Duke
Duke MegaDork
10/18/23 9:31 a.m.

I have a group of consultant engineers I work with.  The lead engineer had a weird grammatical quirk that several other people in their office have picked up and propagated:

They use "the same" instead of a simple "this" or "them".  As in: 

I have the drawings in my office.  Let me know when you can pick up the same.

It's not technically wrong, it's just weird.

 

Woody (Forum Supportum)
Woody (Forum Supportum) MegaDork
10/18/23 10:03 a.m.

As a firefighter, it bugs me when news reporters describe a building as being "fully engulfed". 
 

The building could possibly be fully involved. At which point, it could also be described as being engulfed in flames. But the word engulfed implies a sense of fullness on its own. Fully engulfed is redundant. 

NermalSnert (Forum Supporter)
NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) HalfDork
10/18/23 10:24 a.m.
RacerBoy75 said:

Here in the Pacific Northwest, everyone says "you guys", but "y'all" will probably get you sideways looks. 

When I lived in Portland for a short time, a friend used to ask me to say  "oial" as in motor oil and "nayked" Ok, ohl and nekid to let people hear my accent. Y'all talk funny over here. We talk right.

NermalSnert (Forum Supporter)
NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) HalfDork
10/18/23 10:27 a.m.

If I look at a menu and see an item listed as de-constructed, I'm leaving.

wae
wae PowerDork
10/18/23 10:30 a.m.
Duke said:

I have a group of consultant engineers I work with.  The lead engineer had a weird grammatical quirk that several other people in their office have picked up and propagated:

They use "the same" instead of a simple "this" or "them".  As in: 

I have the drawings in my office.  Let me know when you can pick up the same.

It's not technically wrong, it's just weird.

 

I see that phraseology a lot from the Indian folks at work.  Another one that gets under my skin is "do the needful".

Spearfishin
Spearfishin Reader
10/18/23 10:38 a.m.
Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

As a firefighter, it bugs me when news reporters describe a building as being "fully engulfed". 
 

The building could possibly be fully involved. At which point, it could also be described as being engulfed in flames. But the word engulfed implies a sense of fullness on its own. Fully engulfed is redundant. 

The flying version is "tarmac". The news always talks about people stuck on the tarmac, plane crashed on the tarmac, etc.

Far as I know, tarmac is asphalt, they're usually referring to a taxiway or apron, and frequently those are concrete, or at the very least not inherently asphalt, so I have no idea where they get the word, or what it is supposed to mean. I've successfully passed a few FAA exams, and defied gravity in a tin can powered by an air-cooled 4 cylinder from the late 60's, and I've never used "tarmac" in relation to any of that. But maybe I'm just doing it wrong. 

j_tso
j_tso Dork
10/18/23 1:09 p.m.

My peeve is "heighth." People think it goes with width.

I've heard an architect say it.

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) MegaDork
10/18/23 1:28 p.m.

This is a coil.  It is a single coil.

This is a coil pack.  It is multiple coils in a single case.

If the device you have does not have multiple coils in it, it is not a pack.

DarkMonohue
DarkMonohue Dork
10/18/23 1:28 p.m.
NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) said:

When I lived in Portland for a short time, a friend used to ask me to say  "oial" as in motor oil and "nayked" Ok, ohl and nekid to let people hear my accent. Y'all talk funny over here. We talk right.

Again, might be partly a city vs. country thing. Plenty of us in the PNW say crick and y'all. But when we meet somebody who sounds like you, it's novel to us. Doesn't mean we think you're wrong. It's kind a special treat to catch a little glimpse of a living, historical connection to a region. A lot of people out here don't have that.

Duke
Duke MegaDork
10/18/23 1:57 p.m.
Spearfishin said:

The flying version is "tarmac". The news always talks about people stuck on the tarmac, plane crashed on the tarmac, etc.

Far as I know, tarmac is asphalt, they're usually referring to a taxiway or apron, and frequently those are concrete, or at the very least not inherently asphalt, so I have no idea where they get the word, or what it is supposed to mean. I've successfully passed a few FAA exams, and defied gravity in a tin can powered by an air-cooled 4 cylinder from the late 60's, and I've never used "tarmac" in relation to any of that. But maybe I'm just doing it wrong. 

"Tarmac" is short for "Tar MacAdam"; i.e. asphalt - specifically petroleum-based paving.

I believe the airfield definition comes from British usage, and their insistence on taking the ambiguous part of the description and turning that into the specific noun.  They also specifically call the sidewalk the "pavement" despite the fact that any time there is a sidewalk the entire roadway is likely to be paved as well.

