Quite the exposé, Chad. You should fit right in around here.

It's worth pointing out that "irregardless" is a double negative, the 'ir' serving as one and the 'less' serving as the other. Technically it's gramatically incorrect.

wow, for once the staff of the consumerist verifies their source

"Irregardless" is an exercise in redundancy. The suffix "-less" on the end of the word already makes the word negative. It doesn't need the negative prefix "ir-" added to makes it sound even more negative.

It's something dumb people say to try to prove that they know "big words".

A dictionary is where we store words that are commonly used in everyday language. Unfortunately, too many fools think "irregardless" makes them sound smart; so there you have it.

By all means, keep using it though.

You do sound intelligent.

Dear Chad Steelgate, are you single? Enquiring minds want to know (though I'm sure we will lust after you irregardless).

I have a cowoker who constantly says "irregardless" and "thereagain". I want to punch her every time I hear either.

BOOOOORING!

Maybe you could work on the people who say "issues" too much when they should be saying "problems". The only things that come in issues are newspapers, magazines and new stocks. Watch CNBC for a day. Count how many times they say "issues". Imagine taking a shot of booze every time someone says it. You'd be drunk in no time!

Other phrases that need to go:

- my bad
- you're good to go
- it is what it is
- take it and run with it
- you don't know what you don't know

And please, shut off your cell phone in the book store! And stop telling me Hillary or Obama has won the presidency when they haven't had the election yet!

This begs the question: what's the real motive behind these baseless attacks and accusations?

There's no such thing as "begging the question," you either question, or you beg. "Begging the question" is redundant.

blah blah blah why is this news

Irregardless of irregardless's regardlessness, whomever thought up that FROMMERs banner should get a raise. Per se.

Thereagain, heretofore this being the Conglomerist, they might, in actuality, be downsized.

@humphrmi:

"There's no such thing as "begging the question," you either question, or you beg. "Begging the question" is redundant."

I'm starting to notice a pattern developing...how about you?

Keep in mind this is April 1st, and Chad isn't even listed under "Consumerist Team". Plus, authors on here tend to not be published as one word, like "chadsteelgate" is.

Irregardless, go back to your department of redundancy department.

chad, maybe you'll learn what happens when you shake the routine of cellar dwellers.

for the rest of us, its been fun! seeya next year!

Yes, its a real word. Get over it. If it's one of your pet peeves, get a new one, because this one ain't one. I hate both of those words, because irregardless of whether you use "regardless" or "irregardless", you mean the same thing, regardless.

I love today.

"Begging the question" refers to a circular argument -- one that assumes the very thing it is trying to prove. To use it to mean "raises the question" is sinful and, like many sins, common.

Everything I read today I hope is people failing to be funny.

You might also want to look up what "nonstandard" means. "Ain't" is also in the dictionary. What does that tell you?

Sure, it's a word. It exists. It is used. But that doesn't doesn't mean it is correct to use the word. Here's what dictionary.com had to say about it:

"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."

It is a word but only a joke word. It is not proper grammar and is only correctly used if it is used as a joke. I assumed that it was when you used it so I didn't make a comment.

irregardless, a semiliterate portmanteau word from irrespective and regardless, should have been stamped out long ago. But it's common enough in speech that it has found its way into all manner of print sources-e.g.: "Irregardless [read Regardless] of the Big Ten outcome, Knight said he is gratified with IU's improvement over last season" (Louisville Courier-J.). Although this widely scorned nonword seems unlikely to spread much more than it already has, careful users of language must continually swat it when they encounter it.


[The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style. Bryan A. Garner. Oxford University Press, 2000.]

@humphrmi

"begs the question" is a phrase used in philosophy, it has nothing to do with begging or questions. it simply means that in an argument someone assumes their argument is sound and valid and uses that as a premise to their argument.

see: [begthequestion.info]

I am appalled.

@BugMeNot2: It tells me that the dictionary is ginormous.

