What Expressions Tick You Off?
American humorist James Thurber claimed to be an authority on four subjects: "bloodhounds, holy matrimony, monsters, and modern English misusage." About that last item, at least, there can be no doubt. When it came to matters of language, Thurber was even more of a stickler than his New Yorker colleague E.B. White, co-author of The Elements of Style.
Unlike the usually docile dogs in his famous cartoons, Thurber was quick to snap at meddling copy editors. "I rarely use the ugly word grew," he told an editor at The New York Times Book Review, "and I have changed it back to was. This is not only good English, it is the way I write, and this is my piece."
Or, as he once advised another editor, "A word to the wise is not sufficient if it doesn't make sense."
On occasion Thurber's semantic gripes reflected deeper cultural concerns:
I loathe the expression "What makes him tick." It is the American mind, looking for simple and singular solution, that uses the foolish expression. A person not only ticks, he also chimes and strikes the hour, falls and breaks and has to be put together again, and sometimes stops like an electric clock in a thunderstorm.*
And so, with Thurber's comments in mind, we'd like to find out what common expressions tick you off.
You may be annoyed by some ubiquitous cliché (“at the end of the day") or a nonsensical inversion of an old saw (“to have your cake and eat it too").
Perhaps you've been worn down by the prattle of presidential candidates, all of whom are committed to "supporting our troops," "clearing the air" and "sending a clear signal" while promising to bring both "experience to the office" and "real change to America."
Or maybe you're just tired of being referred to on the news as "the American consumer"--that mindlessly voracious creature whose mission in life is to keep the economic engine running.
Click on the "comments" button below to tell us what expressions tick you off.
Writers on Writing:
- Harold Ross on Editing
- H.L. Mencken on the Writing Life
- Lillian Ross on Helpful Editors
- Writers on Writing: E.B. White
* Letter to Frances Glennon, June 24, 1959. In Selected Letters of James Thurber, edited by Helen Thurber and Edward Weeks (Little, Brown and Company, 1980).
Update:
- The Golden Age of the English Language
- At the End of the Day: 170 Expressions That Tick You Off
- 200 Words and Expressions That Tick You Off
Image: James Thurber (1894-1961)
Comments
“I could care less” to mean, I don’t care at all. How hard is it to say “I couldn’t care less”?
“Make no mistake” is one that I got sick of years ago.
“Ex cetera” in stead of “et cetera” diminishes my esteem of the speaker.
“Awesome!” How about great, wonderful, fabulous, incredible? “Without further ado” usually comes after way too much ado, particularly when introducing a speaker, whose bio is already included in the information packet and does not need to be read verbatim!
paradigm shift
“Tons.” I especially get bent out of shape (oooh, another expression)when I hear some young woman on one of the “news” networks use this word, as in “I would buy tons of stocks this week.” Tons of stocks? I ask you! And by the way, the nasal high pitch that’s made its way into our popular idea of how a young woman should sound falls into speech patterns that annoy me. I think any television presenter under 30 should be forced to undergo a grueling day-long seminar indoctrination of watching all the films of Lauren Bacall as an antidote.
It is what it is. ugh!
Keepin’ it real. ugh!
Think outside the box. yuck!
“It is what it is”
I’ll take an 8 pound sledge to “whatever it is”, then it won’t be what it is.
“Going forward.” As in, “We will adopt the new policy going forward.” That’s a relief!! I would hate to see us adopt a new policy going backward!!
“Been there, done that.” Acoompanied by the equally repugnant visual of belt hitching of either sex
“Think outside the box”…those who say this are the only ones who can’t.
Typos that tick me off: “acoompanied” for accompanied
What really ticks me off is what my American friends commonly refer to as “street language” like: b4, u (as replacement for ‘you’), cu (see you), l8tr (later), etc. etc. Sometimes I feel like I’m forced to decode some secret message while, in fact, it is plain text communication.
The use of “momentarily” in place of “in a moment” ex: the plane will land momentarily, the film will begin momentarily etc.
“when ever” instead of when
It’s not so much the expressions that tick me off as it is words like “proactive” and “facilitate”. Business buzzwords are ubiquitous in my workplace, and they grate on my nerves. Anyone who uses the word “proactive” — well, I just can’t take them seriously.
