words that make you grit your teeth

[Crankin]

Thank you, Lisa.
My thoughts exactly. I know this topic is controversial, but it makes me want to say I believe in God and I don't care if anyone says Oh My God.
I say a lot worse and they are all just words...

[Chile Pepper]

I just ran across "I could care less." I suppose I really could and should care less than I do about other people's grammar, but that one drives me crazy.

[mupedalpusher]

I don't like being referred to as Mrs. Jim XXXX. I have a name and it's Pam. It's not the "Mrs." I dislike or the last name because I chose to take his name. I don't get this one often, but when I do I just politely say "my name is Pam". I'll probably get hammered for his one but I just feel I deserve my own identity. They can call me Mrs. Pam XXXX but at least give me the respect of using my name.

Recently I had a tall woman mention my height (5'4") and basically make fun of me for being short. I just very politely said "I'm fine with being petite, I've really never wanted to be a big woman". She shut up fast. I guess she didn't like being called "big". I'm not making fun of tall women here, so please if you are tall don't take offense because I could care less about how tall someone is...just wanted to shut this gal down in a hurry!

[Crankin]

I haven't had anyone call me "Mrs. Steve XXX" since my grandmother died. She used to address letters to me that way and when they arrived in the mail (back in the old days) my husband would open them because he saw his name!
I don't mind the Mrs. either, especially from all the years of teaching, but now I regret changing my name. It's not a huge "thing,"but it's too late to change it back after 29 years.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Recently I had a tall woman mention my height (5'4") and basically make fun of me for being short. I just very politely said "I'm fine with being petite, I've really never wanted to be a big woman". She shut up fast. I guess she didn't like being called "big". I'm not making fun of tall women here, so please if you are tall don't take offense because I could care less about how tall someone is...just wanted to shut this gal down in a hurry!

You just said "I could care less"!!

Yeah, the "Mrs. John Smith" thing always used to bother me too. I saw a lot of that one year when I joined a garden club and many members were seniors and pretty straight-laced. It's an old tradition from our grandmother's and great grandmothers' time, so I can understand older people still using it. I think it is fading out on its own.

[OakLeaf]

The worst was when my high school (prep, but bohemian kind of prep, so I really expected better) heard from my mom (who was a teacher in the Lower School) that I'd gotten married to my first husband. School decided to start addressing all my alumna mail to "Mrs. Ron XXX"... when I'd kept my own freakin name, my first name AND my last name. They got an earful from me on that one!

I always assumed that "I could care less" was, um, would it be sarcasm, or another figure of speech? I thought it was intentional to state the opposite of what was actually meant, anyhow.

And - well said, Lisa.
<tying my fingers behind my back so I don't keep going on this one>

[Chile Pepper]

I always assumed that "I could care less" was, um, would it be sarcasm, or another figure of speech? I thought it was intentional to state the opposite of what was actually meant, anyhow.

Um, no, but then I couldn't care less about the derivation of the phrase.

[Zen]

And - well said, Lisa.
<tying my fingers behind my back so I don't keep going on this one>

I'm wearing my oven mitts

[lph]

Well I thought the phrase was really "I couldn't care less (about x,y or z)", ie. "I don't care at all".

Re: "the other discussion": this thread was started to let people vent a little on words or phrases that upset them in general. So I think it's only fair to let everybody say which phrases upset or offend them no matter what they are and no matter if you happen to use them. No-one's decreeing that you can't say this, that or the other, and as long as it's mentioned in a reasonable manner I find it rather enlightening what bothers people.

Sorry, that syntax sucked.