Overused words

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YAYGR (yet another Yuri grammar rant)

Today's word: would.

For those who would frequently use the word, "would," I would tend to think that you would be able to eliminate the word, "would," from many of the instances where you would use it.

OR

If you frequently use the word, "would," try leaving it out. You might be surprised at how often you include it needlessly.

I'm not sure if it's because including "would" makes people feel like they're speaking/writing in a more sophisticated manner or if it's an attempt to soften the blow of an otherwise harsh opinion, but I've noticed that it's being used with increasing frequency. Even worse is the heinous combination, "would tend." More examples:

"I would tend to agree."
Just say, "I agree."

"I would think."
Try, "I think." Even better, if you're expressing your opinion, don't even include, "I think." It denotes insecurity.

"I would recommend."
How about, "I recommend?"

/YAYGR (for today)
 
Even better, if you're expressing your opinion, don't even include, "I think." It denotes insecurity.

/YAYGR (for today)


It could also denote a stance that doesn't portray one as an authority.

I think it may be better to dance with shoes.

It is better to dance with shoes.

The former denotes that I am not an authority, therefore I am merely relaying what I personally would suggest. (Would being used here "in the event of")

The latter assumes I have some authority on the matter, but that would also be contingent upon how I choose to be perceived. If I am being careful to not relay false information, this would hold true. Otherwise, I'd agree with your statement fully although it could mean that the individual thinks more highly of him/herself than what he/she actually knows.

:D
 
Mine is WHATNOT!

What the hell does that mean? It's 2 words, improperly combined, and used at the end of a sentence by people who are either too stupid, or too lazy to find a useful way to end a sentence. Pay attention to people that say WHATNOT! You will find that not only is it irritating, but they are usually very ineffective communicators, and will also use the term "LIKE I SAID" a lot. They have to state their point over and over because they did not clarify their intentions and instead used the mononym WHATNOT.

Some people just need a smack!
 
I would think that there are more useful things to be doing with your time than playing grammar police. It would (needed here) be nice if you built some more cool stuff and showed us pictures of it. I would have thought that you could be making something out of wood, would you do so?

I never would have thought that would could be used so excessively and I would think that for most of us it doesn't register.

I would hope that you aren't too annoyed by my post, and would not use your moderator powers in a way that I would think was too harsh.

Have a good day Yuri!
 
I would agree with you in most instances, but "would tend to agree" kind of changes the meaning of what a person is saying. At least if I said something like that I would mean that in most cases I agree but maybe not is this one.
 
Yuri, you sound like my Journalism professor! He always said, "If you can say it in less words and not lose meaning, then do it!". The funny thing was, you didn't lose depth or feeling in your writing by being breif. In fact, your writing came out more concise, readable, and effective.
 
"would tend to agree" kind of changes the meaning of what a person is saying
Indeed, when used properly. However, you'll likely find that many people use that phrase when they really just mean, "I agree."

BTW, I'm not the grammar police, nor am I picking on individuals or citing specific examples. It's just an observation I wanted to share, with the slight hope of helping a few people with their communication skills.
 
Indeed, when used properly. However, you'll likely find that many people use that phrase when they really just mean, "I agree."

I HATE THAT!

Either you AGREE or you DISAGREE! Be a man and state your opinion. Don't give me any platitudes or say "I'm not sure I agree". Just say "I DISAGREE!" Then we can move on with the conversation.
 
Yuri - Get TX to ban it but a little more sophisticated with a php script that evaluates after 2x usage in a post all subsequent one's are ***** out. ;)

I don't listen to rap but I hear it enough through various means (daughter/wife). Friggen songs with Shorty or Shawty as its said in it need to stop NOW!
 
If I say "I'm not sure I agree with that," it usually means that I don't THINK whatever we're talking about is right, but that I've got enough uncertainty to change my mind. It's an invitation to convince me I'm wrong. If I just say that I don't agree, it means that I know enough about the subject at hand to have a very solid opinion.
 
