What are your pet peeves re English usage?

On the BBC this week some numbskull commentator spoke of the "summer olympics" (presumably because he had already mentioned the Winter Olympics; I think the piece was about bribery and corruption) and I thought WHAT????

I was so annoyed I nearly wrote a letter of complaint to the BBC then and there. But I was driving at the time.

That's one change I fervently hope never catches on.

went right over my head Mc;

in N. America the olympics are always labelled summer or winter; is that what annoyed you?

I think he means that they are THE Olympics

Perhaps I'm not American/ transatlantic enough. What annoyed me was the commentator's assumption that I did not know the difference between The Olympic Games and the Winter Olympics, or that the difference had to be spelt out.

There is nothing yet called the "summer olympics". That's what I meant.

Years ago, I remember one talking about "snow blizzards". Is there any other kind? I DID write a letter about that.

And another thing, while I'm being peevish. Americans, in the sphere of golf, talk about the "British Open". This is not its name; it is called "The Open". It was the first open golf championship. No "British" needed.

Way to go, McT, you show 'em!! AND our stamps don't have the name of the country of origin on them. Summer Olympics indeed! Pish, tush, ptah!

It really grates when I hear Oz boys (playing at gangs) call each other "bro" .....

Awww, I know what you mean, msolga!

Yeah! ... Cringe!

in American TV series when they say 'bubba' it really makes me cringe! and yeah, bro comes a close second

This site is so full of loosers! All of you! Loosers!

(I'm playing with the site rules, calling you all a name while not calling you a name at all).

Another thing that bugs me is what I call the Los Angelesation of the traffic report. "The 101 is backed up at the 280...". For chrissake it's not "The" anything.

Well that's funny, because we in Britain say it the other way: we don't talk of "Highway 101" or whatever, we say "the A556" or "the M62"

My peeve today, is the habit nowadays of using a phrase like "to grow the business" and I'm not sure why that sounds wrong to me; I think it's using a passive verb as an active one. Clary will explain, I hope.

Not sure if I've ever heard that, McT. I think you are assuming grow is intransitive, but you can grow veggies or an extra tentacle (well, perhaps you can't) so logically growing a business would be OK. Just that we don't say it. I would naturally say to make the business grow, or develop the business.
Yes, I HATE loose for lose, and loosers ditto. But we are loosing the argument, probably, since it's become so common. Interestingly, I heard that there will be a new spelling bee competition called Hard Spell for kids on (could it be) radio 5 Alive, so 'correctness' is coming back in fashion.

Okay, growing businesses is technically unexceptionable. But that doesn't make me like it any better. Let me think of another example...must be plenty...oh yes, using a noun as a verb.

To "total" a car. To "mint" a car, for goodness sakes. To "deck" someone.

I am, like, so totally up with that, McT . . .

They've been having Summer Olympics since 1896. Nothing new/unusual/transatlantic 'bout that.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0114337.html

Winter Olympics started in 1924.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0115110.html





http://www.infoplease.com/spot/olympicstimeline.html#1894

the official website for the Olympic Movement

http://www.olympic.org/uk/index_uk.asp

Olympic Summer Games:


Athens 1896
Paris 1900
St. Louis 1904
London 1908
Stockholm 1912
Antwerp 1920
Paris 1924
Amsterdam 1928
Los Angeles 1932
Berlin 1936
London 1948
Helsinki 1952
Melbourne 1956
Rome 1960
Tokyo 1964
Mexico City 1968
Munich 1972
Montreal 1976
Moscow 1980
Los Angeles 1984
Seoul 1988
Barcelona 1992
Atlanta 1996
Sydney 2000







Olympic Winter Games:


Chamonix 1924
St. Moritz 1928
Lake Placid 1932
Garmisch-
Partenkirchen 1936
St. Moritz 1948
Oslo 1952
Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956
Squaw Valley 1960
Innsbruck 1964
Grenoble 1968
Sapporo 1972
Innsbruck 1976
Lake Placid 1980
Sarajevo 1984
Calgary 1988
Albertville 1992
Lillehammer 1994
Nagano 1998
Salt Lake City 2002

McTag:
To total a car. To deck someone.
To chair a meeting. To floor someone.
To book someone. To telephone someone.
To service a car. To garage a car.

It's just a matter of getting used to nouns and verbs doing duty for each other. We're happier with usages we knew in our youth.

I guess here its like in England, if I get McT right. We dont say the Summer Olympics - we just say, "the Olympic Games", thats it. Now the Winter games, they are labelled as such. Well, I guess like in England then. Perhaps something transatlantic after all?