Phrases you hate

[Oregano]

This is just something weird that occurred to me but there's loads of phrases that I hate. Here's two I can currently think off:

Lead Singer(It implys they all sing, just a bit of a pet peeve I suppose)
As Per Usual(it's, ewww, doesn't sound right, althought it probably is right).

Any phrases you hate? Do you know the reason why?

[dish]

'At this moment in time' - it's the redundancy that gets me.

[Tengu_temp]

"There's a thin line between genius and insanity" - usually used as an excuse for someone's idiotic behaviour. Yes, they may be such a line, but that guy in question surely didn't enter the genius side!

"Great minds think alike" - brown-nosing and boasting at once, "you're so awesome but so am I". Ugh.

And there was a third phrase I really hate, but I forgot what that was.

[Telonius]

"From soup to nuts." Corporate robots use this phrase. Real people do not.

"At the end of the day." Unless you're talking about something that literally happens when the sun goes down, no.

"Free gift!" Aren't all gifts free?

"More/most unique." Unique is not a relative term. Either there's just one, or not. There are no degrees of unique.

[WalkingTarget]

I've gotten sick of hearing pundits/politicians/anybody with an agenda using the phrase "the fact of the matter is..." (or variations) before going on with their spiel. It's gotten to the point where they're just empty words meant to make whatever they're espousing more credible.

[Oregano]

That "Free gift" one reminded me of a funny thing I saw in my local game shop, theprices are done by computer so on one game it had SALE: was £20, now £19.99! priceless.

To a certain degree I dislike "do you know what I mean?" I can understand asking once to verify but some people say it after everything, it gets annoying really quickly.

[Spiryt]

"In Flames we Trust" - Seriously, I like the band, and the motto is kinda catchy too, but if you see it every f***** were, posted by some trolls...

This is in fact opinion about 90% of phrases on Youtube.

[Setra]

"Life isn't fair"

I realize Life isn't fair, but saying it after something unfair happens (as is the case most of the time) is just rubbing it in, and very annoying.

Every time someone says it in that case I get the urge to dismember them and say "Looks like life wasn't fair to you"

[averagejoe]

"Shut up Joe."

"Go away."

"Don't take that, it's mine!"

Maybe I should rethink how I interact with people. :smallconfused:

[Oregano]

I hate the phrase "if .... did/told you to do .....(something idiotic and suicidal), would you do that too?", It's like "no, that's stupid!".

[PhoeKun]

I hate the phrase "if .... did/told you to do .....(something idiotic and suicidal), would you do that too?", It's like "no, that's stupid!".

... That's the point of the phrase. :smallconfused:

Personally, I respond with "He/she did? I'm there!"

[Ilena]

Its not really a phrase i hate but if the word is in the phrase or anything i want to strangle who ever said it ... the word emo, i hate and dispise it with a passion, im not sure exacly why but i do and i really do want to strangle whoever says that word ...

[Oregano]

I know that's the point btu there's a difference between like swearing/cursing and jumping off a cliff, that's just one example though so YMMV.

[Griever]

"I could care less" ... seriously, just think about it for a moment, how hard is it to add the n't, and make it correct?

[Terumitsu]

Now.. Not particularly a phrase but how it is said..

'It' being the word 'optimist' and the tone of voice being that of an insult or derogatory term.

[BRC]

"Your Mom"/"Your face"

[PhoeKun]

Its not really a phrase i hate but if the word is in the phrase or anything i want to strangle who ever said it ... the word emo, i hate and dispise it with a passion, im not sure exacly why but i do and i really do want to strangle whoever says that word ...

Can I venture a guess? Because 'Emo' heads the current trend of thought that says it is not ok to have feelings, or allow yourself to emotionally react to a situation. When the going gets tough, you've either got to be a badass and shrug it off (or maybe punch it in the face or something, I don't know), or you're a complete loser wuss not worthy of anything but scorn and derision.

I know that's why I'm driven up a wall by the word emo.


I know that's the point btu there's a difference between like swearing/cursing and jumping off a cliff, that's just one example though so YMMV.

It's called hyperbole. If rhetoric and sarcasm bother you, than English is not the language for you. May I recommend one of these other fine choices? Perhaps sir would enjoy a nice bottle of Cantonese?

[Oregano]

No I love Sarcasm, I just don't think in that particular instance that it's successful.

I hate the phrase "laugh out loud fun" which seems to be something they say about every comedy film nowadays.

Similarily, "The biggest band/singer/album/single of the year." About every god damn band/singer/album/singe!

[three08]

my pet peeve is "i'm the most/least X person in the world, but..." or any of a wide range of semantically equivalent places phrases.

(places? wtf am i smoking?)

for example, "i'm not a racist, but ..." actually, dude, you totally are a racist! congratulations.

a co-worker of mine likes this one. "i'm the most liberal person in the world, but..." no. no, you're not. if you want to hold that opinion and express that idea then please feel free but don't insult my intelligence or delude yourself with this assertion.

argh.

[PhoeKun]

No I love Sarcasm, I just don't think in that particular instance that it's successful.

On the contrary. While decidedly a cliche, it is a very effective rebuttal to attempted justification of an action by mob mentality.

Whenever someone attempts to justify something they've done (stupid or not), by saying "someone else did it too!", then they really deserve to hear that rebuttal. I can't see why it's stupid or irksome, I'm sorry.

[KBF]

Strangely, I don't think any particular phrase offends or bothers me in any way.

