It's not a word

My wife the English major has worked hard over the last few months at breaking me of a bad habit. I for some time have used a word that really isn't one.

Countless times in the course of making an argument, I've been known to throw out the word 'irregardless' as a qualifier. I've come to see the light as she's worked with me patiently to force the word out of common usage in this household.

So on Wednesday during a conference call at work with a Logistics contact while discussing a refused shipment of ad materials, it was all I could do not to laugh out loud when the man starts a sentence "Irregardless...," right there in front of God and everybody.

Dude, it's not a word!