Things Americans Say Wrong
Yes, the title is intentional.
Please take the following grains of salt before criticizing the list too harshly:
- I am a (naturalized) American citizen, and thus a proud American.
- I have no formal training in linguistics.
- These are just some personal pet peeves, so don’t get your panties in a bunch.
| a whole other… | Not “a whole ‘nother…” |
| abercrombie | Not “ambercrombie” |
| across | Not “acrost” or “acrossed” |
| addictive | Not “addicting” |
| all I did was… | Not “all’s I did was…” |
| all of a sudden… | Not “all of the sudden…” |
| alumni | This is often mistaken as the singular form of itself. The correct form is alumnus for singular masculine, alumna for singular feminine, alumnae for plural feminine, and alumni for masculine or generic plural. |
| Alzheimer’s disease (ALTS-heim-ers) | Not “old-timer’s disease” |
| Antarctica | Not “Antartica” |
| anticlimactic | Not “anticlimatic” |
| anyway | Not “anyways” |
| as best as you can | Not “as best you can” (pronoun may vary). Even more appropriate would be “as well as you can.” |
| as long as | Not “so long as” |
| as opposed to | Not “as oppose to.” This one is fairly subtle, since even in the correct pronunciation, the “d” is almost inaudible. However, many people do indeed consciously and audibly omit the “d.” |
| ask | Not “axe” |
| asterisk (AS-te-risk) | Not “asterix” (AS-te-riks). This error is made frequently by low-ranking office employees or people who are beginning to learn computer terminology. |
| beck and call | Not “beckon call” |
| better than the last | Sometimes, to express pleasure toward something, someone might incorrectly say, “every day is better than the next,” or “every bite is tastier than the next,” and so on. If you think about this carefully, you’ll realize that these are actually negative statements. When a person says, “every day is better than the next,” it is equivalent to saying, “every day is worse than the previous.” The person is essentially implying that every day since the beginning has been getting progressively worse. The correct phrase, therefore, should be, “every day is better than the last.” |
| biceps | Not “bicep.” The singular of biceps is still biceps. |
| boisterous | Not “voice-terous” |
| bystander | Not “by-standard” |
| calculate | Not “caculate.” |
| cavalry | Not “calvary.” Of course, if you’re referring to the place outside of Jerusalem, then you’re fine. |
| card sharp | Not “card shark.” A reader contributes: “When someone is good at shooting pool or playing cards, they are sharp. Therefore, they are a ‘pool sharp’ or a ‘card sharp.’ They are not sharks as in ‘pool sharks’ or ‘card sharks.’” |
| chipotle (chi-POT-lay) | Everyone seems to have their own pronunciation of this word. Most commonly, however, people mispronounce it by saying “chipolte” (chi-POL-tay), or “chipote” (chi-PO-tay), omitting the “l” altogether, or even “chipottle” (rhymes with “bottle”). The word itself has its origins in the Aztec language Nahuatl, where the “tl” sound was very common. It is derived from the words chil (chile), and pochilli (to smoke). |
| comeuppance | Not “comeuppins” |
| comfortable | Not “comfterble” |
| couldn’t care less | Not “could care less.” When you think about it, to say “I could care less” really means that you actually do care about something, and it’s possible for you to care less about it. It is more appropriate to say “I couldn’t care less” to indicate that you have reached the rock bottom of carelessness about something. |
| data | The word data is plural. Therefore it is inappropriate to use a phrase like “this data.” It is more appropriate to say “these data.” The singular form of the word is datum. |
| daylight saving time | Not “daylight savings time” |
| drivel | Not “dribble.” Dribble is what one does with a basketball. Drivel is childish or nonsensical language. |
| drowned | Not “drownded” |
| enormity | The word enormity refers to excessive evil or wickedness. It does not, however, refer to general excessive size. For that, the preferred term would be enormousness. |
| espresso | Not “expresso.” I mean, come on. |
| et cetera | Not “exetera.” Commonly abbreviated “etc.,” this is literally the Latin words et, meaning “and,” and cetera, meaning “the rest.” When spelled out, this is two words, not one. |
| exact revenge | Not “extract revenge.” |
| exclamation mark | Not “exclamation point.” Do you ever say “question point”? |
