Bastardization of words

For me,impact and its many variations (impacting/impacted/impactful) are like fingernails and a chalkboard when used incorrectly or in the case of impactful, used at all.

 

"Fantastic" is one that kind of bothers me. It literally means "hard to believe" — as in something out of a fantasy — not "really, really good," which is how it's almost always used.


"Winningest" is another. I'm not sure that's actually a word ...

 

Cue up the Alanis CD won't you ... ironic.

 

That's fingernails ON a chalkboard...nothing like fucking up a cliche on a bastardization of words thread.


Invite as a noun... as in "they got an invite to the tournamnt." instead of invitation.

 

Redundancies drive me batshit crazy, with "past history" and "close proximity" leading the straitjacket drive.

I told the journalism class I used to teach that I guarantee they would turn on the TV sometime in the next week and hear some clueless talking-head mutter "close proximity."

 

The proliferation of adding "-ness" to words to make them adjectives. Oy.

For you sports talk radio fans, 'untracked' is not even a word, even as people use it to mean "on track."

 

The verbization of a noun.

 

I just wanted to point that out.

 

Here's one for any of you who have covered a game involving John Brady ...

"Score the ball ... "

 

outstanding and virtually.

 

For example, when did golf become a verb?

 

verse