But I do hate it people who talk soley in metaphors, and can't seem to let something be 'like' its self. You know, that guy who just has to be 'like that annoying buzz of a fly,' which is 'like that nagging feeling that something will go wrong,' and that's 'like... ect. ect.'

[FelixZ]

One word:
'Change'

[Oregano]

We'll have to agree to disagree then PhoeKun.

In which sense FelixZ, as in "I have 20p change" or "Listening to the wind of change!!!"?

[KBF]

One word:
'Change'

Only when politicians use it. Especially when they aren't actually proposing something new, or even remarkabley different from what we already do.

[PhoeKun]

We'll have to agree to disagree then PhoeKun

Now, that is a phrase I hate. :smalltongue:

[Oregano]

I figured it would be, it's a strange case for me, I'm hypocritical about it, I don't mind saying/writing it but when I read/hear it(even when I say say it) it always strikes me as patronising. Not that I meant to patronise you.

[Midnight Son]

When receiving a compliment...

"That wasn't half bad!" "Not too shabby!" or the like.

So, it was bad, but only a bit less than half so?

[evisiron]

"Where you at?"
"You know where I'm at!"
"Where's our food at?"

Etc...

A year in Texas almost had me yelling "Where are you?! Just say 'Where are you!'" :smallfurious:

And now someone will come along to tel me that 'Where are you?' is also wrong. :smalleek:

[Järnblomma]

"Only available for a limited time" and virtually every other line uttered in commercials. :smallamused:

"Do you really think you can be an actor?" - Uh... lotsa people are actors, but not famous... :smallconfused:

[Khosan]

'Bi-curious'

How do you manage a conditional sexuality? Why not just say you're bisexual or gay/straight instead?

It's not a real classification, and I'm sure many people who claim to be bi-curious are just doing it for attention.

[Unique]

"More/most unique." Unique is not a relative term. Either there's just one, or not. There are no degrees of unique.I beg to differ. I am the most unique.

[Telonius]

Oh, come now! You are you. You can't be any more or less you, otherwise you wouldn't be you. And everybody else is equally not you. And if they were you, what would you be? Not-you! Or even worse, Them! Which obviously can't be the case. :smallbiggrin:

[truemane]

"It's always in the last place you look for it."
Of COURSE it's in the last place you look for it. Do you keep looking after you find it? Even if it's in the FIRST place you looked for it, it's still in the LAST place you looked for it. Grrr.

"What goes around comes around." / "It's Karma."
Aside from the fact that Karma only takes effect in your NEXT life, not this one, even the most superficial, cursory investigation will reveal this notion to blatanly and obviously incorrect, and yet many many otherwise intelligent people will insist on saying that it's the case. The come into work with a newspaper clipping about some guy who beat his dog and then was killed in a freak wolf pack attack and they'll wave it at you going "You see? What goes around comes around! You see? It's KARMA!" And you want to yell at them that the only reason they put those things in the paper is because they're NEWSWORTHY! If there really was an Overarching Ironic Force (OIF) at work in the universe, they'd only print the stories that say 'Millionaire Industrialist spends life ignoring workers' rights and inflicting emotional pain on his wife and children dies quietly in his bed at 112 of natural casues.'
Double grrr.

[valadil]

"Irregardless" - You mean regardless, right? Ir- just negates its meaning. Stop tacking on syllables to make yourself sound smarter.

"Could of" - It's could have. I know it's contracted to could've, which sounds like could of.

"Family values" - When did this come to mean homophobia?

"Evolution is only a theory" - I hate hearing this used to knock evolution. The fact that it's still a theory after this many years means it's likely true. Intelligent design can't even be called a theory, because there's nothing scientific about it.

"Support the troops" - Why does that mean that we should keep them fighting? I think getting them out of there would be more supportive. Support the troops should not be synonymous with support the war.

"Indie music" - Why is this a genre? Do all unsigned and independent artists sound alike? I don't get it.

I need to stop because if I keep going I'm going to break rules about political discussion.

[Oregano]

"Indie music" - Why is this a genre? Do all unsigned and independent artists sound alike? I don't get it.


I agree with this, completely, it's not a genre, it's a mass marketing strategy.

[BRC]

"Irregardless" - You mean regardless, right? Ir- just negates its meaning. Stop tacking on syllables to make yourself sound smarter.

"Could of" - It's could have. I know it's contracted to could've, which sounds like could of.

"Family values" - When did this come to mean homophobia?

"Evolution is only a theory" - I hate hearing this used to knock evolution. The fact that it's still a theory after this many years means it's likely true. Intelligent design can't even be called a theory, because there's nothing scientific about it.

"Support the troops" - Why does that mean that we should keep them fighting? I think getting them out of there would be more supportive. Support the troops should not be synonymous with support the war.

"Indie music" - Why is this a genre? Do all unsigned and independent artists sound alike? I don't get it.

I need to stop because if I keep going I'm going to break rules about political discussion.
Were getting dangerously close to politics with some of these, so be careful.

[Weezer]

I hate "I got it offline"
90% of the time people actually got it online or off of online
is it that hard to say on instead of off

[RTGoodman]

There are a A LOT of words and phrases that annoy me, so I'll just pick the one that annoys me most - the word "paradigm."

Now, I know "paradigm" is a real word that has uses that you can use in some contexts (I've used it in academic papers), but basically almost every time you hear it used it's just because someone wants to sound smart - it's THE buzzword among pretentious boobs.

[KBF]

Wow, it seems there are alot of people here who seem to get a bit more than annoyed at the slightest nonsense in a phrase. I honestly thought that was the point of phrases, to be somewhat philosophical and contradicting.