| fateful day | Not “faithful day” |
| February (FEB-roo-a-ry) | Not “Feb’uary” (FEB-yoo-a-ry). |
| founder | Not “flounder.” Founder is what a ship does when it collides with something and sinks in the water. Flounder is a kind of fish. |
| for all intents and purposes | Not “for all intensive purposes” |
| hair’s breadth | Some believe that this metaphor is actually “hare’s breath.” |
| heart-rending | Not “heart-rendering” |
| height | Not “heighth” |
| hertz | This applies to the singular form of the unit, which is still hertz. Some people mistakenly say, “1 hert.” |
| how many feet are in a mile? | Not “how many feet in a mile?” (Units may vary) |
| I’d just as soon… | Not “I’d just assume…” An example phrase might be, “I’d just as soon not go to the park today.” |
| I’m not sure | Not “I’m not for sure” |
| I’ve seen | Not “I seen” |
| in other words | Not “another words” |
| infinitesimal | Not “infintesimal” |
| instant messaging | Not “instant messenging” |
| integral | Not “intregal” |
| inverse square law | Not “invert square law” |
| jewelry | Not “jewlery” |
| kielbasa (kil-BA-sa) | For some reason, this is commonly mispronounced “kielbasi” (kil-BA-see) |
| lackadaisical | Not “laxadaisical” |
| laundromat | Not “laundrymat” |
| let it be | Not “leave it be” |
| library | Not “libery” |
| literature | Not “litature” |
| mano a mano | In Spanish, this literally means “hand to hand.” However, many Americans incorrectly pronounce it as “mano y mano,” which would mean “hand and hand.” |
| mayonnaise | Not “man-aise” |
| memento | Not “momento” |
| menstruation | Not “menstration” |
| mischievous (MIS-chee-vus) | Not “mischievious” (mis-CHEE-vee-us). |
| moot point | Not “mute point” |
| myrrh | Not “myrth” |
| nauseated | Not “nauseous.” A reader contributes: “Too often I hear people who are sick to their stomach say “I am nauseous” rather than “I am nauseated.” Saying “I am nauseous” means that I cause OTHERS to feel sick to THEIR stomachs.” |
| nuclear (NEW-clee-ar) | Often disgustingly mispronounced as “nucular” (NOO-kyoo-lar). I still cringe when remembering George W. Bush say “nucular” in his speeches. |
| nunchucks | Not “numchucks.” A reader contributes: “Nunchaku is technically correct. However in English usage it is acceptable to use nunchucks, but not in Martial Arts usage or Japanese.” |
| off | Not “off of” |
| olfactory | Not “old factory” |
| on one hand… | Not “on the one hand…” |
| one and the same | Not “one in the same” |
| orangutan | Not “orangutang” |
| oriented | Not “orientated” |
| parenthesis | One of these “(” is a parenthesis (as opposed to parentheses, which is plural) |
| phenomenon | The word phenomena is plural. Therefore it is inappropriate to use phenomena when speaking of a single phenomenon. |
| picture | Not “pi’ture” |
| pieces and parts | Not “pieces parts.” For some reason, this is catching on at an alarming rate. |
| powers that be | Not “powers to be” |
| prescription | Not “perscription” |
| pronunciation | Not “pronounciation” |
| realty/realtor | Not “real-a-ty” / “real-a-tor” |
| regardless | Not “irregardless” |
| relevant | Not “revelant” |
| repercussions | Not “reprocussions” |
| rhombus | Not “rhumbus” |
| sacrilegious | Not “sacreligious” |
| sherbet | Not “sherbert” |
| sidetracked | Not “sidetracted” |
| statute of limitations | Not “statue of limitations.” To quote Jerry Seinfeld, “Fine, it’s a sculpture of limitations!” |
| strength | Not “strenth” |
| supposedly | Not “supposably” |
| tact | Not “tack” |
| take for granted | Not “take for granite” |
| that’s not fair | Not “that’s no fair” |
| touch base with… | Not “touch bases with…” |
| triathlon | Not “triathalon.” Also applies to biathlon, tetrathlon, pentathlon, etc. Even the word athlete is sometimes mispronounced “ath-a-lete.” |
| utmost | Not “upmost” |
| verbiage | Not “verbage” |
| vertebra | The word vertebrae is plural and should not be used as the singular. |
| vice versa | Not “vice-a-versa.” |
| voluptuous | Not “volumptuous” |
| where are you? | Not “where are you at?” and certainly not “where you at?” |
| width | Not “wi’th” |
| would have | Not “would of” |
| wreak havoc | Not “wreck havoc” |
| yin/yang | Not “ying/yang” |
October 19th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
I’m glad this is just a “what Americans say wrong” article. If it was “what the British say wrong” then bandwidth constraints would have to be considered.
