Phrases that annoy you the most

[daqinggregg]

I find the colloquial ways of addressing people in various regions rather endearing, a quaint Britishness, affording you a window to their life.

[daqinggregg]

generationx said:

Juan B said:

donkmeister said:

You'd hate me then But out of interest, what would you offer as a suitable term of generic address or camaraderie for a middle-class chap?

In my "home counties grammar school" accent (aka RP-lite), "mate" and "chum" often sound effected, and at worse condescending and pointed. I quite like "pal", but that only seems to work in northern accents. "Chap" as a form of address seems to be a north-eastern thing and much as I'm partial to a stottie I think I should leave that one to the Mackems and Tackems.

So I often resort to "buddy". It might be a generational thing too, we millennials came of age when South Park was all the rage with the Canadianisms it brought. Now millennials are in their 40s it probably comes across as sad middle aged men trying to sound cool.

To be fair buddys not great but its not as bad as dude

Can never go wrong with mate

Someone calling me "mate" when they meet me for the first time or don't know me winds me up a bit.

I’m happy with ‘bro’, wasn’t keen on some of the alternatives my American colleagues proffered. Being addressed as ‘Sir’ by a senior age/position African American colleague, felt somewhat uncomfortable personally, although it didn’t seem to bother them.

[TameRacingDriver]

When you meet someone who gets offended at being called mate, they're doing you a favour, because they are warning you that you definitely would not want to be their mate if they're so easily offended and pissy about things

[mac96]

TameRacingDriver said:

When you meet someone who gets offended at being called mate, they're doing you a favour, because they are warning you that you definitely would not want to be their mate if they're so easily offended and pissy about things

Not liking something is a long way from being offended by it though.

[Doofus]

'Mate' is fine, IMO, as long as it has a soft T. Mate with a hard T is aggressive.

Likewise the L (or the P) in 'Pal'.

'Buddy' sounds odd to me, but it's not offensive.

[snuffy]

I often say 'Matey', but then can't help thinking of Jim Stange calling Morse it (both in Morse and in Endeavour).

[Roofless Toothless]

I get irritated by people saying that they “won” something at an auction. No you didn’t - you bought it.

[mac96]

snuffy said:

I often say 'Matey', but then can't help thinking of Jim Stange calling Morse it (both in Morse and in Endeavour).

Or Matron in Rumpole!

[Doofus]

Roofless Toothless said:

I get irritated by people saying that they “won” something at an auction. No you didn’t - you bought it.

Although, to get it, you competed against at least one other person.

[SlimJim16v]

Roofless Toothless said:

I get irritated by people saying that they “won” something at an auction. No you didn’t - you bought it.

If you can lose, you can win.

[swisstoni]

“Wait, what?”

Bog off.

[Deranged Rover]

mac96 said:

Not liking something is a long way from being offended by it though.

In my early 20s, the lower class oiks at the snooker club I briefly belonged to used to refer to me as 'nipper', which irritated me immensely.

[Randy Winkman]

SlimJim16v said:

Roofless Toothless said:

I get irritated by people saying that they “won” something at an auction. No you didn’t - you bought it.

If you can lose, you can win.

I think it's silly too. Are you "winning" by paying more than anyone else?

[Randy Winkman]

TameRacingDriver said:

When you meet someone who gets offended at being called mate, they're doing you a favour, because they are warning you that you definitely would not want to be their mate if they're so easily offended and pissy about things

As a SE Londoner I find it odd that some people have an issue with it and in my time on PH I must have seen this mentioned 10-20 times.

Would the same people have a problem with being referred to as "my friend"? Would they think, "But I'm not your friend"?

[Grande Pedro]

'Wow, just wow'. Possibly acceptable if you're a young child, but certainly not if you're a PH poster.

[Antony Moxey]

Grande Pedro said:

'Wow, just wow'. Possibly acceptable if you're a young child, but certainly not if you're a PH poster.

But the rather amusing thing is it’s never just wow. They then proceed to spout of some faux-incredulous reply as to why it’s just wow. Just fk off you smug condescending twerp.

[Strangely Brown]

Randy Winkman said:

SlimJim16v said:

Roofless Toothless said:

I get irritated by people saying that they “won” something at an auction. No you didn’t - you bought it.

If you can lose, you can win.

I think it's silly too. Are you "winning" by paying more than anyone else?

Yes. I have always thought it daft. Not unlike sniping in the early days of ebay auctions. It's simple: work out what you're willing to pay. Enter that as your maximum bid and wait. If your bids are higher than anyone else then you get the item. If not then they simply wanted it more than you did. They didn't win it and you didn't lose it. They were just willing to pay more.

Why does everyone clap and say, "well done" to the "winner" of big money auctions like those on Chasing Classic Cars? Is well done because that person has so much disposable pocket money that they can afford to indulge the purchase of a $2.5m car?

[K87]

La


A Liverpool phrase, I think short for Lad or mate. I had a young man in my Liverpool office call me La, he only did it once.

[Doofus]

Strangely Brown said:

Randy Winkman said:

SlimJim16v said:

Roofless Toothless said:

I get irritated by people saying that they “won” something at an auction. No you didn’t - you bought it.

If you can lose, you can win.

I think it's silly too. Are you "winning" by paying more than anyone else?

Yes. I have always thought it daft. Not unlike sniping in the early days of ebay auctions. It's simple: work out what you're willing to pay. Enter that as your maximum bid and wait. If your bids are higher than anyone else then you get the item. If not then they simply wanted it more than you did. They didn't win it and you didn't lose it. They were just willing to pay more.

Why does everyone clap and say, "well done" to the "winner" of big money auctions like those on Chasing Classic Cars? Is well done because that person has so much disposable pocket money that they can afford to indulge the purchase of a $2.5m car?

They didn't win the item, they beat the competition to buy the item.

[eldar]

mac96 said:

The only person I have known who called people 'chap' was a bit of a posh boy, ex army. Nothing North Eastern about him! I quite like it, but don't think I could bring myself to use it.

Problem I have with 'mate' is that a lot of users seen to insert it every few words and it then sounds a bit aggressive.

Chap is common in Warwickshire, marra in west Cumbria and butt in south wales.

Either bud or pal make my toes curl a little.