Phrases/words that set your teeth on edge.

[ahinton]

Anyway, no rhyme or reason behind what sets anyone's teeth on edge

No, indeed; the mere thought of attending the dentist's enough to do that to mine, though...

[P. G. Tipps]

Who? Scotty? No, some here believe that he might be behind P. G. Tipps but, as I've suggested previously on more than one occasion, I remain to be convinced...

Anyway, one thing is for certain in this otherwise uncertain demi-monde of tooth-dislodging pedantry and that's that it's a woman's right to decide whether or not to merge the threads...

There is little or no connection between the two threads apart from the fact that Americanisations and similar slovenly speech can set members' teeth on edge like countless other things.

The fact is that disagreements about grammah are perfectly logical on a forum about what words and phrases set some members' teeth on edge and why others are baffled why it should do so?

'Anti-pedants' can be just as wearingly pedantic as so-called 'pedants' (in some cases even more so as these fine boards have oft demonstrated) which I might have safely assumed you of all valued members would have been well aware, sir!

[teamsaint]

cameron
war on terror
arms industry

etc etc
continue ad nauseum.

"From the safest places come the bravest words."
Adrian Borland.

another very sad day.

[Pabmusic]

"The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Cyprus tweets that the target hit overnight may have been infrastructure."

Does this mean the strike was infrastructive?

[P. G. Tipps]

"The BBC's Jonathan Beale in Cyprus tweets that the target hit overnight may have been infrastructure."

... and may not ... what a totally meaningless 'tweet' ... he might have well as said ... 'I haven't the semblance of a clue what (if anything) was hit overnight and whether it was infrastructure if something was (hit)'.

Sadly, par for the course for BBC 'news'-reporting these days.

Furthermore, tweets and twitters should be left to our expert and knowledgeable feathered friends who know how to use them properly and always meaningfully.

[Pabmusic]

Today I 'dumbed down' a bit by watching Motorway Cops on YouTube.

I could not help but notice the use of POTENTIAL as a throwaway word. "The number of potential witnesses that might have been there". "Potentially your driving is very dangerous". "I've seen six or seven potential offences". And much more (I counted 44 'potentials' in a 60-minute episode).

Only one seemed justified - a chemical fire in a lorry, which was 'potentially' very dangerous because of its knock-on effects.

[P. G. Tipps]

Potentially 'envision' .. and already we have 'every which way' .. 'trash can' .. 'apartment' ... 'check it out' .. 'the good guys' .. 'the bad guys' .. 'first responders' .. 'shooter'.

[Serial_Apologist]

Power outages.

What was wrong with just power cuts???

[jean]

Perhaps the word cuts has now become all too familiar in the rather different sense of Government depriving local authorities of the funds they need even to keep essential services going?

.

[jean]

I could not help but notice the use of POTENTIAL as a throwaway word. "The number of potential witnesses that might have been there". "Potentially your driving is very dangerous". "I've seen six or seven potential offences"...

Doesn't the first of those need something? We don't know if there was anyone there, and if they were, whether they saw anything, and if they did, whether they could be persuaded to testify. But if it turns out that they were there, and saw, and said so, they were already actual witnesses rather than potential ones, even if we didn't know that when we composed our sentence?

The second I agree needs no mitigating adjective. It's only there because people fight shy of upsetting motorists.

But someone who drives badly is dangerous, regardless of whether he collides with anyone or not.

[Ferretfancy]

Power outages.

What was wrong with just power cuts???

I don't like the term, but it is often convenient for the authorities to blur the distinction between a power cut and a power failure, The term outage serves the purpose nicely.

[P. G. Tipps]

But someone who drives badly is dangerous, regardless of whether he collides with anyone or not.

A moot point ...

Bad driving need not necessarily be described definitively as particularly 'dangerous' as that would depend on circumstances, surroundings and the degree of 'bad'?

Therefore I think 'potentially dangerous' is the most accurate phrase as no one really knows whether any danger might actually loom?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

A moot point ...
Bad driving need not necessarily be described definitively as particularly 'dangerous' as that would depend on circumstances, surroundings and the degree of 'bad'?
Therefore I think 'potentially dangerous' is the most accurate phrase as no one really knows whether any danger might actually loom?

But isn't all "danger" "potential"; dependent upon circumstances - something isn't dangerous unless brought into proximity with something else. Danger implies risk - the potential for harm; so "potential danger" is a tautology.

[Padraig]

If 'nothing is impossible' then everything has potential?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

If 'nothing is impossible' then everything has potential?

- all potential is equal; but some is more equal than other.