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 Re: nonsensical idioms 
 Nyperold, on host 216.111.134.69
  Monday, December 27, 1999, at 19:49:37
  Re: nonsensical idioms posted by Dave on Wednesday, December 22, 1999, at 17:14:19:
> > > > Speaking of corrupted language, one word that hits me like nails on a chalkboard is "irregardless".  It's not even a word.  "Regardless" itself is a negation of the sentence which it preceeds.  The prefix "ir" negates as well.  So, when someone says it, there actually stating a meaning that is the opposite of their intentions.  They may as well not have used a word there at all.  In fact, let's just not let those people speak whatsoever. > > > > Tra "don't get me started on 'not hardly'" nio > >  > I went back and forth with my ex-girlfriend about this (no, that's not why we split up.)  She used "irregardless" in a sentence, and I corrected her, because I, too, hate that word with a passion.  She swore it was a word.  Her mother backed her up, and said that "of course" it was a word.  I explained exactly what you said, that "regardless" is a negation in itself, and "irregardless" turns it back into a positive--they wouldn't hear it.  Irregardless was correct, and that was that.  I challened them to look it up.  They did, in *two separate dictionaries*.  And to my extreme horror, it was *there*, in *both* dictionaries, and it wasn't even listed as slang or anything. > > So I've just given up on crap like this.  I can't fix it, and apparently, I can't even fall back on people who should know better (those who compile dictionaries) for help, so why bother?
  Here's an interesting phrase: "Make like Van Gogh, and cut off the ir."
  Nyper"288"old 
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