Five More Misused Words That Make You Look Like a Dummy
Blogging, Copywriting, Marketing, Opinion Add commentsHey thanks for popping to check out my blog and be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Are you making these mistakes? Proper word usage will make your writing efforts powerful and effective and build credibility with your audience.
Day-before-yesterday I read a great post over at skelliewag.org that stirred up an excellent discussion about whether or not it’s important to write well online. I’m not a great writer myself and, in fact, I started this blog in part to get a little more practice.
But this got me thinking about writing in general, word usage and credibility. So I put on my tall, pointy hat and decided to post my opinion about five words that really annoy me when misused. Here they are in no particular order.
Our first word is unique. No, really, that’s the word!
Unique
Like being pregnant, you can’t be a little bit unique.
Wrong
Hey I woke up the other day and realized I was somewhat unique. Later I got over it.Right
Hey I woke up the other day and realized I was unique. Thankfully, I’ll never get over it.
Next up, a word which will probably produce a little argument. I maintain that, unlike unique which should never have a modifier, quality must always have one.
Quality
I saw someone write (for the thousandth time at least) that, “this thing is a quality piece of work.” Or, in another instance, “that’s a quality blog.” The only thing missing is a clue as to whether the confounded thing is any good or not! Quality has to have a modifier. Bad quality, good quality; the word quality by itself is utterly meaningless.
But I’m afraid it may be far too late to get that issue fixed as it’s really gotten embedded in the English-speaking world’s psyche, no thanks to the foolish aristocrat who first pushed that concept out there in the 14th century. Blast that dictionary for contradicting me anyway.
Wrong
Hey buddy, you gonna’ finish that quality bowl of lecithin gravy?
Right
Hey buddy, you gonna’ finish that top quality bowl of lecithin gravy?
Irregardless
There is, in fact, no such word. I finally figured out why this is such a common mistake. I believe this to be the illegitimate child of the marriage of “irrespective” and “regardless”. It may sound like it’s a good idea, but regardless of your intense desire to misuse this one, and irrespective of all the reasons you might offer in your defense, using “irregardless” is probably the biggest no-no of the bunch since it’s not a real word.
Wrong
Bill continued to awkwardly reach toward the precariously balancing bowl of warm, lecithin gravy, irregardless of the inevitable disaster which was sure to follow.Right
Bill continued to awkwardly reach toward the precariously balancing bowl of warm, lecithin gravy, regardless of the inevitable disaster which was sure to follow.
Hopefully
It’s almost always used incorrectly these days. Cotton really wrecked it for everyone back in 1702. “. . . Hopefully, we’ll see you tomorrow.” Hopefully I’ll do this, hopefully I’ll get that; this is just so wrong I can’t begin to even tell you. (Granted, according to the dictionary, my attitude about this word apparently places me in the traditionalist camp, but I’ll address that in a sentence at the end of this post.)
Wrong
Hopefully, the unicorn-riding space travellers from Alpha Centauri will arrive and give us plankton, chocolate and some sort of odd, gravy-like substance.Right
I hope the unicorn-riding space travellers from Alpha Centauri will arrive and give us plankton, chocolate and some sort of odd, gravy-like substance.
In the wrong sentence above, the literal meaning suggests that the space travelers will be feeling hopeful as they arrive bearing their lovely gifts; they will arrive feeling hopeful. However, 99.9% of the time, the writer writing this intends to suggest that they themselves are the ones feeling hopeful about the arrival of the space travelers bearing gifts. Always ask yourself, “who is feeling hopeful?” and then make sure the sentence is reflecting that properly. (I know, purists will also say I should have said, “s/he himself/herself is the one feeling hopeful” but man, isn’t that awkward!?.)
Anxious Instead of Eager
Many people use the word anxious to describe an upcoming event they are excited about. In fact, by using the word anxious, they are saying they are worried about it. If you’re excited, say you’re eager. If you’re worried, then use anxious.
Wrong
Ludlow was anxious to open all the incredible presents he knew he would be receiving at his very first lecithin-gravy party.Right
Ludlow was eager to open all the incredible presents he knew he would be receiving at his very first lecithin-gravy party.
Now many will probably hassle me endlessly about the swiftly changing nature of the spoken language arguing that anything that gets used often enough becomes validated by its very ubiquity.
