I know I use words incorrectly occasionally but that won't stop me from getting irritated by others doing so. For this forum in particular, I wish someone would use the word "anti-social" correctly. It does not mean introverted, shy, or afraid of social situations. It describes a personality disorder that consists of impulsive, aggressive behavior with little or no regard for the well being of others. Criminal behavior is pretty much synonymous with anti-social behavior. This is quite different from the visions of Trekkies that I think most people wrongly think of when they use the word.

I am only annoyed by folks who correct my incorrect usage of a word, when they knew full well what was meant by the sentence in the first place. For example...

me: "Nice cement work on this sidewalk here eh ?"

other: "You mean 'concrete' work don't you ?"

me: "Yes I mean concrete, but since you already knew that...
why the hell are you correcting me ?"

See what I mean.... Much simpler to reply...

other: "Yes, very nice."

end of conversation....

For me, as long as clear meaning is portrayed in a conversation, than I am happy.

A W beam is what most people call an I beam.

The W stands for "wide flange"

For example beams are called a W18 x 64 which means a wide flange beam of 18" in height and 64 pounds per linear foot (roughly)

There would be a W 18 x 72 which is also 18" high, but 72 pounds per linear foot. etc etc.

Actually, if you ever see any old drawings from the early part of the 1900's they used to call them I beams in fact. I am not sure if the designation was changed, or a new type of beam was introduced at some point and was called the W section.

There is also the S section which more closely resembles the I configuration than the W section, but is not commonly used.

My pet peave is people who say "ASH-FALT" when that's not how it is pronounces. It's ASS-PHALT (Asphalt)

Want to be really confused, go to Britain where they call the sidewalk pavement. I.e. there is no such thing as a sidewalk, it's the pavement.

To me, pavement is the road, and sidewalk is the concrete pad you walk on that is slightly higher than the road.

Other little britishisms.

You hire a car where we would say you rent a car.

Things are not on sale, they are "on offer"

bandages are "plasters"

You don't get run over by a car, you get "knocked down" (not good no matter how you say it.)

A good way to remember the difference: cement is to concrete as flour is to bread. I too have some experience with this. As a freelance video guy I have worked for Cemex and have videotaped several kilns in many parts of the Americas. "Modern Marvels" has a great History of Portland Cement show, and much of the footage was donated by Cemex.

What really drives me bonkers is when construction and engineering geeks call I beams "W beams"

I mean, come on...
:)

I get frustrated when people use latin phrases when they want to sound smarter than they really are, if I hear one more mid level manager user the word "ergo" or "quid pro quo" one more time, I am gonna snap...
~Crack

Here's one that I haven't heard yet:

I did a thing. It wasn't an accident or something I did without thinking about it.

I did it on purpose. I did it purposely.

AARRRRGHH!!!! PURPOSELY!? That's NOT a word!!

The other common derivative of this is to use "Purposefully" in the same sense. Purposefully means "with purpose", not "on purpose".

The word you're after is INTENTIONALLY.

evildoers....wtf?

hugely....

That's another one that annoys the hell out of me.

Is hugely even a word?

cement is wet, concrete is dry

cement will harden if you add water or get it wet. concrete will also harden if you get it wet. Keep your cement and your concrete dry until you are ready to use it.

My big annoyance is when people say "I could care less" when they mean "I could NOT care less."

Saying "I could care less" means that yes, indeed, there ARE things that you care less about. That's not the point of the saying.

Sigh...

concrete doesnt blow away in the wind

Cheers

People who pronounce "similar" "simular".

you forgot with a tag axel on the concrete truck. yeah im in that business... we do the dirt work, form setting.. pour out the concrete.. either we do the finishing or hire out finishers.. pull the forms.. next job

what annoys me most?

when they forget to put fiber in 5000 or 5 sac mix.. sets up quick at times and man.. you gotta walk that crap in.

leaves, cats, dogs ... everything else you can account for

people that think that drive way looks good when its less than a year old.. cracked and has grass growing between the joints.

idoits that use normal wood for joints instead of either cutting a joint, putting in keyway, or redwood. some use plastic but ... looks tacky

hey have you looked up increte and surecrete yet? we do that.. man its awesome.. makes normal concrete look like wood, stone and such.. we even do walls now in homes.. my fav is jade stone but with a teal look.

I am a big fan of cement. I believe that our civilization would not exist without it. I have heard that concrete is the second most used commodity on earth, behind water. When and if I am fortunate enough to build a house it will be either a cast in place or an insulated concrete form structure. They are bullet proof, fire resistant, and hurricane proof.
God bless you Drider_it.

"I could care less"
If you could care less, then it means you care, possibly a lot!
"I couldn't care less"
You're at the minimum amount of caring possible.

You're vs your is sometimes annoying.

Effect vs affect is annoying

Terrorist vs arsonist/criminal/attacker/whatever
People just use terrorist to instantly demonize someone.

There's one I missed. My mom did that all the time until I corrected her. Took me like 5 times but she says it right now!

Just to confuse matters, I just got a new hair product from Redkin. It calls itself "concrete 22 cement paste". So, which is it? I can't find any sand or stones, so I'll have to guess cement. Holds like crazy.