I agree with Richard and Vicky:
- “It is what it is.” It’s an extension of the phrase “res ipsa loquitur” that Hunter Thompson used a lot to sign off his letters and an emotional extension of the 90s’ “Suck up and deal” and 00s’ “What can I do?”
-Corporate “mindshare” speak: “Next steps” and “best practices”–makes 40-minute meetings of saying nothing even more boring…
I dislike someone repeating “you know” when I don’t know. It’s just a crutch to give them time to think
I agree with everyone above, and want to emphasize that “at the end of the day” is the phrase that I find most irritating. Also: “At this point in time” — what’s wrong with “now?” “I mean” is almost as bad as “you know” and of course the unholy use of the word “like” by teenagers and beyond.
“Beautiful” — a favorite of real estate agents, writers of travel brochures, and Martha Stewart.
They seem to have the capacity to use the word a half-dozen times in one paragraph.
“Leave it be.”
Why can’t we just leave it alone? or drop it. Leave it be has always bothered me.
Also, now with the expansion of the phrases such as “LOL and OMG!”
My LEAST favorite are the virtual phrases, such as, *Hugz!* really people, I can’t feel your arms around me, I’d rather see an emoticon.
When people say “Like” or “Umm” every other word.
When emailing, the use of “alot” instead of “a lot”. It makes me question their intelligence.
Awesome as a substitute for a routine response. Last week, I gave the a customer service rep my policy number to begin an inquiry about a rate issue and he replied awesome. Also absolutely agree the ever-irritating ‘at the end of the day’—-I think this is a weird evolution of ‘My sense is…’
eat healthy food instead of healthful food
be one less instead of one fewer
Usually stated prior to whiney complaining or a rant of some sort the expression, “Not for nothing” makes me want to ask the person if they know just how ignorant they sound!
Another one I find equally irritating is “back in the day”.
To Vicki’s workplace terms I add “team player”, “give 110%”, and “tolerance”.(I don’t respect you, I tolerate you…what?)
My grade school teacher(s)and texts made sure
students used “that” when speaking of objects and “they” when speaking of people. News magazines and the press in general now seem to prefer “those that” rather than “those
who” when speaking of people.
“Bottom line” has definitely been overworked, and I don’t like the word “parent” used as a verb. Then again, I don’t like the terms “rear,” “nurture,” or “raise” in that context, either. Maybe now that my own children are legally adults I’m just past all that . . .?
I have a “temperature”. Everyone has a temperature! Do you mean you have a FEVER??
I agree with gearjammer – the expression “I could care less” doesn’t make any sense – I hear otherwise well spoken people use that phrase and it rankles me
There are so many! One that always makes me wince is reading “utilize” instead of “use.” And I abhor waiters and writers alike who feel the need to append the exhortation “Enjoy!” to anything.
-Prioritise and other verbed nouns;
-Issues, a non-word for nitwits;
-Highfalutin’ bafflegab in place of straightforward English;
-Like, as (ab)used by the young;
-Hopefully, sadly, and others used as so-called “sentence” adverbs;
-Redundancies – once IS enough!
“I’m going on break now” or “I’m on break” as in co-workers refering to taking a coffee break or a lunch break. It is grammatically non-sensical and it doesn’t take any longer to say “I’m going to take my lunch break now” just once I’d like to have the nerve to ask if they have named thier chair “break” but I doubt I will.
We should be careful not to be more holy than the Pope. What is wrong versus what is overused. What is cliche today was new and fresh(er) a while ago. “proactive” is useful and in contrast to “reactive” says quite a bit about initiative. Perhaps we should focus on our own use of certain items and particularly on frequency. Use vs. overuse. Personal betes noir (sp): unnecessary use of the passive voice and “The game starts in 20 minutes from now.”
“Whatever”…even more annoying when used with an actual shrug.
Sports announcers are the worst. Every one is infected with the “He’s a guy that” disease. “He’s a guy that bats left-handed.” Like that is something unique. “He’s a guy that goes out every day and makes plays.”
And there’s another irritating sportsism. Every player interviewed wants “to go out there,” and kick ass. OF COURSE you have to go outside, to play. It is just mind-numbing how many players are planning on “going out.”
Presidential candidates all wnat “change,” What does that mean?
Some claim to have vision for our country. What vision do you need to run the administrative branch of government? These people aren’t kings and queens. Enforce the laws, that’s your job. Vision is for poets, dude.
My two favorites… The incorrect use of “near miss” and the incorrect spelling of definitely. That’s not a phrase but since others have pounced on poor spelling I will, too.
“Future plans.” What other kinds are there??
The key to success is to plan for the future…What else would you possibly plan for??
Media commentators like to talk about the “end result.” That what a result is, it is what happens in the end. Could you have a beginning result? IT’S JUST THE RESULT!
And these clowns are making mega-bucks dispensing this kind of crap!
The word “very” is misused and overdone so much it makes you wonder why radio and TV people are thought of as professionals if they can’t be imaginitive.
“Very overwhelming,” is typical. That’s what overwhelming is=it is very something.
Same with “very similar.” Things that are alike, that are very close in characteristics, are similar. That’s all. Next the idiots will be saying “The twins are very identical….”
Stephanie brings up a good point. In addition to how definitely is misspelled, it is almost always mispronounced!
Def-in-ly, def-a-ly, def-in-ally. You almost NEVER hear def-in-ate-ly!!
When people say, “Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”
The real expression, also stupid, is “CLOSE only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”
Also, some people will say they were “literally” doing something. When, in fact, they are still using a metaphor, or just a wild exaggeration. Ex: “I was literally at the end of my rope!” when there is no rope present.
The expression “very unique” irritates me greatly. There are no degrees of uniqueness…something is either unique or it is not.
“Executive Driven” when referring to use cars….really not sure what that shoud mean to me. “Estate Homes” when describing new housing developments with 1/4 acre lots. “A coffee” as a substitue for a cup of coffee.
A threesome: You know, I mean and Okay. The last is used by too many people in response to no matter what you say
“pushing the envelope” — doesn’t make sense. I get the image of a group of office workers on hands and knees, pushing envelopes around the floor.
“You know what I’m saying?” No, If I knew what you were saying, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
“You feel me?” Do I have my hands on you?
People who are overly affectionate on chat programs. Really annoying. No one runs up and hugs and kisses all their friends in real life but its supposed to be acceptable on the internet? Please.
‘Sup’ used for ‘what’s up?’ — dumb. talk in full words. ‘Sup’ is a real word, it means ‘to eat’. So, unless you are inviting me for dinner, don’t use ’sup’. In fact, most shortened terms are annoying. Speak clearly.
“At this point in time.” — This is unnecessary. The points in time you need to tell me about are those other than now, as in “Ten years ago today” or “By next Monday.”
“You know.”
“Like.”
“Stuff like that.”
“Basically, . . .”
“On the same page”
“Appropriate” and “Inappropriate”
“This country needs a change in leadership” — Come on, it’s a constitutional term-limit certainty that we’re getting a change in leadership — what else is on your mind?”
Added bonus – what is a bonus in the first place?
Unsweet tea – you can’t unsweeten something that hasn’t been sweetened, perhaps I’ll have a glass of nonsweet tea.
I’ve seen a couple of my peeves listed
- “it is what it is” says absolutely nothing at all.
- “could care less”
But I really can’t stand
“Have a good one” Have a good what, day? Then say so; is “day” so much harder to say than “one”? There seems to be an innuendo, of whatever it is that that the listener might want to be good . . . I don’t know it just bugs me
“If we don’t have it, you don’t need it!” as a sales pitch from a store. I find that so offensive that I would not shop there at all.
LOL
I agree with a whole lot of these folks. Here I come:
“You know what I’m sayin’”
“Have a nice day” (thank you, I have other plans for today).
“Stand on line.” That one came up even before the internet. When did we stop standing IN line??? I see lines everywhere, and nobody is standing on them!!!
“Me and him are going to the movies…” Oiy!
“graduated college…” I understand the expression has transformed to that, but I HATE it. Any one who “graduated college,” shouldn’t have – in my book. Now if they “graduated FROM college,” I’m ready to give them the accolades they deserve.
“dog do-do” Thank goodness it’s going out of style (I hope) if only figuratively
and
“couch potato” only because it was the favorite phrase of the woman who my husband left me for (or “for whom my husband left”).
AND finally
ISSUE! ISSUE! ISSUE! ISSUE! ISSUE! Aren’t most of our “issues” really problems.
So THANK YOU to the person who came up with this board. I’ve had a chance to “vent” my “issues” and now “me and him” can get on with our lives, that is if we stop being “couch potatoes” and clean up the dog “do-do”. (Oh, I can hardly bear to type those words.)
Bravo, Billie! I agree, this has been fun. Another comes to mind: the phrase “exact same.” It’s used by so many supposedly well-spoken persons. Also, I recently heard a government official actually say, “irregardless” on the radio. Appalling!
“ATM machine” “very unique” “PIN number”. Convenience store/gas station clerk: “You got gas?”
Think outside the box
Cutting edge
Paradigm shift
VEGGIES (how on earth can a full grown person use that word????)
Empathetic when they mean “empathic”
Bling or Bling-Bling
Undocumented Workers (when what they mean is ILLEGAL ALIENS)
24/7
Harm’s Way
“Troops” when referring to individual soldiers
NUCULAR
As someone taking macroeconomics right now, I have to say that the phrase “market basket of goods and services” [used to calculate the consumer price index] makes me want to rip my ears off.
Crisis. Everything reported by the news today is “crisis.” Aren’t there more words to describe what they are talking about?
“Guys” I am not a guy. I hear it a lot at restaurants. The waitperson comes up and says, “What can I get you guys?” and there is no guy in the group.
BTW, it’s nice to have a spell check on this forum!
irrespective; irregardless; could care less; dude
I hate when people say “I’m not gonna lie.” Okay, then don’t — spit it out and say whatever it is you need to say!
“To be honest with you…”
Ok, so you weren’t being honest until now? Or is it that you won’t be honest after whatever you’re about to say?
a few comments and thoughts -
i agree with many of the posts. this exercise is probably theraputic and enjoyable for many of us ….. lest we take oursleves too serious; consider some of this……..
as a native idahoan in texas i find their contraction “etyet” whimsical. to a texan “etyet?”, at mealtime, is a valid question, or, often an invitation.
my big gripe is the word got and its “kreep” into current usage. Example: “they’ve got” instead of “they have.” Ugly word.
This may not qualify as an “expression”, but what really makes me want to scream is when a group of WOMEN are referred to as GUYS. It happens all the time. In mixed crowds, again, it’s GUYS. Next time your roasting your brain watching some stupid reality show, take notice of how pronouns are used.
A group of beautiful women will be in attendance and they will be addressed as “guys”. “so, how did you guys like this….what did you guys think of ….”
If the crowd is mixed, as in the king of stupid shows, survivor- they are still referred to collectively as guys.
Apparently the words “ladies” and “folks” have been sliced from the english language.
When people use the word “irregardless”, that’s not even a word. It’s “regardless”. Irregardless is a double negative. I wish more people thought before they spoke.
People who end sentences in a preposition. The most common that irks me is “Where are you at”. Isn’t “Where are you” much more pleasant. Another is starting a sentence with “All I’m saying is” and then repeating it over and over when the rebuttal comes. If that “all your saying” then say it and be done with it.
“My Bad” really ticks me off. Always has and I don’t know why!
As for the person who commented on the women being collectively called “guys”, they must be from the “north,” as down in Georgia, it’s “y’all” another word that tends to tick of others at times!
Have a great day y’all!
I agree with many who’ve posted regarding the use of the word “like” being randomly sprinkled through otherwise proper sounding dialogue. I also have a co-worker who likes to end sentences with, “You understand what I’m saying?” Not only do they not understand, or they wouldn’t be asking, but she basically just hinted that they may not be mental athletes for not understanding her vague explanations in the first place.
An up or down vote. That phrase was worn out by the Bush administration.
Reiterate is a non-word like irregardless. The word iterate means to repeat.
