words that make you grit your teeth

[kelownagirl]

Exactly...

I thought "y'all" was singular and "all y'all" was plural?

[emily_in_nc]

I thought "y'all" was singular and "all y'all" was plural?

Nope. Y'all is a conjunction of "you" and "all". No way it can be singular. It's like "You guys" is up north.

"Y'all all" is just plain wrong.

Emily, born and bred in the south...

[michelem]

"Y'all is a conjunction of "you" and "all". No way it can be singular."

So, Emily, I was right in looking around to see who else my roomate was talking to when she said, "Are y'all fixin' to go to bed now?" I was the only other person in the room, so this just did not make sense to me . . . nor did "fixin'" . . . how does one "fix" to go to bed???

[michelem]

"Circle back." I REALLY grit my teeth when I'm told, "I'll circle back with you on that." Ugh!!!

Also, "like." It drives me nuts, and in my opinion makes the person sound LIKE a ditz! Especially when the person is in a high-powered position.

[Zen]

this just did not make sense to me . . . nor did "fixin'" . . . how does one "fix" to go to bed???

You know darned good and well what 'fixin' means.
In the case that I might be mistaken and you truly are ignorant as to the use of the word, it's a southern colloquialism meaning 'prepare to do something; to perform ablutions'.

Now I'm fixin' to have me some supper.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Now I'm fixin' to have me some supper.

Are you fixin' to put some fixin's on it?

[Zen]

Are you fixin' to put some fixin's on it?

Only if you go to Roy Rogers, where they have the Fixin's Bar

[michelem]

You know darned good and well what 'fixin' means.
In the case that I might be mistaken and you truly are ignorant as to the use of the word, it's a southern colloquialism meaning 'prepare to do something; to perform ablutions'.

Very funny.

I did NOT know what fixin' meant when the term was first used in my presence (my first year in college, when I was paired with a roomate from Arkansas). I was not and am not "ignorant." I was not raised in the South and had never heard that term before. Yes, I do know what it means now . . . I guess I should have used the saracastic smilie in my post.

[Zen]

Don't mistake ignorant (lacking in knowledge or training) for stupid (lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull).

[salsabike]

You know...I thought I would LOVE this thread. I’m a word lover. I thought it would be great fun to hear all the different expressions people hear, use, dislike, etc.

To coin a bad phrase, never have so many people been so offended by so much—and so little. People yelling at others about what they posted and insisting on 1) their individual right to keep on saying whatever the other person didn’t like; 2) their right not to have to hear things they personally don’t like; 3) people who are sophisticated e-users, who know that you can’t always be accurate in interpreting the underlying connotations of messages, filling in the connotative blanks and getting offended by their own blank-filling-in. Ee-yow! Would it really have been that hard to just post your own words without arguing back about others’ posts?

I don’t THINK I’ve ever put a thread on “ignore” before, and I sure didn’t think I’d be doing it with this one. And with a lot of posters on this thread whom I really like and enjoy. Oh, well. I’ll still be glad to see you all, y'all, or all y'all, on other threads.

[AlwayzOnDaMove]

I hate the word "ain't" and not fond of the word "reckon."

I hear some people say "I ain't got none."

Oh, this isn't a word but, I hate when people put "ed" at the end of a word when they don't need to or add an extra "ed" to a word that already has it.

[OakLeaf]

I thought "y'all" was singular and "all y'all" was plural?

I thought the same thing.

[kelownagirl]

I thought the same thing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y%27all

Both are correct. I guess it depends on where in the South you live. I had a Texan friend explain all the "y'all" to me once.

And this one that backs up the singluar idea. http://anotherhistoryblog.blogspot.c...bout-yall.html

And through most of the South, it is plural. Unless someone is intentionally misusing it for effect, "y'all" seldom refers to just one person. The problem is, lots of folks have intentionally misused it, from the makers of movies and television shows with exaggerated southern characters (often for purposes of ridicule) to the writers of those ubiquitous little books with titles like "Advice for Yankees Moving South": "Remember, 'y'all' is singular. 'All y'all' is plural. 'All y'all's' is plural possessive."