Why do smart people speak so poorly ?

[GRANDPA]

"Can I ask (you) a question?"

I don't know. Are you able?

I hear more often now Britishisms such as "the government are -". My edition of Strunk & White's "Elements of Style" differentiates the American & British uses of collective nouns. I hate 'Roundabout Ahead' & 'centre'. Which side of the road do we drive on here?

And don't get me started on gender neutral pronouns.

[jellowrestling]

"Can I ask (you) a question?"

I don't know. Are you able?

I hear more often now Britishisms such as "the government are -". My edition of Strunk & White's "Elements of Style" differentiates the American & British uses of collective nouns. I hate 'Roundabout Ahead' & 'centre'. Which side of the road do we drive on here?

And don't get me started on gender neutral pronouns.

I've called them "roundabouts" for as long as I can remember. What do you call them? Traffic circles?

[jellowrestling]

Another annoying Millennial thing..

..at the end of a sentence, your voice raises in pitch.

It's a "chickafication" thing, like "so" and "sort of", qualifying speech instead of saying what one means directly.

[jellowrestling]

Another one I have heard that drives me up the wall is people who say "per". I once had a student whose mother would throw "per" in, seemingly randomly" about every third sentence.

[BillB]

I don't know if he still does it but Jerry Jones used to say "i.e" all the time.

[millergrovesue]

I've called them "roundabouts" for as long as I can remember. What do you call them? Traffic circles?

Yes. I never heard any other term until I started reading Brit books.

[BillB]

I've always called them traffic circles. I never heard roundabouts.

[BillB]

People who draw quotation marks in the air.

[millergrovesue]

People who draw quotation marks in the air.

Guilty.

Another Britism - "straight ahead". "We'll bring you that story straight ahead." Heard it again on WBAP this a.m.

[jellowrestling]

I've always called them traffic circles. I never heard roundabouts.

Hmm. Maybe it's the influence of PBS. Been watching Brit shows since I was a young teenager. First traffic circle/roundabout I remember seeing was in East Texas, when I was in college.

[Red Oak]

I've always called them traffic circles. I never heard roundabouts.

Hmm. Maybe it's the influence of PBS. Been watching Brit shows since I was a young teenager. First traffic circle/roundabout I remember seeing was in East Texas, when I was in college.

I call the Damn things @!~`*& (*">$#&* $@*^<)*" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GFB]

I've always called them traffic circles. I never heard roundabouts.

Where I come from they're called..a rotary.

[ann jusko]

I wish they'd demolish the one in Waco! I'm heading south on 77 and I'd better be in the left hand lane because on the right is I 35 exit, then I need to start moving over to the right hand land with traffic coming onto the roundabout from a feeder road, then exit right onto 77S. Hate it! Coming back the other way doesn't seem quite as bad because I'm exiting to get on I 35. No, I just decided it's as bad getting on the I 35 exit. Bahhh!

[millergrovesue]

Forgot this one the rhetorical okay. "So, I went to the store, okay." I always want to say "So, it's okay with me."

[BigTex]

The foundation of Bowley and Wilson's closing routine was that women cannot tell a joke without starting with "okay."

[jellowrestling]

Another annoying Millennial thing..

..at the end of a sentence, your voice raises in pitch.

Yes. It sounds like every sentence is a question.

Yes it is. Couple it with a bunch of "so"s and "like"s and you can hardly pay attention to the content. Wasn't the voice raising thing originally a part of Valley Girl speak?

Yes, with a "y'know?" at the end.