Is there still a region where an older lady would say, "He carried me to the store?" (He gave her a ride to the store.) I always thought that was so cute.

We have some workmen in the house renovating the kitchen. I smile as they ask if they can "borrow the bathroom!" How does one do that?

'I have an older friend and she mentioned my generation's use of annoying when we really mean irritating.'

'Irritating' is synonymous with 'annoying'. What does she mean?

Snookums2, I think she means we overuse the word "annoying." I didn't state that very well, did I?

I understand "on purpose". In my mind there's no such thing as "ON accident"... it's "BY accident".

I will agree, people find things very 'annoying' these days!

"very unique"

lol. That sounds ... very PC!

I haven't looked at all the replies, but I strongly dislike the current use of "experience." "We want to maximize our customer's dining experience." "please tell us how we can improve your shopping experience."

Watching the Rolling Stones live is an experience. Jumping out of an airplane is an experience. Seeing the Mona Lisa is an experience.

Shopping, banking, the car wash and getting gas are errands. They are not experiences. Please stop trying to make them the highlight of my week!

'Please stop trying to make them the highlight of my week!'

I'll buy that. Please, just let me run my errands in peace and leave me alone! lol

Chisue, yes indeed people where I live say "carried" all the time. When I moved to the deep South some 45 years ago that term really stymied me. I'm sure my reply several times was "What wrong with him? Why id you need to carry him?"

There was also the term "crank the car" which I think has since been used elsewhere but in the South, but at that time I had not heard it. I happened to own a British sports car which did have a hand crank, the only type of car at that time that did.

I can't stand "reaching out" and "bae" either.

A couple of points about British accents- only the Estuarine (around London) accent has the glottal stop instead of the "tt" in words like "kitten" etc. There are dozens of British accents (just like there are dozens of US accents) and most of them pronounce all the letters- some of them even over-pronounce them :-) And "the" is not always left out, only in some regions and with some words. Brits don't go "to" holiday, they go "on" holiday.

When I was younger here it was common for other students at school to ask, "Can I lend your (whatever)?" "To whom do you wish to lend it?" I would reply to a blank look. Drove me nuts.

Exactly 312 people in the U.S. know the difference between insure and ensure. Only five people in English-speaking countries worldwide know how to properly use who and whom. Proper use of pronouns has become inscrutable to the majority of Americans, as has the concept of subject-verb agreement.

All of this is, literally, the worst thing to ever happen to the English language.

I watch Judge Judy and am sick to death of people saying "I seen him". I'm always stunned at people who confuse lend and borrow. Where does that come from? And one I saw today, the guy kept saying, "She was historical" instead of hysterical.

Interesting thread, sabbath7. I believe I' e detected casual hyperbole as your describing. Perhaps people should read more. Ha.

As for the other irritants or curiosities, let me hunt down my list.

a few years ago it seemed that so many people were using the word "incidences" instead of "instances".

One or more incidents -- equals "incidences"? Maybe it's fine, but it always sounded off to me.

"If I would've" (and variations) instead of, "If I had" or "had I".

I hear ~respectable broadcasters and talking heads using this conditional subjective combination. Cringe.

The ki--en or mi..en thing (omitting the "tt") is called a glottal stop.

See https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jUIRa0T0BV8

Yes, to what many have said about "ax" but with certain populations, I don't cringe -- just understand the origins. Not Chaucer, but a history of being kept from learning to read and write, then generational momentum.

Ax -- 'They All Ask'd for You'

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S1Vi795Wduc

Old timely expressions: one of my cousins would come out with dandies like, "and if she ever darkens my doorway..."

I love hearing yesteryear phrases like that.

Yes to the current use/abuse of 'literally'.

What about "floundered" versus "foundered" (or the gerund of each)?

Ryan Lochte -- "I over exaggerated that..."

Well, so, I got that. Some of our political candidates _are_ over-exaggerating.

Elmer a/k/a Snidely said: "I haven't been able to shake is that I feel a bit uncomfortable with Caucasian people with Southern accents."

I am a southern Caucasion with a southern accent and take great offense that you find southern accents racist -- what a terrible and ignorant generalization! Even if you realize it's wrong your reaction itself is a form of prejudice.

Let me tell you a story that I learned only recently when I thanked my Mother for raising us to be color blind at a time when her view were not the predominate views in the area. Imagine a four year old little girl standing on the front porch of a farming community in the Deep South in the mid-1930s watching groups of.children walking in opposite directions to their segregated schools. As she explained it to me, it just didn't make sense that children had to go to different school based upon the color of their skin. That thought stuck with her as she grew and influenced her outlook on racism.. As a young mother she fought the evils of segregation campaigning against Orville Faubus (creator of the Central High School tragedy) and voting Repulican for the first time in her life. (I can tell you for sure that she won't be voting for the Rupulican nominee this year!) I was about 4 at that time and remember vividly remember my parents reaction. I also remember how they treated people of all races.

