Top Ten Irritating Phrases according to Oxford

[applecorped]

The top ten most irritating phrases:

1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/debates/3394545/Oxford-compiles-list-of-top-ten-irritating-phrases.html




Any others come to mind?

[Soapy Sam]

"Top ten".

[plumjam]

drill down on
methinks ye doth protest too much (or something like that, ALWAYS used by supercilious smartarses)
touch base
do you want to? ..... (translation - I want you to do this, but am not decent enough to ask you outright, accompanied by a 'please')
whatever (particularly when used more than once every 5 minutes)
hello-oh? (in American accent)

[CrikeyBobs]

I was quite surprised there was no reference to "back burners".

[Ivor the Engineer]

"Synergy"

[Raphael]

"Our panel tonight includes Anne Coulter"

[TragicMonkey]

"circle back on"
"irregardless"
"alls I know"
"needs fixed","needs worked", "needs [verb in past tense]"

I hear all four at least five times a day at my work. Two of them are just wrong, the first is weirdly common in this company, and the last is some sort of rural backwoods regional usage that makes me want to stuff gasoline-soaked rags down the speakers' throats and light them on fire as human Molotov cocktails. "This data needs fixed". Yeah? Your grammar needs fixed. With a crowbar.

[SezMe]

"Top ten".
Worth repeating, if only because it made me laugh. But also because it's true. What the hell is holy about "10".

[geni]

thrown under the bus.

[plumjam]

Worth repeating, if only because it made me laugh. But also because it's true. What the hell is holy about "10".

Quit complaining man, at least it's one better than nine.

[tyr_13]

"All of the sudden"
"A whole nother"
"try and"
"irregardless" (I needs repeating, don't say this word. Say, "regardless," or, "regarding.")

And the ten thing is because we use a base ten math system normally. If we used a base twelve that would be popular, and if we used binary 00000010 would be popular.

[zooterkin]

"honing in"
"going forward"

[Elvis666]

My personal bugaboo, mostly seen in TV commercials: "Better that any place in town (or the state, the country, etc.)" Is it so hard to stick an "other" in there?

[Travis]

"If it ain't broke...I don't know what it is."


Okay so maybe only my family uses that phrase.

[Bikewer]

"Deal with it." Almost always used by jerks when they are confronted over their jerky behavior.

[Worm]

'It's a big ask'

[Mashuna]

Going forward, we need to be proactive.

[RoboTimbo]

Thank you for listening to my invisible thoughts with your own.

[Ernie M]

I find the following to be annoying:

“kindred sprits”
“Let’s dialog”
“I did good” grammatically correct should be stated as “I did well.”
“let’s do lunch”
“Touch base”
“Dude”
“When one door closes, another one opens” yawn...

[Travis]

"I just don't feel the same way about you"
"Huh, I thought you were gay?"

[Cuddles]

6 - Absolutely

I don't get it. The rest I can kind of understand, but what's wrong with "absolutely"?

"If it ain't broke...I don't know what it is."

If it ain't broke, take it apart and fix it anyway.

[Morrigan]

In French I sometimes hear "pratico-pratique". I want to strangle people who use that.

[Dragoonster]

"person of interest"
"gravitas"
"meme"
"outlaw regime"
"God has a plan"

[alfaniner]

I don't get it. The rest I can kind of understand, but what's wrong with "absolutely"?

The same thing as "Exactly!".

When heard several times a day.


"meme"


Perhaps it's common knowledge 'round these parts, but I recently found out that the word was coined by Richard Dawkins.

[tomwaits]

On talk radio, when someone is about to make a point (and usually not answering the question), they always start by saying "Look..." or "Listen..." or "Let me just say this...". So obnoxious.

[uruk]

In voice overs in ads for up coming TV episodes: "Something will happen that will change everything forever!" OH god! that gets my panties in a bunch!

I know someday I'll hear: "Some thing happens that changes everything back again to way it was before the thing that happened that changed everything....forever!"

And now on to other phrases that irratate the hell out of me:

"In a world where [insert brainless movie situation]"

"Talk to the hand"

"You go girl!"

"Know what I'm sayin'"

"I hear ya"

"That gets my panties in a bunch"

"Can you feel this in my armpit?"

"[insert behaiviour] much?"

"I need to find myself."

"Yo, yo yo."

"Booyaaaaa!"

"wassup!"

"In the final anaysis."

"Were having a baby!" (really then why is she the one screaming for drugs and questioning the marital status of your parents?)

"Any joke that goes over five seconds on Family Guy" (ok. not really a phrase, but it still irritates the hell out of me)

"S/he/I was like...[insert noise or gesture]"

"What was that about?"

"Just asking questions."

"That's what she said"

"Think outside of the box"

"Paradigm shift"

[brodski]

Hopefully, debone, unravel, cleave, flamable , gotten, antidisestablishmentarianism, infer, imply, shibboleth and Telegraph. All have no proper place in the English language.

[uruk]

Oh yea here are some more:

"You/he's/she's/it's da bomb!"

"You da man!"

"See where I'm comming from?"

"If I were you...."

"Pwned"

[Mashuna]

Hopefully, debone, unravel, cleave, flamable , gotten, antidisestablishmentarianism, infer, imply, shibboleth and Telegraph. All have no proper place in the English language.

Well, you would say that. You're hardly an uninterested observer.

[FramerDave]

Peel the onion
Drill down
Lo and behold (especially when written as "low and behold"
Myself, when used incorrectly, and it usually is
My bad
Think outside the box
On the same page
Nearly any sports metaphor

[calebprime]

methinks ye doth protest too much

Yes, sir. Glad someone else hates this one.

[tomwaits]

Loss of innocence (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=127965)

[Darat]

At the end of the day this type of list is fairly unique. I personally, at this moment in time, and with all due respect to the poster, absolutely agree it's a nightmare and shouldn't of been posted anywhere never mind a 24/7 Forum but it's not rocket science to ignore it.

[Mercutio]

At the end of the day this type of list is fairly unique. I personally, at this moment in time, and with all due respect to the poster, absolutely agree it's a nightmare and shouldn't of been posted anywhere never mind a 24/7 Forum but it's not rocket science to ignore it.

Darat doth protest too much, methinks.

[Drudgewire]

"Happy camper." :brk:

[tomwaits]

At the end of the day this type of list is fairly unique. I personally, at this moment in time, and with all due respect to the poster, absolutely agree it's a nightmare and shouldn't of been posted anywhere never mind a 24/7 Forum but it's not rocket science to ignore it.

Absolutely a top ten post.

[bob_dezon]

proactive :(

[sinclairmcevoy]

Know what I'm sayin?
Know what I mean?
Yeah, but no.
Realllllly????

[DouglasL]

My boss says "impacted" so many times that I would like to impact him upside the head.

[NotJesus]

thrown under the bus.

That one needs to be thrown under the bus. And 'jumped the shark' has jumped the shark.

[Marquis de Carabas]

"President Bush"

I fully expect "former President Bush" to be one of my favorites.

[godofpie]

Drinking the Kool-Aid. The people that say drinking the Kool-Aid have drank the "drinking the Kool-Aid" Kool-Aid.

[RoboTimbo]

That one needs to be thrown under the bus. And 'jumped the shark' has jumped the shark.


Add 'screwed the pooch' to it.

[Dragoonster]

Hopefully, debone, unravel, cleave, flamable , gotten, antidisestablishmentarianism, infer, imply, shibboleth and Telegraph. All have no proper place in the English language.

Cleave is the only word, or one of the only, that has opposite meanings in English, it's one of my favorites for that. :(

Perhaps it's common knowledge 'round these parts, but I recently found out that the word was coined by Richard Dawkins.

