it can be written either way, though single s is preferred.

"GOING FORWARD " - please stop it now ! You'll hear it at every bloomin' meeting , on every interview with a politician and we got on very well without it "back in the day " - ( there's another one )...I'll get me coat .

instead of specific. Usually in speech rather than as a written word for some reason. My colleague at work also doesn't know the difference between borrow and lend which drives me nuts. Just a thought but is there such a word as 'assumably' or was that the joke I missed?

and 'nukiller power'.

Giving 110% gets on my tits a lot.

People so intent on chatting they block the way for others - stand to the side and chat. It will still work.

Wheeled briefcases and luggage. Get out of the way before you stop to pull up the bloody handle.

People who drive any car they are incapable of parking neatly.

Strangers pointing at our twins like they are freakishly entertaining.

Rod Liddle.

Thinking outside the box is very annoying, especially when there isn't a box anywhere near.

"Can I get me a latte" bugs me (because of an earlier Word blog posting - I hadn't noticed before).

ITV. All of it but especially the football coverage.

Amanda Holden (A-Hol).

"I would of ..." as in "I would of done it"

That's simple, "PIN Number". I even came across a reference to a "Personal PIN Number" in a document at work last week.

It's bad enough as it is but I swear I once saw it on a PowerPoint slide as "learning's". It was all I could do not to whimper aloud.

on the Spotify Premium ad.

Most of the time it is twaddle!

It really bugs me when I buy a newspaper and the shop either a) does not know how much it costs or b) cannot find the barcode. Come on, if you are a newsagent you should know how much each paper costs.

put 'no?'at the end of a sentence are really annoying, no?

And things don't happen from the start or beginning any more, oh no - it's all from the 'get-go'. Damn you America!

I find this kind of moaning rather tiresome. Most of these annoyances will pass, given time. Take it on the chin!

their football shirts when they're on holiday - knobheads!

Sentences without pronouns: see directly above for me breaking my own rule.

Invite used as a noun. Makes my teeth itch.

Why, oh, why do the likes of tube drivers, people who want to thank event organisers etc, insist on blowing into a microphone before they speak into it?
Why can't they go 'one-two one-two two-two' like proper musicians and that?

Low Hanging Fruit doesn't mean piles, it allas snouds that way to me?

when they mean "imply"

"focussed" is wrong but I think that's how MS Word wants it spelled, which is probably one of the reasons so many make that mistake.

and nothing's as good as it used to be

So, let's adopt a holistic approach and remember the key deliverables in term of client-centric customer inter-face solutions which are both platform agnostic and promote competitive advantage going forward

And you know what? Been a great session guys...

The original post is missing 2 apostrophes: "Maybe its just me but if you have similar foibles lets share and unburden them here... " The word "its" in this context means "it is" so the shortening should be indicated by an apostrophe: "Maybe it's me..." It's the same with "lets" in the same sentence...

panino - singular

panini - plural

paninis - double plural

Grrrrrr.

How I wish, like graffiti/graffitus, the singular was paninus.

...is in my Chambers Dictionary as a genuine alternative. One of the joys of the English language is that it gleefully steals the best bits from other languages and that includes modern American. Embrace the changes... this ain't France y'know.

grrrrrrr.....

when they mean wary.

Also I wont mind if I never hear about establishing vertical beachheads and leveraging strategic advantage again.

...of the word "mischievous". Half the country says ”miss-CHEE-vee-uss” and not "“MISS-chuh-vuss".

The irritating modern misuse of the word random. Dreadful.

Innit !

For example "We need to focus on the recruitment piece".

Aaaaargh!

...instead of yeah.

often used in reviews (in other mags I hasten to say)to mean "difficult" or "obscure" instead of "slow on the uptake".

....have been going downhill ever since bleeding heart liberals started encouraging snotty nosed working class urchins to read. Gave them ideas above their station. The country's been going to the dogs ever since.

Apart from "Can I get....?" as mentioned above, my own favourite annoying trivia are;

People who use "less" when they should use "fewer", as in "there are less pedants in this blog than there used to be".

Davina McCall

My wife's most hated phrase is "across the piece". I swear she'll murder someone the next time she hears it in the office.

to start a sentance means that you feel everything the last person has just said is complete bollocks.

Just tell them straight!

Who used "bought" and "brought" the wrong way round so, obviously, she had to go.

I really dislike the use of "for free" when the speaker just means "free". As in "Subscribe to the Word and get the Beatles reissues for free." It's not "for free". It's "free".

Gosh. I was getting angrier and angrier tying that. Time for my medication.

- and cars parked on pavements (or do I mean footpaths?)

will usually make me reach for the AK-47.