[bosssmiley]

I beg to differ. I am the most unique.

No. You are Unique. No qualifiers apply. :smallamused:

Oh, stuff Eggy hates: "Issues around..." - Danger! Weasel word storm imminent.
The misuse of the word "Orwellian".
Qualifiers on the word "unique".
"Irregardless".
Malapropisms in general. LRN2ENGLISH! :smallfurious:

[Oregano]

I actually hate the word stereotype, I use it occassionally but the people use it too much and the fact that the word stereotype exists is like some weird self-fulfilling prophecy, just annoys me a bit.

[evisiron]

"It's always in the last place you look for it."
Of COURSE it's in the last place you look for it. Do you keep looking after you find it? Even if it's in the FIRST place you looked for it, it's still in the LAST place you looked for it. Grrr.



Both of you are wrong:
1. The initial phrase assumes that looking for it in a location has a 100% success rate.
2. If you never find it (such as someone else finding it and handing it to you) then its not in the last place you look for it. :smalltongue:

(Not starting a serious discussion, just poking fun :smallbiggrin:)

[KBF]

No. You are Unique. No qualifiers apply. :smallamused:

Oh, stuff Eggy hates: "Issues around..." - Danger! Weasel word storm imminent.
The misuse of the word "Orwellian".
Qualifiers on the word "unique".
"Irregardless".
Malapropisms in general. LRN2ENGLISH! :smallfurious:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unique

3: unusual <a very unique ball-point pen> <we were fairly unique, the sixty of us, in that there wasn't one good mixer in the bunch — J. D. Salinger>

THIS definition uses qualifiers properly. So yes, you can use qualifiers. Incase you wonder how that's possible, it usually means there are very few of this specific kind of a common object.

[FelixZ]

Only when politicians use it. Especially when they aren't actually proposing something new, or even remarkabley different from what we already do.

Thats primarily the context in which I was speaking. Like a certain politician who suggests change but has never offered anything substantial.

[Dallas-Dakota]

''yoda speech''.
:smallfurious:

This might have something to do with my hatred with star wars.

[WalkingTarget]

''yoda speech''.
:smallfurious:

This might have something to do with my hatred with star wars.

The phrase "yoda speech" itself? I haven't heard that used outside of SW discussions.

With abnormal sentence structure, problems do you have? Hmm? :smallbiggrin:

[AetherFox]

This isn't a phrase, so much as a list of words;

Presently: This is the most annoying word possibly to exist in the english language. "Presently, he walked home." Why don't you just say he walked home?! I can handle this maybe twice in a writing, but after that, I can't stand it.

Shapeless: What the hell kind of adjective is this?! Shapeless? Really? Now I know Exactly what it looks like. Thank-you for the description.

OK: Don't get me wrong, ok is a fine wordish thing to use, even Ok, okay, and Okay, but not OK, ok?:smallbiggrin: It just make me want to jump right to that section of the page when I see it.

Officiate: It just doesn't seem like a word to me... I dunno...

"Monkeybutter: I don' know what this word means, but it sounds dirty, and I don't like it." -Stephen Cobert

Buffet/Ballet: Why bother having the extra 'T's?

'Elephant and Castle' and 'Bath': Sorry to anyone who likes these places, I don't mean to insult you; that's not a name folks, that's a string of nouns. Random ones at that. (I'm sure there are a lot other ones like this, not just in England)

'Irregarless'/'alot': ALL RIGHT! WE GET IT! REGARDLESS DOESN'T START WITH AN 'IR' AND A LOT IS TWO SEPARATE WORDS! CAN WE PLEASE MOVE ON TO OTHER VOCAB WORDS NOW?!?!

"I don't mean to single anyone out, but...": Of course you do, or else you wouldn't have the but!

"Same difference": Unless you have two pairs of numbers who are the same difference appart, there is no such thing as a similar difference. I know this is an oxymoron, but it just doens't make any kind of sense at all.

Phew! That was a lot more than intended...

*Rant mode, powering down....*

[TheBST]

Misuse of 'literally'
'awesome'.
'retarded' (in case it gets scrubbed, a word to insult the handicapped that rhymes with 'discarded')- seriously, America. You need to stop this.
'Sounds like a plan'
'Spiritual, but not religious'
'Well of course you'd say that.'
'whatever'
'Zero tolerance'
'Great Britain'


As a name for my homeland, the last one really bugs me. How full of yourself can you get? You don't see anyone else calling their country 'Fantastic Bangladesh' or 'Wonderful Denmark'...

[Eldan]

It's probably not a problem for all you english-speaking people, but for some reason, I find german words used in english extremely irritating. You know, examples like Zeitgeist, or Angst or other stuff like that. I know that they don't even mean the same thing in english anymore, and that at least half of all english words were once germanic and still sound the same, but I just dislike it.

[Hzurr]

Buffet/Ballet: Why bother having the extra 'T's?


As someone who cares for your well-being and mental health, please never study French. Your head will explode, because ignoring the last x letters of a word is standard procedure.



Great Britain

As a name for my homeland, the last one really bugs me. How full of yourself can you get? You don't see anyone else calling their country 'Fantastic Bangladesh' or 'Wonderful Denmark'...

Ah, but the question is, should we be seeing other people doing this? I believe that the answer is yes.

"So, where are you from"
"Wonderful Denmark; what about you?"
"I'm from Awesome Argentina, and my wife is from Tubular Turkey"
"Really? I've been to Tubular Turkey before. It's nice, but I didn't like it as much as I did Radical Russia."