When someone says, “He has a temper.”, refering to an angry outburst. A temper is what keeps things on an even keel. LOSING one’s temper is losing the ability to stay cool.
No problem substituted for your welcome.
My grammar and speech are far from perfect but I really don’t like people who say ‘I’m just saying’ or ‘understand what I’m saying?’. If you think I’m so hard-of-hearing (or stupid) that you need to use these phrases instead of actually repeating what you said to begin with, go stand in front a mirror and see if the recipient doesn’t bop you in the nose for your condescending manner.
Agree with “could care less” of course. But when did “aunt” start being pronouned “ont”? This is wierd and suggestions that this is regional don’t hold up. Ask – how was “Aunt Jemimah” as in the syrup pronounced nationwide for decades?
Ehhh on the complaint about “pushing the envelope” = read The Right Stuff and you will see that it has a legitimate origin.
Words and phrases that I find annoying:
“Supposibly”
“Would of” instead of “would have”
“Raising the bar”
“Guesstimate”
“Ya know?”
The use of the word “decimate” to mean the total annihilation of something, rather than a tenth.
I completely agree with GearJammer!
“I could care less” has always annoyed me, because it makes no sense.
Two that annoy me:
“Basically..” and the we hear a diatribe about the details. Which is it? Basically or the details are as follows?
And she was like…and I was like…then we were like…
I don’t like like it ya know?
“Uhhh”, I can’t think of one.
Has anyone noticed an increasing use of “these ones” and “those ones” in lieu of just using “these” and “those” as the collective pronoun? Can we pluarize “one” without losing the meaning? What’s next, “us’n’s”?
Irregardless and “could care less’ are my #1’s. But being from the south I’ve “literally” grown up with the following:
“I seen” ya’ll at church on “Sun’dy”, yes’m “I’ve came” to church there a couple times. I “ain’t” been in a while ’cause my husband don’t wanna be home by “hisself”. He ‘don’t never’ come with me. I’d “just as soon” stay home ‘then’ to listen to him complain.
WHAT is this?!!! ‘just as soon’? That ‘doesn’t even begin’ to make sense! Do you know what I’m talking about? Now, I love the south, ‘make no mistake about that’, but this is ‘just getting way outta hand’!
“aks” instead of “ask”…Is it really that hard to say?
Using @ instead of the treacherously laborous “at”, usually in the added phone number or email address which already contains @ which I can’t use at the end of this sentence.
I edit a homepage which contains classified ads (unfortunately free) and community events. I have met the enemy and they are the contributors.
I can’t seem to get my comments sent. Why?
Well, that time it worked. I’m more into what I like than what I dislike.
I agree with Michael Bush who made a distinction between “wrong and overused”. I enjoy the use of slang. It encompasses more in a word or phrase than the traditional dictionary words do . Writing on this site, I feel I am opening myself to such scrutiny. Anyway, just tune in, turn on and drop out. Make sure not to space it out or shine it on! I’m out. Peace.
Apologies to Michael BASH…
Very interesting comments. I agree with many of the complaints, but feel we may tend to be scrutinizing our speech and our compadres too much. I’m sure I’ve already irritated someone. But, I agree w/Michael Bash who mentioned the idea of “wrong v. overused”. I like slang, especially new and fun slang. It rejects the boring use of the English language and makes for a type of shorthand in communication. I found the comments I originally wrote, so am sending them again. It’s somewhat redundant, but screw it.
Yes, if you scrolled through and enjoyed every entry, you are just as crazy as the rest of us. While many of these are genuinely annoying, I have to concede that some are merely colloquialisms that do have legitimacy in the common language.
My contribution: who has ever been asked to step aside into a store to stand on line to wait on somebody to service you? Wrong on so many levels (that one is not wrong, just annoying).
And why do journalists consistently and ubiquitously claim that people VOW to do things when all they did was SAY that they would? Is that what they teach you in J-School? “Our Republic and its press will rise or fall together” indeed.
‘think the unthinkable’ sounds weird to me. would anybody suggest better sentence?