But hey man, I’m tellin’ ya, if we don’t have at least a few ground rules and standards, I might as well start riggle plag mimmbly bum toothbrush the squirrelpaste. Know what i mean? How will we understand each other if we make up our own rules and just run with them? I’m as excited about change as the next guy, just as long as it’s change for the better.
If you are as excited and curious about language as I am, and if you want to find more ways to avoid those embarrassing usage boners, have a look at some of these related articles I found during my travels.
10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
Common Errors in English by Paul Brians
Style Guide from The Economist
Words & Expressions Commonly Misused from Bartleby.com
Disclaimer: I’m no expert grammarian and also don’t think anyone is a dummy. I’m just a grammar muckraker raking up some muck. Hope you liked it. I also encourage healthy debate.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Great post!
These remind me of people who say “I could care less.” When they really mean “I couldn’t care less”.. as in “I could not care any less”..
OTOH, I am always being corrected by my daughters when I am not saying good and well in the proper way, and tired brained as I am most of the time, I just don’t get it.
Judi’s last blog post..Heads or Tails - Green
March 11th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
I’m with you 100% on “quality.” That beer with the slogan “quality you can taste” always makes me wonder whether I’d want to.
Bob Gladstein’s last blog post..Universal Search Mocks Me
March 12th, 2008 at 5:30 am
The whole concept of language ‘mistakes’ assumes that there was a time when the English language reached a pinnacle (handily around the time dictionaries first appeared) and that any deviation from the rules of grammar and spelling of this time is somehow undesirable.
Language is constantly evolving and there is nothing we can do to stop it - as the French are finding out with phrases like ‘Le weekend’. Given the nature of language development, it’s actually a little bizarre that we’re still abiding by arbitrary decisions that people like Samuel Johnson, Robert Cawdrey and Noah Webster made hundreds of years ago.
After all, Shakespeare apparently couldn’t decide how to spell his own name and still managed to make himself understood. Possibly the greatest ever wordsmith to grace the English language would today be mocked on Digg for his spelling mistakes.
March 12th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Not everybody is a real writer in blogging. Just some hobby of sharing. I hope not everybody is looking for a perfect grammar but more on the what you can learn from an article. Excusing myself since I admit that I have a lot of imperfections on my grammar. Thanks for sharing. I learn a lot from this post. I will try my best.. More power
March 12th, 2008 at 8:53 am
@ Judi, good point, that one bugs me too
If I had remembered it I would have made it six instead of five! Thanks much for stopping by.
@Bob, indeed, so many things are promised to be quality things, we just assume it’s good quality. I don’t assume anymore when it comes to my beer though . . . good point
@Gavin, great point!
I agree that the language is evolving and we, the living, are the most important arbiters of that change, I wouldn’t want to stop it–it’s a living thing and will grow and change. But at the same time, we have to find a balance in the growth process between wholesale adoption of bad ideas and slavish dedication to books from the dusty past.
These examples I’ve used are now becoming far more acceptable than they were even 30 years ago so I wouldn’t expect a major change here. Also, many will realize upon reading that they didn’t know what the original convention was in the first place.
My goal is to point out that many new ideas are adopted unconsciously whereas, if people paid more attention to their speech, they would think and communicate more clearly and our language would evolve more in the general direction of clarity. (ah I see a new post forming now
) I see poor word choice as SOMETIMES denoting a lack of thoughtfulness, or clear thinking on the part of an author. These examples especially are about speaking and thinking clearly. It’s about saying what you really mean.
I wrote this as a gentle reminder that what you say reflects back to you and determines whether or not you are understood by your audience. So even if you make these so-called mistakes, just be sure to make them consciously and be sure you say what you mean. My hope is that we can help our language grow more toward consciousness since we actually DO have a choice in the matter.
Thanks for your comment!
March 12th, 2008 at 9:19 am
You’re absolutely right, Walk Through . . . nobody’s perfect. My grammar is awful sometimes.
We should all write–it’s how we learn! And the more we write and practice blogging, the better we get. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being clear. Thanks for your comment, I sincerely hope this article was useful, if only for raising consciousness around writing and communicating.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Great post! Your next one should be on all the uses of “like” these days by kids.
