My big pet peeve is the improper use of: "waiting on" vs "waiting for" - but it seems that more and more people all the time, use it the wrong way.
Waiting for - anticipation of a coming event or action.
i.e. - I'm waiting for a UPS delivery. I'm waiting for Billy to get home from school. And so on... I'm not waiting on these events.
Waiting on - a service given to one person by another.
i.e - The waitress is waiting on tables. The sales clerk is waiting on a customer. And so on... They are not waiting for these people. Of course in this neck of the woods, a lot of people seem to think it's one word too: waitin'on.
I was raised in New England, and never heard anyone use "waiting on" in the wrong way - until I met my ex - who was raised in Pa and Md. I'm assuming it's a geographical thing, but I do hear it more and more all the time. I was able to break him of it, and my kids and grandkids have always used it the correct way.
Another one that gripes me is "seen" when it should be "saw".
A very educated friend of mine cannot be convinced that she is saying something wrong. She's meaning to say "It's a dog eat dog world", but instead insists on saying "It's a doggy-dog world". For the longest time I couldn't figure out what the heck she was talking about, and then the light went on. I politely told her in a joking manner what it should be, but to no avail...![]()
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