Thank you for this opportunity to comment. Here in deepest, darkest -”literally” (whose skin is crawling now?) – where we have had an acute shortage of electricity since the beginning of 2008, we no longer have “blackouts”, we have “Load Shedding”. I foresee we soon will have “Emission Shedding”, “Clutter Shedding”, “Weight Shedding”…the list is long.
There is one phrase is missing from your lists: The dubious “all-new” adjective cheerfully applied to TV series, Chevrolets, sports seasons and more.
It sets my teeth on edge. Does that mean we have been viewing half-new (??) TV series, seasons; driving half-new cars for all these years?
Another word that should be banished from vocabulary is “unique”. Suburban newspaper ads are filled with advertisers offering “unique” services and products. Just how “unique” can a fresh sandwich be?
On an entirely pedantic note, I dream of the day when everyone will know the difference between a “couch”, a “sofa” and a “settee”. Oh, and that they will realise “lounges” are public places in airports and hotels, and are not in homes.
By the way, in South Africa we spell more with “s” than “z” in words ending with “-ise”.
Everything in marketing today is a “Must Have”. I cringe – who says it’s a must have. How pretentious and shallow can we get?
Dress it up or dress it down
I’m not gonna go down that road
This tastes refreshing
It’s heavenly
Drill down (as in look further into a situation or document)
Keep everyone in the loop
Steven S. makes a good point. “On the same page” drives me up the wall. It’s used in every single business meeting and at least 5x a day around the office.
Cool beans! Alot of you’s are on the same page as me. Personal ads are the worst offenders. Virtually every one has mispellings and weirded-out catch-phrases. I mean, literally every one of those peeps has got issues anyways. But at the end of the day, we’re all up the same creek without a paddle, catch my drift? I dunno, maybe it’s just me, but… I don’t know, I’m just saying, is all.
(just had to demonstrate, using some of your favorites from above)
(oh, and I really can’t stand “cruisin’ for a bruisin’”)
“Fresh baked bread” – what happened to adverbs?
“What were you thinking?’ – Dr. Phil you are not and never will be.
Anyone that starts off with “To be honest” Does that mean unless that is said, they are not being honest? Others that are overused are “Move Forward” and “Reach Out”
Any utterance that uses “utilize” or “utilization”… and since this is Super Bowl time, any use of “situation” to describe the down (”third down situation”) or other action (”punting situation”), plus all injudicious uses of abstract nouns.
“over-achiever” as if everyone must be limited to some level of mediocrity.
“Buy one get one.” do you mean to say that sometimes when you buy one you get less than what you paid for?
I absolutely abhor the word “ain’t,” and its southern sister (I am from Texas, trust me on this one) “cain’t” is pretty high on my list of words one should be fined for using. Is it really that difficult to say “isn’t” or “can’t?”
The worst part of all is that so often when a person uses either “ain’t” or “cain’t,” it’s a double negative, and thus, totally superfluous. As an example: “I cain’t never find what it is I’m looking for,” or, “You ain’t got no more of those, do you?”
Both fine examples of America’s education system at work…
The written forms of there, their and they’re. Also our and are. Are club is going to the have a meeting at there clubhouse.
It seems as if (or to be current, “like”) every athlete interviewed in the media cannot speak without saying “ya know” in almost every sentence. My next annoyance is in the same vein: “ya know what ahm sayin”(?). News people reporting on site cannot end their reports without saying “back to you at the studio”. “Live” coverage is often obscured on screen by credits for the reporters and data identifying the exact time and location of the action
Breaking news and breaking weather is so overused, especially by FOX network, that it applies to everyday hum-drum news and weather.
On accident – he did it “on accident.”
shoulda went, shoulda came, had went, have came – any variation on this theme destroys my fragile faith in American literacy.
Punxatawney Phil. 2 comments. (1) a phailed attempt at alliteration. (2) time to leave this trite tradition behind.
The sayings “spend the night” and “give it your best. They annoy me more than anything else. Oh and the phrase “i could care less.”
I absolutely grow faint over “I’d like to be perfectly honest” as in “I usually never am.”
Other bad ones: “YouknowwhatI’msayin?”, “From day one.”, “fire me off one”, “Get real”, as if being real is a switch one turns off and on.
