Words or phrases that annoy you (even if you can't explain why) . . .

Just got a text that reads "You'll def be kept in the loop, we'd love to have ya." Which is of course very nice of this person to include me, but I have two problems:
  1. "Def" for definitely
  2. "Ya" for you
 
Here's a few sentences, as frequented by self proclaimed "influencers", that make me cringe:

- "I've been using XYZ on a daily basis, like, for-e-vah"
(which I translate as "I used this thing yesterday because the XYZ manufacturer paid me to do so)

- "This has soooo totally changed my life"
(sure, I bet they use that sentence at least once a week)

And simply calling these phrases "clickbait" doesn't change it for me.
 
None of these are as bad as:
"This bad boy has been my daily driver for a month!" and
"This [product] is a game-changer!"
And of course you can't forget about "LET'S GET STARTED!"

Then there are the cringy titles of videos:
"Lenovo Legion 1-month Review: ALMOST AS GOOD AS WE THOUGHT?!"
"Cozy, aesthetic apartment tour" - give me a break.
"Day in the life of a 17-year-old streamer. Aesthetic Christmas shopping, ..." Aesthetic is one of those words that has lost all meaning because of YouTube and TikTok.
"How Becoming a Dad at 20 CHANGED MY LIFE" - Yes, this is seriously an actual video I came across.

Oh, but it gets worse:
"MUST WATCH: ENORMOUS FISH WASHES UP ON FLORIDA COAST" and
"🔴 EXCLUSIVE: Thunderbolt 5 Dock Unboxing and Review"

And don't even get me started on thumbnails...
 
Last edited:
rm5 said:
None of these are as bad as:
"This bad boy has been my daily driver for a month!" and
"This [product] is a game-changer!"
And of course you can't forget about "LET'S GET STARTED!"

Then there are the cringy titles of videos:
"Lenovo Legion 1-month Review: ALMOST AS GOOD AS WE THOUGHT?!"
"Cozy, aesthetic apartment tour" - give me a break.
"Day in the life of a 17-year-old streamer. Aesthetic Christmas shopping, ..." Aesthetic is one of those words that has lost all meaning because of YouTube and TikTok.
"How Becoming a Dad at 20 CHANGED MY LIFE" - Yes, this is seriously an actual video I came across.

Oh, but it gets worse:
"MUST WATCH: ENORMOUS FISH WASHES UP ON FLORIDA COAST" and
"🔴 EXCLUSIVE: Thunderbolt 5 Dock Unboxing and Review"

And don't even get me started on thumbnails...
Click to expand...
One weird trick...
You've been doing this wrong...
You won't believe...
How to Lower Your Cholesterol...

If there is one thing that guarantees my avoidance of a video, or article, it is when they assume they know anything about me.

It's not weird and it's not a trick - if I already know and understand it. I don't want tricks. If anything, I simply want techniques that work and are appropriate.

They have no idea whether I've been doing something wrong (in their eyes).

Probably true that I won't believe, but watching or reading won't change that!

My cholesterol is so low some bona fide medical sites would class me as being hypocholesterolaemic.

All these annoy me intensely.
 
Oh my god, how did I forget about all that?!

"This weird hack will restore all your health in 24 hours!"
"Dentists don't want you to know about this secret hack"

Geez, talk about bad medical advice...

I've also been seeing this ad lately that says, "So my wife just gave me this new kitchen knife as a Christmas gift. GOD I LOVE HER!" I always click "Skip Ad" right after that line, but I don't even want to know how cringe the rest of it is.
 
Last edited:
I find "headline language" in general to be irritating, because it's so blatantly a ploy for clicks, often behind a paywall (even MacRumors is guilty of it):

"Here's what you need to know". Really, you know what I need? :rolleyes:

"People are furious about X, Y, Z. Here's why."

And "here's why" I'm not gonna click on your clickbait. ;)
 
VisceralRealist said:
I find "headline language" in general to be irritating, because it's so blatantly a ploy for clicks, often behind a paywall (even MacRumors is guilty of it):
Click to expand...
Agreed.
VisceralRealist said:
"Here's what you need to know". Really, you know what I need? :rolleyes:

"People are furious about X, Y, Z. Here's why."

And "here's why" I'm not gonna click on your clickbait. ;)
Click to expand...
"Furious"?

Really?

When I read this drivel - and it is not just click bait drivel, but drivel attempting - with a sort of insane inflation (and devaluation) in the use of emotional language ("furious??", rather than a more realistic "irked", or "annoyed") to evoke an immediate and emotional response from the reader.
 
what is most annoying these days is a general lack of punctuation.
without which, the intended meaning can easily be misconstrued.
example:
he helped uncle jack, off his horse.
or, as AOC declared - abolish capitalism. use lowercase instead
 
halledise said:
what is most annoying these days is a general lack of punctuation.
without which, the intended meaning can easily be misconstrued.
example:
he helped uncle jack, off his horse.
or, as AOC declared - abolish capitalism. use lowercase instead
Click to expand...
Lynn Truss - you may recall her wonderful book "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation" - actually addressed that very subject in the actual title of her best known work.

