英语语法：22 Top Five Pet Peeves of 2008

Grammar Girl here.

Today I'm announcing the top five Grammar Girl pet peeves² of 2008.

About a month ago, I asked Grammar Girl listeners to submit their pet peeves for consideration for the peeves of 2008 list, and boy, do you have a lot of peeves! What surprised me most was how little overlap³ there was between all your peeves. I expected there to be clear winners, but there weren't. I don't know if you read other people's comments and decided⁴ not to post if your peeve¹ was already there or if you're all so different that everyone just has his or her own peeve. Some of your annoyances⁵ did fall into groups like classic errors and political speech, so I tried to make sure that those groups were represented in the final list.

Before we get into the final list, I have one honorable mention for Joshua Heimann whose complaint didn't make the list but did make me laugh. He complained about people making up words like "conversate" and "pronunciate" and noted⁶ that it needed to terminate, not stopitate.

And now, the list --

Carelessness

At number five, we have carelessness. You hate seeing errors in professionally produced materials, you hate seeing errors in comment posts where other people are talking about their peeves, and most of all, you hate it when people call you pedantic⁷ for caring about language. So number five on the 2008 pet peeves list is a careless attitude about language.

Myself

Number four is misuse⁸ of the word "myself." Many of your pet peeves fall into the classic category -- the kind of language errors that we hear year in and year out and aren't particularly special to 2008. You hate it when people misuse "less" and "fewer," use the wrong version of "your" and "their," mispronounce words such as especially and espresso, and have verbal tics such as using "like" every four words.  But the biggest pet peeve in this category, the one that is number four on our list, is when people misuse the word "myself." "Send the message to Squiggly and myself" is wrong; it's "Send the message to Squiggly and me." "Myself and Bob are going to the meeting" is wrong; it's "Bob and I are going to the meeting."

Tap

Number three on our list is overuse of the word "tapped," as in Obama tapped so-and-so for secretary of lawn mowing⁹. Peeves about political speech were rampant¹⁰ this year. Many of the suggestions for peeve of the year that I received had some connection to the election. People were annoyed that politicians altered their pronunciation to sound folksy, misused¹¹ the word "enormity," spoke¹² about "an historical election," misused "Democrat¹³" as an adjective, and overused phrases like "double down" and "team of rivals."

But the winner in the political speech category is the overuse of the word "tapped." The Oxford¹⁴ English Dictionary includes a definition meaning "to appoint" for the word "tap," but also indicates that the use is a U.S. colloquialism¹⁵, meaning it's questionable¹⁶ to use it in formal situations. All through the election we heard about people being tapped for positions, and it's only gotten worse with Obama making so many recent appointments. There's nothing technically¹⁷ wrong with using "tap" in this way, and I know it's a short word that can fit nicely into a tight headline, but I'd like to suggest to headline writers that there are other words they might consider using, including "appointed," "selected," "chose," and "designated."

As an aside, I think it is amusing that another slang meaning of the word "tap" is to arrest someone. The meaning comes from police tapping people on the shoulder right before they arrest them. Let's hope the people being tapped for political positions aren't eventually tapped in that other sense of the word.

Baby Bump

Number two on the list of 2008 pet peeves is the phrase "baby bump." When I read Erica Podegracz's suggestion of this phrase for peeve of the year I knew it had to be on the list! It's not in any regular dictionary, but the Urban Dictionary, a site where people can enter their own definitions for terms, calls a baby bump "The protruding¹⁹ abdominal²⁰ bump from a woman's stomach when she becomes noticeably pregnant (1)."  The Celebrity²¹ Baby Blog did a story back in March about the origins of the term and they believe it started in Britain about four years ago (2), but it seems to them that the phrase is gaining popularity, and it seems to me that it's being overused. All year we were hearing about baby bumps on Jennifer Garner²², Angelina Joile, Ashlee Simpson, and various other celebrities²³ who may or may not be pregnant. Some people think it is cute and descriptive, but to me, it sounds so descriptive as to be childish -- like when someone asks for a purple snow cone²⁴ instead of a grape snow cone.

Slay²⁵

And finally, the top pet peeve of 2008 is the use of the word "slay" as a noun. Fred Firestine from New York first pointed¹⁸ out the trend to me. For example, a recent headline from Fox News read "Slay Suspect Amanda Knox Stars in Feature Film in Jail." Which prompted Fred to ask "slay suspect? Shouldn't it be 'slaying²⁶ suspect'?" And once Fred pointed it out, he and I both kept seeing more examples. For example, CBS news wrote "N.J. Slay Suspect Confesses," the Boston Herald²⁷ wrote "Fare Found Guilty in Cabbie Slay," and the use seems common at the New York Daily News which has repeatedly used "slay" this way. It seems to be confined to headline writing for now, so I'm guessing that the writers are using it to save space, but it's just plain wrong.

In every one of those headlines "slay" is being used as a noun or in the place of a gerund such as "slaying." But I dutifully checked all my dictionaries and the only definition of "slay" as a noun has something to do with weaving and looms²⁸. "Slay" is a verb -- "to slay," meaning "to kill." Someone can be a slayer²⁹ and an incident can be a slaying, but to say someone is a slay suspect isn't good English. Substitute some other nouns to see how silly this use is. You wouldn't say "Adidas is selling more run shoes" or "Shoot suspect evades police." So in the hope of stopping this trend before it becomes more widespread, I name the misuse of "slay" as the top Grammar Girl pet peeve of 2008.

