Commonly misunderstood words that get your blood boiling

[Eclectic Dreck]

Decimate, meaning, to reduce by 1/10th ...If I hear one more guy talk about getting decimated on a game and his screen is utterly devoid of troops I will punch a kitten. Also, Irony, good god why can't people use it right any more?

The literal and most correct definition is exactly what you say here. Of course, the more commonly used definition is to "kill a large number". Even when you look past this one example, you'll find that various words for destruction often have very specific military meanings. If one "neutralize" a unit it simply means that said unit has suffered 10% fatalities and ~30% casualties and, as a result, will be unable to maneuver effectively at their stated size (like a battalion) for a brief period of time (several hours to several days). A battalion that has been neutralize can quickly reorganize to a battalion minus configuration and general maneuver and operate in the same capacity. To Destroy a unit simply requires inflicting 20% fatal injuries and 60% total casualties. Such a unit will be unable to maneuver at their stated size for the foreseeable future. A battalion that has been annihilated for example could conceivably attempt to maneuver as a company but without significant reinforcement they cannot be expected to operate a a battalion. To annihilate a unit simply requires inflicting 40% fatal injuries and 80%+ total casualties. Such a unit is generally no longer one that can be reinforced to full strength and is most often completely rebuilt from scratch. An annihilated battalion could, at best, hope to maneuver as a company minus, or essentially a few reinforced platoons.

 

[Eren Murtaugh]

You're welcome, and I ended up looking it up because I visited Kentucky and had never heard that word before untill someone called my friend a "******" so I looked it up, and I wondered about the illogical hypocrasy of it. P.S. If I misspelled anything with this post, or used impropar grammer, sorry. Didn't get much sleep. My cat is in heat. Anyone who has a cat or has ever had a cat knows what I mean.

 

[Rusty Bucket]

Bemuse and irregardless. I also hate how ironic and sarcastic is thrown around so much.

Oh christ. Irregardless isn't a word. The one you're looking for is regardless. That 'less' on the end is a negative modifier, as is the 'ir' you stuck on the front. You've turned it into a double negative.

 

[II2]

Decimate, meaning, to reduce by 1/10th ...If I hear one more guy talk about getting decimated on a game and his screen is utterly devoid of troops I will punch a kitten. Also, Irony, good god why can't people use it right any more?

3 a : to reduce drastically especially in number b : to cause great destruction or harm to

This is probably the most common usage of the term, and it's mostly correct. M W online for ref.

 

[Lord Monocle Von Banworthy]

My pet peeve is of a taboo word.
******.
Dictionary definition: A rude, immoral, or otherwise ignorant person.

I'm going to resurrect this thread to say absolutely NO. There's no dictionary that says that.

Here's http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/****** breaking it down for you:
---------------
Definition of ******
1
usually offensive; see usage paragraph below : a black person
2
usually offensive; see usage paragraph below : a member of any dark-skinned race
3
: a member of a socially disadvantaged class of persons <it's time for somebody to lead all of America's niggers?all the people who feel left out of the political process ? Ron Dellums>
Usage Discussion of ******
****** in senses 1 and 2 can be found in the works of such writers of the past as Joseph Conrad, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens, but it now ranks as perhaps the most offensive and inflammatory racial slur in English. Its use by and among blacks is not always intended or taken as offensive, but, except in sense 3, it is otherwise a word expressive of racial hatred and bigotry.
Origin of ******
alteration of earlier neger, from Middle French negre, from Spanish or Portuguese negro, from negro black, from Latin niger
First Known Use: 1786
------------------
The word means "black." It always has. I once spent 40 miles arguing with a trucker over this by CB radio. We had almost come to an agreement over which truck stop we were going to park in for our fistfight when good sense finally prevailed. Elementary school children invented the ******=ignorant myth so they'd have an excuse to say it.

 

[wordsmith]

I dont really have a pet peeve about people using words in the wrong sense; mostly because Im guilty of it myslef, no doubt. Though I do get irked when people use the word "gay". No, not because im a homosexual and I get affended by it, but having almost been an english major, I have a fondness for old english literatury (I think I killed that word, cause I also cant spell worth a damn in some cases... would that be ironic?) I would love to know how "gay" became a derogatory term when it originally meant "happy".