In any case, I am in complete agreement with you.
 
what about all lowercase and no punctuation this is literally how ive seen people text before they write entire paragraphs like this note the lack of any capitalization punctuation or apostrophes etc how am i supposed to understand anything theyre saying its very annoying
 
hi. it's me. i hate capitals. i really, really, do, but i will use them if i really need to (and i am 50 years old - i understand when i need to). i am a casual person, and feel that using lower case makes things way less formal.

however, i am a diehard user of punctuation (except sometimes i leave off a . at the end of a text to my kids or an ig group chat). long live the oxford comma.
 
mollyc said:
hi. it's me. i hate capitals. i really, really, do, but i will use them if i really need to (and i am 50 years old - i understand when i need to). i am a casual person, and feel that using lower case makes things way less formal.

however, i am a diehard user of punctuation (except sometimes i leave off a . at the end of a text to my kids or an ig group chat). long live the oxford comma.
Click to expand...
Just use majuscules instead? :)
 
2 Capitals most/some/a few people are in favour of … Capitalism and Capital punishment.
no - not the hanging kind but rather insisting on using CAPITALS.
americans have something called the Capitol - unsure if it's a spelling error or an unnecessary fixture ;)
 
mollyc said:
hi. it's me. i hate capitals.
Click to expand...
Perhaps it is just as well that you were not born German.

Now, that is a language that loves capital letters.
mollyc said:
i really, really, do, but i will use them if i really need to (and i am 50 years old - i understand when i need to).
Click to expand...
Personally, I dislike - actually, deeply dislike - sentences without proper punctuation.

They strike me as careless and casual, casual of language and perhaps, casual re the recipient.

More to the point, I will take a message written thus a lot less seriously (and treat it a lot less urgently) than I will a message that has been composed and written correctly. If someone chooses not to write (to me) properly, then, I can (and will) choose not to take their written remarks seriously. If they prefer not to respect language (above all, when this is a deliberate choice, which is not the case with someone who suffers from, for example, dyslexia) then, I choose not to respect what they have written, and not take it terribly seriously.

Is this judgmental? Yes, but it is a judgment that I am entitled to make. If someone writes sloppy, casual and deliberately careless sentences, I reserve the right to draw my own conclusions.

And, had they foolishly done so in a term essay or paper submitted for a course I taught, in the days when I graced the groves of academe, they would have read my copious and far from complimentary remarks in the margins and at the end of the essay.

Do I make exceptions? Of course, yes, close friends and family are excused (with rolled eyes) - but, as it happens, close friends and family (most of whom are voracious readers, and thus, appreciative of, and respectful of, the written word) actually tend to write proper (grammatically correct) emails and texts.
mollyc said:
i am a casual person, and feel that using lower case makes things way less formal.
Click to expand...
Perhaps your recipient is not a casual person.

And, unless it is someone who is a close friend or a family member - why on Earth would you wish to make things "less formal"?

This presupposes a familiarity for which there is no evidence - or may not be any evidence - in the relationship in question; personally, I dislike the assumption of familiarity - or assumed informality - unless the context allows for it, and yes, unless I have consented to this - inferred or otherwise.

I'm not casual or informal, and people who assume informality - without the context of the specific relationship allowing for it, through evolution, or personal preference, if it is not already presupposed by context (friends, family), close professional ties (friends you develop through common professional experiences and interests), people you become close to through mutual interests, and so on, and other forms of consent - are, in my experience, sometimes people who have issues with accepting the boundaries (formal and informal) set by others.

Now, perhaps this is a cultural (as in, UK vs US) difference - I don't know and cannot say; and, it may also be a matter of temperament - for I am reserved and fairly introverted by nature.

However, I do deeply dislike the automatic assumption of informality and casual familiarity on the part of someone else, that someone can arrogate to themselves an assumption on the nature of a relationship, (which may neither be shared nor reciprocal) and for them to act accordingly seems to me to be quite presumptuous.


mollyc said:
however, i am a diehard user of punctuation (except sometimes i leave off a . at the end of a text to my kids or an ig group chat). long live the oxford comma.
Click to expand...
Agree re the Oxford comma.
mollyc said:
frankly, i think speaking in passive agressive tones about someone when you could be candid be shows direct disrespect for the intended recipient(s). particularly when an expressed opinion is already offered. are some people just afraid of being forthright? why?
Click to expand...
Disrespect can be expressed in many different ways; I tend to have limited (indeed, little) respect for messages I receive which are - to my eye - poorly written.

