There is NO SUCH THING as "a word in edgewise"

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  • savethecat
    savethecat Posts: 290 Member
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    I had a roommate once that would say goodnight with a little monologue which always concluded with one or both of those phrases.

    As in "At the end of the day we always find out who are true friends are and not for nothing, but I'd rather know than not know."

    I suppose he was using these phrases ironically, but I can't say for sure. He was a really interesting roommate.
  • SuperScrabbleGirl
    SuperScrabbleGirl Posts: 310 Member
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    Is there also no such thing as crosswise?

    Oh wait, yes there is!

    cross·wise (krôswz, krs-)
    adv. also cross·ways (-wz)
    So as to be or lie in a cross direction; across: placed the kindling crosswise to the rest of the wood.
    adj.
    Crossing: a crosswise piece.
    To be honest I have never heard "crosswise" before.

    Here's another one, people not knowing the difference between lending and borrowing. "Can I lend a pen?", "Er sure... but I don't really need one." Haha, man, I'm a pedantic tool sometimes.

    I should have named this thread "vocabu-vent".
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,788 Member
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    How about - irregardless is NOT a word.

    I worked with a girl that said "pacific" instead of the word "specific". And she said it A LOT! *facepalm*

    Irregardless drives me INSANE, and I also know people who use "pacific" I always want to say "as opposed to Atlantic?"...ugh!

    Irregardless of whether you define this as a real word. It is. look it up. I use it all the time.

    It may be a "real word", but its grammatically incorrect to use it. The “irr” negates the “less”, which technically changes the meaning to “with regard”.

    Plus, people sound completely uneducated when they use it.

    Uneducated? I beg to differ with you. However, I wasn't arguing the grammar, only the validity. Now you've gone and hurt my feelings.
  • SKP1986
    SKP1986 Posts: 392 Member
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    Alot.

    It's 'a lot.'

    http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/04/alot-is-better-than-you-at-everything.html

    ^ This post is fantastic, and she captures exactly how I feel about it.
  • jjhanlon
    jjhanlon Posts: 74 Member
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    The Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms disagrees. Edgewise is the American form of the idiom and edgeways is the British and Australian form of the idiom.

    Thank you, I was really confused for a minute. :)
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,720 Member
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    Oh man, if I hear one more person say "a word in edgewise" I'm going to freak out.

    The saying is "A word in edgeways", as in: the person was talking so much, that if you could literally see the words coming out of there mouth, there would be so many, that you couldn't fit one word in if you turned it on it's edge.

    And while I'm at it, it's "I couldn't care less".

    You are so hot right now.

    While we're at it, "ignorant" does not mean rude. It means not having knowledge of something. You can be ignorant of the rules. You can be ignorant of a person's feelings. But saying someone is ignorant, and leaving it at that, means nothing.
  • withchaco
    withchaco Posts: 1,026 Member
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    if you turned it on it's edge.
    on its edge, not "it's" :wink:

    I've actually never heard edgewise/ edgeways before!
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
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    The Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms disagrees. Edgewise is the American form of the idiom and edgeways is the British and Australian form of the idiom.


    Yeah. I'm American. I've never heard of "edgeways."

    Me either, I say edgewise...
  • jamk1446
    jamk1446 Posts: 5,577 Member
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    This one amuses me more than annoys me because people defend it so vigorously: saying welp not welt.

    If someone snaps you with a rubber band, it leaves a welt. Not a welp. I've had people tell me it's a real word or that both are correct, then we get the dictionary and all that's there is whelp, not the same thing. But they still don't believe me. My MIL says but "I've always heard that and I've always used it myself." I understand, but it's wrong!
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
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    lol, this reminds me of my pet peeve: When people say "supposively"

    My husband wants to slap people who say "supposeBly", hahahaha
  • Ashley_Panda
    Ashley_Panda Posts: 1,404 Member
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    My 31 year old sister in law says 'Redunklious" instead of "Ridiculous" I want to smack her in the mouth.
    But then again, she's a ****ing idiot to begin with.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    Uneducated? I beg to differ with you. However, I wasn't arguing the grammar, only the validity. Now you've gone and hurt my feelings.

    Well, I'm still not convinced its a valid word (since its defined as grammatically incorrect), but I do apologize for hurting your feelings :frown:
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    loose and lose....say it out loud before you type it.... :huh:

    You see that one a lot on this site.

    I have a co-worker who always uses "condeNscending" (condescending).
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
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    OH! My boss combines "flustered" and "frustrated" and says "flusterated". Says it 3 or 4 times a day, drives me NUTS! LOL
  • Jennyisbusy
    Jennyisbusy Posts: 1,294 Member
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    Man this thread is so busy I'm having trouble getting a word in edgewise! Whatever, I could care less.
    ;)
    No but seriously, I get ya. It really bugs me when people use sayings that they don't even know.
    Haha uou naughty girl!

    I hate when people say literally when they don't mean it, or they ask a pacific question:laugh:
  • jnettiedotson
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    My 31 year old sister in law says 'Redunklious" instead of "Ridiculous" I want to smack her in the mouth.
    But then again, she's a ****ing idiot to begin with.

    Well, we say ricockulous over here, LOL!!
  • jnettiedotson
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    You to huh? I know, things like this annoy me two. I have too get off of this thread before I loose my mind. :explode: :huh:
  • SuperScrabbleGirl
    SuperScrabbleGirl Posts: 310 Member
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    You to huh? I know, things like this annoy me two. I have too get off of this thread before I loose my mind. :explode: :huh:

    Ha! Amazing!
  • Mom2rh
    Mom2rh Posts: 612 Member
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    Anywho...:explode: Hate that.
  • Claudia007
    Claudia007 Posts: 878 Member
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    "anywayS" I HATE that!! :mad: