You know what’s annoying? When people say “urbane” instead of “urban,” thinking it means, like, really urban, which it doesn’t.
Also annoying: when people who can’t sleep write who blog posts about stuff like this.
Christopher Frizzelle was The Stranger's print editor, and first joined the staff in 2003. He was the editor-in-chief from 2007 to 2016, and edited the story by Eli Sanders that won a 2012 Pulitzer... More by Christopher Frizzelle
Also annoying:
arbitrarily ending sentences with “and whatnot.”
Or: “is, is that” as in:
“The thing about it is, is that I like to end sentences with the words ‘and so on’ or sometimes ‘or whatever’ which sounds hip and smart – totally different from ‘and whatnot’, which just sounds stupid.”
Also annoying: when Sloggers use “apropos”.
Also annoying: that rule about putting punctuation inside of quotation marks.
Also annoying: Almost falling asleep but then getting up and doing some dishes.
@5 for the zzzzzzz…….
urbane, as in Obama
Obama cabinet picks are largely from urban areas and the epitome of urbane Ivy climers
I love it when Sloggers can’t sleep, because it means I can have my breakfast with something good to read.
When people say “I could care less” when they mean “I couldn’t care less.” However I rarely correct them because then I wouldn’t be able to use this knowledge some day in combination with spitting on cupcakes as a post secret scrawled in red lipstick on a very ironic Father’s Day card: “I spit on your cupcakes daddy and you ‘could care less’.”
The problem is not so much with people misusing “urbane” as it is that the meaning of the word “urban” has done a 180 in the past 1-2 decades.
Urbane does mean really urban, if you consider “urban” to mean “bright lights, big city, big business, captains of industry, culture” and not to mean “dingy streets, traffic, density, crime, homelessness”.
My pet peeves:
People who say “I was like… and then he was like… and she was like… etc etc etc”, and who expect you to react in some way as if they have communicated a human thought to you.
People who say “your guys’s” as a plural possessive of “you guys”, which is already kind of screwy.
Anyone using texting lingo in actual spoken conversation: “I lolled”.
It is what it is, Frizzelle.
Oh goody, a gripefest. Just right for my current decaffeinated state.
How ’bout those people who say things like “My interest was peaked” instead of “piqued”? Always makes me think of a boner in boxers.
And then there’s the baffling inability of some to grasp the difference between “than” and “then,” leading to “Other THEN that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?”.
Reminds me of Keith Urban. Thanks. I really needed that.
Is it OK to use urbane correctly? I use it correctly but it tends to be sarcastic or tongue in cheek.
@14
Even more horrifying when they say “peeked” instead of “piqued.” Drives me fuckin nuts.
Then there’s Jerheme Urban. I didn’t know I could be brought further afield than Jerramy.
http://cache.gettyimages.com/xc/78346570…
@17: …say “peeked” instead of “piqued.”
If they “say” peeked or piqued I’m quite sure you can’t tell the difference. If you mean they wrote it, then you’re guilty of imprecise writing.
Which I’m sure also drives you fuckin’ nuts.
I can understand the pique/peak confusion. The one that gets me is when people use ‘loose’ when they mean ‘lose’. That is just stupid.
Word Rage is a real condition:
http://linganth.blogspot.com/2008/04/wor…
(read also the link to Language Log from there)
Incidentally, Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage has a terrific and lengthy discussion of of “I could (not) care less,” where it looks at the role of sarcasm and the differences between oral and written language. Everyone needs a copy of that reference book, particularly those with word rage.
@19 & @21
Thank you both.
I love “Me and her went to the store”.
And about “The thing is is that…” – I love Obama dearly, but he does this too and it drives me nuts.
Also hating on “I’ll try and do it” instead of “I’ll try to do it.” You wouldn’t say “I’m trying and doing it”, would you? You wouldn’t say “I’ll try not and do it.” So WTF is up with “try and do”???
@17,
Or “peaked” instead of “peeked”.
@4,
That rule is not universal. The Brits put the punctuation outside of quotation marks (unless the punctuation is part of the quotation) and Chicago allows for punctuation outside quotation marks under some circumstances.