Nevertheless, “American” is too generalized for speech differences. Even Americans are amused at mere differences State to State. Canada (spelled C-eh-N-eh-D-eh) has its regional differences as well.
Heck Washington State alone could fill a web page (I mean “Warshington”).
Nevertheless, with the proliferation of Hip-hop in the modern adolescent culture, it is now “cool” to act and talk like a complete idiot. Many of these improper uses and pronunciations came from the ghettos (yes, some are southern as well). It doesn’t take a genius to make the true, but politically incorrect connection.
October 19th, 2007 at 9:21 pm
HAHAHA fuckin dumb americans
October 21st, 2007 at 4:59 pm
These may just be regional.
battry instead of battery
winder instead of window
warsh instead of wash
October 31st, 2007 at 7:53 am
“Dood: Speaking of something you can find in a creek, is crawfish or crayfish the correct word?”
I have always heard that it is CRAYfish and CRAWdad….not crawfish at all.
November 9th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
How about when people (referring to arithmetic) say “Times it by two” as opposed to “MULTIPLY by two”!!! AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
November 10th, 2007 at 1:46 am
Hi Dmitri! I was just checking out if “firstly, secondly, etc” is at all correct usage, and it seems “the jury is still out”. Most websites will tell you “first, second, etc” it more correct, but that whichever you use, it should be consistent throughtou how ever many points are being made. BUT wouldn’t it sound ridiculous to say “Ninethly, or Fourteenthly” ?
November 17th, 2007 at 9:12 am
Hi, lots of the times I say poo when I mean poop
November 17th, 2007 at 9:15 am
You did not need to go there Steve lyle. Poo and poop are from the Middle English poupen, to blao a horn, toot, of imitative origin.
November 17th, 2007 at 9:17 am
blow not blao -
November 29th, 2007 at 11:45 am
haha! Most of these are great. About 3 of them I realized I used myself. However, some of them are limited to black people. Oh and Would of lol that one is funny. We actually say Would’ve.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Ooo I almost forgot!
Frustrated, not FUSTRADED
I correct this in peoples grammer all the time!
December 10th, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Valentines Day… Not Valentimes day
December 13th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
route is pronounced root not rowt
December 17th, 2007 at 10:49 am
Excellent list! Lots of fun, even a nod to the 3 Stooges. This comment is more on a misuse in written communication, and everyone who appreciates this probably gets just as much a “nails on the blackboard” sensation from it:
Your vs. You’re! as in the hatchet job “Your gonna have to edit you’re list.” What possessed by you is going to have to edit you are list??? AHHHHHH! Running across the town square with my hair on fire, screaming! Catching up with the 3 stooges and we all run through a wall. OK, I feel much better now.
December 18th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
I think that to list all the words that americans cannot say properly would be impossible because there are so very very many. Perhaps americans brains are just smaller than that of an average small child or some of the more cunning rodent. Sparky, how could the British possibly pronounce things incorrectly, it is the English language that americans speak, not vice versa, so it is really rather ridiculous to suggest anything to the contrary
December 22nd, 2007 at 10:26 am
Great article! And I have another one for your list: the word “mirror” is commonly pronounced “meer” these days. People frequently drop the second syllable.