[WalkingTarget]

Buffet/Ballet: Why bother having the extra 'T's?



It's probably not a problem for all you english-speaking people, but for some reason, I find german words used in english extremely irritating. You know, examples like Zeitgeist, or Angst or other stuff like that. I know that they don't even mean the same thing in english anymore, and that at least half of all english words were once germanic and still sound the same, but I just dislike it.

Yeah, we English speakers just love stealing words from everyone else and then just mangling them. :smallbiggrin:

[TheBST]

"So, where are you from"
"Wonderful Denmark; what about you?"
"I'm from Awesome Argentina, and my wife is from Tubular Turkey"
"Really? I've been to Tubular Turkey before. It's nice, but I didn't like it as much as I did Radical Russia."

Sure, if everyone was at it it'd be a blast, but right now it's like Britian's bought a plastic medal and is asking everyone to call it 'The Admiral'. Now 'Funktacular Britain' or 'The Chillin' Kingdom' I can get behind.

EDIT: Oh, one more grievance: when did 'urban' start to mean 'black'? :smallconfused:

[Eldan]

Switzerland, Switzerland...
Suave Switzerland? Naah.
Super Switzerland? No.
...
This is hard.

[TheBST]

Switzergrand

[evisiron]

Switzerland, Switzerland...
Suave Switzerland? Naah.
Super Switzerland? No.
...
This is hard.

My votes in for 'Swanky Switzerland'! :smallbiggrin:

[TheCountAlucard]

The fact that it's still a theory after this many years means it's likely true.

Wanna really frost their petunias? Explain to them that a "theory" is testable, and generally considered fact, and an unproven suggested explanation for a phenomenon is called a "hypothesis."

Science wins.

[Thanatos 51-50]

"I could care less" ... seriously, just think about it for a moment, how hard is it to add the n't, and make it correct?

This is actually a bona fide correct phrase. It just means something different than if you did add the "n't". Personally, I'm a fan of "If I cared less, I'd be asleep."

I always have, and always will use the word 'Urban' to describe a city enviroment. I will describe my upbringing and background as "Urban".
For those of you who don't peruse the You thread, I am, indeed, very white and very pale.

Also - qualifiers on the word unique are fine. Superlatives, however, get on my nerves.

Most intentional oxymorons make me want to kill something. I really only like the off-the-wall ones like "Twelve ounce pound cake". (Metric users! A pound is sixteen ounces!)

Ditto the hatred of "Bi-curious".

My personal lanugage distastes involve mutation of what words mean.
Does anyone else rember when "Emo" was just used to describe a Goth kid without the money to buy the gothy clothes and made do with a black hoodie and jeans? I do!
Also - it means "Emotional", not "Peretually sad". Emo kids are supposed to be dynamic and show emotion. Dynamic, get it? I will insert my boot into your (*Censored, presumably unpleasent orifices*) if you continue to be a (*Board filter would probably kick in around here - no pun intended*)

...
Also "The cake is a lie!" I want to see this implimented creativly from now on! Get to it!

[Gaelbert]

"Life isn't fair"

I realize Life isn't fair, but saying it after something unfair happens (as is the case most of the time) is just rubbing it in, and very annoying.

Every time someone says it in that case I get the urge to dismember them and say "Looks like life wasn't fair to you"

I know! I start seeing red. I usually make a rant somewhere along the lines of, "Then what the heck is the point of a justice system?" Life isn't naturally fair but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to make it as fair as possible.

[Unique]

The cake is a lie of ommission, but not a direct lie. You told me there was cake, yes, but you failed to mention the gun turrets.

[Zarrexaij]

It's not so much as the phrase as it is how people use it, but...

"No offense, but..." and statements that are of the same family PISS ME OFF when they are FOLLOWED by something that CONTRADICTS the little "no offense/whatever" part. If you're going to be offense, don't be a pretentious ass and act like saying something absolutely stupid is okay because you said it was. Just go ahead and say it. Adding the little "I'm not/No offense/etc. but..." is just highly annoying and makes your statement seem even worse since you are denying that you're offensive/racist/sexist/whatever.

[snoopy13a]

'Bi-curious'

How do you manage a conditional sexuality? Why not just say you're bisexual or gay/straight instead?

It's not a real classification, and I'm sure many people who claim to be bi-curious are just doing it for attention.

I'm not an expert on classifying sexuality but I always assumed that bi-curious meant that the person wasn't sure if they are a bisexual or not and was looking to experiment to find out.

I can't stand it when people use the term "fail". Of course, it is only used on the internet.

I also can't stand the grammar police. Some people are either dyslexic or are horrible spellers (I knew someone in college who couldn't spell but was doing undergraduate research with a nobel prize winner). Plus, the grammar police often make grammer mistakes while correcting others :smalltongue:

[Unique]

No offense, but I think you're a wonderful person.

[three08]

personally, i'm okay with "bi-curious" until they've tried it both ways. after that point, you have to make up your mind. you can like one, or both, or neither, or something else entirely, but at that point your curiosity has been sated.

course, labeling that always seemed like the height of frivolity to me anyway. i'll do whomever i feel like doing, irrespective of whatever label may or may not have been employed in the past.

[Doran_Liadon]

I honestly hate "So you want your cake and wat it too, huh?"
Cause like, course i want my cake to eat. What good is a cake if you can't eat it?

[Ponce]

"For all intensive purposes..."

Gah!

