clavus

Am I the ony person who goes nuts when people say "cement" when they mean concrete? Probably. You mix cement with rocks and maybe sand, and add water to make concrete.

The sidewalk is NOT cement. Its concrete, OK?

What commonly dorked-up word pairs drive you nuts?
Tactical vs strategic?
Engine vs motor?
Acidic vs alkaline?

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jbrooks544

Fammable is Inflammable?!

What a Country!

wilbjammin

Well... after having actually having worked with cement and concrete, I find myself correcting people when they get the two confused.

The most obnoxious mistake I ever dealt with thus far in my life happened last week in my Social Studies Educational Leadership Seminar. The leader said that existentialism is based on a believe that the universe is "chaos" and I immediately corrected her and said that no, in fact, it is based on absurdity.

Chaos and absurdity are so completely different, I could write pages on it. But I won't, unless someone goads me to.

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splck

I've given up trying to get people to understand the difference between concrete and cement.

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nice line eh?

tangledweb

It tweaks me when I hear people say "Itch it" when they mean "Scratch it"

Another one; The Monster isn't Frankenstein, it is Frankstein's Monster. Frankenstein was a Doctor. I know it is stupid, but it rakes the nerves.

jerseyboy

Wait so concrete is made out of cement? Why add rocks to cement to make concrete?

merkerguitars

An "I" beam is actually a "W" beam...that is a good way to start dumb and pointless articles.

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numberfive

Stupid things like "mines" and "hurted". I know they don't really count but the tick me off just the same.

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nirol

In the genre of pet peeves in the usage of words in English:

The use of the word "impact" as a verb, drives me nuts. Substitute "affect" please.

Regardless being ignored for the use of Irregardless.

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clavus

Two excellent examples which also piss me off.

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crfpilot

I just did a google image search and it took me to page 17 before I found a "CEMENT TRUCK"

This is a cement truck:


This is a concrete ready mix truck:

Peryn

Motor and Engine really irritate me. So many people in the auto industry dont even know that the two dont have the same definition. There are a couple more...but that one comes to mind.

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ubertuber

It's not a pair, but I hate it when people use the word "literally" to describe something that only happened figuratively. Example:

I was so scared that I literally shit my pants.

No, you didn't.

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boatin

So why is an "I" beam a "W" beam?

What is cement then?

What's the difference between a motor and an engine?

I understand that these piss you off, but perhaps you could explain the difference for those of us that don't know. Or you could just bitch about them, and not make the situation any better.

My choice: iterate means repeat. re-iterate is just redundant and repetitive...

wilbjammin

Which is why reiterating is so annoying. When you have to repeat yourself for a 3rd time because people aren't getting it, that does get obnoxious.

Jam

wow.. you people get worked up easily.. :P

Fly

i freak too.................fuckin' cement heads

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Bloodslick

I am usually annoyed when people string two words together. Does that count?

TheBrit

"I forgot it at home"
ARGH

powder

"I didn't see nothing"
So what did you see?

I hate incorrectly used double negatives.

santafe5000

You must learn to forgive those who no not what they speak. It is amazing, the lack of common sense knowledge. I have to laugh sometimes, when news readers say thing's that any dork would know is not true or is grossly inaccurate.

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apechild

On a related note, some bastardizations that piss me off:
"Irregardless"
"Orientated"
"Normalcy"

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Moskie

Most people don't understand the difference between "imply" and "infer."

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Elitegibson

I just went to reference.com and used the thesaurus. Motor and engine are synonyms.

I'm not usually bugged by little things like that, but it does annoy me slightly when people type the wrong homophone, like "no" instead of "know".

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YELLOW450

When people say "tug boat" when referring to a "tow boat", nothing to get worked up over but just so damn irritating.

water_boy1999

I get so unbelievably irritated when someone mistakes putting this "bottle in front of me" as opposed to a :frontal lobotomy."

