yognut
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| Joined: 03 Jul 2011 |
| Total Posts: 335 |
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| 04 Jul 2014 02:36 AM |
There are two phrases I am going to list. These phrases annoy me because their usage seems wrong. Not morally, but grammatically. Their meaning seem different or pointless.
#1: Can you imagine?
People often use this to describe something shocking that they heard happen to someone or something else, OR as a way to describe a hypothetical situation. Example: Could you imagine walking into Starbucks and everyone was holding assault rifles?
Well, sir, of course I could imagine. You just did, and I think it's pretty obvious that I could imagine it too. It's easy to imagine something like that.
What it should be replaced by: Can you literally imagine?
See, asking instead, "Can you literally imagine," makes it clear that you are not asking if the other person is capable of imagining ridiculous things, but rather, you are asking them if they could imagine literally experiencing something.
#2: I could care less.
This one particularly annoys me. My fourth grade teacher said it all the time. Oh yeah, and it doesn't make any god damn sense.
People often use this phrase to say that they couldn't give a rats but about a particular thing or subject. Basically, it is meant to mean "I give so few interest, that I literally couldn't give any less interest."
But, by saying the phrase, you directly contradict its meaning since you are actually saying "I could care less," possibly meaning that you don't not care. You are saying that you have interest to give. You are saying exactly the opposite of what you mean.
What it should be replaced by: I couldn't care less.
By saying that you couldn't care less, you are saying that you have no room to care. You are directly saying "Hey, I have absolutely no interest to give." It makes much more sense to say this than the former. Yet, people commonly use the former to express the latter. So OT, What are phrases that annoy you, and why? |
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| 04 Jul 2014 02:37 AM |
| Can you imagine that I couldn't care less about what annoys you. |
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| 04 Jul 2014 02:39 AM |
well ok i'm totally going to stop using those phrases to please you
#sarcasm
god bless |
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| 04 Jul 2014 02:41 AM |
"#2: I could care less."
do people actually say that
~I rate 14/14 on the pH scale~ |
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| 04 Jul 2014 02:41 AM |
| Can you imagine that I couldn't care less? |
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| 04 Jul 2014 02:43 AM |
Your revision of the first phrase means the exact same thing. And technically, I guess it would be grammatically incorrect because the purpose behind the phrase is not to find out if one can imagine something. A better revision might be to scrap the phrase and instead just say "imagine."
The second phrase which you criticize is actually fine. Think of the meaning behind why someone would say they could care less. Picture yourself burdened with having to listen to someone talk all day. When asked of your opinions on your job, you sigh and say, "I could care less." The phrase is intended to mean that the situation is NOT that bad. The phrase "I couldn't care less" is also used, and that means the opposite. |
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