[BRC]

I honestly hate "So you want your cake and wat it too, huh?"
Cause like, course i want my cake to eat. What good is a cake if you can't eat it?
Well, that's sort of the point of the phrase now isn't it. "Wanting to have your cake and eat it too" is pointing out exactly what you said above. If you have cake, and want to eat it, but you don't eat it because if you do you will no longer have cake, is silly.

[AetherFox]

I honestly hate "So you want your cake and wat it too, huh?"
Cause like, course i want my cake to eat. What good is a cake if you can't eat it?

I have petty hate for this phrase, mostly because in 5th grade my class had to take a figure of speech and draw it litterally. How do you draw having a cake and eating it?

@^^ Isn't it "For all intents and purposes"?:smallconfused:

[Collin152]

@^^ Isn't it "For all intents and purposes"?:smallconfused:

It's supposed to be.

Also: Myuuuu!

[Cristo Meyers]

I have a particular hate for the phrase "just curious."

Anytime someone asks me a particularly inane or asinine question, they usually tack on "just curious" as if it makes their question any less inane.

...and it is supposed to be "for all intents and purposes." The words started blurring together over the years and now people say "intensive purposes"

[BanjoTheClown]

"No you cant have any Fudgeos."
:smallfrown:

[shadowxknight]

Well I have one that I used to love, but is now horribly overused.

"That's what she said."
:smallsigh::smallannoyed:

[Enlong]

The cake is a lie of ommission, but not a direct lie. You told me there was cake, yes, but you failed to mention the gun turrets.

Actually, the gun turrets were one of the few things she did tell you about.


Also, I utterly detest any form of "Gangsta" lingo. All of it. No matter who says it. There's really no good reason to talk like that.

[Khosan]

...and it is supposed to be "for all intents and purposes." The words started blurring together over the years and now people say "intensive purposes"

It's not actually wrong if there are some purposes which are intense and some that aren't.

[Mr. Moon]

"Leroy Jenkins".

Unexpected, it's funny. But there's one player in my party... Well, let's just say it's gotten so bad, I'm gonna turn him into a pikachu.

[RabbitHoleLost]

Has anyone mentioned "You're smart, you just don't apply yourself" yet?
Because I hate that one.
I really do.

[Tirian]

As much as I hate misuse of "literally", I find myself even more vexed that so few people seem to know what irony is. Whenever I hear the words "The ironic thing is...", I have to brace myself because the rest of the sentence won't be remotely ironic, ever.

I also strongly dislike neologisms like "guestimate" and "proactive" that mean the exact same thing as their root words.

[KingGolem]

Any question concerning sexual preference, political views, or religion. Really, that's nobody's business but my own, and it's annoying whenever somebody asks. It's even more annoying when those beliefs differ from theirs and they try to "enlighten" me. :smallyuk:

"How would you like it if someone did [action] to you?" It usually describes something really controversial about war or animal cruelty that I or someone else said. I find this logic to be childish and stupid, since [action] has never happened to me, and probably never will, so it is not a factor in my own logic.

And the worst phrase of all time:

"If you don't let it bother you, they'll leave you alone." Man, oh man, I heard this one scores of times in school. I know from experience that it doesn't work that way, so saying this is like saying, "Sorry, your problems aren't important enough for us to care." An excuse for inaction! It would not be half as bad if they would just admit their apathy. :smallfurious:

[Collin152]

Any question concerning sexual preference, political views, or religion. Really, that's nobody's business but my own, and it's annoying whenever somebody asks. It's even more annoying when those beliefs differ from theirs and they try to "enlighten" me. :smallyuk:


Dude, o/p/r?

[Deepblue706]

Mostly, the only ones I hate are the ones done wrong:

"All-of-the-sudden" (The? THE?)

"Excuse YOU" (If you're excusing me, why are you so loud?)

"I could give a crap!" (Then why don't you?)

[TheCountAlucard]

People here keep bringing up "irregardless," but they're forgetting its cousin...

"Misunderestimate." Ugh. Leaves a foul taste in my mouth.

[Groundhog]

Has anyone mentioned "You're smart, you just don't apply yourself" yet?
Because I hate that one.
I really do.
Me too! I endured that phrase all through elementary and middle school. It only stopped in high school because my parents gave my school a stern talking-to, and because I discovered my inner academia in 9th grade.

[Enlong]

Oh yeah. Deepblue reminds me:

"I could care less!"
Aww, so you do care!

[Mr. Moon]

"Excuse YOU" (If you're excusing me, why are you so loud?)

Ugh, I hate that one.
I didn't pardon myself because I don't see the point of bringing even more attention to the fact that my bowls move, dammit. You're just as bad! :smallmad:

[Collin152]

Oh yeah. Deepblue reminds me:

"I could care less!"
Aww, so you do care!

Well, if I diddn't care at all, I wouldn't say anything at all, would I?

[Raistlin1040]

Has anyone mentioned "You're smart, you just don't apply yourself" yet?
Because I hate that one.
I really do.

Oh.

My.

GAWD!

Needless to say, that phrase is scripture for both my parents and teachers.

[adanedhel9]

"Needless to say [...]" always makes me cringe. It's so ingrained, though, that I've occasionally found myself starting sentances like this. If I catch myself in time, I'll stop after an elongated "say" and enjoy the reactions, or lack thereof, as people wait for me to say what I don't need to.

@^: Nice ninja skills, huh?

This one really only works in writing, but "just desserts" versus "just deserts". One is a very sweet meal. The other is an appropriate punishment. Keep them straight.