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:50 pm
I think you guys are fighting an uphill battle here. It’s all about colloquials, and you will find that if you are trying to confine language to strict rules, you will lose.
That being said, one thing that ticks me off to NO extent is when people use the expression. “This begs the question” meaning “which makes us wonder”, as opposed to the fallacy “begging the question”.
Again, in a couple of years, “begging the question” might very well be defined as “making one wonder” as an alternative meaning.
By the way, you should take a peek at things the ENGLISH say wrong.
Language purists will always lose. Sadly.
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:52 pm
oh yeah, and:
Driver License NOT Driver’s License.
Daylight Saving Time NOT Daylight Savings Time.
ARRRRggggh
January 2nd, 2008 at 4:57 pm
another one, ha ha.
“RSVP Please” JESUS CHRIST PEOPLE, RSVP means “Respond, Please”. You don’t need another please, jackasses!
which brings us into “The la brea tar pits” = “The the tar tar pits”. that’s a different area of complaints though
January 10th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Regarding “on THE one hand,” Longman, Cambridge, and the OED all list it as the primary or only form of the idiom, whereas American sources like Webster’s and Random House list it as merely a variant. So it would appear that British usage commonly employs the construction than American usage does (from my point of view, both forms seem fine). Do you always assume that the supposed errors you identify are characteristic of American speech only?
January 18th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Missing from your list is the yanks’ annoying use of the word “gotten”, as in the comment from Mark S. above (“I’ve also never gotten a satisfactory explanation…”). The correct word is “had”.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
As a Yank who uses “gotten” with perverse delight, I will try to explain the clear sense distinction that we feel the word gives us. When we say “have got,” we are simply using an emphatic form of “have” to mean obligation or possession. Thus “I’ve got to go” means “I have to (must) go,” and “I’ve got a small house” means “I have (possess) a small house.” By contrast, “gotten” is used as a past participle of “get” in the senses “become,” “received,” “obtained,” etc. Thus “I’ve gotten sick twice this year” means “I’ve *become* sick twice this year,” and “I had just gotten my new house when the roof collapsed” means “I had just *obtained* my new house….”
If it’s still not clear, here is a classic example of the distinction:
“I haven’t got any money” means you’re broke.
“I haven’t gotten any money” means that you haven’t been paid.
February 18th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I find this article to be highly offensive. You lump all Americans together as though we are all uneducated fools. I beg to differ. The lack of grammatical awareness of many Americans, while quite annoying to me personally, is equally evident in most modern societies. If you took the time to look more closely, you would find that your remarks are a result of your own prejudice, and are extremely unethical. I found your website while researching tessellations with my 12 year old daughter for a school project. I am glad that I saw your remarks before she did. I do not teach my children to speak that way about others, and I would hope that you would teach yours the same. If such is the case, then maybe you should practice what you preach. It would be more effective to simply politely correct people (American or otherwise) when their grammar is incorrect than to post slanderous and offensive articles such as this.
February 19th, 2008 at 11:10 am
I wouldnt worry about your daughter coming accross this, as an American child im sure she cannot read. You sound like you’d be great fun at a party, lighten up and keep smiling ; )
March 20th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Hello! I see the website look has changed a bit – very nice, except I can barely see the borders of this box!
I wanted to ask you to add another item to your list of “Things American s Say Wrong”:
ALMOST – Not “most”.
Correct use of “most”: This elixir will cure most ailments.
Incorrect use of “most”: This elixir will cure most any ailment. – or – Most anyone will find this elixir worth the price.
March 26th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
My pet peeve is the current rage for saying “14 troops were killed today”. A troop is a group of soldiers, not an individual member of the armed forces. How hard is it to say ’soldiers’ (or ’servicepersons’ if you’re not sure they were all soldiers.
April 20th, 2008 at 12:10 am
It is VERY common for people to say “The reason is because”, such as “The reason I was late is because there was a traffic jam”, but it is redundant and incorrect. One should say either “The reason I was late is that there was a traffic jam” or “I was late because there was a traffic jam”.