Yeah, but I think I'm in the minority for thinking memetics is bunk. I tried to sneak it in there but you caught me! ;)

Agreed on "exactly!" and "absolutely!"


If I can delve into sports announcerspeak, it's very irritating when they (usually American football) say the entire words of "NFL" or the descriptive "football" in every single statement. It isn't "he's a great player", it's "he's a great football player". Not "they're a great team", it's "they're a great National Football League team". It's like they think we don't know what we're watching and have to remind us in every sentence grrraarrr it drives me nuts. And they really do this almost as much as I'm whining about here.

So, I'll add "National Football League" and "football player/team/game".

[brodski]

Cleave is the only word, or one of the only, that has opposite meanings in English, it's one of my favorites for that. :(


But don't you see? That is why it is so unrelentlessly evil.

[Gurdur]

Postantidisestablishmentarianism.

[jadebox]

"literally"

I hear broadcasters misusing the word "literally" every day. :-)

-- Roger

[JihadJane]

"Fixed that for you."

(Said after swapping a few words round in an incredibly original manner.)

[brodski]

"literally"

I hear broadcasters misusing the word "literally" every day. :-)

-- Roger

yeah, they even refer to things like "massive holes" too, I hate the way that native speakers continue to misuse their language. :(

[Marquis de Carabas]

"Fixed that for you."

(Said after swapping a few words round in an incredibly original banal manner or replacing, adding, or deleting words.)
Fixed that for you.

[Bluegill]

Going forward, we need to be proactive.

Oooh. "Going forward" always makes me frown.

[jadebox]

yeah, they even refer to things like "massive holes" ...

It took me a minute to get that one -- sort of like "fill in the missing gaps."

-- Roger

[Moochie]

Back in the day
Get over it
And I'll tell you why
All of the above
Human Resources (Dept.)
Unrepentant terrorist
God bless you and God bless (country)


All of the ones in the previous posts and everything that comes out of Sean Hannity's mouth.


M.

[Dragoonster]

But don't you see? That is why it is so unrelentlessly evil.

It's not evil, just misunderstood :p

[Magyar]

liberal media

REAL American

Passionate Conservative

Class warfare

Wealth redistribution

[Madalch]

... flamable, shibboleth ...

I'd rather have "flammable" in the language than "inflammable". Since we don't generally talk of things enflaming anymore, people assume that inflammable means its opposite.

And don't knock shibboleth. One of my Call of Cthulhu was slain by one of those.

[LibraryLady]

I have the right to my opinion!

Invariably said by someone who has lost the argument and has no facts to support his position.

[Drudgewire]

Drinking the Kool-Aid. The people that say drinking the Kool-Aid have drank the "drinking the Kool-Aid" Kool-Aid.

Good call. That one annoys me much more than the regular cliche as well. :)

[Drudgewire]

liberal media

REAL American

Passionate Conservative

Class warfare

Wealth redistribution


Let's toss "neocon" in there too. Political buzzwords are the worst. :mad:

[mummymonkey]

Anybody using the word "leverage" should be punched in the face.
Except if they're talking about levers.

[Madalch]

Anybody using the word "leverage" should be punched in the face.
Especially if they're using it as a verb.

"We've got to leverage our synergies!"

I like verbing nouns. It weirds the language.

[G-K-4]

"literally"

I was wondering when someone was going to suggest that word. That is one of my major pet-peeves (but I don't know why it's that one).


liberal media
REAL American
Passionate Conservative
Class warfare
Wealth redistribution

Let's toss "neocon" in there too. Political buzzwords are the worst. :mad:

But are these kinds of terms offensive because they are used inaccurately, or just because they are used at all?

Let's look at one of them. There really are a handful of significant people in the U.S. who were Cold War liberals in the 1960's and who subsequently moved to conservatism. The word used to describe this group is "neoconservative", meaning that they were new to conservatism, or "new conservatives". The word is used incorrectly when someone is called a "neocon" even if they've never been a liberal. In that case, they're a different kind of "-con", but that doesn't seem to matter to people with buzzwords flying around inside their heads. :boggled:

Rant over.

----------

What do we do about the problem of irritating phrases, wrong words, and lazy communication? If we were to stop offenders and correct them, wouldn't we be derided as pedants?

What approaches are effective?

[Piscivore]

"Our panel tonight includes Anne Coulter"

What hapenned to her? The Bush administration is out the door, so they sent her to live on a farm somewhere?

[SezMe]

Quit complaining man, at least it's one better than nine.
But, but, but ... it's one less than eleven.

[Checkmite]

"In a world where [insert brainless movie situation]"


Has this ever actually, seriously been used? The only times I've ever heard this phrase were in what were clearly supposed to be parodies of the same phrase, which suggests to me that it is a forced meme.

[Marquis de Carabas]

What do we do about the problem of irritating phrases, wrong words, and lazy communication? If we were to stop offenders and correct them, wouldn't we be derided as pedants?

What approaches are effective?
You might as well ask how to convince spiders to spin different webs.

[Careyp74]

How about 'begs the question' when used to mean that there is a question that should be asked?

"Oxford came out with their top 10 most annoying phrases, which begs the question, do you need the word 'most' in there?"

[Gurdur]

You might as well ask how to convince spiders to spin different webs.


Coffee, LSD, amphetamines. (http://www.trinity.edu/jdunn/spiderdrugs.htm)

[Marquis de Carabas]

Coffee, LSD, amphetamines. (http://www.trinity.edu/jdunn/spiderdrugs.htm)
If G-K-4 is proposing hooking me up with coffee, LSD, and amphetamines to change the way I speak, he gets my vote.

[Fiona]

I get a little annoyed by "forward planning" I have never found the other kind all that useful

[Gurdur]

Hindsight: the most useless of all accomplishments unique to humans.

[Gurdur]

If G-K-4 is proposing hooking me up with coffee, LSD, and amphetamines to change the way I speak,


If he's smart, he is. If he's evil as well as smart, he might substitute Ativan.

[applecorped]

But, but, but ... it's one less than eleven.

Mine goes to eleven.

[Gord_in_Toronto]

I think this whole thread is illustrative of how the proper use of English is spiraling downward! :duck:

[WildCat]

AutoModAction

This one keeps appearing in my PM box...

[Ladewig]

And 'jumped the shark' has jumped the shark.

I think the kids are now using "nuked the fridge."

[Ladewig]

"try and"
"irregardless"


If we are including grammatical errors, then "different than" bothers me more than the ones you suggested. "Like I said" also grates on my ear.

[Fiona]

"Try and" is colloquial here. It is not an error

[Marquis de Carabas]

Try and convince a prescriptivist of that.

[Jeff Corey]

"Think outside of the box", unless you're referring to the nine dot problem.

[Cleon]

I think the kids are now using "nuked the fridge."

:D

[lionking]

One of my colleagues used "at the end of the day" so much I started to call him twilight. He didn't get it.

[zooterkin]

"enormity" meaning very large (as just used by the president-elect of the USA).
"fulsome" I'm not sure about, I have a sneaking suspicion that some people use it in the knowledge that others will misunderstand.

[Neckbone]

Peel the onion
Drill down
Lo and behold (especially when written as "low and behold"
Myself, when used incorrectly, and it usually is
My bad
Think outside the box
On the same page
Nearly any sports metaphor

Wow. You named nearly all of the annoying phrases I was thinking of. Some others I'd thought of:

closure
know what i'm sayin'
dodged a bullet
replying to "thank you" with "thank you", instead of simply saying: "You're welcome."

Neckbone

[lionking]

"enormity" meaning very large (as just used by the president-elect of the USA).
"fulsome" I'm not sure about, I have a sneaking suspicion that some people use it in the knowledge that others will misunderstand.

