Phrases I`m getting increasingly sick of hearing

[mustang1]

I'm too iggerant to get the Latin ref, but I quite like it. Liverpudlian? Eh? Where did the puddle come from? Mancunian? Do wot John? The arbitrariness tickles me too - how come some places have them, others don't? There is, AFAIK, no Edinburgh equivalent of Glaswegian, nor is there any term for someone hailing from Sheffield, Birmingham or Norwich. Come to think of it, I'd say more places don't have them than do - so who decided there needed to be a special term for denizens of Manchester or Liverpool? Or London?

It's only recently I learned what a Parisian was. Previously I figured it was someone from Persia and was just another way of saying Persian.

That got me thinking about slippery Vs slippy.

 

[mustang1]

When people say "I like the imperfections in" (whatever product, handbags or whatever) because it shows its made by a human and not a robot. All those imperfections give the product charm.

Yeah? Ok so why pay so much for all this artisan BS, why not pay a fiver and have many imperfections? Aha, because we want the hand made product to be a flawless as possible. Wth, just get something made by a robot then.

 

[mustang1]

Steel is real.

Aka I am but a small frame builder and don't have the resources or skills to make a carbon fibre frame.
The framebuilder may talk of the unique qualities a steel frame has ,then plonk a carbon fibre fork on the bike to suppress vibrations! Wth!

 

[glasgowcyclist]

I'm fed up of people saying "try and...." rather than "try to....".

That's always bugged me too! The only other person I knew who shared my annoyance was an American friend who was quite particular about language. She was one of the few people I knew who still made the distinction between shall and will.

 

[Maverick Goose]

Yes, it has. It seems to make an appearance whenever a new batch of stupid buzz phrases are thought up. Some of them are so ridiculous that people don't know what they actually mean. The company I work for are mad on acronyms these days. All of the 'easy to remember' department names are now a jumble of letters and numbers that mean absolutely nothing to anybody who has been an employee for over 10yrs. What's the point 🤔

One of my managers used 'cascade' as a verb during a training session yesterday.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

One of my managers used 'cascade' as a verb during a training session yesterday.

I dislike its use in business-speak, when it's used to mean circulate or disseminate, but there's nothing wrong with using it as a verb.

 

[MichaelW2]

I'm fed up of people saying "try and...." rather than "try to....".

I'm fed of people saying " Do or Do Not. There is no try."

 

[LCpl Boiled Egg]

I'm fed of people saying " Do or Do Not. There is no try."

Next time someone says that, reply "Ah yeah, Space Trek. Live Long and Prosper. I'm a big fan."

 

[swee'pea99]

When people say "I like the imperfections in" (whatever product, handbags or whatever) because it shows its made by a human and not a robot. All those imperfections give the product charm.

Yeah? Ok so why pay so much for all this artisan BS, why not pay a fiver and have many imperfections? Aha, because we want the hand made product to be a flawless as possible. Wth, just get something made by a robot then.

Apparently Waterford Crystal took a bath when they tried to take their hand-worked cut glass to Japan. The slight irregularities that made each piece genuinely unique were viewed by the Japanese as nothing more nor less than evidence of sloppy workmanship, and they were genuinely baffled by the idea that anyone would pay top dollar for second-rate goods.

 

[swee'pea99]

She was one of the few people I knew who still made the distinction between shall and will.

My mum used to spit tacks over people who used if rather than whether, when whether was appropriate. I've inherited her intolerance of this error, but usage over the course of my lifetime suggests to me that this is a losing battle - and one which is all but lost.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Next time someone says that, reply "Ah yeah, Space Trek. Live Long and Prosper. I'm a big fan."

And for bonus mischief points, drop in the view that you liked that "Doctor Spock" guy.

 

[Lozz360]

Why is it only sports commentators use the phrase "away to our right..." or "away to the left..."? As in "away to our right, the visiting supporters are in good voice". Everyone else is fully understood with just "to our right..."

 

[swee'pea99]

Why is it only sports commentators use the phrase "away to our right..." or "away to the left..."? As in "away to our right, the visiting supporters are in good voice". Everyone else is fully understood with just "to our right..."

Sports commentators are the past masters of the redundant phrase, the pointlessly complex and, above all, the bleedin' obvious. "They need a goal if they're going to get back into the game." "It's hard to see a way back for (4-0 down) x" and the like. If I had a quid for every time I've muttered 'what would we do without experts?' at the screen...

 

[Edwardoka]

I rather dislike the illogical nature of Latin overtones in the English language.

If someone is from London, they are a Londoner. If from Glasgow, Glaswegian.
Shouldn't it be Glasgowian, or Glasgower, or Londonian? I don't like the breaking up of the word.

It does seem to be an odd exception, no explanation or concrete etymology appears to exist, although -wegian is the adjective form of -way.
Some say that it is derived from Galway/Galwegian, which of course, makes no sense.

Demonyms are almost as weird as exonyms.
Glascovite or Glasgovite would be more appropriate given the suffix.

I wonder what the inhabitants of Linlithgow are called.

Honestly mate, given how -cester is pronounced down there, stones, glass houses and all that

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Glascovite or Glasgovite would be more appropriate given the suffix.

An Italian friend of mine assumed people from Glasgow were called Glasgovians, which I rather like.