May 6th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
#83(Tess)
From what I am lead to believe is that when talking about a home(noun)
“hearth” is pronounced ‘harrth’, but the act(verb) is pronounced ‘hurth’.
Correct me if I am wrong. There has been a lot of discussion about this.
I had alwaays called it ‘harrth’ as an action as well as a home and was
told there is a difference.
May 6th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Jeff- Hearth is “harth” no matter if you are hearthing to your hearth. Although, it is okay to say “herth” if you are reverting to middle english. However, if you are playing World of Warcraft either way is totally acceptable. Hope that helps:-)
May 21st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
With regard to “Couldn’t/could care less” I’ve used the two as seperate, but related phrases for as long as I can recall. I’d always assumed those around me did so as well, but in light of the obvious confusion this seems to be causing I suppose it may be that they have only been used in such a way that the difference wasn’t obvious.
I use both quite literally, as statements of fact. “Couldn’t care less” indictes just that… any interest I have in the subject is, in fact, the lowest it could possibly be. “Could care less” indicates a mild level of (non-zero) interest, while the fact that I am overtly stating that I could care less indicates that one might reasonably suppose I don’t care at all.
I second the rice-data comparison, incidentally. I would have posted it myself, but was beaten to the punch. There’s a long and respected tradition of comparing to aggregates as singular, and it’s so seldom required that one refer to a single member of a mass of data that it’s understandable that the few instances where it is required are not often understood.
My pet peeve? People who refer to “grammatical errors” and proceed to recite a list composed primarily of phonological or phonetic errors, or, still worse, simple gaps in vocabulary.
July 1st, 2008 at 6:55 pm
In your claim that “on one hand” is the correct idiom and that “on *the* other hand” is incorrect, it seems that once again you’ve applied your own logic without looking at any examples of actual usage. To start with, when the expression “on the one hand” was first recorded in the 17th century, it didn’t refer to just any old hand; rather, it referred to a person’s RIGHT HAND, which at the time was the hand that all people should were taught and/or forced to favor. By contrast, “the other hand” referred to a person’s left hand. In other words, since “one hand” meant a specific hand rather than just either of two, it is entirely correct for it to be preceded by the definite article “the.”
Second, the supposedly faulty usage that you censure is actually more characteristic of British English than it is something that “Americans say wrong.” In fact, if you look in American Heritage or Webster’s, the idiom is shown both with and without the “the.” Oxford, on the other hand
, lists only the “the” form. Longman–that most British of publishers–even goes so far as to add a usage note for English learners that warns, “Do not say ‘on one hand.’” So perhaps a more fitting title to your page would be “Things that Dmitry Brant Thinks Americans Say Wrong.”
August 11th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
effect/affect
August 11th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
a descending escalator isn’t really and escalator is it
October 21st, 2008 at 3:04 am
It’s ophthalmologist, not opthamologist (the ph sounds like an “f” and there are 2 “l”s !)
November 1st, 2008 at 4:05 am
I thought I was a pedant but you have humbled me Dmitry B. Rant.
However, while I’m here I’d like to suggest inclusion of “anniversary” in your list.
“One year anniversary” First anniversary. Year is redundant.
“Six month anniversary” Celebrate anyway but it’s not an anniversary.
February 6th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I have to say, as an American who actually does speak properly, I’m both amused and annoyed. Then again, I actually spent a fair bit of time teaching myself to do so. I suppose I can’t blame someone for discussing it online, as you are largely right.
However, it should be noted that countries all over the world “say things incorrectly” because of their accents. The majority of Britons don’t say their Rs at the end of words like “corner, doctor,” etc, and yet I don’t see you criticizing them. For God’s sake, some British accents even drop Ts in the middle of words; for example, “altar” becomes “al’uh.”
And trust me, I’m not crazily patriotic, of that I can well assure you. Flaws in language annoy me just as much as they seem to annoy you. But perhaps you should criticize the group as a whole before you begin shooting at the “fokes” in your part of the world.
February 18th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Biceps. How could everyone overlook biceps? I have screamed so many times seeing it written “bicep” — and I expect it is spoken that way too, but I don’t hang around with body-builers.
