Only Americans who don't adhere to the widely accepted norms of the language, Meade:
non·plus (nŏn-plŭs)
tr.v. non·plussed, non·plus·sing, non·plus·ses also non·plused or non·plus·ing or non·plus·es
1. To put at a loss as to what to think, say, or do; bewilder.
2. Usage Problem To cause to feel indifferent or bored.
n.
A state of bewilderment or perplexity.
[From Latin nōn plūs, no more : nōn, not; see NON- + plūs, more; see pelə-1 in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: The verb nonplus, from the Latin phrase nōn plūs, "not more," is well established with the meaning "to surprise and bewilder." The verb and its participial adjective nonplussed often imply that the affected person is at a loss for words. This use of the word was acceptable to 90 percent of the Usage Panel in our 2013 survey in the sentence 'The scientists were completely nonplussed—the apparatus had not acted at all as they had expected'. However, the word is frequently used to mean "to make indifferent, bore," as if the plus part of the word meant "to overcome with excitement." This usage is still controversial and should probably be avoided, since it may well be viewed as a mistake. In our 2013 survey, 57 percent of the Panel rejected the sentence 'The nine panelists showed little emotion during the broadcast and were generally nonplussed by the outcome'. This percentage is almost unchanged from the 61 percent of the Panel who rejected the same sentence in 2001.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Just because many Americans say 'irregardless' to mean 'regardless', doesn't make it one bit proper.*
Yrs,
Proud Protector of the English Language
*Yes, it's 'accepted' as an irregular use of 'regardless' - but to my way of thinking, it sounds ignorant and uneducated 'ir' added to 'regard' is a redundancy, since 'less' already negates the primary verb 'to regard'.
PS: I don't think it's comical or neurotic to care about language; language is what defines the human experience. I think it's shameful that entire generations of Americans are now being raised without the ability to read the founding documents of our nation in the original script, because teaching cursive writing is not worth the time it takes? Knowing how to use the language well, to write and speak well, is enormously advantageous in every area of life.
For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.
~ Carl Sagan