I believe that the dictionary meaning of this word has changed, and that an alternative meaning is now very large.

I have seen "duplicity" used as duplication though.

[steve s]

The word "actually" needs to be removed from the English language. It's misuse is reaching epidemic proportions.

One of my favorite shows is This Old House on PBS. The carpenter Tommy Silva uses the word "actually" in nearly every sentence. He'll say something like "Then I actually take this board and I actually cut it in half." Another time I was watching Flip This House and the woman was taking a realtor through the house, pointing out the changes she had made. She started every sentence with the word "actually." I think people use it as a pause to give their brains a second or two to think of what to say. Sort of the same way some people start every sentence with "Uhhhh.." or "Well...."

Steve S.

[steve s]

Another pet peeve is using the word decimate to mean devastate. Since decimate means to kill one out of every ten people, only populations can be decimated. Buildings cannot be decimated.

Steve S.

[steve s]

"literally"

I hear broadcasters misusing the word "literally" every day. :-)

-- Roger

Tom Brokaw was constantly misusing the word "literally." And he couldn't pronounce it properly. He'd use three syllables (lih-trully) instead of four.

Steve S.

[fatewilleatyou]

My all time least favorite phrase is, "That's gotta hurt"

followed closely by, "God Bless America"

[Meadmaker]

I don't know about anyone else, but when it comes to what Oxford thinks are annoying phrases, I could care less.

[Jeff Corey]

Tom Brokaw was constantly misusing the word "literally." And he couldn't pronounce it properly. He'd use three syllables (lih-trully) instead of four.

Steve S.

Maybe he's a Brit. They say "military" as "mill-tree", whereas the French say "mill-ee-tar-ee".

[luchog]

Worth repeating, if only because it made me laugh. But also because it's true. What the hell is holy about "10".

The Law of Fives.

I can add:
Proactive
Brown Bag (when referring to a business meeting or training session)
Core Competencies
Any use of the word "of" in place of "have".
Any double negative.
"Gansta" speak.

[Oliver]

Worth repeating, if only because it made me laugh. But also because it's true. What the hell is holy about "10".


There is nothing holy about it. But it happens that when
man discovered math, he also discovered that his ten
fingers would be a nice alternative to a 64-bit computer. ;)

[Fiona]

I could care less.

This has been discussed before but every time I hear or read that phrase it jars. I realise it is just a difference between how americans and brits talk: but it surely jars :)

[LibraryLady]

Adding "-gate" to the end of a word describing a political scandal.

[Meadmaker]

This has been discussed before but every time I hear or read that phrase it jars. I realise it is just a difference between how americans and brits talk: but it surely jars :)


They don't say that in Britain? I'm moving!

[Fiona]

No, Meadmaker. We say " I couldN'T care less !!

[Lord Muck oGentry]

"try and"

It has been good idiomatic English for centuries.
The Greeks, who had a word for everything, called it hendiadys. The Romans, who had less time for words, settled things vi et armis.

[Delvo]

"Step up to the plate" and just "step up" are pretty common in sports and "The Apprentice" (the latter of which might mean they're also common in big-money business environments). I think it's funny when it's said in sports other than baseball, since baseball is where it came from and other sports don't have plates to step up to.

[G-K-4]

If G-K-4 is proposing hooking me up with coffee, LSD, and amphetamines to change the way I speak, he gets my vote.

Maybe the coffee. I don't drink it, so more for you!


If he's smart, he is. If he's evil as well as smart, he might substitute Ativan.

Some would say I'm smart. Some would say I'm evil. But not even I would do that. If Ativan is so addictive, better to substitute something else, such as this thread.

As for correcting people's poor speaking skills, I'll still try.

[Ausmerican]

Key.
Among other buzzwords popular with annoying professional people 'key' makes my teeth grind. "This is key." "What is key here is..." etc.

[Rufo]

I'm surprised not to have seen "open-minded" here yet. I can recall perhaps one case where I have been flattered to be called so, but most commonly it reminds me of Randi's quote about having a hole in your head where your brain is leaking out.

"Political [in]correctness"

Are commonly used much like regular "correctness" and "incorrectness", with the difference that the "political" prefix makes it awesome to be incorrect and lame to be correct.

"Let's agree to disagree."

No. Let's not.

[king catfish]

"Bottom line"
"To be honest with you..."
"Long story short"

These make me nuts.

[Angus McPresley]

Ginormous
Automagically
At the end of the day

Yes, I know the last one was mentioned in the original list, but I'm really, really sick of it...

[Madalch]

"Irratating" That one really drives me nuts.

[autumn1971]

"Proactive" gives me hives.
Anytime someone begins a sentence with the phrase "I'm not a [blank], but...", and then they say something proving that they are, in fact, a great big [blank].

The misuse of "mano a mano". It means "hand to hand", not "man to man". What's wrong with saying homo a homo?

[CriticalThinking]

"country first" Right...

"change we can believe in" mmhmm....

"America is the last best hope in the world" LULZ

"American exceptionalism" ROFL

"America is the light in the darkness" Sure, kid

"he's openly gay" <<< WTF

"He happens to be black" <<< More WTF

"Women are the fairer sex" LAWL

"he takes the cake" What cake?

"Pre-board" ???

[dasmiller]

maybe it's just me, but "A Major Motion Picture Event!" - I remember when they were just movies.

And "More than he could possibly have imagined" and all its variants - to quote Harrison Ford in one of his better known roles - "I can imagine a lot."

and "No worries" - no particular reason, just don't care for it.

There's a certain sick joy in righteous indignation, and popular language use gives so many opportunities for it . . .

[zooterkin]

Maybe he's a Brit. They say "military" as "mill-tree", whereas the French say "mill-ee-tar-ee".

We do? No, it's more like 'mill-a-tree'. At least we don't say "nucular". :)

[brodski]

If we were to stop offenders and correct them, wouldn't we be derided as pedants?

and the worst kind of pedants, because you wouldn't even be correct, you may as well try and insist that everyone uses RP rather than other lazy, ignorant or wrong accents. ;)

[RandFan]

I don't get it. The rest I can kind of understand, but what's wrong with "absolutely"?Absolutely.

"Happy camper". I don't hear it much anymore but when I do it grates me like nails on a chalk board. Where the 'ell did it come from in the first place.

[Fiona]

Butlins?

[Nogbad]

I like absolutely too.

I don't like

"I hear what you say" meaning I am just about to disregard every word you have just said.

"Sea change" The sea is in a state of constant change so how can a sea change be indicative of a new paradigm.

"Blue sky thinking" I am in the unfortunate position of having to read or listen to consultant speak more often than I would like. I have written papers recommending we ditch consultants based on a large part how much of this bilge they have subjected me to. (this list is terrifyingly long)

"Comfort break" What is wrong with "I need to have a crap"?

[Nogbad]

Butlins?

Hi De Hi?

http://www.sitcom.co.uk/hi_de_hi/graphics/cast.jpg

[n11/n12]

instantaneously

[LibraryLady]

Orientate.

[calebprime]

interrelationship to mean relation

differential to mean difference

my fave, from college days:

analization to mean analysis

[joobie]

drill baby drill

[Jeff Corey]

We do? No, it's more like 'mill-a-tree'. At least we don't say "nucular". :)

That's funny, but I remembered it being shorter than that from "Rita Meter Maid", so I checked and you're right. I do recall some Python sketches with a clipped version, though. Could that have been a burlesque of some upper class twit accent?

[Delvo]

"Sea change" The sea is in a state of constant change so how can a sea change be indicative of a new paradigm.People who travel on the oceans a lot use the word "sea" or "seas" to refer to the action of the waves. "High seas", for example, means big tall waves. So when the "sea" changes, it means the water's behavior changes, which means the weather changes, which is a change in circumstances that affects one's ability to due one's job quickly and safely.

