Irregardless is NOT a Word!
Just like anyone, I have pet peeves - those things that really shouldn't bother me but for some reason absolutely drive me nuts. Right now, number one on the top ten list of my pet peeves is the word irregardless. For some idiotic reason people use it when they mean to use the word regardless. I don't know who started it, but I am on a crusade to put an end to it.
Actually, I have a theory about who started it - athletes. That's right, athletes. I hear it used all the time on Sports Center. Now, compared to the average person, I watch way more sports and way less anything else, but I figure it has to be either athletes or musicians. Think about it, who does society, as a whole, like to imitate? The top three things that come to mind are actors, athletes, and musicians. I scratch actors from the list because they tend to be a little more polished. Their careers require them being able to speak. That leaves us with athletes and musicians. Since I have heard an abundant use of the word on Sports Center, I am going with athletes.
So the other day at work, I am sitting at my desk, minding my own business, looking up stuff on eBay when I overhear I guy (whom I respect a lot for what it's worth) utter that incomprehensible word. He started a sentence with "Irregardless of the fact..." Did you mean REGARDLESS of the fact?!?!?
Now, I am sure you can tell by reading this that I don't exactly have the vocabulary of Jim Lampley, but at least I try to use words in their proper context. There is no good reason to EVER use that word....EVER. Dictionary.com defines the word as
Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. Although one might reasonably argue that it is no different from words with redundant affixes like debone and unravel, it has been considered a blunder for decades and will probably continue to be so.
Well, my athletes theory was just proved wrong (as were those of you who were working under the assumption that I fully think through my posts before writing).
UrbanDictionary.com has the following definition submitted by a user:
Used by people who ignorantly mean to say regardless. According to Webster, it is a word, but since the prefix "ir" and the suffx "less" both mean "not or with" they cancel each other out, so what you end up with is regard. When you use this to try to say you don't care about something, you end up saying that you do.
My whole point - if you use the word, stop using it and start using regardless.
Oh, and as far as the whole entrepreneur thing (you know, the purpose of this blog), my job is driving me nuts and I am one step closer to making the leap to running my biz full time.
Actually, I have a theory about who started it - athletes. That's right, athletes. I hear it used all the time on Sports Center. Now, compared to the average person, I watch way more sports and way less anything else, but I figure it has to be either athletes or musicians. Think about it, who does society, as a whole, like to imitate? The top three things that come to mind are actors, athletes, and musicians. I scratch actors from the list because they tend to be a little more polished. Their careers require them being able to speak. That leaves us with athletes and musicians. Since I have heard an abundant use of the word on Sports Center, I am going with athletes.
So the other day at work, I am sitting at my desk, minding my own business, looking up stuff on eBay when I overhear I guy (whom I respect a lot for what it's worth) utter that incomprehensible word. He started a sentence with "Irregardless of the fact..." Did you mean REGARDLESS of the fact?!?!?
Now, I am sure you can tell by reading this that I don't exactly have the vocabulary of Jim Lampley, but at least I try to use words in their proper context. There is no good reason to EVER use that word....EVER. Dictionary.com defines the word as
Regardless [Probably blend of irrespective, and regardless.]
Usage Note: Irregardless is a word that many mistakenly believe to be correct usage in formal style, when in fact it is used chiefly in nonstandard speech or casual writing. Coined in the United States in the early 20th century, it has met with a blizzard of condemnation for being an improper yoking of irrespective and regardless and for the logical absurdity of combining the negative ir- prefix and -less suffix in a single term. Although one might reasonably argue that it is no different from words with redundant affixes like debone and unravel, it has been considered a blunder for decades and will probably continue to be so.
Well, my athletes theory was just proved wrong (as were those of you who were working under the assumption that I fully think through my posts before writing).
UrbanDictionary.com has the following definition submitted by a user:
Used by people who ignorantly mean to say regardless. According to Webster, it is a word, but since the prefix "ir" and the suffx "less" both mean "not or with" they cancel each other out, so what you end up with is regard. When you use this to try to say you don't care about something, you end up saying that you do.
My whole point - if you use the word, stop using it and start using regardless.
Oh, and as far as the whole entrepreneur thing (you know, the purpose of this blog), my job is driving me nuts and I am one step closer to making the leap to running my biz full time.
posted by Adam McFarland at
12/14/2005 06:02:00 PM
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