@Meg Marco: Care to clarify at what you are appalled? Is it that we don't get the joke? Or is it that we are having a legitimate discussion on the deterioration of our fine language?

LOL is all I have to say.

@quarterly: I agree. This has been one of the best days so far this week.

"While I take your concerns seriously"

He's taking it seriously!

Irregardless (adj): The irritating mall security guards are on break and thereby are not present. Moon everyone in the GAP or run naked through Old Navy.

Joke or not, I totally support "irregardless." Productive morphology is a fact of life, plus it sounds cool. We should all cower in the face of the combined "irrespective" and "regardless."

xo

@defiant1:

"Begging the question" is a name for a type of logical fallacy.
[en.wikipedia.org]

Philosophy students, logicians and the like like to bitch about the popular use of the term. And they might be some kind of right. But they're also some kind of wrong.

"Begging the question" as a label for that form of circular argument MAKES NO SENSE in any modern English sense of the term "begging." It comes from ambiguity in translation from Latin, and possibly from archaic English.

It DOES make sense in the modern popular use of the term.

In this use it is not the speaker that is begging for anything. It is the answer to a previously asked question that is, metaphorically, doing the begging.

@humphrmi: No, there is such a thing as "begging the question"--it's a term for a particular kind of logical fallacy. But (like about 90 percent of the people who try to use that expression) Chad is getting it wrong. "Begging the question" does NOT mean "This begs us to ask..." or "This raises the question..."

If you don't know how to use the phrase correctly, just don't use it at all!--there are plenty of similar ways to say what you're trying to say. (For the correct usage of "begging the question," go here.)

@EYESONLY: simpler, not similar (Typing too fast because people who say "begging the question," when they don't know wtf they're talking about, drive me nuts!)

almost 9 PM tonight and some people still haven't caught on...SMH

@TechnoDestructo: @CreativeUnderclass: Welcome to the party!

Im april foolz. Im all in urz consumuuritz.

@ceejeemcbeegee (back to normal):

This begs the question, who are they fooling?

I think some people don't have an imagination.

so are we still doing the conglomerist thing or what? cuz there was a serious article about walmart and the brain damaged ex-employee there, so what's up?

Irregardless doesn't set my my spell checker off, but it's still hurts my brain when I hear it. Kinda like when a certain dude from Texas pronounces nuclear 'nukular'.

Is this day over yet?

@Meg Marco: I'm appalled, too. You would think that a professional writer would have at least some grasp of language.

Irregardless would be to concatchualize the frumposity, regard the disgard, and disrattle the enfriendicates.

Ungard!

@jpx72x: Oh, and you would think that someone that regularly posts on a blog would know what trolls and flames are (and that you never, ever respond to them. Ever). Instead, Chad has stooped so low as to respond to them with a whole new post. Mega self pwnage.

Are you going to get back to normal tomorrow, or do I have to take you off my freakin' blogroll?

This crap got way old after 5 minutes.

@jpx72x: Yes, but in the hyper-corporate metric-driven world of Conglometrist, writers get paid per page view. So Chad stands to gain from inviting trolls and flames to his posts, quality of the posts or his credibility be damned.

Oh wait a minute, that's exactly how Gawker Media works!11!!11!!
[www.wired.com]

@humphrmi: Yes, and also you "bring up" a question, not "beg" a question. First thing I thought of too ;)

*sniff* Consumerist, God rest its soul, would be so proud that you are taking our concerns very seriously, Chad.

Seriously! NONSTANDARD basically means educated people don't use it. Dictionary.com: [dictionary.reference.com]

not conforming in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, etc., to the usage characteristic of and considered acceptable by most educated native speakers; lacking in social prestige or regionally or socially limited in use:

Consumerist, I LOVE you but I am a college English professor. Never EVER could any student in our dept (we are one of the largest schools in the nation) be allowed to use this even in in-class writing.

Nonstandard means so many people do it wrong it's recognized but incorrect.

It's toughlove, Consumerist.

@LucyInTheSky: That definitely would have been the best April Fool's story.