I’m like really interested in what you come up with.
Jack Humphrey’s last blog post..Michel Fortin: Failing To See The Happy “Medium”
March 12th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I am to afraid to post much more than this.
Great post Zack… “irregardless” of what anyone else says… “quality” stuff
Andrew
Andrew’s last blog post..Teaching Sells Update ~ $1 Trial Offer
March 12th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Another one in the same vein is “nauseous”/”nauseated”.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Actually, irregardless is a word. Unfortunately, if it is in the dictionary and is commonly used then it is a word. It is possible to misuse this word but it is probably rare.
March 12th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
May I as an Englishman point out a couple of American-English words that drive me a liitle bit crazy. First is REGULAR. In English English this word has nothing whatsoever to do with size, EG: “Do you want a regular coffee?” Regular in English is only related to Time - “Do you want a regular coffee? “Yes please I’ll have one every hour or so”. The US companies (coffee and burger places)over here make no effort to adapt to our language in their signage, but just assume, rather arrogantly, we will adapt to their’s. I guess it’s not the end of the world stuff, but it does bug me and many of my friends
The other word is GOTTEN which just doesn’t occur in English English. It is, to me, such an ugly word that really isn’t needed. You may say, “I have gotten a new car” while we would just say “I have a new car” Maybe there are some subtle nuances with ‘Gotten’ that I’m missing, but I still think it’s ugly!
March 12th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
@Jack, lol, that’s sure to get some of the kids bent out of shape. I’ll try not to disappoint.
@Andrew, lol, marvelously bad usage, nice work! Of course, that makes another great point about all this, namely, that you were completely clear and I understood perfectly despite the bad usage. This proves that perfect writing isn’t necessarily necessary, depending upon the goals and the forum.
@vzbVS, good point, that’s another good one I would have included if I’d remembered. Thanks for stopping by.
@chris, indeed you are absolutely correct and, in fact, I even looked it up for this post–my mistake. I had intended to go back and mention that it wasn’t a word until the early 20th century when enough misuse forced it into the word-club, irrespective of the fact that it was not a word and sounded awkward. Ah well, what can you do. Thanks for commenting and pointing that out.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
@Ron: “Regular” isn’t just a size. It’s anything standard. You can be a “regular” or a “regular customer” at some venue if you show up often enough, for example.
The one that gets me is coffee. In some places, “regular” refers to the normal (I assume medium) size, but in other places it’s about the mix, and that can vary from place to place. A regular coffee in Boston comes with cream and sugar. I’m told that in Providence, a mere 100 or so km from here, it means something completely different.
And of course, you also have to deal with “regular” being the alternative to decaffeinated. So I suppose you could walk into a coffee shop and order a “regular regular regular,” unless of course you’re a regular there, in which case, you can just ask for a regular.
Bob Gladstein’s last blog post..Universal Search Mocks Me
March 12th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Ron, that’s marvelous! I had no idea that was the case and it’s great to learn that tidbit about “regular”.
I understand what you’re saying about some words just sounding ugly. “Gotten” sounds rather like a ravenous dog guarding his dinner when you put it like that
Or it could sound boastful . . . getting something is implied by the fact that you have it, I imagine.
In a similar vein, I have a friend from Slovakia who absolutely abhors the English words “grab” and “spatula”. She thinks they’re ugly and hates to hear them. I love the fact that we all have our pet words that drive us to distraction. Thanks so much for posting yours.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Great post! Of course, I’m kind of word nerd anyway - but I really loved it.
This brings up all kinds of memories about double negatives and other words that are misused. (Such as - to, too, and two…)
Laura Spencer’s last blog post..What Do You Do With Your Time Off?
March 12th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Hi Laura, so glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by and letting me know.
March 13th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
“Irrigardless” isn’t a word just like “ain’t” isn’t a word. It’s slang and just because it’s not a word now, use of the word will ultimately MAKE it a word. There are thousands of words that were not words 20 years ago. Sure you wouldn’t use it in your midterm essay now, but in a few years years it may be standard English. English is ever expanding, that’s what made it the English we speak today.
Though honestly, the word just sound like a waste of syllables and letters. It means the exact same thing as regardless.