Cool. Another poor writing style rant. My turn.

How about people who start out by saying, 'I love it when....' and procede to tell you about something that clearly annoys them. Sarcasm needs to be biting and witty, not just contrary.

Oh, and Yuri... I agree. Now that you've identified it, I realize that it's something I need to work on. I also need to work on refraining from ending my sentences in a preposition.
 
If I say "I'm not sure I agree with that," it usually means that I don't THINK whatever we're talking about is right, but that I've got enough uncertainty to change my mind. It's an invitation to convince me I'm wrong. If I just say that I don't agree, it means that I know enough about the subject at hand to have a very solid opinion.

Yar. Agreed :D

You'll notice my verbiage often changes when the subject is near and dear to my heart. Quite often I operate in the realm of intuition, and then I purposefully make that distinction by alluding to the fact or idea "buyer beware" :D. Although, I am usually right :fro:

One other caveat is if the person was asked first or was just stating an opinion. If someone said "Hey zoebisch01, what do you think about dancing in shoes"? I'd probably respond along the lines of "I think it could be beneficial". If I were a dance instructor, my response would be something like "Don't wear shoes because it degrades your arch". But if I were the latter and said "I would think it could degrade the arch", well then that's just plain wishy-washy. :D
 
I overuse a lot of words in an attempt to come off as slightly less of a prick than I know I am. I know it sounds patronizing, but that's my best guess as to why I do it. Inferring a slight bit of skepticism or insecurity softens ones position just enough to not seem like a know-it-all. It's not something you want to do in a professional setting, but "I think" it helps in a casual social setting.

I honestly don't know because I'm antisocial in the first place.
 
Many years ago in the business world, somebody decided that it sounded more intelligent to say "myself" instead of "me". The abuse of the reflexive spread like wildfire.
"You can forward that to Bob or myself"
"Myself or my staff can assist with that"
BARFFFF!
It is my personal mission to remind people that anything with yourself is probably best left in private.:drunk:
 
Overusing some words or inserting more words than necessary is far better to using the wrong words. You'll get people using the wrong form of a word that sounds just like the correct word. Bear/bare, would/wood (homophones). It gets even more annoying when the words aren't supposed to sound the same like our/are though one's pronunciation skills are so bad that they sound the same in practice. I know there are even worse examples than are coming to mind.
 
There are a few that get me, the over use of "phenomenal", put simply by definition, no it isn't phenomenal, even if you say it is, no matter how great something is it is unlikely that it is phenomenal.

There is also the over use of "it is what it is", you have no choice but to agree with such a blatant tautology, but I have actually taken to calling people on it recently and saying "no actually it is what it isn't" I know it sounds stupid, but tell people to think about it and express what they are trying to say. To me it is what it is roughly translates into "we have to accept this", when in fact you may not have to accept it and could be limiting your thought pattern by saying "it is what it is" rather than we need to accept this...

Certain conversational paradigms often block peoples' thought processes and these things need to stop NOW!

Don't even get me started on ATM machines! Or the people who use dashes instead of semicolons.
 
I overuse a lot of words in an attempt to come off as slightly less of a prick than I know I am. I know it sounds patronizing, but that's my best guess as to why I do it. Inferring a slight bit of skepticism or insecurity softens ones position just enough to not seem like a know-it-all. It's not something you want to do in a professional setting, but "I think" it helps in a casual social setting.

I honestly don't know because I'm antisocial in the first place.

+1

In a homebrew discussion, there is a lot of lore, personal preference, and personal experience involved with giving advice. There aren't very many master brewers or brewing scientists on here with a defined position of knowledge authority. I find myself acting as Bobby_M portrays above because, while I'm educated enough to have the knowledge, in most cases I'm pulling information from personal experience, previously gained scientific knowledge, or piecing it together from texts I've read. I'm not always 100% sure I'm right and I like to leave room for other possibilities (unless I know there are none). I've specifically encountered several people in my life who made it a point to memorize specific things and big words that they knew would make them look intelligent.

