My newest pet peeve

I have never thought of it as being incorrect English and I'm not certain it is bad use of English. If you say he met with the secretary before meeting the president" that could just mean he met president after his meeting with the secretary. To say ahead of means he met with the secretary in advance of his meeting with the president. It is a way of emphasising that the meeting with the secretary was necessary to prepare for the meeting with the president, rather than something which just took place before meeting the president.

I respect your pet peeve because we all have them. Spelling is one of mine and coming to this site has been a mixed blessing for me... I must get over it (quickly) because there are so many non-native English speakers here...So, deal...right? Grammar is not so much an issue for me, it kind of bugs me, and we homeschool, so I repeat my children with the correct grammar if they make a mistake in speaking, but I think I'd have to file this one in the cabinet of "that's a battle I'm not going to fight." LOL... I love it that there is someone as anal as I am about some things, though! You fight the good fight!

Yah " Ahead of " is deafinatly on the list of phrases I hate. Also when someone says " Plus " instead of " And " I wish that word was never invented. But wait, doesnt that mean no math? Noooooo! Wait, what am I saying, Yaaaaaaaay!