[Lensman]

"Then" instead of "than" & vice versa,
"Has" instead of "as" & v.v.
"Coarse" instead of "course" & v.v.
"And" instead of "an" & v.v.
"Have" instead of "of" & v.v.
"Weather" or "wether" instead of "whether" & v.v.
"Ax" (spoken) instead of "ask".
Whatever
At the end of the day (I know it's been mentioned)
"Nucular" instead of "nuclear".
"Murcle" or "mirracal" instead of "miracle".
"Har" (spoken) instead of "heart".
"Marl" (spoken) instead of "mile". (same for "smarl")
"Fax" (spoken) instead of "fox".
"Bax" (spoken) instead of "box".
"Rabbit" instead of "rebate".
"Ruff" instead of "roof".

I could go on, but I think you get my drift.

[Moochie]

Man up
Mission Statement
Arc up
Team player
Incentivize
Dream team
Culture warrior


M.

[Meadmaker]

No, Meadmaker. We say " I couldN'T care less !!


I think people in America still said that when I was kid. I think it was some time in the
'70s that people somehow stopped listening to the words they were actually saying.

When I saw something about annoying phrases, that one immediately popped in my head.

I also hate "literally" when just used for emphasis. However, it occurred to me one day that the word "really", probably once meant "literally", and over time devolved into an emphasis word.

[Nogbad]

"rediculus" annoys me more than it should - what can I say?


Understand about sea changes in relation to weather just not in relation to a permanent change in political thinking.

[RoboTimbo]

Business casual

[Nogbad]

Man up
Mission Statement
Arc up
Team player
Incentivize
Dream team
Culture warrior


M.



I felt quite ill reading that lot :(

[LibraryLady]

How could I have forgotten "Whatever."

It makes me want to slap people.

[Nogbad]

How could I have forgotten "Whatever."

It makes me want to slap people.

It is even worse coming from a stroppy teenage girl.

who would be a parent :(

[casebro]

"One of the only" things that bother me is using " 1800s " to mean to mean "the nineteenth century". The 1800s is a decade, the one before the 1810s.

[Nogbad]

"Decimate" when something in the region of 90% has been destroyed irritates me too.

:( I am a grumpy old man aren't I?

[skepticalfred]

with all due respect, you threw me under the bus, you know what im saying?, it had quite an impact, and lo and behold, I'm not a happy camper, irregardless, all I know is we are kindred spirits, we have this synergy, and we need to be proactive so we don't jump the shark.

[varwoche]

"irregardless" I'm sorry to report that irregardless has been promoted to a real word.

[brodski]

I'm sorry to report that irregardless has been promoted to a real word.

does it get a pay rise, was there a ceremony?

[varwoche]

I appreciate words or phrases that shorten/simplify (unlike "irregardless" which lengthens and de-simplifies). And I appreciate phrases that add nuance. In that spirit, a defense of some irritating phrases:

Throw under the bus: Sure, it's used so often that it's become annoying. But that's too bad. "Sacrifice" doesn't capture the nuance. (I enjoyed seeing the verb TUB in a thread a while back.)

Proactive: What's the alternative?

Business casual: Conveys useful information that would otherwise take a mouthful. (In Seattle it means jeans without holes.)

eta: Ceremony yes, pay raise no. More work same pay, and so the world goes.

[steve s]

"To be honest with you..."


A salesman once used that phrase and I said "So you've been lying to me up to now?" and then I walked out.


A couple more phrases that I hate...

"Take it to the next level." Aargh! Sportscasters use this one a lot.

"That's what I'm talking about."



Steve S.

[RandFan]

Proactive: What's the alternative? Reactive.

Proactive is one of the most significant words of my life. Going through years of theraphy I learned the difference between the two and why it is important to not simply react emotionally to any given circumstance but to act using intelect which requires overriding gut reaction.

People who are reactive are more likely to have road rage. People who are proactive are more likely to ignore rude and aggresive drivers.

[varwoche]

Reactive.

Proactive is one of the most significant words of my life. Going through years of theraphy I learned the difference between the two and why it is important to not simply react emotionally to any given circumstance but to act using intelect which requires overriding gut reaction.

People who are reactive are more likely to have road rage. People who are proactive are more likely to ignore rude and aggresive drivers. I know. What I meant was, if one is bothered by the word proactive what then is the alternative?

[Ladewig]

"One of the only" things that bother me is using " 1800s " to mean to mean "the nineteenth century". The 1800s is a decade, the one before the 1810s.

I have never heard that before. Do you have a good citation for it?

[RandFan]

I know. What I meant was, if one is bothered by the word proactive what then is the alternative?Sorry. I didn't understand.

[applecorped]

I know. What I meant was, if one is bothered by the word proactive what then is the alternative?

psychoactive

[JihadJane]

How could I have forgotten "Whatever."

It makes me want to slap people.

Whatever.

Oh wait...

[Madalch]

People who use "filtrate" as if it were the verb "filter", rather than the liquid that has been filtered.

I constantly get lab reports that say, "The solution was filtrated."

Using "glasswear".

[tomwaits]

Business casual

I'll agree with this and throw in every other "dress code" word that exists. I went to a new years party one time and the dress code was "casual chic". WTF is that supposed to mean??

[zooterkin]

"Sea change" The sea is in a state of constant change so how can a sea change be indicative of a new paradigm.


Blame that one on Shakespeare. The phrase is originally from a song from The Tempest, and, as I understand it, refers to a change in someone wrought by the sea, possibly during a voyage. I think it's also been used when referring to Madeira and possibly other fortified wines that changed in character during a sea voyage. Of course, what all that has to do with business is another matter.

[Ladewig]

"One of the only" things that bother me is using " 1800s " to mean to mean "the nineteenth century". The 1800s is a decade, the one before the 1810s.


I also want to know if the 1810s is the "eighteen-teens" or the "eighteen-tens"?

[Mick Houlahan]

"Don't sugarcoat it; tell us how you really feel."

Why does this still get a laugh?

[Fat Bottom Gurl]

I detest the "I gave it 110 percent". (or some number over 100).

[Marquis de Carabas]

Even outside my normal defense of idiomatic language against those who seem to wish to insist that it remain 110% logical, I really wonder why anyone has a problem with giving more than 100%. It is only impossible if the benchmark for 100% is taken to be amount able to be given. If it is instead amount expected to be given or amount relative to what someone else has given, it is not an impossibility at all.

Of course, one may still find it grating due to overuse, but the idea that it is not possible to give more than 100% is simply wrong.

[Jeff Corey]

Yeah, I draw the line at a thousand percent. That is just a millions times worse.

[Big Les]

"needs fixed","needs worked", "needs [verb in past tense]"

...the last is some sort of rural backwoods regional usage that makes me want to stuff gasoline-soaked rags down the speakers' throats and light them on fire as human Molotov cocktails. "This data needs fixed". Yeah? Your grammar needs fixed. With a crowbar.

In fact it's Scots/Scots English usage not restricted to rural communities. As is "outwith" which at first jarred with me too.

But not "outturn" which is more management consultancy BS-speke.

[Dale H]

Whenever anyone says "Trust me on this" I know I'm about to be lied to.

And the statement "You don't want to go there" makes me want to go precisely "there" just to piss them off.

Verbing nouns is also annoying. We have plenty of perfectly good words already. Do you really have to invent new ones to express yourself?

Dale H

[JihadJane]

"It was meant to happen."

