Oxford Researchers List Top 10 Most Annoying Phrases

[Kim]

Sunny -- I think it's the brainless computers affecting the quality of the newspapers. The Wall Street Journal used to be impeccably written, but no more. If a word is spelled correctly, but used incorrectly, the computer editor does not know the difference.

I thought "stepped foot" was a Britishism; whether correct or not, I don't know. Maybe John from Andalucia can comment?

Now for an ordinary expression that has been made crass: the word is "boatload" folks, not buttload! If this is a tv-ism, I missed the show that popularized this repulsive imagery.

[John in Andalucia]

Sunny -- I think it's the brainless computers affecting the quality of the newspapers. The Wall Street Journal used to be impeccably written, but no more. If a word is spelled correctly, but used incorrectly, the computer editor does not know the difference.

I thought "stepped foot" was a Britishism; whether correct or not, I don't know. Maybe John from Andalucia can comment?

Now for an ordinary expression that has been made crass: the word is "boatload" folks, not buttload! If this is a tv-ism, I missed the show that popularized this repulsive imagery.

I think Kim, "stepped foot" is just one of those misunderstood phrases. It is wrong, of course, where "set foot" is the correct phrase. Incidentally, a "stepped foot" and "stepped feet" describe features of antique glassware and furniture.

[SunnyFl]

Sunny -- I think it's the brainless computers affecting the quality of the newspapers. The Wall Street Journal used to be impeccably written, but no more. If a word is spelled correctly, but used incorrectly, the computer editor does not know the difference.

I thought "stepped foot" was a Britishism; whether correct or not, I don't know. Maybe John from Andalucia can comment?

I think Kim, "stepped foot" is just one of those misunderstood phrases. It is wrong, of course, where "set foot" is the correct phrase. Incidentally, a "stepped foot" and "stepped feet" describe features of antique glassware and furniture.

Interesting - I never heard of the "stepped feet" of antique glassware - but yes, that would be the only correct use of "step foot." To "set foot" is correct, to "step foot" isn't.

Kim wrote,

Now for an ordinary expression that has been made crass: the word is "boatload" folks, not buttload! If this is a tv-ism, I missed the show that popularized this repulsive imagery.

'Tis true, it's "boatloads." I don't know where the alternative came from, but I heard it a lot on a Miami talk station in the 90's, so it's been around awhile.

I'm sure you're right about the newspapers' brainless computers. The papers cheap out by not hiring proofreaders - and spellcheck just doesn't cut it'.

Also - I'm quite fed up with seeing "fewer" and "less" used interchangeably. I'd like to see fewer instances of that. so do it less often.

[paulgila]

[Walter John]

I use the term "truckloads" truckloads of times. That will be hard to remove from my vocabulary.

[John in Andalucia]

Interesting - I never heard of the "stepped feet" of antique glassware - but yes, that would be the only correct use of "step foot." To "set foot" is correct, to "step foot" isn't.

Let me clarify that. Antique glassware can display a feature called a "stepped foot" not a "step foot" or "stepped feet". Antique furniture can display "stepped feet". I grew up in the Antiques trade.

[Neofolis]

I think the direction of education has changed; pass rates seem to be increasing constantly, yet there is an absence on fundamental knowledge in some areas. Last year there was a news report on the radio which stated, 50% of the UK population could not point at Italy on a map and 10% could not point at France. Whilst I found that astonishing, do most people need to know this?

Being able to express oneself clearly is obviously more important, but a language like English is always going to be open to misinterpretation.

A couple of news headlines that I recall seeing.

"IRA Shoot Dead Policeman" - Why shoot him, if he's already dead.

Pope Appeals To Prostitutes" - Prostitutes may have unusual taste.

[DoomsDave]

Oh, yes, spell checker, no bueno without proofreading.

My favorite resume came from an attorney who spent a summer in law school working on a "pubic interest fellowship." Were shots included?

Oh yes, Corey has well illustrated the dangers off too-pithy headlines.

Or my favorite school excuse note:

"Please excuse Jimmy for being absent from school yesterday. He had diarrhea and his boots leak . . . . "

(Ugh!)

[palmmermaid]

Here in the US we can blame the dumbing down of education on the No Child Left Behind program. Just promote them even if they can't meet the basic requirements. Just lower the standards - again.

They can't add, can't write a complete sentence, can't spell, can't problem-solve, can't do any of the things needed to get along in the real world.

While spell-checking is a great tool, it should be combined with a grammer checker as well. I very often see a word spelled correctly but used incorrectly. Proofreading is vital. But we are assuing the proofreader knows enough about the English language to spot the errors!