Oh, kiddo... I apologise for this in advance. I did English Lit at AS level (ages 16-18, achieved a B overall), which I'm guessing is on par with your "English major"... Aside from people not using apostrophes or capitalising "English", the one thing that annoys me is incorrect etymology. Literature gives the root "litera" (as in "of letters"), so "literary" is the word for related matters... I know this might come across as an attack, absolutely not meant as one, I came in to state my views and a perfect example fell into my lap. Apologies again.

Having said that, I know one of my downfalls is over complicating sentences by not using enough periods. The problem is that I was taught to write as I would read it, and I tend to ramble when I talk.

 

[ajofflight]

For me, it's not so much what people SAY, it's how they SPELL it.
Their, There, and They're are three different words. LEARN THEM.
Also, its and it's.
And to, two, and too.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Decimate, meaning, to reduce by 1/10th ...If I hear one more guy talk about getting decimated on a game and his screen is utterly devoid of troops I will punch a kitten. Also, Irony, good god why can't people use it right any more?

Irony is misused because there are two different applications of the word. First, you have dramatic irony, which is when the words and actions of the characters of a work of literature have a different meaning for the reader than they do for the characters. This is the result of the reader having a greater knowledge than the characters themselves. Then you have every day irony in the flesh which is still the use of a word with a different meaning than its literal intention.

The concept is the same either way, but the way irony in a book is demonstrated would often result in an assertion of coincidence in normal life.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

For me, it's not so much what people SAY, it's how they SPELL it.
Their, There, and They're are three different words. LEARN THEM.
Also, its and it's.
And to, two, and too.

A flier posted upon each and every billboard on the University of Texas campus asked me to ". . .bring you're A-game."

 

[ajofflight]

For me, it's not so much what people SAY, it's how they SPELL it.
Their, There, and They're are three different words. LEARN THEM.
Also, its and it's.
And to, two, and too.

A flier posted upon each and every billboard on the University of Texas campus asked me to ". . .bring you're A-game."

Off to Texas to kick some ass.

 

[Frankfurter4444]

Decadent.

I get that one definition of decadence describes overindulgence in the extremely fine quality; but all the definitions, even the high quality one, define decadence as a decline into decay.

To use decadence to describe chocolate and other foods may technically be true from a health perspective, but that isn't the definition the cook is intending to use when he talks about his cake; and it sure as hell isn't the definition intended by the house's realtor or the car's designer. They mean "high class" not "the destruction of the high class."

 

[Fraught]

Decimate, meaning, to reduce by 1/10th ...If I hear one more guy talk about getting decimated on a game and his screen is utterly devoid of troops I will punch a kitten. Also, Irony, good god why can't people use it right any more?

damn you ninja.

anyway, yeah, decimate. i hear people say it all the time as in total destruction. it's really bad when i tell them what decimate actually means and then they don't believe me. god.

/slaps the non-believers

I think you both should look that word up in a dictionary (preferably multiple).

 

[Mechsoap]

I hate it when people mispronounce the word Manga.

It is pronounced "Mon-guh" not "Main-guh"

It pisses me off to no end.

ma-n-ga, really.

-m

i always thought you just said mango but with an a in the end instead of o

 

[ExileNZ]

This one's easy: Anglo-Saxon. As far as I'm concerned they're a tribe that died out 1000 years ago.

This is, in all honesty, not historically accurate. But it's a shitload more accurate than how the French use it. Constantly. In my face. Seriously every fucking DAY, people. (EDIT: I live in France, have done for 4 years - I'm not just hating on the French)

To the French, "Anglo-Saxon" means "person from an English-speaking country", be it England (duh), the US, Canada, South Africa, Australia or my own beloved New Zealand.

It's basically a catch-all word like "Eskimo", except that people are finally growing out of the latter, while "Anglo-Saxon" is, if anything, gaining momentum.

Is it that hard to use the word "anglophone"? I mean it literally means English-speaker. What more do you want?

 

[the Dept of Science]

I get fairly pissed off by people that don't understand that language is defined by usage and is constantly evolving. I'm looking at you people-complaining-about-decimate.

 

[tigermilk]

Objective: Your opinion is not objective, it is mediated by a number of variables and claiming objectivity does not add creedence to your claim.

Haven't got through all seven pages so apologies if I am repeating anyone.