So there you have it.

The top five Grammar Girl pet peeves of 2008 are

5. Carelessness
4. Myself
3. Tap
2. Baby bump
1. Slay

Thanks to everyone who submitted a peeve. I enjoyed reading through them and I'll use many of them as topics for future shows or even more likely as topics for the grammar tips that now come out in the daily e-mail newsletter.

Administrative³⁰

Despite all the peeves in the world, 2008 was a great year. Last week iTunes named Grammar Girl one of the best podcasts of 2008, so thank you to everyone who left five-star reviews at iTunes. None of what I do would be possible without the amazing support listeners have provided over the years.

And finally, I don't do this alone, so I need to thank all the people who help. Dan Feierabend does the sound production on the show every week and makes sure the podcast and transcript³¹ get posted where they need to be, Cherylyn Feierabend is my part-time assistant and among other things helps manage our increasingly complex production schedule and the flood of email messages listeners send every week, Bonnie Trenga and Steve Thornton are my copy editors and do their best to keep me from making stupid mistakes, and Richard Rhorer is the director of digital business development; most of his work is behind the scenes, but most recently he made it possible for us to start delivering daily grammar tips by email. The awards Grammar Girl receives are as much theirs as they are mine.

That's all. Thanks for listening.

1 peeve   

v.气恼，怨恨；n.麻烦的事物，怨恨

参考例句：

• She was in a peeve over it.她对这很气恼。
• She was very peeved about being left out.她为被遗漏而恼怒。

2 peeves   

n.麻烦的事物，怨恨，触怒( peeve的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It peeves me to be ordered out of my own house. 命令我从自己的家中出去，真太气人了。 来自辞典例句
• Write down two of your pet peeves about home or any other situation. 写下两个你厌烦的家务事或其他的情况。 来自超越目标英语 第3册

3 overlap   

v.重叠，与…交叠；n.重叠

参考例句：

• The overlap between the jacket and the trousers is not good.夹克和裤子重叠的部分不好看。
• Tiles overlap each other.屋瓦相互叠盖。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 annoyances   

n.恼怒( annoyance的名词复数 )；烦恼；打扰；使人烦恼的事

参考例句：

• At dinner that evening two annoyances kept General Zaroff from perfect enjoyment one. 当天晚上吃饭时，有两件不称心的事令沙洛夫吃得不很香。 来自辞典例句
• Actually, I have a lot of these little annoyances-don't we all? 事实上我有很多类似的小烦恼，我们不都有这种小烦恼吗？ 来自互联网

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 pedantic   

adj.卖弄学问的；迂腐的

参考例句：

• He is learned,but neither stuffy nor pedantic.他很博学，但既不妄自尊大也不卖弄学问。
• Reading in a pedantic way may turn you into a bookworm or a bookcase,and has long been opposed.读死书会变成书呆子，甚至于成为书橱，早有人反对过了。

8 misuse   

n.误用，滥用；vt.误用，滥用

参考例句：

• It disturbs me profoundly that you so misuse your talents.你如此滥用自己的才能，使我深感不安。
• He was sacked for computer misuse.他因滥用计算机而被解雇了。

9 mowing   

n.割草，一次收割量，牧草地v.刈，割( mow的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The lawn needs mowing. 这草坪的草该割了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• "Do you use it for mowing?" “你是用它割草么？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

10 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

11 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

13 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

14 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

15 colloquialism   

n.俗话，白话，口语

参考例句：

• The writer aerateed his writing with a persuasive colloquialism.作者用一种有说服力的口语体使他的文章显得生动。
• Her speech is informal and filled with colloquialism.她的演讲是非正式的，很口语化。

16 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

17 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

18 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

19 protruding   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸

参考例句：

• He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
• There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句

20 abdominal   

adj.腹（部）的，下腹的；n.腹肌

参考例句：

• The abdominal aorta is normally smaller than the thoracic aorta.腹主动脉一般比胸主动脉小。
• Abdominal tissues sometimes adhere after an operation.手术之后腹部有时会出现粘连。

21 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

22 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

23 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

24 cone   

n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果

参考例句：

• Saw-dust piled up in a great cone.锯屑堆积如山。
• The police have sectioned off part of the road with traffic cone.警察用锥形路标把部分路面分隔开来。

25 slay   

v.杀死，宰杀，杀戮

参考例句：

• He intended to slay his father's murderer.他意图杀死杀父仇人。
• She has ordered me to slay you.她命令我把你杀了。

26 slaying   

杀戮。

参考例句：

• The man mimed the slaying of an enemy. 此人比手划脚地表演砍死一个敌人的情况。
• He is suspected of having been an accomplice in the slaying,butthey can't pin it on him. 他有嫌疑曾参与该杀人案，但他们找不到证据来指控他。

27 herald   

vt.预示...的来临，预告，宣布，欢迎

参考例句：

• In England, the cuckoo is the herald of spring.在英国杜鹃鸟是报春的使者。
• Dawn is the herald of day.曙光是白昼的先驱。

28 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 slayer   

n. 杀人者，凶手

参考例句：

• The young man was Oedipus, who thus unknowingly became the slayer of his own father. 这位青年就是俄狄浦斯。他在不明真相的情况下杀死了自己的父亲。
• May I depend on you to stand by me and my daughters, then, deer-slayer? 如此说来，我可以指望你照料我和女儿了，杀鹿人？

30 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

31 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。