The "no offense" discussion reminds me of a Henry Cho routine: southern belles can get away with the worst insults by appending "bless his/her/its heart". As in, "That boy's as dumb as a rock, bless his heart."

[Collin152]

The "no offense" discussion reminds me of a Henry Cho routine: southern belles can get away with the worst insults by appending "bless his/her/its heart". As in, "That boy's as dumb as a rock, bless his heart."

Incidently, a lot of people think that they're southern dames..

[Mauve Shirt]

I hate it when people say "LOL" in conversation instead of, you know, laughing out loud.
I admit, I use "BRB" off the internet, but "LOL" is an emoticon for laughter, it's like saying "Smileyface!" instead of smiling. If you are laughing out loud then I should hear it, you shouldn't just state that you're laughing.

[PhoeKun]

"How would you like it if someone did [action] to you?" It usually describes something really controversial about war or animal cruelty that I or someone else said. I find this logic to be childish and stupid, since [action] has never happened to me, and probably never will, so it is not a factor in my own logic.

I seriously have to take umbrage with this. I mean... what? I'm sorry, what?

What's childish and stupid about it? It's more mature to say, if [action] has never happened to you, you shouldn't care about it? I will admit, "how would you like it if someone did ___ to you?" tends to be a fairly hollow argument, but that's because the person using the phrase tends not to have another point beyond that. You can't seriously be telling me you'd only accept the Golden Rule in regards to things you've personally experienced...

[Bitzeralisis]

Has anyone mentioned "You're smart, you just don't apply yourself" yet?
Because I hate that one.
I really do.

I don't need to apply myself! I'm too smart for that! :smalltongue:

There's no particular phrase that I hate. There are some ideas in society (such as manners) that I hate, but I still follow them for the sake of my own well-being.

[Burrito]

This has more to do with the forums but...anything woth the word "trope" or a link to a trope, or a mention of a trope, or an arguemnt over which trope actually applies....ugh! Does it really add anything to the conversation to post a link to similar examples of what you are talking about already? No, it doesn't.

I also hate when people type in One. Word. Sentences.

Another word I hate...Admittingly...I have a stupid Sergeant who uses that word all the time. Along with the word...Forsurity.

[tyckspoon]

Along with the word...Forsurity.

That's not even a word! Or it's one I've never ever heard or seen anywhere before, which is close to the same thing. Is this another 'intensive purposes' mispronunciation thing?

[Gaelbert]

I honestly hate "So you want your cake and wat it too, huh?"
Cause like, course i want my cake to eat. What good is a cake if you can't eat it?

I always tell the person to bake a second one.

[Vaynor]

Shapeless: What the hell kind of adjective is this?! Shapeless? Really? Now I know Exactly what it looks like. Thank-you for the description.

OK: Don't get me wrong, ok is a fine wordish thing to use, even Ok, okay, and Okay, but not OK, ok?:smallbiggrin: It just make me want to jump right to that section of the page when I see it.

Buffet/Ballet: Why bother having the extra 'T's?

Shapeless is an adjective to let you know that they will no longer bother describing its shape, as it has none. It's not meant to tell you what it looks like.

"OK" is the correct usage of the word, "ok" technically isn't a word.

If it were "Buffe" and "Balle" the pronunciations would be completely different; you would pronounce them buhf and bahl, as opposed to "buhfai" and "ballai". French words. :smalltongue:


"So, where are you from"
"Wonderful Denmark; what about you?"
"I'm from Awesome Argentina, and my wife is from Tubular Turkey"
"Really? I've been to Tubular Turkey before. It's nice, but I didn't like it as much as I did Radical Russia."

Why do the adjectives have to be alliterations all of a sudden? :smalleek:

[Unique]

"If you don't let it bother you, they'll leave you alone." Man, oh man, I heard this one scores of times in school. I know from experience that it doesn't work that way, so saying this is like saying, "Sorry, your problems aren't important enough for us to care." An excuse for inaction! It would not be half as bad if they would just admit their apathy. :smallfurious:

I once didn't let it bother me, and I hit the guy over the head with a big stick instead.

I was so much cooler in first grade.

[Khosan]

This one really only works in writing, but "just desserts" versus "just deserts". One is a very sweet meal. The other is an appropriate punishment. Keep them straight.

If I'm not mistaken, "Just desserts" is the correct usage. It's meant along the lines of, "X got what he/she/it deserved in the end."

[Enlong]

I always tell the person to bake a second one.

Yeah... I finally found what that actually means a little while ago.
It's like... you can't eat your cake, and then still have it.

DUH! You just ate it!
Just say "you can't have it both ways" (unless you know what I mean)

[Collin152]

Yeah... I finally found what that actually means a little while ago.
It's like... you can't eat your cake, and then still have it.

DUH! You just ate it!
Just say "you can't have it both ways" (unless you know what I mean)

But if I eat it, I have it in my tummy.

[Unique]

But if I eat it, I have it in my tummy.You get thirty logic points and the promise of a cookie if we should ever meet IRL.

Granted, I was gonna give you the cookie anyways, but still, now you get to choose your flavor.

[WalkingTarget]

If I'm not mistaken, "Just desserts" is the correct usage. It's meant along the lines of, "X got what he/she/it deserved in the end."

Nope, "just deserts (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/just-deserts.html)" is right in this case. It's not a word that gets used much in any other context than this phrase, but it is "deserts".

