Phrases that annoy you the most
Discussion
Randy Winkman said:
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"?
'User-name checks out'. I've seen it used here and there, occasionally directed towards myself. Is it pejorative?
Ironically, it would have been true at one time as I used to operate a supermarket checkout for a living. That was before the internet, however, so nobody had user-names back then.
Ironically, it would have been true at one time as I used to operate a supermarket checkout for a living. That was before the internet, however, so nobody had user-names back then.
mac96 said:
Randy Winkman said:
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"?
Missy Charm said:
'User-name checks out'. I've seen it used here and there, occasionally directed towards myself. Is it pejorative?
It's people trying to be clever by thinking they've identified an example of nominative determinism, without realising that you chose your username.And yes, it's (usually) perjorative.
Strangely Brown said:
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.
Wasn't sniping a bit more than that, though ? It was automatically submitting your bid on your behalf at the last minute in the expectation that no-one else would be able to get a higher bid in before the auction end. So your snipe would be for whatever you were prepared to pay, but would actually only cause one bid increment. Not sure if it's still done or whether all auctions automatically extend when a bid is made.Penny Whistle said:
Strangely Brown said:
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.
Wasn't sniping a bit more than that, though ? It was automatically submitting your bid on your behalf at the last minute in the expectation that no-one else would be able to get a higher bid in before the auction end. So your snipe would be for whatever you were prepared to pay, but would actually only cause one bid increment. Not sure if it's still done or whether all auctions automatically extend when a bid is made.RichB said:
Correct 'Bid Snipers' would place you bid just 5 or 6 seconds before the auction ended precluding anyone else from placing a counter bid.
It doesn’t matter. If your max bid was the highest entered then you would win the auction no matter how close to the end the snipe was attempted. That’s what sniping advocates never understood.The point is that if you lost out to an auction sniper then they simply wanted to pay more than you. If you were actually prepared to pay more then you should entered that as your max bid and you would have got the item. That really is all there is to it.
Sniping was just people thinking they were being clever and beating the system but failing to understand that the highest bid would always win, no matter how early it was placed.
Edited by Strangely Brown on Sunday 23 March 07:24
Strangely Brown said:
RichB said:
Correct 'Bid Snipers' would place you bid just 5 or 6 seconds before the auction ended precluding anyone else from placing a counter bid.
It doesn’t matter. If your max bid was the highest entered then you would win the auction no matter how close to the end the snipe was attempted. That’s what sniping advocates never understood.The point is that if you lost out to an auction sniper then they simply wanted to pay more than you. If you were actually prepared to pay more then you should entered that as your max bid and you would have got the item. That really is all there is to it.
Sniping was just people thinking they were being clever and beating the system but failing to understand that the highest bid would always win, no matter how early it was placed.
Edited by Strangely Brown on Sunday 23 March 07:24
Non-snipers push up the price of an item because they tend to keep bidding until they are 'in the lead'.
paulguitar said:
Sniping works.
Non-snipers push up the price of an item because they tend to keep bidding until they are 'in the lead'.
No. It doesn’t. No matter how close to the end you snipe you will never beat a max-bid that is higher. The highest bid will always win.Non-snipers push up the price of an item because they tend to keep bidding until they are 'in the lead'.
It doesn’t push up the price of the item because that will always be the highest bid that was made regardless of when it was made.
Edited by Strangely Brown on Sunday 23 March 07:48
Strangely Brown said:
paulguitar said:
Sniping works.
Non-snipers push up the price of an item because they tend to keep bidding until they are 'in the lead'.
No. It doesn’t. No matter how close to the end you snipe you will never beat a max-bid that is higher. The highest bid will always win.Non-snipers push up the price of an item because they tend to keep bidding until they are 'in the lead'.
It works because it avoids pushing up the price. If you bid £40 for something, a non-sniper often will come in and bid it up to £41 to be 'winning'.
paulguitar said:
Yes, I understand that.
It works because it avoids pushing up the price. If you bid £40 for something, a non-sniper often will come in and bid it up to £41 to be 'winning'.
Yes, they are prepared to pay more than you. That is how auctions work. People bid and the price goes up.It works because it avoids pushing up the price. If you bid £40 for something, a non-sniper often will come in and bid it up to £41 to be 'winning'.
If there is an item that we both want and I decide that my maximum is 50 but you are only prepared to pay 40 then I will get it. If the bid increment is only 1 then I will get it for 41.
paulguitar said:
Sniping works.
Non-snipers push up the price of an item because they tend to keep bidding until they are 'in the lead'.
Not sure why anyone has an issue with bid sniping. People rarely want to pay more than they have to and bidding late on sites like Ebay can mean that you've not bid too much. Non-snipers push up the price of an item because they tend to keep bidding until they are 'in the lead'.