Yes, as a former academic, I will make excuses for - allow for - a lack of education, limited literacy, or problems - such as dyslexia - but, am rather unforgiving when such actions are a result of a deliberate action, or choice.

One (or anyone) may choose to write in such a manner, but the manner of writing will influence my response.
 
Last edited:
Comma splices — or any fundamental misuse of commas for that matter.

Want to use them for effect or clarity, even if not quite grammatically correct? Go for it.

Want to indiscriminately use them in a wantonly abuseful way? Get thee to a Harbrace College Handbook with haste!
 
DaveFromCampbelltown said:
OR YOU COULD WRITE THE WAY THE ANCIENT LATINS DID WITH NO LOWERCASE AND NO PUNCTUATION
INFACTINEARLERTIMESTHEYDIDNTUSESPACINGEITHER
Click to expand...

Romanes eunt domus (People called 'Romanes' they go the house???)
No! (Said John Cleese as a Roman Centurion/Latin teacher to Judean People's Front revolutionary Graham Chapman)
Romani ite domum!!!!

Now write it a hundred times!
Click to expand...

Love that team, the series and the films.

I have to say, while using foreign phrases in English can be appropriate but can also sound pretentious.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Perhaps it is just as well that you were not born German.

Now, that is a language that loves capital letters.

Personally, I dislike - actually, deeply dislike - sentences without proper punctuation.

They strike me as careless and casual, casual of language and perhaps, casual re the recipient.

More to the point, I will take a message written thus a lot less seriously (and a lot less urgently) than I will a message that has been composed and written correctly. If someone chooses not to write (to me) properly, then, I can (and will) choose not to take their written remarks seriously. If they prefer not to respect language (above all, when this is a deliberate choice, which is not the case with someone who suffers from, for example, dyslexia) then, I choose not to respect what they have written, and not take it terribly seriously.

Is this judgmental? Yes, but it is a judgment that I am entitled to make. If someone writes sloppy, casual and deliberately careless sentences, I reserve the right to draw my own conclusions.

And, had they foolishly done so in a term essay or paper submitted for a course I taught, in the days when I graced the groves of academe, they would have read my copious and far from complimentary remarks in the margins and at the end of the essay.

Do I make exceptions? Of course, yes, close friends and family are excused (with rolled eyes) - but, as it happens, close friends and family (most of whom are voracious readers, and thus, appreciative of, and respectful of, the written word) actually tend to write proper (grammatically correct) emails and texts.

Perhaps your recipient is not a casual person.

And, unless it is someone who is a close friend or a family member - why on Earth would you wish to make things "less formal"?

This presupposes a familiarity for which there is no evidence - or may not be any evidence - in the relationship in question; personally, I dislike the assumption of familiarity - or assumed informality - unless the context allows for it, and yes, unless I have consented to this - inferred or otherwise.

I'm not casual or informal, and people who assume informality - without the context of the specific relationship allowing for it, through evolution, or personal preference, if it is not already presupposed by context (friends, family), close professional ties (friends you develop through common professional experiences and interests), people you become close to through mutual interests, and so on, and other forms of consent - are, in my experience, sometimes people who have issues with accepting the boundaries (formal and informal) set by others.

Now, perhaps this is a cultural (as in, UK vs US) difference - I don't know and cannot say; and, it may also be a matter of temperament - for I am reserved and fairly introverted by nature.

However, I do deeply dislike the automatic assumption of informality and casual familiarity on the part of someone else, that someone can arrogate to themselves an assumption of the nature of a relationship, (which may neither be shared nor reciprocal) and for them to act accordingly seems to me to be quite presumptuous.



Agree re the Oxford comma.

Disrespect can be expressed in many different ways; I tend to have limited (indeed, little) respect for messages I receive which are - to my eye - poorly written.

Yes, as a former academic, I will make excuses for - allow for - a lack of education, limited literacy, or problems - such as dyslexia - but, am rather unforgiving when such actions are a result of a deliberate action, or choice.

One (or anyone) may choose to write in such a manner, but the manner of writing will influence my response.
Click to expand...
The good news is I really don't need the approval of anyone on MacRumors, nor do I take it very seriously. If my worst failing is sometimes not using capitals, then so be it. Judge as ye wish. But much like people with "too many piercings" or tattoos, if you aren't into those sorts of things, people are more than one thing. And just because I sometimes type more casually doesn't mean I am any less knowledgeable about a specific subject.

I offered my opinion on why I don't use capitals. I understand that people are free to dismiss me when I don't. But my entire life I've colored within the lines and followed the rules and grown up with stiff shoes and formal dinnerware. I avoided getting china and silver as a wedding gift. I ask people to take their shoes off when they come to my house. As a full fledged adult, I don't have to wear scratchy dresses or eat the gross food. I'm middled aged now. My kids are nearly grown. If avoiding capitals is the most egregious thing I do, I think I'm doing okay.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Back
Top