ETA: Belated thanks to Marquis de Carabas for fixing it for me earlier. :)

[Foolmewunz]

As your local insurgency leader, you might be surprised to know that I have a couple of bugaboos, myself. I cannot, for instance, make nice-nice with irregardless. It grates (or jars, as someone else coined).

As to most annoying phrases.... I guess we travel in different circles. My personal list would include:

Keep your hands where I can see them and get out of the car.

Can I see some ID please?

I have a subpoena for Mr. Foolmewunz.

Cough!

The rabbit died.

[TragicMonkey]

In fact it's Scots/Scots English usage not restricted to rural communities.

Well, it's living on in West Virginia today. I did a quick survey at work, and all the people who use it are from either the state of West Virginia, or from the western part of Virginia. I guess the Scots legacy lives on there. At least, until I put a stop to it.

[TragicMonkey]

I detest the "I gave it 110 percent". (or some number over 100).

I disagree. I like percenting over 100, especially when taken to ludicrous extremes and ridiculous specificity at the same time.

Foolish Boss: Can you dedicate yourself as a resource to this project?
TragicMonkey: Certainly, I will give it two million four hundred thousand nine hundred and forty-one percent!
Foolish Boss: What?
TragicMonkey: I said the CFO came by asking if I knew anything about some questionable items on your expense report.

[Cavemonster]

I also want to know if the 1810s is the "eighteen-teens" or the "eighteen-tens"?

I still have no idea what to call this decade we're in. Have you noticed the dearth of references. I can't wait until the 20's when all this ambiguity is over.

[RoboTimbo]

The mispronunciation of 'rococo'. Surely this one grates on everyone else's nerves also?

[bobdroege7]

"High seas", for example, means big tall waves.

No, it means open ocean, as in sailed the high seas.

[Ladewig]

The mispronunciation of 'rococo'. Surely this one grates on everyone else's nerves also?

Dictionary.com (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rococo) gives two valid pronunciations. Which one is incorrect?

I am surprised no one has listed chaise lounge instead of chaise longue; although I suspect the battle has been lost on that one.

I suppose "the hoi polloi" should be mentioned.

[RandFan]

The rabbit died.:D Damn, you gotta hate it when that happens. Though, to be frank, I've had 20 good years with a good woman so some make out in the end.

[GreyICE]

With all due respect, I personally feel that individuals who think like this are fairly unique. At the end of the day, there is absolutely no reason that people should be devoting their time to meaningless grammatical exercises. It's a nightmare to imagine how many people at this moment in time are suffering, while we compile lists of annoying phrases. I absolutely think that the people who wasted their time on this shouldn't of. It's not rocket science, folks, bad stuff is happening 24/7, and they should be changing it.

[RandFan]

With all due respect, I personally feel that individuals who think like this are fairly unique. At the end of the day, there is absolutely no reason that people should be devoting their time to meaningless grammatical exercises. It's a nightmare to imagine how many people at this moment in time are suffering, while we compile lists of annoying phrases. I absolutely think that the people who wasted their time on this shouldn't of. It's not rocket science, folks, bad stuff is happening 24/7, and they should be changing it.Think of the children.

[Foolmewunz]

:D Damn, you gotta hate it when that happens. Though, to be frank, I've had 20 good years with a good woman so some make out in the end.

Oh, I was just being facetious. I've got a six-week-old at home, now (thus my weird posting patterns the past x weeks), and loving every minute of it.

(I wasn't sure in this day of corner-drug-store-kits if anyone would actually get the reference.)

[RandFan]

Oh, I was just being facetious. I've got a six-week-old at home, now (thus my weird posting patterns the past x weeks), and loving every minute of it.

(I wasn't sure in this day of corner-drug-store-kits if anyone would actually get the reference.)Oh yeah, besides, I grew up with Aerosmith.

"You can't catch me 'cause the rabbit done died"?

Then of course there was the movie, Rabbit Test (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078133/).

[casebro]

Re: The bunny died: The bunny always died, then the pathologist cut out her ovary for examination. It was the state of the bunnies' ovary that told of pregnancy.

But like many of these sayings, new meanings pop up everyday.

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

"aren't I?"

~~ Paul

[RandFan]

"aren't I?"

~~ PaulUmmmm... no! Oh, no, wait, yes, it's yes.

[G-K-4]

I still have no idea what to call this decade we're in. Have you noticed the dearth of references. I can't wait until the 20's when all this ambiguity is over.
We are in the Aughts. But not for much longer.

Also, the eighteen-hundreds and the eighteen-aughts can be distinguished verbally, or by writing out the words. Meanwhile, the idea that the eighteen-hundreds and the nineteenth century are identical is a mistake. The year 1800 was in the eighteenth century.

[jadebox]

[QUOTE=Magyar;4184371]liberal media /QUOTE]

Actually (sorry!), it's "the media" that is over-used ... usually by a person on national TV or writing for a major newpaper or magazine.

-- Roger

[Dragoonster]

We are in the Aughts. But not for much longer.

Also, the eighteen-hundreds and the eighteen-aughts can be distinguished verbally, or by writing out the words. Meanwhile, the idea that the eighteen-hundreds and the nineteenth century are identical is a mistake. The year 1800 was in the eighteenth century.

True, but nothing of significance ever seems to happen in the XX00 years, so history can afford to ignore this technicality. Well, except for JC's birth.

[Neckbone]

One of my professors jumped a kid in class for using the non-word "irregardless". One of that professor's favorite phrases was "I suspect I think", as in: "I suspect I think the answer is George Washington, not John Adams." When it came time for us to give our evaluations (I trust they were annonymous), I was still a bit irritated at professor hypocrite so I wrote:

"I suspect I think the phrase 'I suspect I think' is at least as redundant as irregardless, and I suspect I think you think so too."

My bad - I think someone's already mentioned that one, but I nominate it a second, third or fourth time because it's so intensely irritating.

Myself - Used too often when the writer or speaker should use "me" or "I".

Q: Do you know who will be attending from your group?

A: Just John and myself.

Q: Is that the same number of people as "John and I"?

I think someone already mentioned this one as well.

Neckbone

P.S. A few posts back, someone misspelled ridiculous. Is there some hidden or different meaning to the word when it is spelled rediculus?

Neckbone

[Neckbone]

True, but nothing of significance ever seems to happen in the XX00 years, so history can afford to ignore this technicality. Well, except for JC's birth.

And the 9/11 attacks, the founding of Jamestown, the crowning of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of France, the crowning of Charlemange as Imperator Augustus, and, last but not least, the reappearance of Sherlock Holmes after his battle with Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls.

Don't be so quick to dis the first ten years of the century.

Neckbone

[autumn1971]

Reactive.

Proactive is one of the most significant words of my life. Going through years of theraphy I learned the difference between the two and why it is important to not simply react emotionally to any given circumstance but to act using intelect which requires overriding gut reaction.

People who are reactive are more likely to have road rage. People who are proactive are more likely to ignore rude and aggresive drivers.

Sorry, but you were correct in the first paragraph: "...to not simply react... but to act" (bolding mine).
Reactive has a perfectly good word as an antonym, "active".
There is not a single example I have ever heard in which "proactive" was not used in a way that meant exactly "active", and in nearly all of the examples I have ever heard the offending sentence would be better off cleaned up so as not to need either "active" or its bastard spawn.

[LibraryLady]

"Don't sweat the small stuff"

Especially with its corollary: "It's all small stuff"

No, it's not all small stuff. There's big stuff in my life. Sweating it (being stressed) is not only natural, it's probably a good thing. It makes me careful.

Harrumph.

[soylent]

Loose/lose confusion; how hard can it be?

[Axiom_Blade]

I know. What I meant was, if one is bothered by the word proactive what then is the alternative?

How about "active"?