The reason it works is that if a high bid is already there, then people have time to get used to a price and think - I'll just bid a bit more.
Bid snipers can work in your favour too.
There was a rare item on Ebay, the last time an identical item sold for was a year earlier and it sold for £190. This one had a starting price of £20 and bids had got up to £23 with a day to go. I contacted the seller and offered them £30 which they accepted. I suspect many were holding off bidding as they didn't want to push the price up and hoped for a low bid snipe.
Strangely Brown said:
paulguitar said:
Yes, I understand that.
It works because it avoids pushing up the price. If you bid £40 for something, a non-sniper often will come in and bid it up to £41 to be 'winning'.
Yes, they are prepared to pay more than you. That is how auctions work. People bid and the price goes up.It works because it avoids pushing up the price. If you bid £40 for something, a non-sniper often will come in and bid it up to £41 to be 'winning'.
If there is an item that we both want and I decide that my maximum is 50 but you are only prepared to pay 40 then will get it. If the bid increment is only 1 then I will get it for 41.
We've not going to agree on this.
Strangely Brown said:
Yes, they are prepared to pay more than you. That is how auctions work. People bid and the price goes up.
If there is an item that we both want and I decide that my maximum is 50 but you are only prepared to pay 40 then I will get it. If the bid increment is only 1 then I will get it for 41.
You're assuming all bidders are sensible, decide their maximum price and bid that. Plenty of bidders do not seem to understand that. They see the current top price and might bid just one or two increments higher than than, even though they are actually prepared to spend more. You can frequently see that happening when you get to see the bid history. So by sniping you minimise the time they have available to see your bid and raise it. It works (well it certainly used to when I did a lot of Ebay trading). You see similar behaviour in "real" auctions, where someone decides their limit , but get invested in buying the item so when it's reached they say "well let's try just one more bid". Of course in such a real auction the auctioneer will give others the chance to counter-bid "going once, going twice, gone". Many on-line auctions now extend the closing time by five minutes or whatever after the last bid thereby avoiding sniping.If there is an item that we both want and I decide that my maximum is 50 but you are only prepared to pay 40 then I will get it. If the bid increment is only 1 then I will get it for 41.
Penny Whistle said:
Strangely Brown said:
Yes, they are prepared to pay more than you. That is how auctions work. People bid and the price goes up.
If there is an item that we both want and I decide that my maximum is 50 but you are only prepared to pay 40 then I will get it. If the bid increment is only 1 then I will get it for 41.
You're assuming all bidders are sensible, decide their maximum price and bid that. Plenty of bidders do not seem to understand that. They see the current top price and might bid just one or two increments higher than than, even though they are actually prepared to spend more. You can frequently see that happening when you get to see the bid history. So by sniping you minimise the time they have available to see your bid and raise it. It works (well it certainly used to when I did a lot of Ebay trading). You see similar behaviour in "real" auctions, where someone decides their limit , but get invested in buying the item so when it's reached they say "well let's try just one more bid". Of course in such a real auction the auctioneer will give others the chance to counter-bid "going once, going twice, gone". Many on-line auctions now extend the closing time by five minutes or whatever after the last bid thereby avoiding sniping.If there is an item that we both want and I decide that my maximum is 50 but you are only prepared to pay 40 then I will get it. If the bid increment is only 1 then I will get it for 41.
eldar said:
Chap is common in Warwickshire, marra in west Cumbria and butt in south wales.
Either bud or pal make my toes curl a little.
Marra is common in the north east too - certainly around Sunderland at least, but I've only heard it used to describe a workmate rather than used in a "sorry buddy, could you move that so I can get through?" sort of usage.Either bud or pal make my toes curl a little.
I think that sort of usage is really the nub of why we use these terms with strangers of indeterminate niceness. It's a way of framing requests under a flag of peace in a world where some people are quick to assume that any request is someone trying to assert some form of dominance. When I want a stranger to do/stop doing something I find an assertive "buddy" request works better than a straight instruction.
"best buckle up and enjoy the ride" / "it's going to be fun".
These two phrases are often posted on PH, in response to some impending event that is anything but fun.
For example;
The stock markets are in freefall, so best buckle up and enjoy the ride !
Thousands of people will be losing their jobs very shortly, it's going to be fun !"
Why do they feel the need to express such a view? Is it because they think it will not affect them, and so are taking pleasure from other people's misfortunes I wonder ?
These two phrases are often posted on PH, in response to some impending event that is anything but fun.
For example;
The stock markets are in freefall, so best buckle up and enjoy the ride !
Thousands of people will be losing their jobs very shortly, it's going to be fun !"
Why do they feel the need to express such a view? Is it because they think it will not affect them, and so are taking pleasure from other people's misfortunes I wonder ?
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