Pet peeves

I was listening today to a radio phone-in on "language pet peeves".

Interestingly, more than one caller had a pet peeve about a point of language usage that wasn't even wrong, such as using the noun team "as if it's a singular" (um - it is).  Someone else got very irate about people who say "two thousand and three" because "the word and has no place in a number, unless it's representing a decimal point."  Sorry, caller, on behalf of all my compatriots for getting that one wrong all these years. 

I gave up being peeved about the "misuse" of the English language a long time ago.  It's a wonderful ever-changing thing, and fun to play with.  As long as you make yourself understood, use it how you like that's what I say.  I will admit to having been put off for a while by the American use of the word "momentarily" to mean "in a moment" rather than "for a moment".  When the captain of a plane you're on announces, just before your destination, that "We'll be landing momentarily," it's a bit concerning.  But if an entire nation wants a word to mean one thing and not another, then who am I to quibble?  Pants is another good example.  It's only a problem if you want it to be.

What I mostly learnt from the rather entertaining phone-in (and it wasn't short of callers, dear me no) was that people probably shouldn't keep peeves as pets.  They seem to make their owners grumpy.  One woman even claimed her pet language peeves keep her awake at night. 

Personally, I think she might be better off with a goldfish.