Just as one could argue that having humility in communication is insecurity, having no humility could be an even deeper-rooted insecurity.

Now, while we're on the topic of annoying phrases... if one more person says "it is what it is" to me, I'm going to go ballistic! I'm just going to start saying in response... "I won't get caught up in your little web of circular logic!" and storm off.:cross:

EDIT: D'oh! Donasay beat me to the "it is what it is" phrase. I'm glad I'm not alone!
 
Polonius:

My liege, and madam, to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,
What day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time;
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief.
Your noble son is mad. . . .

Hamlet Act 2, scene 2, 86–92
 
Hmmmm, I've never looked at would in that way, but now that you mention it, it is annoying. My pet peeve is very. It doesn't actually mean anything and people use it all the time. It's very annoying.

(And I hate Polonius, gotta be one of the most annoying characters ever written).
 
what about Extreme? Or Xtreme....or X-treme....or any other variation of the word. I think it's used a little too much..

"The are extreme chips!"
 
Overusing some words or inserting more words than necessary is far better to using the wrong words. You'll get people using the wrong form of a word that sounds just like the correct word. Bear/bare, would/wood (homophones). It gets even more annoying when the words aren't supposed to sound the same like our/are though one's pronunciation skills are so bad that they sound the same in practice. I know there are even worse examples than are coming to mind.

fixed for ya ... :D
 
Basically, I think the word "would" is basically not overused. It is basically used as it should be. However, I think that basically the word "basically" is basically overused to the point where it could basically drive me nuts.
 
Many years ago in the business world, somebody decided that it sounded more intelligent to say "myself" instead of "me".
This particular word abuse has become less popular recently, but it was especially bad in the military. I LOATHE the misuse and abuse of "myself." Take that last sentence out of context, and it's probably hilarious. :D

...basically the word "basically" is basically overused to the point where it could basically drive me nuts.
You've literally hit the nail on the head. Literally, "basically" is overused. Literally.
 
I recently caught Louis CK at theater show and he ranted about the overuse of the word "hilarious" and how it completely destroys the meaning. It went from representing just about the funniest thing you can imagine to the equivalent of LOL.

If you don't know who Louis CK is, rent the HBO special "shameless" or check it out on Youtube.
 
You've literally hit the nail on the head. Literally, "basically" is overused. Literally.

Literally! Don't even get me started on that one!!! :D

I am sick to death of hearing people say something like :- " Honestly, I laughed so much I LITERALLY vomitted all my lunch and spun around the room with sparks flying out of my head!"............No sweetheart, you do not understand the meaning of that particular word, do you!? Now, hold onto this knife while i LITERALLY implale myself upon it!! :mad:
 
I am not too fond of the overuse of the word "like"

As in: "Like, I was going like to the store like the other night like with some of my friends. Like you know?"


Like that yourself?

It's not so bad these days, but it was really bad in the past.


:)
 
I am not too fond of the overuse of the word "like"

As in: "Like, I was going like to the store like the other night like with some of my friends. Like you know?"


Like that yourself?

It's not so bad these days, but it was really bad in the past.


:)

All of those words in that thar post, they TOTALLY annoy me. Put them in any order you please and they are all TOTALLY annoying. Unless of course you spell them wrongly, then I can deal with it. :)
 
Polonius:

My liege, and madam, to expostulate
What majesty should be, what duty is,
What day is day, night night, and time is time,
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time;
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief.
Your noble son is mad. . . .

Hamlet Act 2, scene 2, 86–92

Sweet. You win the quote prize! :D

Here's mine:

Omit needless words.

My addition to this rant is simple: Spell properly. I cannot abide misspelling. If you care to write, write well; just as you take care to brew good beer, you must ensure you write well.

Bob
 
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