A few years later, even though Mom had gone to a college prep boarding school and had always intended to send her children there for high school because the very small farming town I grew up in had very limited offerings in its schools (no chemistry, physics, or foreign languages were offered), she and my father were so afraid of white flight that they decided to lead by example and keep us in the local high school even though they knew that it was at the sacrifice of our education. But the sacrifice was worth it because what we learned were more important life lessons of doing what was right and setting examples for our own children and others. There were emany more like my Mom in the south and they also raised children and grandchildren of and even great grandchildren who share her values and respect for equality and dignity of all.

I could say a lot more and give many more examples of Caucasion southerners fighting to end racism, But next time you hear a southern accent and automatically assume the speaker is racist take a moment to reflect back on that little girl from the 1930s. Yes, sadly racism and bigotry still exist and it's not only limited to those with southern accents. And when you see it you should speak up -- just like my Mom did, with your voice, your vote and the example you set.

I don't assume anyone with a Southern accent must be part of a problem or an individual perpetrator of bigotry. What I said was hearing the accent makes me uncomfortable as a reminder of sentiments and actions I find distressing.

Those sentiments and actions aren't just curiosities of times past, they're present still. Of course, not just in the South and not just involving people who speak in a Southern way. The lingering problems are more prevalent and palpable there than they should be. I find that shocking and, yes, it makes me uncomfortable.

Elmer, are u talking about the southern drawl?

I saw an episode of Hoarders 2 weeks ago. The father & sons English was so poor the show had to use subtitles every time they spoke.

I grew up around this part of PA.and have lived here all my life except for a few years after I was married when I lived in northeast PA. A friend asked me if I got my order yet this week. I had no clue what she meant. She was asking if I went to the the grocery store for my weekly shopping. They in turn laughed at me calling my kids saying, "Come here once". I thought that was completely normal and probably still say it. It's my PA German roots. My grandmother would say..outen the lights.

Lily, how about "red up the table". Stands for ready up the table. Grandma is Pennsylvania Dutch.

Grandma also says "warsh" instead of wash.

And it's a crick not a creek.

Also Hawaii is pronounced how ay ya!

"I watch Judge Judy and am sick to death of people..."
Sorry to hear of your demise.

So many things already mentioned so I won't repeat. I have to turn the channel when the "news" casters and weatherguessers are always "tracking" something and talking about the things that are "trending". I tend to picture them "tracking" the storm with a bloodhound and a magnifying glass.

My late uncle was a born and raised Texan and never spoke with the heavy accent. I asked him (or "axed" him) why he's not always saying "yeowl" and the real heavy accent. He chuckled and said at times it's hard not to when you're around people who use and abuse it and the group who also force it. He went on to say he had to start watching his language much more carefully when he started working for his employer. He traveled all around the world and said if he "went in sounding like an inbred hillbilly" he'd lose all respect and the company would lose a lot of money. I found it so interesting and it stuck in my mind ever since. And during my stint in television I noticed how few major markets in heavily accented areas have primary news anchors with accents. Even people who drawl seem to want to get their news from people without accents. Very few people with major accents get to big markets. Things may have changed some since the money is getting tighter in news broadcasts but last I checked some stations, it was very noticeable.

Another irritant to me is the "cou-unt", "wou-unt", di-unt etc. Some people have been buying too many vowels.

Anyone who enjoyed the way Norm Crosby used to butcher the English language might also enjoy Philly Boy Jay's cooking videos, as do I. Don't forget your "alumina foy-you" and "new-doos" in dis. Sometimes you throw up your hands and just laugh at it.

My SIL's mother uses "inside of" instead of giving the day, date, etc.

I'm off work inside of this week. We're going on vacation inside of June.

I asked, "when is your daughter getting married? and she replies, "inside of October this year". I say, "okay, I'll be there sometime in October" and she says, "I hope so!".

no worries and surreal-it "seems" that we can hear the use of these words daily.

cynic...I hope you'll come to my funeral! :)

maxmom -- Glad to hear someone is still 'carrying on'. (sorry)

Going off on a tangent here: I was an adult before I deciphered my grandmother's euphemism about why they moved from the country to the city when my mother was about fourteen.

It broke my mother's heart to leave the quiet farm and live in a rough neighborhood in the city. When I asked Gram why they moved, she said, "The bulls were getting over the fences."

(Clue: My mother's age.)

"The kids these days" love to use "spirit animal" all the time now. As in, "Miley Cyrus is my spirit animal!"

smh...

Pawprint - If we're talking about a little stream, where I live it is creek (creak) and definitely not crick.