See also "motor" as the short form of "motor car".  The important part is that it is a car, and numerous other things are also motor-powered, like boats or cycles.  Yet Brits insisted on saying "my motor" when referring to their cars.

 

SV reX
SV reX MegaDork
10/18/23 3:50 p.m.

Plywood sheeting.

 

The word is sheathing. It means to wrap around something, to envelope it. Like the sheath of a dagger, or a condom.

Its both a noun and a verb. 
 

Plywood is sold in sheets, and it is used to sheath the house.  The house sheathing is usually sealed at the joints.

Sheeting is a noun, but not a verb. Unless we are on a sailing vessel.   Then the sailor can be sheeting in the sail.

SV reX
SV reX MegaDork
10/18/23 3:56 p.m.

"Footer" instead of "footing" bugs me too, but I guess they are now pretty interchangeable. 

Spearfishin
Spearfishin Reader
10/19/23 9:14 a.m.
SV reX said:

"Footer" instead of "footing" bugs me too, but I guess they are now pretty interchangeable. 

I'm in commercial construction and I've given up on expecting any clarity or commonality in terms folks use in the field. Hell, getting ready for a duct bank inspection this morning and the foreman for medium voltage electrical crew repeatedly called the reinforcing steel "rebarb". Wanted to confirm his "rebarb inspection was on the schedule."

Yeah. It is. And also, you sound like an idiot.

SV reX
SV reX MegaDork
10/19/23 9:16 a.m.

In reply to Spearfishin :

I hear you

bludroptop
bludroptop UltraDork
10/19/23 9:23 a.m.

Footers and rebarb never bothered me much, but Joyces would cause me to cringe.

(joists)

 

NermalSnert (Forum Supporter)
NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) HalfDork
10/19/23 9:35 a.m.

Cornish and masonary used to bug the hell out of me.

SV reX
SV reX MegaDork
10/19/23 9:39 a.m.

You guys are killing me. I hate every one of those, but forgot that I ignore them  every day!

Spearfishin
Spearfishin Reader
10/19/23 10:53 a.m.

I've been in the heavy industrial world for a while. Not much Cornish out here. But tons and tons of rebarb. 

Another that gets to me out here are SALT/DALT "testing". Like "we're getting ready to do DALT testing on the west side of the 4th floor". Which is to say, "we're getting ready to do duct air leakage testing testing on the west side of the 4th floor".

The ole automated teller machine machine.

z31maniac
z31maniac MegaDork
10/19/23 11:39 a.m.

I don't remember if pages back I mentioned this one. 

"Chomping at the bit" when the original is actually "Champing at the bit"

Powar
Powar UltraDork
10/19/23 11:45 a.m.

Then and than aren't interchangeable. 

wae
wae PowerDork
10/19/23 11:49 a.m.
Spearfishin said:

I've been in the heavy industrial world for a while. Not much Cornish out here. But tons and tons of rebarb. 

Another that gets to me out here are SALT/DALT "testing". Like "we're getting ready to do DALT testing on the west side of the 4th floor". Which is to say, "we're getting ready to do duct air leakage testing testing on the west side of the 4th floor".

The ole automated teller machine machine.

Did we say "VIN number" yet?

Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
10/19/23 12:43 p.m.
bludroptop said:

rebarb

Reminds me of that sharp stuff they put on the top of fences to prevent you from climbing over.

Bob wire.

Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos)
Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) MegaDork
10/19/23 12:59 p.m.
z31maniac said:

I don't remember if pages back I mentioned this one. 

"Chomping at the bit" when the original is actually "Champing at the bit"

Apparently both work, now.

Tom1200
Tom1200 PowerDork
10/19/23 1:07 p.m.

Funtionality is a made up word particular to the software industry..................I dislike the word even when speaking of software.

If you use the word when describing a functional aspect of tangible goods.......toilets, cars, kitchen or whatever...............when it doesn't work is that a malfunctionality?

I think I once called out Tim for using the word in relation to a upgraded part.

Antihero
Antihero PowerDork
10/19/23 1:37 p.m.
NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) said:
RacerBoy75 said:

Here in the Pacific Northwest, everyone says "you guys", but "y'all" will probably get you sideways looks. 

When I lived in Portland for a short time, a friend used to ask me to say  "oial" as in motor oil and "nayked" Ok, ohl and nekid to let people hear my accent. Y'all talk funny over here. We talk right.

When we went to Australia I used to have to get an Aussie translator for ordering food. Also "Water" is funny the way most Americans say it.

 

For me it's how they say "no", their version as far as I can tell has all the vowels in it

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