10 Phrases to Purge From Your Speech & Writing

Word Savvy

The following is excerpted from Word Savvy by Nancy Ragno, recently released by Writer’s Digest Books.


The following mistakes occur so often that they have come to sound and look correct. Undoubtedly, you will recognize some entries as known errors, but others may give you pause: “Is that an error? I didn’t realize that.”

Since the list is a manageable size, a brief scan will quickly tell you what you need to learn. Show your superior word savvy. Purge the following offenders from your speech and your writing.

1. Alot

Not a word. Instead, use two separate words: a lot. A lot means “a large number or amount; to a great degree or extent.”

2. Alright

Not a word. Write it as two words: all right. Because all right is commonly spoken as one word, it is mistakenly written that way. All right means “very well, okay, without a doubt.”

CORRECT: After the storm, we checked the property to make sure everything was all right.

3. By the power invested in me

The correct phrase is by the power vested in me. Invested usually refers to financial transactions. Vested means “bestowed on; conferred on.”

INCORRECT: By the power invested in me by the State of New Jersey …

CORRECT: By the power vested in me by the State of New Jersey …

4. Could care less

The correct phrase is could not care less or couldn’t care less.

INCORRECT: I could care less about ice hockey.

This is illogical. It means that the speaker cares about ice hockey but possibly could care less about it.

CORRECT: I am not at all interested in ice hockey and couldn’t care less about it.

5. Could of

The correct expression is could have.

INCORRECT: I could of danced all night!

CORRECT: I could have danced all night.

6. Final ultimatum

This phrase is redundant since ultimatum encompasses the meaning “final.” Use ultimatum by itself, without a modifier. Ultimatum means “a final statement of terms; one’s last word on a subject.”

7. For all intensive purposes

The correct phrase is for all intents and purposes. It means “for all practical purposes; in effect.”

CORRECT: These unsold items from our garage sale are, for all intents and purposes, useless.

8. Heart-wrenching

Not a word. It may have originated by mistakenly connecting it to the similar word gut-wrenching. The correct word is heartrending. Heartrending means “inciting anguish, arousing deep sympathy; extremely moving.”

CORRECT: The Derby opened with a heartrending rendition of “My Old Kentucky Home.”

9. Hone in on

The correct phrase is home in on. It means “to aim at a target” (as a homing pigeon aims at its home). In contrast, to hone means “to sharpen” (as you would hone a blade to sharpen it).

CORRECT: Police are homing in on the robbery suspect.

10. Irregardless

Not a standard word. Instead, use regardless. Regardless means “in spite of; without regard for.”

CORRECT: I must have that ring regardless of its cost.

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Kelly Salasin

you had me until “heart-wrenching”
if that’s not an expression
let’s make it one

Sonia Rumzi

I agree. Shakespeare made up lots of words and phrases. Language is a slave to people not the other way around. If some of these are not acceptable use, why not? I understand grammatical errors but not words like “heart-wrenching”.

Sophia Chang

I’m on board! I’ve coined many a slang term during college that still gets thrown around by old colleagues!

Heather Harshman

 Merriam-Webster is always updating terms as new ones are created. We should petition to have heart-wrenching added!

Sarah

I have to think about whether I’ve ever used heart-wrenching… it’s entirely possible. I bow my head in shame.

I have to take slight issue with “I could care less” as an error. While the phrase has always bugged me, it’s so common that I think it qualifies as idiomatic and therefore not really a “mistake” in non-formal speech or writing. In other words: resistance is futile.

Great list. Thanks!

Ramona

I agree with all the others, but I’m with Kelly.  I’ve used “heart-wrenching” and I’ll probably use it again.  “Heart-rending” sounds weak in comparison and very old-fashioned.

Tony McFadden

Great list.

One more, one which I’ve heard very smart people use incorrectly. ‘Penultimate’. Many people think this means ultimate +1, or super-ultimate when in fact it means the second from last. 

Dodger

Same for “decimated”–it’s quite relieving when on rare occasion one sees a movie or TV show use the term correctly.

Darrelyn Saloom

I adore this type of book because we all need reminding. I think people are confused about “all right” because “alright” is often used in dialogue. But it’s never fine to use “alot” and that’s the mistake I see most often.  

Laura Kenney

My father always helped me (and his students) remember this one by asking us to say to ourselves, “It’s either all right or all wrong.”  You wouldn’t say “alwrong,” right?

Ellen K.

If there’s a difference between “alwrong” and “all wrong” in speech, I don’t see it.  Spaces between words are a writing things, not something that exists in anything we say.

Laura Kenney

You are absolutely all right 😉

Emma Burcart

Thank you! Those are really good to know. I think Myriad should be added to the list. When I see someone has written “a myriad of” I stop reading right away. I think this is a book worth checking out, so thank you for the post.

Ruby

I agree! And plethora!

Laura Kenney

Hi, Emma. While using “myriad” on its own reads and sounds better, “a myriad of” is grammatically correct. Do you stop reading because you don’t like the word or the usage? Just curious! 

Florence Fois

Jane, thank you for introducing Nancy Ragno to your readers. Oh yes, indeed. I search and destroy those, directional pronouns like “he sat “down” in the chair.” and a host of other annoying, incorrect or misplaced phrases or tags. I will probably never get the double consonant thing down, I might continue until death spelling phoentically, but I have two readers who know my major weakness and help me rid my work of same, and absolutely I will never cease to rid my work of repetitive words or phrases. This book will be a great addition to my library of books on writing 🙂

Jane Friedman

For the record, I’d like everyone to know I’m a descriptivist rather than a prescriptivist. While I’m mindful of the rules, language changes … and should change.

That said, it’s helpful to know when prescriptivists are silently judging you.

Dave

On thing about “could of,” or all of them, for that matter: You could have a character that talks or writes that way. I once had a Hollywood script reader say he would throw out any script that used “could of” because it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the language. “But,” I asked, “what if it’s used in dialog by an ignorant character that’s introduced on page 55 in a script you thought was well written until then?” He stood his ground. “If you don’t know that ‘could of’ is wrong, you don’t know how to write.” He did not, on the other hand, feel the same about “ain’t.” Funny.

Bettye Griffin

I agree that inaccurate, ungrammatical phrases are okay in dialogue. Even the best-educated person isn’t necessarily going to speak flawless English.

Solar Fuel

Perhaps the script reader objected to “could of” as a replacement for “could’ve” because the two expressions generally sound the same in speech. The mistake is only in the writing, and wouldn’t be heard even in dialectic speech. Contrast that with “ain’t” which can be clearly heard.

Connie Myres

I’m guilty of using “alot” and “alright.” I’m constantly learning.LOL

Lovespoet

Alright is still correct in Microsoft Word