People who use words that have no clue what they mean

Yeaah. I've noticed that. it's pretty annoying. My brother tries to do this a lot, he'll be talking and then he'll stick in some big fancy word when he's trying to word off to me and sound like he won. and me, being older i know more words, and im like "what??? tat doesn't even make sense! Do u even KNOW wat that means???" -eehh, this and that. and im like "eeh NO. not even close." It does annoy me, especiallly when someone's trying to insult you, at least get it right so you don't look stupid. I've seen other people in school talking like that sometimes and on tv a lot too. Thing is on tv there's always that laughing sound effect as a scolding. I think people need to just be who they really are and accept it or else everyone'll just see right through them.

My English is not very good. That is why I come here. I want to learn more authentic English from friends on this site. It was recommened by mylotter. If English is my mother tongue, I think using it properly to communicate is my responsibility. Simple but proper words can make people relaxed and natural. In fact, in my country, there are also many people using obscure words, sentence, grammar to show that they are different from others. I object to such kind of behavior.

It doesn't annoy me, I get a good laugh from it and another word to add to my English blog. What really makes me see red is when they screw up on simple words like then and than, well and good, there and their. As for the big words that hardly anyone uses or are only seen in books(novels)not many know the proper way to use them so they shouldn't even try until they grasp the real meaning of them. Got a good laugh when reading on a blog that Obama made a gaff in his last speech. Gaff is a spear that fishermen use to spear fish. Gaffe is a social or diplomatic blunder. I hope it was just a typo. It sure made me laugh. You see a lot of this on blogs where the writer is trying to impress the readers or trying to sound more intelligent than they really are. I would rather use the simple words than take the chance of sounding stupid. i i

I actually find it quite humorous when I see a word used incorrectly, but I don't think it's anything to be annoyed about. If it's a word used incorrectly that may cause problems in the future, I'll tell the person (no matter where: in person, on myLot, etc.), but other than that, I let it slide. I'm not saying that you shouldn't be annoyed...what annoys you does just that...but finding things annoying only creates negativity that I don't care to create, so I usually just laugh things off that people usually find annoying. One thing I've noticed a lot here lately are discussions that are clearly the result of people having nothing to talk about...and I've been seeing numerous discussions such as these, in a row, by the same person. I'll have to see if I can notice some of these posts you are mentioning...apparently there are quite a few. :)

gosh.. i kinda felt a poke here. I try to use different words sometimes. well i'm trying to improve my english. what better way than to try using them? lol. I plan on becoming a writer in a newspaper or a magazine. I try to improve it now... among my peers, my english is better. but i'm not currently living in a country with english as their first language, so i realize that i need to get even better. what do you think? what other way can i improve my english? I do read a lot, mostly romance novels and self-improvement stuff. anything else? but it got me thinking... some words make different meaning to different people. all i can think of right now is.. hard core. hard core could me someone resistant. or rough rude or someone very loyal. it can mean a lot of different things.

I often use what many of my friends refer to as "fifty-cent" words in even my normal day to day conversations. I don't use them to try and make my self sound smarter, they just come out in my normal dialogues. I read a lot, and i attribute my rather large vocabulary to this fact. I will admit, i occasionally get a chuckle out of it when i hear someone use a word in a way that is completley wrong, but i do not make an a$$ out of myself by rubbing it in their face and correcting them. Sometimes i wish i could though, for i feel that if people continue to use words incorrectly, it will degrade then english language in the long run. What really irks me though, are people who can't seem to understand the difference in homonyms. Examples include the mis-use of there, their and they're, to, two and too, your and you're etc. That really drives me bonkers.

You might want to learn some of the small words yourself, before you pick on people who use big words. Maybe those people want to expand their vocabulary and they rely on FRIENDLY and UNDERSTANDING people (obviously not you), to help them and correct them so they can learn. Has it ever occured to you that maybe some people are annoyed by people like you, who can't even use proper punctuation? How do you even DARE to pick on other people when your grammar is all messed up. Yes, I know, it's about big word and not punctuation, but it all falls into the same category at the end. How would you feel, if people would say that people who can't use proper punctuation, shouldn't post on message boards? And don't even tell me you would appreciate the criticism, because I can already tell you that's a crock. Get of your damn high horse, before someone pushes you of it!

