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Misuse of words

“The kettle is boiling” No it is not, it is the water

” Add a bit of water” You cannot have a bit of a fluid, only a drop.

“Wipe your feet” The feet are clean, it is the shoes that are dirty.

“It is almost exactly” Is it almost or is it exactly? This like suffering from constipation and diarrhea at the same time .


Please add your examples


Created By on 11/12/2014

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orchardlane
30th Nov 2015 14:58:43
0
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"Almost unique" seems ok, but "very unique" I don't think so. The same thing can be applied to many words.
Response from Fruitcake13 made on 6th Jan 2016 20:23:18
I agree with your 'very unique' comment. An ex partner once told me that I was 'very unique'. It was a very nice thing for him to say, but I still felt that I had to correct him and explain that I could not possibly be 'very unique' as a person is either 'unique' or 'not unique'. Talk about spoiling a moment! 🙁
Response from orchardlane made on 6th Jan 2016 20:26:34
Perhaps that was going a bit too far, lol.
Response from celtwitch made on 15th Sep 2016 09:16:43
Perhaps there are degrees of uniqueness, and maybe we shouldn't get too hung up on the everyday grammatical and spellin errers that we alll mayke?
Milliesmum
1st Jan 2015 20:05:25 (Last activity: 15th Sep 2016 17:52:30)
0
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A big ask. This one really annoys me.
Response from celtwitch made on 5th Dec 2015 21:36:14
Why? It simply means, ' you are asking a lot.'
Response from celtwitch made on 15th Sep 2016 09:21:11
Is it too big an ask that you lighten up, there are bigger things to get annoyed about?
Response from KEITH_WL made on 15th Sep 2016 12:47:03
Personally I rather like this one if not overdone.
Response from celtwitch made on 15th Sep 2016 17:52:30
I'm always slightly surprised to hear so many sportsmen (and footballers are the biggest offenders) when asked how they think the game will go, or went, begin their answer with ' yeah, I mean' before continuing.
And, 'basically' is so often used when describing something, for instance, 'basically, this is how you peel a pineapple.'
Nad
15th Sep 2015 04:50:59 (Last activity: 15th Sep 2016 09:23:08)
1
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Extreme precision. Extreme perfection. Excessive precision. Some work, some do not. "Almost exactly" can be a nuanced meaning relative to scale. Perfection isn't necessary for a key to unlock a lock. An imperfect key can work perfectly.
Response from celtwitch made on 15th Sep 2016 09:23:08
You obviously don't get your keys cut at Timpsons!
KEITH_WL
12th Sep 2016 13:26:46
0
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This one might have appeared but I haven't seen it: several people write 'loose' when it should be 'lose'.

Example of loose as a verb: "I loose the dog" means that I set it free. I haven't lost my dog!
KEITH_WL
13th May 2016 19:18:33 (Last activity: 14th May 2016 17:12:45)
0
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I'm at ease with most Americanisms but I dislike'alternate' for 'alternative'.

Unfortunately they're creeping into use here.

So is 'smart' to mean 'clever'.
Response from KEITH_WL made on 14th May 2016 17:12:45
Aha, there was another dislike obviously felt to be politically incorrect by the powers that be. It was removed from my original message. Across the Atlantic a short word beginning with 'a' replaces a slightly longer and more correct word in general use here. It also starts with 'a'.
Terrysoldgal
31st Mar 2016 20:23:27
1
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The overuse of the words 'like', 'actually', 'obviously' and 'you know'. There are others but these in particular annoy me.
Pussk2
25th Feb 2016 13:34:01
2
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Double negatives. e.g. I ain't done nothing. My mother always said that you must have done something then!
Nannyjoan
13th Jan 2016 18:45:27
0
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Should of/could of instead of should have/could have .... drives me batty !!
pjmcg
14th Aug 2015 09:50:59
3
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How I love a pedant's corner! One that always seems to annoy a lot of people is the confusion between "less" and "fewer" - me, I couldn't care fewer!
bharatverma
9th Jul 2015 12:06:10
0
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Supposed to: Do not omit the d. Suppose to is incorrect.
bharatverma
9th Jul 2015 12:05:39
0
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Used to: Same as above. Do not write use to.

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