portuguese is quite different from its European counterpart, with a huge arsenal of colorful slang that would mean nothing to someone from Lisbon.
Read the thread title.View attachment 2216131
Hey, once a language leaves your shores, it's out of your control.
I wonder how this works with other languages, like how do the Portuguese feel about Brazilian Portuguese? Brazilian Portuguese is quite different from its European counterpart, with a huge arsenal of colorful slang that would mean nothing to someone from Lisbon.
"Words or phrases that annoy you (even if you can't explain why").
Given the thread title, I am allowed to be annoyed by how English has evolved (de-evolved?) in parts of the US.
That does not in any way diminish my admiration for the the work of some American writers.
I’m fluent in French, but Québécois, now that’s a different beast… or Scottish English… 😅
Nothing in the post of mine you quoted says you can't be annoyed by American dialectical variation. But I agree with the OP that this thread shouldn't be about putting down different nationalities. There's a difference between "I don't like this American word" and "Americans are barbarous and stupid for using this word".
It's also just a matter of very different perspectives here. I'm a linguist, so I see language differently from someone who's not. Linguists aren't concerned with telling people how to speak correctly, they are simply interested in describing how people speak. That said, we can still differentiate non-standard and informal language from standard language and we all have personal preferences. I've shared several words I don't like in this thread. But you can dislike a word without implying that the people who use it are somehow deficient.
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