A few weeks ago I enjoyed a lovely dinner with friends at a cool restaurant in Raleigh. The first time I ate there—decades ago—I was a young English major and ordering quiche and raspberry iced tea made me feel cool, too. Quiche was an exotic dish back then. The name of the place added to my delight because I understood the clever use of a non-word, Irregardless Café.
Yes, that’s right. Irregardless is not a word. It could be a blend of irrespective and regardless, but it’s wrong to use. Use regardless instead.
Regardless of the outcome of the soccer game, I’ll treat myself to frozen yogurt.
Another word used incorrectly is impact. Impact is a noun, not a verb.
How did the new law impact bathroom usage? Wrong. Instead write, how did the new law affect bathroom usage?
Finally, let’s consider a whole sentence that is used incorrectly. I could care less means exactly the opposite of what the speaker intends. I could care less means…I could care less. Think about it! If you could care less, care less. If you couldn’t, use I couldn’t care less instead.
Despite how often you may hear these words in daily speech or on TV, they are not correct. They may make for a cool name of a restaurant, but using them incorrectly doesn’t endear you to old English teachers, editors, or grammar police.
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12 Comments
The non-word I’ve been hearing since my kids were in high school is “tooken” in place of taken. It bugs me worse than using “I” when you mean “me”. Oh well, language changes. I barely read King James and the kids surely can’t read it.
Gail, I’ve never heard “tooken” except for once or twice when someone said it, laughed, and then corrected it to taken. So funny. Thank you for reading and commenting!
When I taught school I used to put phrases like that on the board for my students to correct. One I used to have them edit was the AOL greeting. “You’ve got mail.” I would accept, “You have mail” , “You have gotten mail” or “You have received mail.”
Maribeth, I used to teach English, too. A lonnnnng time ago. Thanks for commenting.
Thank you, Craig, for your kind words. I’m glad you stopped by to read the blog!
Hope, I’m just now catching up on my A3 reading and I love your column! I’m definitely bookmarking your content to share.
Another word I loathe, and someone near and dear to me says ALL THE TIME,
supposably
(insert heavy sigh and eye roll)
Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much, Susan. Sorry I’m just seeing your comment now. Supposably is one of those “words” that curl my toes, too. Thank you for reading!
Thank you for this post, Hope. “Irregardless” is one of those non-words I hear a lot. The first time, it came out of my uncle’s mouth. I was shocked, since he usually speaks well. And he has a bachelor’s degree! When I told him it wasn’t a word, he didn’t say anything (not sure whether he believed me or not) My aunt said, “very good Ellen” since she majored in English and was a teacher. 🙂
I hear it from educated people, too, Ellen. I hear lots of grammar problems from educated people. I try not to judge!! We all have strengths and weaknesses. I’m glad I have fingers so that I can do math! Thank you for joining the discussion!
Hi! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new apple iphone!
Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts!
Carry on the great work!
Thanks so much for your encouraging comments!
Thank you!