[Da Beast]

I cannot stand the word "elitist." It had a valid meaning, but now it gets thrown around by idiots who don't want to admit that they've been proven wrong. I've seen a senator say "I think its elitist to say that just because you've studied something you know more about it." A ******* SENATOR! How did this guy get elected to a public office?

[Trizap]

Wanna really frost their petunias? Explain to them that a "theory" is testable, and generally considered fact, and an unproven suggested explanation for a phenomenon is called a "hypothesis."

Science wins.

oooooh, thanks I gotta remember that fact in future arguments :smallbiggrin:

[Trizap]

Well I have one that I used to love, but is now horribly overused.

"That's what she said."
:smallsigh::smallannoyed:

I hate that phrase too, what does it even mean? I mean the heck? it doesn't even mean anything!!

and its very insutling :smallmad:

[Khosan]

Nope, "just deserts (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/just-deserts.html)" is right in this case. It's not a word that gets used much in any other context than this phrase, but it is "deserts".

Huh. I was not aware of that particular definition of deserts.

[Winter_Wolf]

When someone says something intentionally insulting, then tacks on "just kidding" at the end of it, like that's supposed to make it right. No, you weren't just kidding, you were being an ass, and you clearly think I'm an imbecile if you really think I'll be okay with being insulted just because you said you were kidding.:smallannoyed:

Actually, I had a student when I was teaching ESL who would throw around "just kidding" in all kinds of random places, and although he wasn't being insulting or anything, I never did figure out how he decided when to toss the phrase into conversation. Sometimes he used it right, sometimes he really didn't. I started to wonder if maybe the times he got it right were accidental.

[ghost_warlock]

"People only use 10% of their brains."

Every time I hear this phrase, I want to vomit razor blades into the eyes of the person speaking. This is especially so in the case of TV shows/movies where the person saying this is supposed to be intelligent/well read - completely destroys suspension of disbelief and makes me want to punch my television.

[TheThan]

Like Gignormous

This really bothers me, there are enough adjectives in the English language for “big” that we don’t need another one.

Besides that it’s only cute when a 6 year old says it. When an adult says it its just obnoxious and not cute in the least.

[Vuzzmop]

Anybody who uses the word "LOL" in spoken english deserves nothing less than painful death.

[Setra]

"We're going to have to let you go"

... Kind of a double whammy for me. First off, I have never met anyone who has said this with any sort of sincerity, so why bother?

Second off, I have yet to be happy when this is said to me. Go figure.

The next time I'm fired I demand it be via song.

Edit:
In regards to "how would you like it if someone did ____ to you?", I always try and come up with a witty retort.

This leads to interesting, and sometimes very bad comments that I probably shouldn't post here.

On an unrelated note, since a few people have mentioned things that aren't common phrases... something said to me somewhat often that I hold a severe dislike for is "Why should I care about grammar?". Though usually typed up along the lines of "y should i care about speling".

The problem being that aside from "It makes you look like an idiot" I don't have a valid response, and these days since it seems nearly no one actually does care about spelling... they technically don't look like idiots compared to most people, who type similarly.

[Oregano]

Wow, this is a quite popular thread.

I think we should keep all mention of politics and politicians to a minimum, I wouldn't want the thread to be disrupted.

I hate anything that teachers say that is sugarcoated, so they're calling you an idiot but they say it in a nice way so you're in the wrong if you object. I can't really think of another example except the one perviously stated.

[Setra]

I hate anything that teachers say that is sugarcoated, so they're calling you an idiot but they say it in a nice way so you're in the wrong if you object. I can't really think of another example except the one perviously stated.
How about 90% of the times the word "special" is used by a teacher?

Edit:
This was especially annoying to me as all of the "special" students were in one class, regardless of whether their problem was mental retardation or violent fits of rage.

Sure I'm "special", but in a way that means I may or may not stab you over a game of chess.

[Kimusabe]

Anybody who uses the word "LOL" in spoken english deserves nothing less than painful death.

This I agree with entirely.
And I know two people who do it all the time, but one of them is actually kinda funny when he does, so I don't kill him, but it's till really annoying and I hit him every time he does say it out loud.

Edit: I also Hate people who still say "No sh*t Sherlock!" whenever somebody states the obvious, It's getting really lame!

[bosssmiley]

''yoda speech''.
:smallfurious:

This might have something to do with my hatred with star wars.

Aka: "Miltonic inversion"? What's not to like? Gecherself sum kulcha. :smallwink:

[Setra]

Edit: I also Hate people who still say "No **** Sherlock!" whenever somebody states the obvious, It's getting really lame!
Dig deeper Watson

[Totally Guy]

I really hate "Tut, Humans."

I wouldn't mind "tut, people" or whatever but it sounds just plain nasty to say humans like that.

Professional one: "For record purposes only" Managers write this on all the sheets they sign to say a worker has completed his work. What's it mean? It doesn't absolve responsibility from the manager. I still have to pay for the work that has been done using those sheets. Why say it?

[Hzurr]

Why do the adjectives have to be alliterations all of a sudden? :smalleek:

I think what you mean to ask is "Why weren't they alliterations all along?"

Yep, that's what you meant.



Incidently, a lot of people think that they're southern dames..

Ahh, but if you ever hear a realSouthern dame say it, you'll never mistake it, because the ones who are really southern dames can say it, and you honestly feel that this woman cares deeply about the person they've just insulted, and really do want this person to be blessed.

It's terrifying and uncanny, but it's true.



Wanna really frost their petunias? Explain to them that a "theory" is testable, and generally considered fact, and an unproven suggested explanation for a phenomenon is called a "hypothesis."