March 13th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
@Bob, lol, the coffee irregularities are great! I’m going to have to try asking for a triple regular on my next coffee trip.
@Candace, I certainly don’t deny that English is constantly changing and I ain’t got no problem with that.
And you’ve absolutely identified the reason this one in particular is so annoying. The prefix ir- means “no” and the suffix -less means “without”.
Regardless means, without regard, but when you add “ir-” to the beginning it becomes a double negative and essentially means WITH regard again. Literally, not without regard. It’s just like saying, “I ain’t got none,” which actually means, “I have some.”
And if you know what prefixes and suffixes mean, even though you know what someone might be trying to say, it grates on your logic brain as you mentally waste time re-interpreting and ignoring the true meaning of the words (as well as the awkward sounding nature). Maybe it’s better if we just don’t learn anything about all this grammar stuff at all and everyone will understand everything mucherest betterer.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
You may know your prefixes, suffixes and roots, but the one and only rule in English that has no exception is that every rule has an exception.
For example, I’m sure you know what “loosen” means. And of course you know the suffix “un”. So what do you suppose “unloosen” means?
Bob Gladstein’s last blog post..Universal Search Mocks Me
March 13th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I loved this post. It was top quality!
I’m fixated with the English language. It’s like a slippery fish sometimes. Just when I think I have a handle on it, it wriggles out of my grasp.
Keep up the good work!
March 14th, 2008 at 7:54 am
What a quality post! Irregardless of what other people say, I found it kind of unique. Hopefully, your reviews will be positive. Keep us posted; we’re anxious to know.
March 15th, 2008 at 7:41 am
Hey Bob, lol, why, it means to tighten that sucker down as hard as you dang well can, right?
Jason, thanks so much for stopping by. It’s great to meet another language-o-phile ;). The whole idea is really just to play. I’m going to ’splain what I was doing with this post in my next post.
For everyone who took the time to comment, I sincerely appreciate you and love the fact that we could play a little with this idea. It’s the discussion that helps us learn and there’s really no absolute right or wrong about this; context changes everything.
On a side note, remember that this is a blog that’s all about experimenting, so here’s some food for thought: this post had absolutely nothing to do with language, usage, grammar, spelling, dummies, smarties, wrong, or right. Now, aren’t you curious to know what it was really about? Maybe you already do know.
All will be explained . . .
You all are marvelous!
March 15th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Great post Zack, I’ve seen a couple of times those kind of errors. Really, I don’t understand how it is possible, I’m not a native english speaker and I never said something like that.
However, it’s good to learn more about this language, thanks for sharing this info :).
Mr. Javo’s last blog post..My First Impression about PayPerPost
March 15th, 2008 at 9:34 pm
It was about time someone wrote this post. THANK YOU. I learn something every day.
Crystal’s last blog post..Blogging Money & Traffic - My Experience Part 2
March 16th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
I like the hopefully/I hope tip, that is a great article… lots of interesting information on there to help bloggers out with their writing.
Thanks again for visiting The Net Fool Dot Com, you have one heck of a blog… keep up the good work!
Jim’s last blog post..Top Five Reasons Nobody Likes Your Blog
March 21st, 2008 at 11:22 am
Oh heavens…I suck. I use “quality” all the time. I never know what else to use when describing the type of stones and materials I use in my jewelry. Oh well. The “irregardless” word drives me bonkers. I never knew about “hopefully” though…it does make sense.
Excellent post!
castocreations’s last blog post..My Fingers are Numb
March 26th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
These are weird ways of talking, that don’t make logical sense. But does that mean they aren’t valid coloquialisms? “I could care less” used to bother me when I was a kid, but now it has become a part of my vocabulary… Well, I don’t use it often. But “hopefully” is one that I do use.
Luke’s last blog post..8 Ways To Boost Your Charisma
April 4th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Three of these five are favorite pet peeves of mine, LOL!
I remember Skellie’s post… that one was a doosey. I wrote a response on my blog called “why great writing DOES matter online” as a rebuttal!
While great writing doesn’t guarantee success, dumb writing mistakes can choke the life out of a blog rather quickly.
April 5th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
[...] you haven’t yet, definitely read my recent post about misusing five words. If you’ve already been there, you know there was a little controversy stirred up, but [...]