Words I hate

[RAM Engineer]

Bushy (Bushmaster)
Dissy (dissipator)
Middy (midlength)
Shottie (shotgun)
Peak (misspelling of "pique")

What mutilations of the English language annoy you?

[dennisuello]

Just to add to your list

Recce


Americans are getting way too lazy, we can't say the whole word? Or as I suspect, we don't know how to pronounce/spell those longer words.

Same applies to cars.

Rubi, as in Jeep Rubicon
Pathy, as in Nissan Pathfinder
Etc...

[variablebinary]

Latin.

Use of Latin stinks of pseudo intellectualism. Bugs the living shit out of out me and I don't know why.

[citizensoldier16]

Anything a teenager would put in a text message. Also same when used in general conversation.

[BrianS]

Anything a teenager would put in a text message. Also same when used in general conversation.

Yep. For example I once heard somebody say LOL in a conversation, pronouncing it "lawl" and I wanted to bitchslap him.

Americans are getting way too lazy, we can't say the whole word? Or as I suspect, we don't know how to pronounce/spell those longer words.

I recently saw an ad that was talking about Atrial Fibrillation and saying "or afib" for short.

If you have something seriously wrong with your heart you ought to know the proper name of the disease you will probably die from.

[Hmac]

"Loose"instead of "lose", as in "poor grammar and poor spelling make me loose hope for the intellect of future generations".

I recently saw an ad that was talking about Atrial Fibrillation and saying "or afib" for short.

If you have something seriously wrong with your heart you ought to know the proper name of the disease you will probably die from.

Atrial fibrillation is almost universally referred to as "a-fib" by medical people and has been for more than 100 years. It's a very common heart condition and it would be very rare that someone would ever die from it.

V-fib, on the other hand, definitely tends to be a pre-terminal event.

[Army Chief]

Things We Say Wrong.

Don't necessarily disagree with Dennis, but I probably wouldn't add "Recce" to the list, as it is simply the British variation of "Recon," and use of the term dates from at least 1940 -- if not earlier.

AC

[Suwannee Tim]

Latin.

Use of Latin stinks of pseudo intellectualism. Bugs the living shit out of out me and I don't know why.

I agree on the Latin but I love to use French terms like les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pase. I am a longtime reader of National Review and they habitually used such phrases which drove my to distraction because I didn't know what they meant and could not conveniently find out. With the internet that is no longer a problem, just search them. It's even easier if I give you a nice link. I think they are fun. I try to improve my language skills and this is just a part of it. For the record, I am not a pseudo intellectual, I am just a high-tone redneck. Though I do have a PHD. That's right. Suwannee Tim has a PHD. A Paxon Highschool Diploma.

[Suwannee Tim]

One thing that gripes me is folks that make no effort to spell, punctuate and capitalize. This shows respect for the reader and makes reading easier. I generally won't read posts that are not spelled, punctuated and capitalized.

I dislike the "Mossy", "Remmy" and "shotty" stuff but if you complain that just encourages them. In a perfect world everyone would do as I told them. I don't expect that to happen soon enough so I work on not being bothered by such.

One thing that bothers me a lot more is people holding forth when they know little or nothing about the subject.

[Army Chief]

Latin.

Use of Latin stinks of pseudo intellectualism. Bugs the living shit out of out me and I don't know why.

This has got to be some kind of contextual thing. I find Latin useful on admittedly-few occasions, but would rather see people elevated to a point where they are familiar with some basic Latin expressions and phrases than dumbed-down to the point where we lose contact with the language altogether. You still tend to see a lot of it in the military on distinctive unit insignia and such, and as long as it serves a purpose, I find it an appropriate connection to our cultural lineage.

Definitely with you on the arrogance that is all-too-often brought to the table, though. Some people embrace Latin with all of the elegance of lipstick on a sow, but then, intelligence-for-show is always bloated and pretentious, whether it happens to involve the use/misuse of Latin or something else entirely.

AC