I don’t know why it took me so long to find this site, either. I laugh at me.
February 25th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Wow – really great list… Surprisingly complete! One that really bugs me is less a mispronunciation than a misused word: “I’m anxious to see him – it’s been so long!” Typically the speaker means that they are excited or eager to see the person. But “anxious” communicates the opposite – feeling anxiety (tense, worried). Perhaps this one has become so common that it is falling into the “acceptable use” category, but I hope not! :p
February 26th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Using ‘addicting’ instead of ‘addictive’ is inexcusable. Seriously, it’s actually completely wrong.
February 26th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Oh yeah and also, thanks for pointing out the ‘I could care less’ one. WHAT? WHAAAAAAAATTTTT? IT DOESN’T
EVEN MAKE SENSE! IT’S A COMPLETE LAPSE OF LOGIC! SAYING THAT MEANS YOU DO CARE TO AT LEAST A FAIRLY
SUBSTANTIAL DEGREE!
Whoa. Ok, i’m fine now. This list is brilliant and thanks for giving me the chance to get that of my chest.
February 26th, 2009 at 9:18 am
Yeah I know my paragraphs are weird there, having some problems with the text box.
March 16th, 2009 at 12:28 am
You left out “Brestisis” for “Breasts.”
March 16th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
While I agree with many above that roughly half of the list verges on prescriptivist drivel, I figure it’s entertaining anyway(s). I could care less, but that would take effort. That said, mano a mano does NOT mean “hand to hand” except to anglophones who are in first year Spanish or shacking in Barcelona. It’s Hispanic slang for ‘mano a ‘mano; that is, “hermano a hermano” or “brother to brother”. It’s like someone saying “bro’ to bro’”
March 26th, 2009 at 6:13 am
How about horrendous instead of horiffic
April 20th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
“Often disgustingly mispronounced as “nucular” (NOO-kyoo-lar). I still cringe when remembering George W. Bush say “nucular” in his speeches.”
As I was fond of saying during Dubya Jr.’s presidency, “We had a president who was a nuclear engineer (Jimmy Carter), now we have a president who can’t even pronounce the word nuclear“. More’s the pity.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:13 am
What a way to waste your time; and to think I am doing the same thing reading this.
I am a professional software writer for a major corporation. While the average American could care less about how they talk or spell, some of us strive to say and write every word correctly. You can thank our poor educational system for graduating students that can’t read, write, spell, or worse, understand simple math. They would rather indoctrinate the students in political rhetoric and prepare them for welfare. Luckily, I put myself through college because I knew that whatever I wanted in life, I would have to get it for myself, and not through stealing from others in one form or another.
Now I understand what our Europeans friends do all day when they’re not listening to the News media say negative things about Americans. Instead, they’re finding fault with everything we do, as if they have no faults of their own. He that has no sin, cast the first stone. You are all wasting valuable brain energy on frivolous commentary. Can’t you put that energy to better use???????????? How about solving how to feed the starving masses in Africa? How about helping to end the hunger? How about stopping others who would like to have you
killed because you do not believe as they do? How about allowing another human being the simple pleasure of reading what they want, or better yet, worshiping whom they want, as long as they do not force that on someone else? How about finding a new energy source so we can improve our planet?
How about we all work together for the good of the earth?
What is wrong with all of you?
April 25th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Sherry, do you actually believe that the people who write comments here are capable of ending hunger or discovering a new energy source? You really have rather high expectations of the Internet! Of course, if President Obama, Steven Chu, or Tim Geithner started posting comments here, you might have a point.
May 1st, 2009 at 6:42 am
I also receive a lot of emails from friends in the US who seem to not know the difference between “their” and “there” …
They better should use there wits
May 13th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
How about “As I said” against “Like I said”?
May 21st, 2009 at 8:40 am
How on Gods precious Earth did it become acceptable to pronounce shouldn’t as should dent, wouldn’t as would dent, etc. I could possibly accept that from a teenager, but am noticing more and more that TV reporters and persons of higher learning using the same pronunciation. It’s like fingernails on a blackboard!