Let’s bring back the days of Jane Austin and Charles Dickens – YA DIG?
“you did so good” and they respond wITH YOU TOO. When you havent done anything.
I hate the expressions, “baby bump” and “preggers” relating to pregnancy.
All those turkeys who don’t know the difference between “your” and you’re.”
“That’s what she said”/”That’s what your mom said.” Completely unnecessary and annoying.
1. Misuse of “different than” instead of “different from”. Example: “Spoken language is different than written language.”
2. ANY noun used as a “corporate-speak” verb. Examples: “incent” from incentive, “efforting” to mean “making an effort to find” (this is a sports talk radio expression).
Start with “ID” for identification. Even worse is using it as a verb, “The police eyadeed the suspect.”
Then there is “oh” for “zero,” especially in telephone numbers 67oh9 would be 6769 instead of 6709.
Don’t overlook “mitigate” for “militate.” and don’t
forget
The words “irregardless” and “phenominal” inspire homocidal thoughts. I also dislike the rampant misuse of the word “literally”.
I weary of hearing “with regard to” instead of “about” more than once in a speech.
How could you forget the “very vulgar” “sex it up”. I was completely taken aback/aghast that this has slipped your mind.
Did I miss “Its vs. It’s”?
Thank you for this splendid opportunity to sound off on my favorite peave.
Dynamic language is important in our culture. Why do people use the word “congressman” when in reality the correct word is “representative?” To represent is a verb, an action word, a dynamic word. Please use the term representative. I’m so annoyed ever time that congressman/woman is used. Ick.
‘no problem’ really bugs me. When I say thank you to a waiter/waitress, why do they say ‘no problem’.? If its a possible problem, why did they choose that job. ? Why don’t they just say ‘you are welcome’. ?
Same with a person working for me. I will say thank you, they say ‘no problem’. If its a possible problem, why are you working for me.? Why don’t they just say you are welcome. ?
“If I would have” instead of “If I HAD.”
All of these responses are great.
My contribution: “Do the math!”
“Whole ‘nuther”: Not even sure how to correct that one.
“Tad bit,” as in in “I was a ‘tad bit’ annoyed with the teller.” Redundantly redundant.
“I’d let him/her pack my ‘chute.” You would not. You’ve never even been skydiving.
I almost forgot my favorite: orientated.
How could I have left out “seen”? “I know I seen it over there before.” Stomach churning.
‘Have a nice night’
What’s wrong with ‘Have a nice evening?’
..and he was like (bla bla bla)… and I was like (bla bla bla) and then he was like…..
When people say they want to make a xerox of a paper when they mean make a copy.
The word I can’t stand is “SURREAL”. Everytime I turn on the television there is some idiot trying to sound intelligent describing an event or experience and the only phrase that comes to them is “it was surreal”. I hate it.
What about those horrific portmanteaux apparently solely created and used by journalists? I’m thinking of “fakeaway”, “manbag”, “manny” and their ilk.
“Not for nothing” = laziness
“To coronate” is presumably derived from coronation; but surely, the verb is “to crown”
There are two phrases that seem to have replaced “thank you”, used almost 100% by sales clerks today, especially those under 30. After ringing up your purchases, and as they slap the change in your hand, saying “there you go” or “there you are” instead of actually knowing how to count the change into our hand. And then to conclude the transaction, the mindless and meaningless, “have a nice day”, instead of a simple “thank you.”, let alone the bygone phrase “thank you for shopping with us (or name of store.)
This is an example of Golden Bull or as we call them in Australia,’weasel words’. – “co-branded” “valuable resource for individuals”" offer a set of affordable “Get Well” and “Stay Well” services”
clinicshttp://walmartstores.com/HealthWellness/7613.aspx
I haven’t seen it listed here but it really really bugs me! To hear someone say, I got UNDER 100, or I got it for UNDER $100,,,, its LESS than l00 or LESS than $100. Even Michael Phelps says it in his commercial “see guys, under one minute” grrrr its LESS than 1 minute!!!
I can’t stand the use of “you guys” when the word “you” would suffice. It sounds idiotic to me.