[The Nimble Pianist]

"Do you see what I'm saying?"

This makes as much sense as asking what 'blue' smells like.

[zooterkin]

How about "active"?

I think it's too vague to be the complement of 'reactive'. I also dislike the use of 'proactive', but haven't yet found a word that adequately conveys the concept that 'proactive' is used for.

"Planned work" as opposed to "reactive work" covers it, but it's more of a mouthful than saying you're being 'proactive' or 'reactive' at any particular time.

[Darat]

I think it's too vague to be the complement of 'reactive'. I also dislike the use of 'proactive', but haven't yet found a word that adequately conveys the concept that 'proactive' is used for.

"Planned work" as opposed to "reactive work" covers it, but it's more of a mouthful than saying you're being 'proactive' or 'reactive' at any particular time.
Proactive is simply the jargon word for "taking the initiative".

[zooterkin]

Proactive is simply the jargon word for "taking the initiative".

Oh, yes, I know what it is, I just haven't found a word that can be used as easily to describe it as 'proactive'.

In my current job, I'm doing mostly reactive work, but in my previous one I was doing planned activities as well. Constantly referring to 'taking the initiative' is cumbersome, and limiting in how you can use the phrase.

[Mashuna]

Proactive is simply the jargon word for "taking the initiative".

And sounds like a caffeine pill.

[Raphael]

"penultimate" instead of "ultimate".

[Mashuna]

"penultimate" instead of "ultimate".

I must admit, I've never heard penultimate misused in this way. Is it common where you live / work?

[LibraryLady]

I hear it all the time. People seem to think it means "most ultimate' instead of the next to ultimate.

[zooterkin]

I hear it all the time. People seem to think it means "most ultimate' instead of the next to ultimate.

What would they make of 'antepenultimate'?



(It was a favoured word of a DJ on BBC radio a few (!) years back.)

[GreyICE]

Proactive is simply the jargon word for "taking the initiative".

Unfortunately it's not. "A proactive measure" is a phrase that is very hard to form without using the word proactive. "A measure that takes the initiative" has a very different meaning - a measure that takes the initiative is one that actively does something. For instance, consider the two military scenarios below:
A preemptive strike on enemy fuel depots, aimed at crippling their airforce - a measure that takes the initiative.

An active air defense network with radar stations, patrols, and SAM sites positioned 50 miles in front of any major targets - a proactive air defense network

A protocol for scrambling planes in response to attacks - a reactive air defense network


The best way you could wander around the word proactive would be "An anticipatory reactive measure" which is overly wordy, an oxymoron, and much much stupider than what it replaces.

Now if we want to discuss the fact that many people MISUSE proactive, then we can, but it's pretty useful, and if you simply think that "taking the initiative" is a replacement, you're wrong.

[Darat]

You really need to be proactive about learning what a definition is.

[Ladewig]

True, but nothing of significance ever seems to happen in the XX00 years, so history can afford to ignore this technicality. Well, except for JC's birth.

And the 9/11 attacks, the founding of Jamestown, the crowning of Napoleon Bonaparte as Emperor of France, the crowning of Charlemange as Imperator Augustus, and, last but not least, the reappearance of Sherlock Holmes after his battle with Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls.

Don't be so quick to dis the first ten years of the century.

Neckbone

I think Dragoonster was not referring to the first ten years, but rather the first year e.g. 1800, 1900, 2000.

[Darat]

...snip...

The best way you could wander around the word proactive would be "An anticipatory reactive measure" which is overly wordy, an oxymoron, and much much stupider than what it replaces.

...snip...

Well of course it is stupid since it isn't what the word means! Proactive is the opposite of reactive, apart from that your definition isn't too far out, I mean we can use two of the words you used in your incorrect definition to come up with a reasonable explanation/definition for "taking the initiative proactive" i.e. "An anticipatory action or measure".

[zooterkin]

"According to Oxford" is beginning to annoy me...

[Axiom_Blade]

I think it's too vague to be the complement of 'reactive'. I also dislike the use of 'proactive', but haven't yet found a word that adequately conveys the concept that 'proactive' is used for.

My thesaurus lists "active" as a synonym for "proactive". I've never had to use the latter, but I can imagine there might be cases where "active" is a little vague.

According to Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proactive) the term came into popularity through self-help books. No wonder I hate it!

[Darth Rotor]

My thesaurus lists "active" as a synonym for "proactive". I've never had to use the latter, but I can imagine there might be cases where "active" is a little vague.

According to Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proactive) the term came into popularity through self-help books. No wonder I hate it!
Pointless, disposable, verbal ejaculations that still irritate me:

Ya know?

Rad!

She's the it girl.

(The it car, the it this, the it that . . . ) My Charles Adams sensibilities insist that any "it" girl, or other "it" thing, must be completely covered in hair.

Mellow out, dude. (That got so badly worn out during the Seventies and Eighties that it may have drained its batteries. Not sure. )

Roger that! (Similar to the inane "I heard that!" exclamation.)

Radio term that is criminally redundant. Roger implies that what ever "that" was you understood, and that you acknowledge the information or direction. If you didn't, you don't say "roger" to it, you respond with "say again all after" {whatever preceded "that" in the first place}

The View

It is incorrectly named. It ought to be named The Blinders.

DR

[GreyICE]

You really need to be proactive about learning what a definition is.

You = fail.

[Jeff Corey]

My thesaurus lists "active" as a synonym for "proactive". I've never had to use the latter, but I can imagine there might be cases where "active" is a little vague...!

Another synonym is "anticipatory", and it has a specialized meaning in psychology: pro·ac·tive (prō ak′tiv)

adjective

Psychol. relating to or caused by previously learned behavior, habits, etc. proactive inhibition

[FramerDave]

Nobody seems to know that media is the plural of medium.

Newspapers are a medium. Television is a medium. Radio is a medium. Newspapers, television and radio together comprise media. See also datum/data.

Regarding "aughts": Sorry, that may be correct but it grates on me. Every time I hear "aught" I think of backwoods hillbillies a la Jed Clampett. Same with four-aught steel wool.

Add my votes to decimate, literally, enormity and whatever.

[The Nimble Pianist]

Nobody seems to know that media is the plural of medium.

Newspapers are a medium. Television is a medium. Radio is a medium. Newspapers, television and radio together comprise media. See also datum/data.

Regarding "aughts": Sorry, that may be correct but it grates on me. Every time I hear "aught" I think of backwoods hillbillies a la Jed Clampett. Same with four-aught steel wool.

Add my votes to decimate, literally, enormity and whatever.

Ah! Much like how folks pluralize maximum and minimum by adding a terminal s?

(It's maxima, minima)

[jadebox]

I detest the "I gave it 110 percent". (or some number over 100).

That expression doesn't bother me so much. I take it to mean "110% of my normal effort."

I'm also accustomed to watching Space Shuttle launches as the shuttle's main engines are throttled up to 104% of their "rated power level."

-- Roger

[jadebox]

Nobody seems to know that media is the plural of medium.

Or that an individual soldier is not a "troop."

-- Roger

[Swagomatic]

I think this language is now officially beyond repair. Every single word or phrase seems to piss me off. It's time to get rid of it entirely.
:D

Seriously, though, I like to mention this website: Paul Brians (http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/) whenever there is a thread like this. His "Common Errors in English" page is "the bomb." :hit:

:D

[joobz]

So, if I can summarize what's been written here, there are two categories of irritating phrases/words.

1.) Improper use.
2.) Over use.

Improper use is irritating as it demonstrates a poor grasp of the language and implies that the person is lazy in thought.
Overuse is irritating as it demonstrates a willingness to use unoriginal phrases, which also implies lazy thinking.

