I love words. They’re wonderful creatures. But some words repulse me. One of them is “whilst.” Just typing it makes me cringe. I don’t like it when British people use it; but it’s even worse when Americans use it in some attempt to be fancy or different or pretentious. Every time I see Americans use that word, I want to punch them in the face and then beat them repeatedly with a 6-iron. With the Brits, it’s not too big a deal; surely they’re brainwashed by their teachers into believing such a word is acceptable when it surely defies all rules of taste and decency. So they have an excuse, at least. Some online sources seem to suggest minor differences in meaning between “whilst” and “while” in some regions, but we have plenty of other words that have similar meanings without sounding like nails on a chalkboard.
So if you’re American, you have no excuse to use this word. Ever. I will hunt you down if you do. And if you’re British, I won’t hunt you down—trans-Atlantic airfare is on the pricey side—but you still shouldn’t use it.
my beef is when people say: anyways instead of anyway. ugh.
also, while we are on the subject…
i can’t stand when people use poor table manners such as turning the fork around and bringing it to the mouth, as the do in Europe. it truly makes me cringe.
we do not live in Europe, we live in American.
i hate poor table manners.