The most annoying expressions...

One that annoys me a bit is when they use "obviously" in front of just about every sentence.

I have a bad habit of saying "Clearly" in front of sentences, mostly self-deprecating ones, such as "Clearly, I shouldn't have added salt." I should probably let go of this habit! 

I have a bad habit of saying "Clearly" in front of sentences, mostly self-deprecating ones, such as "Clearly, I shouldn't have added salt." I should probably let go of this habit! 

Yes, no more salt! 

On the "lady" issue, I think British kids are taught to refer to adult females as "ladies", aren't they? Like "dinner lady", etc. I've heard mums taking their children to task for calling someone a "woman." So I think that carries on into adult speech a bit, people thinking it's more polite to say "lady"

I use literally a lot...but I use it correctly (usually anyway)...I just probably use it too often.  I use it when I'm describing something that seems unbelievable.  Like, I can literally put my foot behind my head...or it's so cold outside that my face literally hurt.  I've never literally frozen to death though. 

If the author only put the chicken in for 30 seconds, it will be raw, so s/he did not literally put it in for 30 seconds. It's giving literally its exact opposite meaning, and it drives me bonkers!

This is possible depending on the rest of the recipe.  I have some recipes where you throw the meat (usually pork but I guess it would be the same for chicken) in a pan of hot oil for (literally) a minute or less to brown it...and then you cook it in the oven afterwards.  Something about doing that is supposed to seal in the juices or something.  The person who wrote the recipe could have used the word 'literally' for that recipe in the same way I do...to emphasize that it sounds strange, but it is meant literally.  I read the word in a recipe for scallops when it said, "It literally takes less than a minute on each side to be fully cooked".  Or they could have just been an idiot. 

I use literally a lot...but I use it correctly (usually anyway)...I just probably use it too often.  I use it when I'm describing something that seems unbelievable.  Like, I can literally put my foot behind my head...or it's so cold outside that my face literally hurt.  I've never literally frozen to death though. 

Yes. That is how I use it. When I'm saying something that I think might not be believed. Like, "Both of my hands are full. I literally cannot open the door", so the other person doesn't think that I am just too lazy to open the door.

I use literally a lot...but I use it correctly (usually anyway)...I just probably use it too often.  I use it when I'm describing something that seems unbelievable.  Like, I can literally put my foot behind my head...or it's so cold outside that my face literally hurt.  I've never literally frozen to death though. 

This is possible depending on the rest of the recipe.  I have some recipes where you throw the meat (usually pork but I guess it would be the same for chicken) in a pan of hot oil for (literally) a minute or less to brown it...and then you cook it in the oven afterwards.  Something about doing that is supposed to seal in the juices or something.  The person who wrote the recipe could have used the word 'literally' for that recipe in the same way I do...to emphasize that it sounds strange, but it is meant literally.  I read the word in a recipe for scallops when it said, "It literally takes less than a minute on each side to be fully cooked".  Or they could have just been an idiot. 

Yeah, I can see using "literally" when you actually mean it that way, for emphasis.

I went back to the blog and found the various examples.

We literally put the chicken into a slow cooker, set it to “low,” and allowed it to cook all day (8 to 10 hours).

The shredding process is simple. Just take two forks, use one to hold a piece of chicken in place, and literally use the other to shred the chicken by sticking the chicken in the meat, then pulling the fork away from the stationery one, shredding the meat into small, uneven pieces as you pull.

So I suppose you could argue that "literally" is used for emphasis, but it still bugs me. (This author over/mis-uses literally all the time.)

LOL!  That's definitely over-kill.  It's like saying, "I literally brushed my teeth with a toothbrush".  Ummm...ok.  It would be a different story if you said, "I literally brushed my teeth with a pine twig".

LOL!  That's definitely over-kill.  It's like saying, "I literally brushed my teeth with a toothbrush".  Ummm...ok.  It would be a different story if you said, "I literally brushed my teeth with a pine twig".

Exactly. The "literally froze to death" and "this hangnail is literally killing me" type of things annoy me to no end, too.

"Literally" is supposed to signal to the reader or listener that the person using the word is not being metaphorical or exaggerating. Any other use is misuse, I have always thought. A quick Google shows that its careless use really riles some people - one blogger called it "the new 'like' ". It isn't really new, though. Appearances have been noted for a century and a half.

I also see that it is now one of those errors that permissive dictionary editors like to endorse. Webster's Collegiate says use "literally" as hyperbole if it makes you feel good. The American Heritage Dictionary also says it's fine. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, while trying hard to be permissive, puts its finger on the problem. If we accept the sloppier use, then the word acquires two meanings--"factually true, precise" and "in an exaggerated, hyperbolic sense." Unfortunately, those are roughly each other's opposite.

I am not sure about RightPondia though. The unabridged Oxford English Dictionary prints a stern warning against misuse. It notes that in 1863 a writer claimed, "For the last four years I literally coined money."

 

I just watched the Jamie Oliver Christmas thing and he said 'literally' about 100 times.

What aggravates me most about the word is when people pronounce it 'li-tra-ly'.  It's lit-er-a-ly.

What aggravates me most about the word is when people pronounce it 'li-tra-ly'.  It's lit-er-a-ly.

In general, 'li-tra-ly' is the UK way of saying it (still technically lit-er-a-ly, but it's spoken quickly, so it becomes shortened) and 'lit-er-a-ly' is the US way of saying it - but both pronunciations are listed in the dictionary as being correct (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literally).

In general, 'li-tra-ly' is the UK way of saying it

Yes, that's just a question of different accents - it's not incorrect. I mean lots of Americans pronounce the T as a D but I acknowledge that it's the accent that does it and that they do know how to spell the word properly.

Also Jamie Oliver is a posh bloke who speaks Mockney when there is a live microphone in the vicinity.

Also Jamie Oliver is a posh bloke who speaks Mockney when there is a live microphone in the vicinity.

 

I didn't realize until after several years of returning to US that I had picked up the British pronunciation of "leisure" ( lez-ure as opposed to lee-sure)

I'm not saying one way is right or wrong, just saying I find it annoying.  I do have to disagree that different accents cause you to transpose letters.  That's a completely different pronunciation regardless of the accent.  I know plenty of people in the US who say 'ba-tree' instead of 'bat-e-ry' and I find that equally annoying.

A friend on my course always said I guess in her sentences, usually either at the start or at the end.  I think she just lacked confidence and used it to cover her back, but some of our other friends would really tease her about it.  While she was a let it roll off your back kind of girl, it really upset one of the PhD's we knew that she was being so teased about it.