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gophtc

not as much when writing, and not with nouns, but verbs and adjectives, its sometimes ok to use the wrong words.
its like using the word piss and fuck, they dont mean what they mean literally, but in context and with expression they get the point across.
when you can make up words and ppl know what you are saying then you are undeniably, an eloquent speaker.

for example, none of the above are proper sentences. the first few phrases in commas are run-on fragments even though there is no such thing. My teacher would probably tell me to write 4 sentences to say the same thing. The word "ok" is a recently made-up word for alright, but is now acceptable. According to my teacher you are not supposed to use "like", people use this word excessively when they are trying to sound professional but are having trouble getting their points across. thats only because speaking that way is unnatural. if they spoke the way they wanted they would feel comfortable AND keep people interested.
the "an" after undeniably is misplaced but it has greater effect there.

i kno the way i wrote this doesnt look very good, but it would sound a lot better if i was saying it. I could edit it, but look at it and think how it loses something that way. Well, its possible people could speak better if we all had better vocabulary, can you show me a better way of writing the first few lines?

gophtc

thesauruses show very loose synonyms. they are used for finding the word with the right meaning when you dont have it. car and truck are probably in there together.

Elitegibson

Still, I want to know the difference between motor and engine.

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Stupid people shouldn't breed.

Peryn

Motors are those little electric things that spin when powered.
Engines are those big thing under your hood that make your car go.

The thing that makes the windshield wipers rotate is called the wiper motor...not the wiper engine.
Your garage door opener is a motor, not an engine.
Your lawnmower uses an engine, not a motor.


The definitions are similar, and many people use them to mean either one. Its not a big deal, but something i pick up on and notice any time it is used wrong.

The definition of motor could describe and engine. But the definition of engine sets the two apart.

"en·gine ( P ) Pronunciation Key (njn)
n.

1.
A) A machine that converts energy into mechanical force or motion.
B) Such a machine distinguished from an electric, spring-driven, or hydraulic motor by its use of a fuel. "

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MSD

A motor can also be something that produces power without moving parts. An example of this is a "rocket engine," which is a motor, not an engine.

Shpoop

so many insinuated hints towards one another

the an before eloquent would not have been misplaced if there was a comma before undeniably

heres one thing that kinda irks me, words that mean essentially the same thing and are spelled/pronounced so similar that there is really no need for both:
harry, scarry
amiable, amicable
super, superb
flammable, inflammable
nerve, verve
theres more but i cant think of them right now

LewisCouch

I do know this: beware of cunning linguists.

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goppers

monkeys are not apes and apes are not monkeys!

that is my issue

crfpilot

Cement is limestone and clay burned in a kiln at 2700 degrees and then cooled and ground into a fine powder.

Concrete is made up of cement, water, and sand/rock.

denim

Cement is what holds concrete together.

What annoys me, mildly, is when people don't realize how ridiculous they look when they use l33t sp33|< and misuse things like to/too/two and their/there/they're. There's no point in pissing and moaning about it. They'll either grow out of it or they won't.

jerseyboy

I think Irregardless is now an accepted word. From Merriam Webster: Irregardless originated in dialectal American speech in the early 20th century. Its fairly widespread use in speech called it to the attention of usage commentators as early as 1927. The most frequently repeated remark about it is that "there is no such word." There is such a word, however. It is still used primarily in speech, although it can be found from time to time in edited prose. Its reputation has not risen over the years, and it is still a long way from general acceptance. Use regardless instead.

Also like i asked before. Why is concrete used instead of cement. Why add the sand/rock.

denim

Strength, I think. I'm not an engineer of that sort. I didn't take the class on that subject. I suspect the reason is similar to why they use rebar in concrete to make it stronger.

thenewguy

Sand and rock are used to allow space to exist within the 'matrix' that is created when cement, sand and stone (rock) are mixed with water.

Most sensible people call it concrete, and it's necessary to have a stress matrix for it to be strong and not too heavy. If you just mix cement and water, it would be heavy and brittle - it wouldn't transfer load (as concrete does) it would absorb load and fracture.

Rebar is often used to add tensile strength and create a shear plane, so that the force is transmitted in a specific direction.

Had enough? My family owns a company that manufactures pigment for mortar & concrete. I've been irritated by the idiots who call them 'cement trucks' and 'cinder blocks' since I was 14.

Batman976

I still get frustrated over people who think irony and coincidence are the same thing. I gotta confess though, I'm sure I'm guilty of plenty of things mentioned in this thread, such as engine/motor and cement/concrete.

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