Commonly Used Words That Don't Exist

Discussion in 'The Chatterbox' started by DaltonGang, Feb 9, 2022.

  1. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    Back when I was growing up, the word "pissah" was commonly used to take place of "great". I didn't care for it, I just kept saying "great"...so what if I stood out in a crowd.
     
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  2. Ijustmissedthe50s

    Ijustmissedthe50s The Warnee

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  3. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

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  4. PanChango

    PanChango Not Cute

    I am not defending those folks which are not using it correctly and most likely want a different word. I learned it on a morning commute radio show a few years ago. It surprised me as well.
     
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  5. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    Ahem... "who/whom" or "that" in reference to people. Preferably "who/whom." "Which/ that which" is only used for non-people in that context.

    #grammar_police. ;)
     
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  6. PanChango

    PanChango Not Cute

    No means No Napoleon Dynamite!
     
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  7. Bax

    Bax Well-Known Member

    "Whenever," where the declarant intends to say "when."

    As in "whenever I went there the first time, it was beautiful!"
    I think this is a midwest thang.

    "Thang" instead of "thing," but I *use* that one!
    :)
    - Bax
     
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  8. ewk

    ewk Well-Known Member

  9. DrStrange

    DrStrange Well-Known Member

    Likewise, people frequently say "can't be underestimated"
    when they mean "shouldn't be underestimated" .

    The first one means "worthless" .
    The second means "significantly stronger than one would expect" .
     
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  10. DrStrange

    DrStrange Well-Known Member

    "suspect" is a word I've only heard used correctly by the news media
    maybe a dozen times
    over the past 50 years.

    If the first person that gets arrested for a crime,
    is the wrong person,
    then everything that the news said about what the suspect did
    was a lie.
     
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  11. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I may never get over the fact that “ginormous” has made it into the dictionary.
     
  12. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    I hope "egantic" follows suit.
     
  13. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    But not hugenormous? :(
     
  14. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    That one is an example of "one word sliding into two".
     
  15. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Moderates.
     
  16. DrStrange

    DrStrange Well-Known Member

    I can't read "okay" without wondering how they would spell "911"
     
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  17. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

     
  18. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    "911" has a funny history;.....watched someone on TV refer to 9-1-1 as "Nine-eleven". I have yet to see someone refer to September 11 as "Nine-one-one".
     
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  19. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    And when people stop saying that, it'll be taken out. You saw that here.
     
  20. Sara-s

    Sara-s This Pun for Hire

    I heard an interesting conflation yesterday. My sister described someone having mixed up "patootie" and "tush" to make "patushie".
     
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