Pawprint, my mother has said warsh for wash all her life. And crick for creek. Wolf is 'wuv' and I don't know why.

She is from Missouri, raised in Kansas. Both my mother and father were sticklers for correct grammar when I was growing up, but that didn't necessarily extend to her pronunciation ;0)

I have two that drive me up the wall. Newsreaders using the word "actually" as in "we are actually on the scene" well gee and here I thought you'd put together a fake backdrop to stand in front of; and the over-used and abused use of "hero". Athletes no matter how good they are at their sport are not heroes!

When I was in the US Navy, I was stationed in The Philippines for a year. Tagalog was the local dialect and was common everywhere. However, some of the locals who worked on our base had some problems with American English as it was their second (or third) language. They tried to get some of the idiosyncrasies of what we say, but sometimes just came up short.

My supervisor had as his last name - Crisp. Almost all of those civilians called him "Crips" as they had been taught that the 's' comes at the end of a word. I wonder if some folks say 'ax' for ask because of the same reason. As they learned English on their new continent, the 's' was supposed to be at the end, thus 'ask' became 'aks" (which sounds like 'ax'). Could be, who knows!

I was reading an article in the paper about the earthquake in Italy. Something professionally written got to me yet again. The number of people searching for survivors is "some 2,000" and there were "some 154" deaths reported so far. What? Why use the word some? Either there were 154 or there wasn't. How about - "More than 2,000 volunteers have discovered 154 bodies so far. Higher numbers are expected." Don't use the word "some" when a definitive number is known; maybe about or near or some other word can be used rather than 'some' when trying to establish a number in a news story.

Pawprint, here in Ontario, people don't tend to drop 'the' unless it's with regard to attending a Sunday service. It would be stated "I'm going to church this Sunday."

This is a bit off topic, but I've always been confused by the difference between what the U.S. and Canada call their institutions of learning. For example, here in Canada, my son, who attended the "University of Toronto" would say "I majored in Philosophy at university." I, on the other hand, attended a place called "St. Clair College" so I'd always say "I became a Paralegal when I graduated college in '76." The names "University" and "College" aren't used interchangeably here.

Yet I often hear an American on t.v. saying "I had such fun in college" only to hear moments later that they attended the University of Michigan, for example. Are the two words just used interchangeably in the States?

This is such an entertaining thread. Thanks for starting it, Sabbath. The one thing (in addition to all of the above) that I've noticed recently is similar to the use of "narrative" by the media speaking about the current political goings-on. The other thing they say now is something being an "optic" as in how, whatever the person did, is going to look. I hate hearing it.

I really miss my dad. He always said a lot of funny things (not meant to be funny, just the way he talked). He and my mom used to call blocks (as in, walking 3 "blocks"), squares. They walked squares. And he called the Cincinnati Reds the "Bloomer Girls". But I suspect that is because they weren't doing very well at that particular time. :)

One funny thing I remember is my older brother moving to North Carolina and how shocked he was the first time he had a meeting with a woman for work and she said she would "get up" with him in the morning!!! LOL It still makes me laugh today.

I find local dialects and regional sayings to be very interesting and fun to hear.

pickyshopper, community colleges, formerly called junior colleges, usually offer the first two years of a 4 year program (leading to a Bachelors degree) and also offer vocational programs as you described for yourself. Their terminal degree is usually the AA (Associate of Arts) or a program certificate. Someone completing two years in an academic program would transfer to a different school for the final two years.

Universities grant undergrad BAs and BSs (and their equivalent), graduate degrees (masters and PhDs) and usually conduct research. Universities also typically offer graduate professional programs for MDs, dentists, lawyers, etc.

A "college" with no further adjectives in the name would be a school that focuses on undergraduate 4 year Bachelors degrees. But it's fluid, because for example while both Columbia and Harvard are universities with broad programs, they call their undergrad operations Columbia College and Harvard College.

Someone who completed a 2 year program would say they went to Community College. Someone with a Bachelors degree would usually use the terms college and university interchangeably when not referring to the institution itself.

To take it a step beyond what was just written, a student can be enrolled in the College of Business, or the College of Social Work. Both are part of the university. Since I was asked not to return, I left college after only one year. Others, who stayed, got their degrees from the university.

Pickyshopper, but you did drop the "the".

My son, who attended the "University of Toronto" would say "I majored in Philosophy at university."

We would say I majored in philosophy at the university.

But yes, we do say the word college over university.

I agree with Jim. In that use, College is an interchangeable replacement for Department or School, which other institutions might use.

You were asked not to return?

I think college is used to state that one attends/attended an institute of higher learning, be it a college or university. People would say, "I'm in college" whether they are attending a community college or a 4 year college or a university. It's a generic term for higher education. Same as asking a high schooler, "Are you going to college?" or "What college have you selected?"