"I'm sorry but..." used by someone who is disagreeing with the previous speaker. David Frost once interrupted a big business spokeswoman after she'd done this for the umpteenth time with a terse "Not half as sorry as me". And double negatives - I can't take no more, colloquial English though it might be. Speak properly you lazy herberts. And why do football players and managers intone 'At this football club' when plain 'At this club' used to do nicely? And as for able-bodied people who park in Disabled spaces, people who park over two spaces, people who don't take their shopping trolleys back, people who don't bin their leavings in MacDonald's or rack their used plates in IKEA, don't start me off.

People in positions of authority have substituted "sorry" for "regret" as a word that sounds like an apology but it isn't really. If one is truly sorry, it should be stated clearly.

As an example of how to apologise sincerely and with dignity, Australian PM Kevin Rudd's speech in Parliament on February 13th 2008:

"We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these stolen generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation."

At the end of a sentence is very annoying.

If I didn't then I would tell you.

I tends to be used by people that also end every other sentence with "innit"

God save us

*have to repost under my own sign-in not the spouse's*

*And this is me*

Apostrophe's for plural's of word's - BUT NOT EVERY TIME. If you know not to use it for CDs, why do you then use it for DVD's????

People/politicians who try to defend utterly iniquitous behaviour with the excuse that it was within the rules or that they didn't know. Ignorance is no defence.

'There is' when it should be 'there are'

Cyclists who ride on the pavement and don't obey traffic signals.

People who, like, use like, in between, like, every other word.

Pointless new words - why create burglarised when we already have burgled or obligated when we have obliged?

Turning nouns into verbs, particularly in sport. We seem to have accepted the transformation of 'medal', a thing, into 'medalled', an action. "He'll be hoping to medal in this event". Aaaargh. Even worse is "He'll be hoping to podium". WTF?

I need a lie-down...

always grinds my teeth.
Not keen on people pronouncing clique 'click' either.

from ourselves to yourselves?"

Possibly the most awful mangling of the English language, ever.

Please.

I said.

or I felt.

Or something.

But not "I was like"

As inspired by the latest podcast (I feel he fits in this thread, he's quite trivial).

He can cook food really well; congratulations, have a badge. It doesn't give him the right to be rude and obnoxious to practically everyone he meets. If he weren't famous and he talked to people like that, he'd have been punched VERY HARD in the face by now.

I'm hating it.

Ferne Cotton and Rufus Hound on the ITV2 Isle of Wight Festival coverage - jesus wept! Just who gives these people work?

The use of the term 'Word Massive', I know it's meant to be ironic, but boy is it worn out - did Smashey & Nicey die in vain?

We could start a whole new thread where sports men & women, pundits, broadcaster and journalists are concerned. I was at my daughters school prizegiving last week and the rector, yes the rector of the school sounded like an seasoned old sports hack in places during his annual report. I nearly laughed out loud when I heard that one promising young footballer had been `snapped up` instead of signed. Give me strength.
As a regular road user, I hate poor lane discipline at roundabouts.
I don`t get too hung up on poor grammar as I`m not educated enough to know better but poor spelling is another bugbear of mine.
Judging by some of the posts it is (not its) clear that there might be some health and safety professionals in the Word massive. Thats no bad thing, the world needs them. I`m sort of nearly one myself, you know. Pedants rule ok.
Feel free to correct any of my spelling and grammar, you know you want to.

is bad?

or is typing R4 instead of Radio 4 worser?

More specifically those people who get to the top (or bottom) and stop to look around to see where they want to go rather than walking a few steps away then looking around; especially those with wimp wheels - ie laptops with wheels and and a handle that fully able bodied people pull around behind them.
People who get to ticket barriers and then stand there blocking the way while they search for their ticket.

"Hell is other people"? Sounds like a good idea for a play.

...outside of America.

Especially when worn with the jacket. Fortunately I have a button in my car that turns them instantly into vapour.

People who drive 60-70 km/h on Söderleden, Växjö, Sweden when the signs CLEARLY say 90. This annoys me almost daily. Overtaking is impossible, the whole drive is basically one long turn. :(

I had to look up overtaking. Didn´t know the English word for this until now. I´m sure you all know it´s "omkörning" in Swedish.

being overtaken by lorries doing 61

Can I add "passionate"?

I'm passionate about this, I have a passion for that.

It does my head in.

Apart from this, life is pretty dandy at present.

...ever gives me a "heads-up".

A word of warning should suffice.
Or sage advice if you will.
You can even tip me the wink.

Thanks.

People who call everyone ‘dude’ (pronounced ‘dood’). Just about acceptable in a 19-year-old Californian surfer: less so in a thirtysomething office worker from Bolton.

Never mind Trad Goth, I reckon Goth Trad could be a fantastic new crossover genre: gnarled old blokes in the aforementioned waistcoats and bowlers playing ‘A forest’ and ‘Bela Lugosi’s dead’ on clarinets, trumbones and tubas. I’d pay to watch that!

it's a long thread and I had to butt in before I got to the end.

People who use loose instead of lose, draw instead of drawer, sikth instaed of sixth, of instead of have, 110%, ten items or less, can i get..., people who "fess up".

