[Doug]

I hate it when journalists use the term "Sturm and Drang". I'm forever looking it up and immediately forgetting it. Same with Zeitgeist -- I'm with you on that.

But, the most annoying words in the English language are:

"begs the question"

No one seems to know what that phrase means any more. Although common usage is very soon going to force this definition into the lexicon, it does not mean "demands to be answered".

It means "to use an argument that assumes as proved the very thing one is trying to prove".

Example: Does God exist? The answer "yes, God exists because he created me" begs the question by assuming the existence of God when that was the question to begin with.

Sports reporters especially love the phrase, but you hear serious journalists using it, too. I even saw it in a graphic for a car commercial.

Whew, that one's been building up for a while. Sorry, didn't meant to get off on a rant.

Edit: forgot one -- "irregardless". "Regardless" means the exact same thing, it's shorter, and easier to say.