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JRU714 Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary

The expression "to no avail"

I have a friend who insists that he is using the expression, "to no avail" properly when he says (quite frequently), "That ticked me off to no avail", after he gets upset by something. I tried to explain to him that this is an improper use of the expression, and that a proper use would be, "I studied for the exam to no avail" (after receiving a failing grade). Another example I used was, "I dieted to no avail" (after weighing myself and discovering that despite my dieting, I had not lost any weight). Anyway, I know that I am correct in my examples but could the expression also be used in the context that my friend is trying to use it in? Thanks in advance!
  

Top answer

Hello, JRU-- and welcome to English Forums. Well, I cannot really judge what your friend intends-- that made me angry, but I won't let it really upset me and cause me to do something I'll regret ? That would be a reasonably accurate use of the phrase.

— Mister Micawber

  • Hello, JRU-- and welcome to English Forums.
  • Well, I cannot really judge what your friend intends-- that made me angry, but I won't let it really upset me and cause me to do something I'll regret ?
  • That would be a reasonably accurate use of the phrase.
  • To no avail means with no advantage or to no purpose, uselessly, without effect , etc.
  • If that is not what he means, then he is misusing the phrase.
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21 Answers
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Hello, JRU-- and welcome to English Forums.

Well, I cannot really judge what your friend intends-- that made me angry, but I won't let it really upset me and cause me to do something I'll regret? That would be a reasonably accurate use of the phrase. To no avail means with no advantage or to no purpose, uselessly, without effect, etc. If that is not what
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No it can't really.. I believe he must mean to say, "to no end."
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To no end is not natural; no end would work.
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0The first post was the best so far... depending on his intention, he could be using the word properly. However, their example was very bad.02br
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00He could intend to say "That made me angry, but my anger was useless in helping the situation"... in which case he's using "to no avail" properly.02br
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00"To no end" seems more appropriate. I have no id
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0 Hi Anon02br
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00Scroll down to the expression "no end" here:02br
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00I think the point was that "no end" would sound natural in the sentence (i.e. the point was 01b00not02b00 that it means the same thing as "to no avail").02br
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00"01i00That tick
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0I think even better it would be worded as 'to no purposeful end'.0-
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0Hi,02br
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00No-one would actually say "That ticked me off to no purposeful end". It sounds ludicrous.05002br
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00Best wishes, Clive010id2
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0The original question in the thread was asked three years ago! I suspect that further discussion will be to no avail.0-
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Hahahaha! very clever (and true). I googled the phrase to ensure I was using it right, it was a helpful thread.
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Isn't the Internet great at keeping records of threads "to no end" in time?
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