I have noticed this before alot in real life conversations with people. I have seen a little bit of it in Mylot also. It drives me nuts too when someone tried to talk all sophisticated and they have no lcue what the heck they are talking about.

It could be a simple case of people relying on spell checkers! A text conversation is very different to a spoken one. Poor grammar and spelling could be down to pressure on the writer, timing, poor concentration. If I'm reading a document that is supposed to be instructing me with some authority, mistakes are not to be tolerated. things are changing all the time due to technology(SMS, e-mail etc.) and trends in language (talkin street, L33t, colloquialisms etc.)

Hi babykeka80! I just try to understand what the person meant, and if they're a friend I'll correct them when it's appropriate to do so. I'm a bit wordy sometimes - it just depends on my mood but I like a good laugh when I completely mangle a sentence!! I also try to remeber that my own grasp on English and my correct spelling and grammar is not exactamly ferpect!!

i have noticed this especially with some so called celebrities on tv who try to appear intelligent and worldly when in fact they have no clue what they are talking about. they use words in the wrong context and mispronounce words as well. it is annoying to say the least but also comical if you ask me.

This discussion violates mylot guidelines, you should read them someday to avoid getting your stuff deleted in the future: http://www.mylot.com/o/guidelines.aspx from the DON'Ts list [b]Don't Post discussions, responses or comments criticizing members for bad/broken English or bad spelling. Everyone is welcome at myLot, we have users from all around the world and they are welcome regardless of their proficiency with the English Language. [/b] You post a discussion complaining about people's use of big words when you fail to have a proper grasp on how to even use the SMALL ones! Do you realize how bad that makes you look? On top of that, you post nasty comments to respondents of this discussion that are rife with errors. You have terrible grammar and your original discussion wouldn't pass muster in a second grade English class! It makes you look much stupider than I'm sure you'd like to admit. Funny how you complain about other people's English when your own is so awful. Oh, I know, now you are going to say something rude and nasty because you don't like the TRUTH of my post, and that's fine, you go right on ahead if that's what you have to do to make yourself feel better. Maybe I'll come back and help you fix the errors in THAT post too (if this discussion hasn't already been deleted by mylot by then).

I think it is stupid to use words you don't know the meaning to. Some people do it I think to sound smarter but instead it makes them look very dumb! I don't like it. I try to ignore it. I also try not to do the same thing. Mine is writing a paper for college and I want it to sound formal and professional so I will look up what I think are more professional words to use in my paper. Sometimes the best thing I think I can do for my gardes is to keep it simple. Now that is what I try to do. I am just not a person that knows a lot of big words. I don't think this makes me dumb but simple. I think their is nothing wrong with simple;-) I agree with you!

It does and they usually end up being stupid. I have come across a few who try to 'show-off,' trying their best to make a difference in the crowd. I totally agree with you on this issue and hope better sense prevails before they get to a point of no return.

Most of the time I just use simple English when I'm talking. I'm from the South and some people have a hard time understanding what I say at times anyway, without using those big words. But seriously, yes this is sometimes annoying, but to me what is even worse is when someone uses this big words and also acts like they know everything and you know they don't know what their talking about.

Hmmmm - you are right! people attempt to use a phrase or word that they would have learnt from some article and fall into their own trap. Before i use a word i double check it in WordWeb or some online dictionary so that my readers get the right message and also enjoy reading :)

I an to approve you very much of parlance. BE rhe world of freedom of speech because of this world

Funnily enough, I met my current boyfriend of 2+ years on myspace, via a mutual friend, and we used to talk a lot through messages. Anyway I used to use thesaurus.com ALL the time, to try and mince my words to make my messages more 'pleasing' to read ^^ It actually improved my grammar day-day noticeably, and hey, we're still together ^^