My guess is that what really irritates people here is stupid people and the irritation from certain phrases is simply a reflection of that.

This leads me to conclude that all of you are merely elitists who enjoy thinking themselves better than others.

I take pleasure in knowing that I am better than all of you as I do not share your sense of elitism.:p

[PrincessIneffabelle]

Now, I know that ain't none of us perfect, but I got a few on my list, too:


"pre-existing condition" --Apparently, I can bend time and violate the laws of physics just by being sick for a while.

"just __ easy payments of only ____" --Yeah, right.

"____-aholic" --This makes no sense unless the addictive substance ends with "ahol"

"I hate to say this, but ..." --Then don't, because I'm pretty sure I'm going to hate hearing it.

"added bonus" --What's the definition of the word "bonus", again?

"What happened was this" or "Here's what happened" --Ok, just stop right there 'cause we can already tell that you're not going to be entirely truthful.

"new and improved" --Pick one and go with it. I suggest just using "improved", as it already denotes some form of newness.

"That's a good question" --When this phrase is uttered by a politician, what they really mean is "Oh, crap, I better think of something really good really fast!"

"How do you feel?" --If I see a reporter shove a microphone in a grieving, visibly upset, shocked, or angry person's face and ask that question one more time, I will not be responsible for my actions.

Now we need to start yet another peevish thread on common mispronunciations like "senints" (sentence), "athalete" (athlete), and "real-it-er" (realtor)! I know it always makes me feel better.

[Darat]

You = fail.

Ah diddums.

[FramerDave]

...and the usage of et al versus etc.

[Axiom_Blade]

Now we need to start yet another peevish thread on common mispronunciations like "senints" (sentence), "athalete" (athlete), and "real-it-er" (realtor)! I know it always makes me feel better.

Let's not forget "nu-kyu-lur".
I thought Bush was the only one who had trouble with this, until I heard Sarah Palin say it.

[LibraryLady]

"just __ easy payments of only ____" --Yeah, right.



Lately I've been only hearing the amounts of the monthly payments:

"Only 12.99 per month!!!!"

Without the number of months. It could be a thousand months!

[Paul W]

I have not been through the whole of this, but the thing which gets me most is when the BBC Newsreaders announce "And now for the news where you are". It never is, unless it's an inquest on some poor guy who got creamed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I live in Trowbridge.

[jadebox]

1.) Improper use.
2.) Over use.


3.) Over use of the improper phrase.
4.) Improper use of the over-used phrase.

It's, like, you know, when my BFF says something like ... [gesture] ... and you're like ... [gesture].

ROTFLMAO

-- Roger

[jadebox]

I have not been through the whole of this, but the thing which gets me most is when the BBC Newsreaders announce "And now for the news where you are". It never is, unless it's an inquest on some poor guy who got creamed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

I know it's straying from the topic, but you've reminded me that, before they fixed the grammar, ABC News's slogan was "Where more Americans get their news than from any other source." Every time I heard that I cringed.

I think they also left the comma out of the date each day ("January 1 2001").

BTW ... any spelling or grammatical errors in my posts within this thread are intentional bits of witty irony.

-- Roger

[tomwaits]

I just got proactive'd at work today. ugh...

[brodski]

Improper use is irritating as it demonstrates a poor grasp of the language and implies that the person is lazy in thought.

except that most of the "improper" uses which people complain of are not "improper", merely not part of the dialect which they speech, or have chosen to adopt- much like the pronunciation gripes, I was as joking when I said that all accents other than RP were lazy or morally wrong, it seems that other may actually hold a similar view, which is quite shocking.

[Cuddles]

The same thing as "Exactly!".

I still don't get it. What's wrong with "exactly"?

[Marquis de Carabas]

I still don't get it. What's wrong with "exactly"?
It means from actly. Since actly isn't a real place, it just sounds stupid.

[Rufo]

So, if I can summarize what's been written here, there are two categories of irritating phrases/words.

1.) Improper use.
2.) Over use.
I disagree. I consider neither of my phrases ("open-minded", "political correctness" and "let's agree to disagree") to be overused or improperly used.

The two first are annoying because they attach a positive meaning to something which I consider not to deserve it. "Open-minded" is frequently used to refer to noncritical thinking, and to a certain extent this use is actually correct, but the word used as if it was something good. Similarly, "political correctness" is used to refer to values that I consider to be good and true, such as all human beings being equal, but attaches a negative meaning to the word without any further explanation of why. Rather than lazy thinking, this implies dishonesty, since the person using the expressions is avoiding explaining why these things are good or bad by attaching a poorly emotionally charged phrase to them.

The third phrase "let's agree to disagree" is annoying because it's often insensitive and cowardly. When discussing anything beyond matters of personal taste, implying that disagreement is trivial or even acceptable is often incorrect. In a democracy, a person with one opinion can, though not alone, often impose these on a person of a different opinion. The person "agreeing to disagree" need not be stupid or lazy - but they are expecting their opinion to be accepted without further debate regardless of the results it may lead to. In some contexts this is more than annoying, but even in everyday conversations it really isn't a good phrase. Ever.

[GreyICE]

Ah diddums.

To elucidate, you used "proactive" in one of the more annoying manners possible. It is not a verb. It is not an adverb. It's an adjective. You accidentally created a sentence with a sloppy verb. Proactive is an adjective. Learning is a noun. Your verb? "To be." In a sentence about me doing something.

So yes. Fail. In copious amounts.

[Darat]

Ah double-diddums.

[uruk]

Proactive is simply the jargon word for "taking the initiative".

Proactive is actually an active that lost it's amature status.



Ba-da-bum.......CRASH!!!!


Thank you, I'm here all week and don'r forget to tip your waitress.

[GreyICE]

Proactive is actually an active that lost it's amature status.



Ba-da-bum.......CRASH!!!!


Thank you, I'm here all week and don'r forget to tip your waitress.

Here's a tip: Don't quit your day job.

[uruk]

Here's a tip: Don't quit your day job.

Sheesh! Everybody's gotta be a proactive critic.

[GreyICE]

Sheesh! Everybody's gotta be a proactive critic.

I criticize this post AND your next post for being shallow and insufficiently witty.

[Region Rat]

I didn't notice this one posted, and apologize if I missed it.....



Any type of blunder, crime, or issue of the day being described as [anything]-gate. Come on, the Watergate is a hotel where a crime took place. Travelgate, troopergate, filegate, all drive me up the wall (chap my hide, burn me up, drive me crazy, make me want to scream-puke-sh__, pull my hair out, etc.)

[t'mara carson]

pet peeve...(always a pet peeve of mine)
first annual
outside the box
referenced
one hundred and ten percent
i'm just telling you what i heard
sarah palin

[Miss_Kitt]

Thank you for listening to my invisible thoughts with your own.

Okay, this made me laugh so loudly that my kid wanted to know what was going on upstairs!!

This is such a good JREF forum in-joke, I'm thinking about a t-shirt.

Any takers??

MK

[Miss_Kitt]

But don't you see? That is why it is so unrelentlessly evil.

Just to add to the unusual nature of "cleave" as meaning two opposite things, the past tense is different for each meaning!

"After marriage, they cleaved unto each other only," for the adhering sense of cleave; versus,
"She felt as though her heart had been cleft by the headsman's axe," for the separating sense of cleave.

I managed not to make a "cleft palate" joke here, not an easy thing for me...

Regards, MK

[RoboTimbo]

Okay, this made me laugh so loudly that my kid wanted to know what was going on upstairs!!

This is such a good JREF forum in-joke, I'm thinking about a t-shirt.

Any takers??

MK


You are a genius and I would be a taker. The correct quote should be, "Thank you for reading my invisible thoughts with those of your own."