“Everybody” is talking, doing, thinking, saying, knows about it. For a start I’m not and in most cases don’t want to.
I cringe when I hear the husband – or lover- say, WE got pregnant .
And Libary , Labatory
State of the art
Absolutely (when YES suffices)
Plus, all the commas and apostrophes, just sown here and there, in the hope they may fall where they should .
Please add the word the following word to your list:
Sustainable
It is one of the most overused AND annoying words for 2008. And so far in 2009 it still is.
I’ve read articles that repeat it seven,eight , nine times in a few paragraphs. One morning while reading the paper, I saw it used four times in three sentences.
I screamed for justice. My family screamed for the doctor.
It will continue as long as people write and speak about environmental issues, farming and food.
Does anyone else feel this way? How can we possibly sustain the overuse of this word?
Ani
People who say “exscape.”
People who say “Suhstistics.”
Mindless expressions like “kinda terrifying.” Was it or was it not terrifying? That’s like being kinda pregnant.
“He goes…” and “I’m like…” and he’s like “Oh my God!” “So he goes…” “And I’m standing there ‘like doooood.’”
This is a typical conversation between my coworkers. But they seem to understand each other as they skip merrily away to assist another customer.
Ice tea, wax paper. If the tea was ice you couldn’t drink it.
When people say, after a tragedy that “And to think she was so beautiful,” as if it is okay to butcher homely people.
Where. “It was a time where..” time is a when, so it should be “It was a time when…”
Flaut the law in place of flaunt
Uhsposed to in place of supposed to. Have you heard these people? My mother would have me sitting in a corner if I talked like that.
Undoubtably comes from people who, undoubtedly, don’t do much reading.
Very intriguing, very overwhelming, and most expressions beginning with very are, um, very unnecessary. If you can’t think of anything more colorful, maybe it doesn’t need to be said. Sportscasters are fond of saying, “He did a very good job of….whatever, (running down the field).” And they are paid gazillions to hark this kind of blather.
“Preorder your calendar today,” on a billboard makes me want to pull off the side of the road and hurl. What does pre have to do with it? You are just ordering something, people.
Next we will be prewrapping gifts and pretying our shoes and prevoting for the candidates.
The single worst offender is the useless “going forward” uttered by every analyst, money manager, CEO, politician or reporter who can squeeze it into a conversation.
I actually heard an interviewer ask “so what is your outlook for the future, going forward?”
Last night I wrote a restaurant review that included a building that is reportedly haunted.
Explaining that I didn’t want to offend those spectral entities, I described the cuisine as
“to live for.” Forget the ghosts; isn’t to live for more praiseworthy than the trite and overworked “to die for”?
In addition to the dreadful, awful, ubiquitous “end result,” “bottom line,” “at the end of the day,” etc., my teeth are ground to the gums from hearing this construction: “If he would have…, he would have … ” And, has anyone else noticed that the CNN talking heads are especially prone to qualifying their every other statement with “If you will.” Aaaaargh!
DRUG instead of ‘dragged’ – and I’m sure alot of you are wondering “what’s wrong with that”?
Even the ex-POTUS, I’m sure: “They drug Scooter through the mud for political reasons” Bush 43.
The over-used “At the end of the day” makes me gnash my teeth.
I’m tired of hearing something (usually an entree or a dessert) described as “to die for”. I’m tempted to ask the person using the expression, “Don’t you mean ‘to kill for’”?
Ack. There are too many to read now! So sorry if I’m repeating here. I agree with “To be honest with you.” It always stops me in my listening to the speaker, thinking, what was it they told me before this and was it true?? Another one for me is “having a dialogue.” Since when did we stop having a conversation or just speaking with one another? And my other is “myself.” Does anyone know how to use this properly?? Myself either intensifies I or reflects back to I. Either way, if the pronoun I is not in the sentence, you cannot use the compound pronoun myself in that sentence. Okay, I myself am happy now!
The expression that makes me cringe the most is: “I thought to myself”. Who else would you think it to?
I hate people say “on tomorrow”. “We’ll meet on tomorrow.” Delete the “on” please! Also, when people say disencourage instead of discourage. That just makes me cringe!