pet peeves

As a writer and public speaker, I listen very carefully to the words people use, and it irks me when I hear blatant misuses of common words. Take the word, “myself.” Please. Take it away. We don’t really need it, as most sentences can be restructured to exist without it.

There are very few correct or legitimate uses of the word “myself.” Yet people use the word frequently. Even prominent people. I’ve heard prime ministers, presidents of leading countries and famous business owners and actors all misuse this word. They will often mistakingly misuse “myself” when they should be using “me” or “I.”

Here are 2 correct uses of the word myself:  “I hurt myself in my haste to catch the falling pot.” or “Reg  caught me talking to myself when he entered the room.”

Here are incorrect uses of the word: “Paul gave the keys to myself to bring to the party.” Seeing the words in print, you probably know it should read, “Paul gave the keys to me to bring to the party.” But somehow, in speaking, many people tend to incorrectly replace “myself” for “me.” Another incorrect use that is harder to spot when heard: “My wife and myself would like to thank you for coming.” The correct sentence should read, “My wife and I would like to thank you for coming.”

Pet peeves can be a nuisance

I hope this rant brings the issue to mind when you hear the word “myself” being used, and if used incorrectly, perhaps you’ll have the opportunity to correct the offender — or to refer people to this blog!

How about you? Is there a particular word that you often hear misused? 

So that’s my writer’s pet peeve for this Writer’s Wednesday. (You’ll know that term if you’re on Twitter.)

As I am a travel writer and often find myself in hotels (there’s another correct use of the word “myself,”) I thought I’d also share with you my pet peeve when it comes to travel.

How many times have you been in a hotel room, only to have the alarm clock go off at some ungodly hour? It’s happened to me many times, and in fact … just this past weekend!

We were in Fargo, North Dakota, and staying at a nice hotel we have visited many times before. We were awakened at 4 am to the beeping of the alarm clock! The previous guest must have had to catch a 6 a.m. flight. Who else would get getting up at 4 am?

This has happened to me many times in North American hotels. Having travelled extensively in Europe, I can honestly say I don’t ever recall that happening. They must train their cleaning staff to reset the alarm clocks after each guest checks out. Why can’t North American hoteliers do the same?

I have mentioned this to several hotel front desk staff and wonder whether it has made a difference? Perhaps a letter to the president of the Hotel Owners/Managers Assn would be effective. Perhaps resetting/disengaging the alarm clock upon checkout of any room’s occupants should be a mandatory duty of hotel cleaning staff.

Has it ever happened to you? Have you been awakened at some ungodly hour by an unwanted alarm clock going off when you were staying at a hotel for some R&R?

Do you have a different pet travel peeve you’d like to share?

I don’t usually rant, but you’ve caught me in the mood! Let’s get a good discussion going.