Wnakers the lot of em.

would they look in Earnest for the kller? Surely he would be in some hideout somewhere?

My particular bete noire. It seems particularly prevalent in job adverts, where they ask for a 'Principle Scientific Officer' or suchlike.

On which point...why is it that those who design recruitment websites follow this kind of logic:

'OK, so where do most people log into recruitment websites?'

'At work, of course, when they get cheesed off with their current jobs'

'Right, so they want to be able to discreetly look for new positions at their desks during lunchtime? So let's furnish our website in the brightest flashing primary colours so their workmates can see what they are doing from about half a mile away. And also, let's put in some slow-loading animation so that when they quickly scroll down to avoid the banner-sized title, it automatically jumps back to the top again! That would be good.'

"At the end of the day"

Grrrrrrr.

Don't you just hate it when politicians submit expenses with big black felt-tip pen marks over everything? But there's something really wonderful happening at The Guardian this morning. You (that's you) actually get to scan the documents. They need help - there are about 20,000 pages to go. Get over there! http://www.guardian.co.uk

It's extremely anoying that 'extremely' is now preferred over 'very' or 'quite' or 'a tad'

Most of the horror stories of strangled English mentioned here can be found in the book "Ducks In A Row - An A-Z of Offlish" - the definitive guide to Office English by Carl Newbrook, published by Short Books (ISBN 1-904977-35-9). Published in 2005, it is, however, already in need of revision. However, it's still worth reading.

Ducks In A Row is of course one of the culprits. Newbook gives the example of its usage: " = phrase: preparedness; show of unity as in "Guys, we really need to get our ducks in a row on this one". It is likely, adds Newbrook, "that they will go on to suggest that they must be "on the same page", "with all the boxes ticked", and, most importantly be "singing from the same hymn sheet".

While I'm about it, here are a few of my other pet hates:

"I'm good" (in reply to "How are you?")
Impacting on
Incentivise
Innit
I see where you're coming from
Issues (for problems)
It's not rocket science
Kids (for children)
Left-field
Please RSVP
Pushing the envelope
Ramp up
Stakeholder
Tasking
Bigging up
Early doors
Empowering
Fallen pregnant
First up
Going forward
Government money (it's ours)
The elephant in the room
Contact phone number

.... the list is bloody endless!

"Now, Sheev - you know I like to see problems as opportunties"

"Ok - the opportunity is our biggest account has just walked leaving a £10m hole in revenues"

"Fuck me - why the hell didn't you tell me there was a problem!"

"I,..."

it means I can listen to a Word podcast, I find it interminably boring and one of the few 'drivetime' shows I avoid

I believe and that's my 'drivetime' to work

the term 'drivetime' annoys me

A spokesman, whose official significance isn't clear, announces that schools are going to stop teaching the "i before e except after c" rule because there are so many exceptions that it's practically meaningless. That's because he knows only half the rule: it applies when the word rhymes with "key", with two exceptions. That's not too much to learn, surely.

I am annoyed by the suggestion that teaching in the olden days consisted of meaningless maxims and long lists to be learned by rote. My 1951 book on good English sums up the rule in four lines. It would fill a couple of Tweets.

Then the policy is reported by journalists who make their living using words. Not one of them points out the error. Perhaps they feel that they ought not get too involved.

I think of it as Operation Drawbridge. "We've got our education and we're doing rather nicely. We'd like our children to do rather nicely too. We can provide them with an education better than our own. Still, it doesn't hurt to thin out the competition when we can." In my experience the competition can't get enough of authority figures ordering them to learn less. It's funny. They usually lap up a conspiracy theory.

In Luton airport the door signs say "Male Toilets" and "Female Toilets". No, no, no -- neither rooms nor porcelain bowls have a sex, pillocks. They're "Men's" and "Women's" if they're anything.

Oh, and pass the Xanax.

Carry on...

is 'most biggest'.

the "famous" session musician whose obituary is in the latest issue of THE WORD is named Larry Knechtel.

(Not Knetchel)

I was mildly irritated by Radio 2 yesterday when that lawyer/judge woman who wrote ‘Ugly’ and then was taken to court by her mother for libel complained that she was having trouble trying to ‘recuperate’ her costs, but then this morning Michael Ball did a trailer for his weekend show in which he says that Sundays are all about being able to ‘recoup’.
Just before I hit the 'off' button I heard Wogan say "...no mention there of going to church?"

The Daily Mail

... an "issue" these days? Whatever happened to "problem", "difficulty", "enquiry", "complaint" etc? We have a rich lexicon - let's use it.

A company in its press release is always "delighted".

A volley from 20 yards is always "stunning". As is a new album when advertised on the telly.

I think these words have been worn out, and we need new ones.

to use the word "Company" in their branding (e.g.): The Cornish Pasty Company, The Real Food Company, etc..