Another frustrating phrase— heard at the other end of the phone: “Hello. Please hold”. Argh!
I think I’m in the minority on this one, but when I see the word ‘text’ used as past tense in a sentence rather than ‘texted’ it bothers me (eg, “Last night I text my sister but she never replied.”) I see this a lot so I think it must be either an accepted variant or if not grammatically correct, at least accepted slang, but it still just looks wrong.
My daughter hates “experiential learning,” because it is overused. She plans to major in Computer Science or Engineering, and pretty much every school she has visited has spoken of their emphasis on experiential learning. It makes sense in a few cases (schools with significant co-op requirements, or with project based classes) but its use by so many other schools makes it just a catch-phrase
“Nor’easter is not a new word. First time it appeared in writing was in an 1836 translation of Aristophanes.”
So, someone translated Ancient Greek into English over 180 years ago and, since then, we are obliged to drop the “th” in “northeastern” and insert an apostrophe. Got it!
I, whatismyquest, hereby declare that the word “knee” shall henceforth be WRITTEN as " 'nee " and the word “would” shall be WRITTEN as " wou’d ". You heard it here first on CC! Let’s see if it catches on.
Look, pronounce the “th” or not, but don’t be pretentious and write it as “nor’easter”. It’s not a contraction of two words, like “isn’t” or “won’t”. What other English word has silent letters with an apostrophe inserted in the place of those letters? I can’t think of a single one.
I guess that it’s just me that sees how phony “nor’easter” is, but then maybe not…
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001824.html
“The facts … have not slowed the advance of nor’easter: Even in print, where it’s probably less common than in speech, it has practically routed northeaster in the past quarter-century or so. From 1975 to 1980, journalists used the nor’easter spelling only once in five mentions of such storms; in the past year, more than 80 percent of northeasters were spelled nor’easter. It’s no more authentic than ‘nucular’ for nuclear or ‘bicep’ for biceps, but it would take a mighty wind, at this point, to blow nor’easter back into oblivion.”
(Btw, the writer is a linguist.)
And, regional pronunciation doesn’t hold water either (from the same link):
“It’s not, after all, a regional pronunciation, as many journalists outside New England now believe. ‘I grew up on Cape Cod when there still existed a pronounced local accent,’ wrote George Hand. ‘The word – spelled phonetically – was nawtheastah.’ Sailors disclaim it, too: They may say sou’wester, but never nor’easter.”
Menus that list “Chowdah” instead of Chowder. Any cutesy menu spellings, for that matter. 
Using “grow” as a verb instead of “expand” or “increase the size of”
“You need to grow your business”, “I will help you grow your portfolio”. What, are they, tomatoes?
Misuse of “ecology”.
Any use of “synergy”. The number of times allotted to use of that word has been filled for the next century.
Any sentence beginning with “I’m not a racist, but”.
Pulling apart cotton balls with dry hands.
Dropping the “t” sound when speaking when there is a “t” in the middle of the word!!! So, the person says, “im-por-ant” instead of “imporTant.” The completely drop the middle T! This seems to be so common among young folks, and it drives me insane!!
My cousin says, “waRsh,” instead of “wash.” No idea why she adds an “r” sound to that word!
@RandyErika Lol. Toppy top is one of my favorite cc moments.
If we are going to get into buzzword bingo (the game you play with friends on large conference calls counting buzzwords like bingo numbers lol). Some cringeworthy corporate speak for all to enjoy.
“Drill down”
“Take off line”
“Right sizing”
“De-selected”. (Being fired)
“It requires a ‘deeper dive’”
“Stake holders”
“Re-purpose”
“Send me a ‘Dial-in’ number”
“Spot on”
Worse part is the usage increases proportionally if the CEO throws it out there
I cringe when I hear:
Maths
Fruits
Hairs
Yes, I know these can be considered grammatically correct but still bothers me.
@Hoggirl warsh is a regional thing. I grew up in the lapland part of Iowa using warsh. During college I broke myself of that habit, though many in my community and surrounding areas still say it that way.
“Gotcha”
@whatisyourquest, I agree with you about Nor’easter. That has always bothered me, but until now, I thought I was the only one.
Instead of using those phrases, what would you say?
It grates on me when newscasters ask us to “take a listen” before introducing a segment.
@SweetTea
Maths is pretty standard in Europe although I haven’t heard it used here in the US. In my somewhat limited exposure, I actually have not heard “math” used outside of the US. It would seem odd to me if someone used it here.
“I seen…” may well be a regional or cultural variant. In my experience it is very common among Native Americans. During my teen years my dad worked for Bureau of Indian Affairs and so we lived on and/or visited about a half dozen different reservations, and “I seen” was very common on all of them no matter what the tribal affiliation.
Oh, my goodness, I grew up in Texas but I accept “nor’easter.” That’s the term that’s used.
I don’t like “you guys.” “Let’s go to you guyses house” in particular. But I got teased for saying “y’all” so I’ve adapted.
Its prostate, not prostrate!!! The first is a gland, the second is a position. One is only tangentially related to the other 
Moist.
(Yuck. Hate it.)