" ... and she was, like ...", meaning that she "said" ... (and Lord only knows what the "like" means).

But I seem to have heard it on a number of occasions, with very few distinguishing characteristics as to what its actual meaning might be.

Absolutely!

ole joyful

Could be regional differences, olychick, because your description isn't how it's used here. A high school-er asked the "Are you going" question would say "Yes, I'm going to Foothill" (local community college), not just "Yes". Or "I'm going to Foothill now and hope to transfer to X".

"Did you go to college" is most normally to ask if the person has a 4 year degree. Here in my area. Someone doing a vocational program at a community college (many are terrific) would answer the question "I'm in the Dental Hygiene program at X"

My bad!! ...

I meant we would say, "Are you going to college?" not as they do in Canada, "Are you going to University?" College is used as a generic term for higher ed. No one I've ever heard in any part of the country (US) would say, "My kid is away at university (although they might say the name of the college or university). We say, "My kid is away at college."

Thanks Elmer, for your assistance. I think your last sentence explains it best for me. "Someone with a Bachelors degree would usually use the terms college and university interchangeably when not referring to the institution itself."

That confirms that we do differ in that sense, as anyone in Canada who received a Bachelors degree always refers to 'having had fun back in university' for example, and 'having had fun in college' would only be said by those like me, who attended a college, and do not have a Bachelors Degree.

I'm thinking it probably comes from our British roots, as anyone there or in Australia refer to (for example) taking a year off before 'Uni' or 'College' but don't tend to use them interchangeably either, if I'm correct.

I was once interviewing a young man, before the days of internet, when the first time you saw their resume was when they handed it to you. During the interview he mentioned he joined some committee in 'college' and I stopped him there and politely advised him that the job he was interviewing for required a university degree. He promptly showed me his resume, which confirmed he was indeed a university graduate, of Penn State. I explained that in Canada, we always refer to our experience attending a university as such, rather than referring to it as 'college' in order to differentiate the two. He fit all the requirements and got the job!

Pawprint, looks like you did find another example (here in Canada) of dropping 'the' aside from saying "I'm going to church this Sunday" because Canadians also wouldn't say "I majored in Philosophy at the university" they'd just say 'at (or in) university.'

"olychick, yes it's exactly the opposite in Canada. Everyone here says "my kid is away at university." I guess that's because if their child is attending a college, it's usually local, but many cities here don't have universities, so a large portion of students attending them could be from anywhere in the country.

Elmer,

Yeah, the school where I matriculated sent me a nice letter after my freshman year that indicated that I should seriously evaluate my time at their great school and what my future could hold. They didn't really dismiss me, but it was a nice way of letting me know that I would not be a welcome addition to their student enrollment that autumn.

It wasn't too long after, that the Selective Service got hold of me and asked that I report for a pre-induction physical. Oops! I went to see the Navy Recruiter and that was the end of the US Army and going to Viet Nam. Interestingly, when my four years were coming to a conclusion, the Navy did not encourage me to stay. I guess that I had not learned from one place to another.

I wouldn't say Aussies _never_ refer to "college" but I can't recall ever hearing it. You either go to "Uni" or you don't. There are a few tertiary institutions calling themselves "X College" but they are usually subject-specific, eg "Australian Hospitality College" for hotel workers etc. Someone attending one of those wouldn't say they were going to "college", they'd say they were going to "Aussie Hospitality".

Pickyshopper, we would say "what college are u going to" or "my kids in college".

Now in Canada, do you go to hospital or "the" hospital. Do you go to market or go to "the" market?

Maybe we overuse the word the "the"? It is usually an extra but not necessary word.

Also I hear people say they Hoover the carpet instead of vacuum.

I go grocery shopping or to "the" grocery store.

I occasionally vacuum but never Hoover. I've never heard that term as a verb.

My friend from England Hoovered her floors.

Pawprint, I hesitate to speak for all Canadians, but I personally would say "I'm going to the hospital" and "I'm going to the market." Yet for some reason, I think most Canadians (who attend Sunday services) would drop 'the' and just say "I'm going to church this Sunday" and those attending university would drop 'the' and just say "I'm going away to university next month."

Buuuuuut, now that I really think about it, it seems that when one drops 'the' in these cases, it tends to make the next word, which is a noun, seem to transform into a verb, IYKWIM.

So in the two examples I used above, when 'the' is dropped from the sentence, it then sounds like 'church' and 'university' become something the person is going to do, (i.e. verb) rather than a place (noun) they plan to attend. So maybe 'the' should never be dropped at all, but I'm no grammar expert!

What rock have I been living under that I have never heard the tern 'double down' until this political season?