[TragicMonkey]

Just to add to the unusual nature of "cleave" as meaning two opposite things, the past tense is different for each meaning!

"After marriage, they cleaved unto each other only," for the adhering sense of cleave; versus,
"She felt as though her heart had been cleft by the headsman's axe," for the separating sense of cleave.

For another weirdity, "unloose" is an antiquated way of saying "untie". You'd think it would mean the opposite.

[LibraryLady]

I didn't notice this one posted, and apologize if I missed it.....



Any type of blunder, crime, or issue of the day being described as [anything]-gate. Come on, the Watergate is a hotel where a crime took place. Travelgate, troopergate, filegate, all drive me up the wall (chap my hide, burn me up, drive me crazy, make me want to scream-puke-sh__, pull my hair out, etc.)

We agree. (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=4185321#post4185321)

[Region Rat]

We agree. (http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?postid=4185321#post4185321)

:o

That's what I get for skipping a few pages.

[Darat]

Proactive is actually an active that lost it's amature status.



Ba-da-bum.......CRASH!!!!


Thank you, I'm here all week and don'r forget to tip your waitress.

I did but she fell over.

[Architect]

I dunno about you other Brits, but I find the phrase/word "Oxbridge" a right pain in the beam end, especially when used in conjunction with "studied at" in a manner framed to implicitly suggest an innate superiority.

[TragicMonkey]

:o

That's what I get for skipping a few pages.

So, you accept responsibility for the Skipgate scandal?







I was always hoping Bill Gates would get caught in something so they'd call it Gatesgate.

[Region Rat]

So, you accept responsibility for the Skipgate scandal?

To be honest with you, in my wildest dreams, I never expected to be taken to task for this seemingly minor transgression. I fully expect, in the coming days, to come to grips with my role in this decimation of my character, to lessen the backlash to my inner circle.




I was always hoping Bill Gates would get caught in something so they'd call it Gatesgate.

I heard that Bill Gates was using a secret Microsoft slush fund to pay off Robert Gates for the use of a high tech military spy satellite, for the purposes of obtaining nude pictures of Gates McFadden.

[Cuddles]

I dunno about you other Brits, but I find the phrase/word "Oxbridge" a right pain in the beam end, especially when used in conjunction with "studied at" in a manner framed to implicitly suggest an innate superiority.

I think this one depends. Anyone saying they studied at Oxbridge should be shot, since they should really be able to work out in which town they spent several years of their life. On the other hand, when applying to university Oxford and Cambridge are special cases (you can't apply to both, for example) and it is often convenient to refer to them both together.

[applecorped]

"True that"

I heard that so much when I lived briefly in Colorado. I don't hear it now that I'm on th east coast.

Anyone else ever hear this phrase being used?

[Axiom_Blade]

"True that"

YES.
Also "It's all good".

The sense that this phrase is used in is best summed up here: (http://www.ishkur.com/culture/i.php)
A phrase used to instill calm, complacency, and false feelings of security under the pretenses that life, the universe, and everything else are working directly in your favour.
When someone says this, it usually means that, underneath, things have gone terribly, terribly wrong.

[babbits]

Postmodernantidisestablishmentarianism.
(Thanks, Gurder)

[Roma]

Thinking outside the box.

I interpret that as "I don't know what to do so I am just going to make up stuff."

[PrincessIneffabelle]

Thinking outside the box.

I interpret that as "I don't know what to do so I am just going to make up stuff."
Hilarious in combination with your sig!

:D

[PrincessIneffabelle]

I just thought of another one!

"at a fraction of the cost" --What fraction are they talking about? I mean, 99/100 is a fraction, too, idnit?

[Beerina]

"Know what I mean?"

Used by adult buffoonery when finishing their little speech during conversation to heave the responsibility to continue the conversation onto you, the way little children raise their voices at the end of non-question sentences.

[MarkCorrigan]

I dunno about you other Brits, but I find the phrase/word "Oxbridge" a right pain in the beam end, especially when used in conjunction with "studied at" in a manner framed to implicitly suggest an innate superiority.

I tend to use Oxbridge with disdain actually....

[Marquis de Carabas]

I just thought of another one!

"at a fraction of the cost" --What fraction are they talking about? I mean, 99/100 is a fraction, too, idnit?
Yes, as is 3/2.

[TX50]

"centred around". How can something be centred around something?

"feedback", as in "give me feedback" or "I got feedback". Feedback is
something that happens with toilets on submarines.

The American "honing in on" grates on me too.

The common misuse of words like imply/infer, there/their/they're and its/it's
makes me boil over too, but that's in a different category.

[bigred]

The top ten most irritating phrases:

1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/debates/3394545/Oxford-compiles-list-of-top-ten-irritating-phrases.html




Any others come to mind?

Are you kidding? I could think of a zillion. If this is the worst GB has to offer, maybe I should move there.

[TX50]

I'm rather surprised at the longevity of the "It's not rocket science" one.

[alfaniner]

Any ad that promotes "quality" or "value" without a corresponding adjective. They never say whether it's good or bad.

That's like saying "Hey, it's really temperature out!"

[PrincessIneffabelle]

Any ad that promotes "quality" or "value" without a corresponding adjective. They never say whether it's good or bad.

That's like saying "Hey, it's really temperature out!"

Seconded!

Another quality post from a quality forumite.

[alfaniner]

Another quality post from a quality forumite.

Thanks so much!





Hey... wait a second...!

[FramerDave]

Why don't people know the difference between loose and lose? Seriously, read the word and sound it out.

There are some phrases, often used by community activist types, that get on my nerves every time I hear them:

so-called, as in "Our so-called president hasn't done a thing to..." Well folks, if he was elected, he's the president. You may not like him, but he is.

quote-unquote, as in "this quote-unquote law enforcement officer acted in a reckless manner..." So you're saying he's not really a cop? If that's what you mean then say so.

From my profession, and I've even seen these mistakes in trade magazines:

rabbit: a little fuzzy creature
rabbet: the part of a frame where the glass, mats, art, etc. all fit

matte: dull, not shiny, as in a matte finish
mat: the decorative border around artwork in a frame

Two more things:

that/who: When you refer to people, it's who. "Those are the people who are moving in next door" not "...the people that are moving in..."

fewer/less: Use fewer when speaking of separate and distinct items. Less when speaking of bulk materials, for lack of a better phrase.

"You should put fewer apples in that cake"
"You should put less sugar in that cake"

Grocery stores never get this right. Ten items or less?

[FramerDave]

I'm worried that I'm simply a pedantic twit, but they just keep coming. Not so much words or phrases as grammar errors:

First off, when you make a list of people, I always comes last. "My brother, mother, friend and I are going to the movies."

Second, when I is a direct or indirect object, it becomes me. "I am here. Do you see me?"

Third, there is something called parallelism.

The dog growled at my brother. The dog growled at me. Put them together with and: The dog growled at my brother and me.

Not "my brother and I" and not "my brother and myself."

I'm sure a lot of it is over-correction since our mothers and teachers used to beat us up over using me incorrectly.


its/it's
their/there/they're

Finally, since when does adding 's make any old word plural?

I'm done now, I promise.

[TX50]

...First off, when you make a list of people, I always comes last. "My brother, mother, friend and I are going to the movies."

Second, when I is a direct or indirect object, it becomes me. "I am here. Do you see me?"...


A rule of thumb I often teach the natives here is to take away the other
person and see if your sentence still makes sense (mutatis mutandis
the verb form).

[Mary, Siobhan and] I baked these cakes.

The baking team consisted of [Mary, Siobhan and] me.

Easy, really. And no worrying about grammatical fluff like indirect objects
and subjects.

Another one that irritates me greatly is the confusion between "to"
and "too".