Science wins.

Not really. Anything is a hypothesis until it's been subjected to the scientific method (woo! Flashback to 5th grade science class!), in which a hypothesis must be testable, and repeatable. Since you can't really repeatedly test human evolution, nor can you repeatedly test an "intelligent creation", they both are, technically unscientific.

Both viewpoints are people looking at the world around them, and making guesses as to it's source. They draw on different observations and make a hypothesis based on those guesses. Now, those observations may support one side more than another, but technically, they're both hypothesis.


On a side note, I think Switzergrand is just about the greatest thing ever, and I plan on making a petition to the UN to have it officially changed.

[three08]

Anything is a hypothesis until it's been subjected to the scientific method (woo! Flashback to 5th grade science class!), in which a hypothesis must be testable, and repeatable. Since you can't really repeatedly test human evolution, nor can you repeatedly test an "intelligent creation", they both are, technically unscientific.

you can't test human evolution, because that would be terribly unethical, and also our generations are inconveniently long. this much is true, but the concept of evolution can be and has been tested and verified repeatedly in fruit flies, bacteria, pea pods, and a range of other nonhuman species with sufficiently short lifespans.

the contention that man evolved from apes != the theory of evolution. it's just the logical extension of said principle to a world which evidence suggests is several billion years old.

really, every phrase that routinely comes up in that debate is aggravating. "it's just a theory," "gravity is 'just a theory'," etc.

on the other hand, i will totally sign the heck out of that petition, Hzurr.

[Oregano]

Well we know gravity doesn't exist, it's human stupidity that keeps on this earth, I'm one of the major contributors.:smallwink:

[Evil DM Mark3]

'Political correctness gone mad.' Seriously, this is only ever used to mean "I don't like them because they are of a certain group". I am a fairly conservative person and I HATE the vast majority of PC behaviour I have seen (like the Univerisy I am at having a woman's society. Why? Why do women need a society? What one aspect of university life has such a wide scale effect on women that utterly misses men?) but this phrase, urgh.
'Positive discrimination.' Thankfully illegal in the UK, the phrase is a contradiction in terms and the logic behind it is poison.
'I am entitled to my opinion.' Is NEVER used in any circumstances where that right is under fire as it almost never it. However it is used by people who refuse to debate the facts and just want someone to listen whilst they compare you dis-favourably to a rapist for eating cheese. (real life example)
'You know what I think?' I think you are about to jump into the conversation with a viewpoint, rather than a responce to the conversation at had.
Not a phrase but the ubiquitous journalistic "s. A recent example. President was "target" of bomb that killed 53. Why the "s? What is it about the word target that is ambiguous here??

[Eldan]

'Positive discrimination.' Thankfully illegal in the UK, the phrase is a contradiction in terms and the logic behind it is poison.

Well, no. Discrimination means, when applied to people, not treating them in the same way. Differentiate. In many cases, I am pro discrimination. It doesn't have to mean treating people badly, it means treating them differently. If I speak english to someone and german to someone else, I am discriminating them. Would they complain, if they each only speak that language? I don't think so.

[valadil]

Alright, I'll stay out of politics this time.

"High horse," and "humble pie" - I just don't like the sound of either.
"Thinking outside of the box" - Why would you use a cliche to describe innovation?
"I see what you did there" - I mostly read this one on reddit. I'm not entirely sure why anyone says it, but it pisses me off.
"In all seriousness" - My girlfriend got really attached to this phrase and used it to start every third sentence. Nothing kills meaning like overuse.
"That's what she said last night" and "I'll double her entendre" and all permutations thereof. - It's not witty or clever. You can "verb her noun" for any verb or noun, with the right intonation, and if you can't you resort to "that's what she said."

[three08]

there was a time in my life when inappropriately used quotation marks forced a strangled, gurgling sort of noise of rage out of me. nowadays i mostly find them amusing, in the sort of way someone might laugh hysterically if the plane they were in suddenly lost all four engines.

incidentally i should mention that i am kind of brittle sometimes and so if anyone does use a phrase that i am annoyed by, i generally regard it as my own personal problem and don't usually hold it against anyone. (see this post (http://http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4980111&postcount=313).)

inappropriately used punctuation is something that shows up in my nightmares occasionally, though.

[Oregano]

I hate the word "however" mostly due to overuse in essays.

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

"Long story, short..." This is usually followed by a long story. The people that I know that use this phrase use it continuously in the same tale, which often makes me wonder why the story doesn't get any shorter. I should start using it myself, buy properly. "Long story, short...The end." :smallbiggrin:

Not sure if anyone said this already, but "new and improved." It's an old argument, but because it makes sense...Something is either new OR improved. It can't be both.

"You wanna hear something funny?" (I have a neighbor who says this all the time.) Nope. I'd much rather hear a tale about the loss of life, innocense, and hope. I won't be happy until I'm on the cusp of suicide. Dolt. :smalltongue:

"Needless to say..." Then why say it?

I have more, but this is all I could think of at the moment.

[PlatinumJester]

I hate "The number you have dialled has not be recognised. Please try again later". Stupid phone.

That rapper on Pimp My Ride who always goes "Y'know what I'm saying". Of course I ****ind you dumbass. I speak english as well.

"What did I just say?" - Usually said by women to make men feel stupid since most of the time their attention drifted to something else.

"In the public interest" - except it's usually in the interest of whoever is saying it.

"X film/program/albulm coming soon to a store near you" - How soon is soon and how close does a stoe need to be to my house in order to constitute as near.

[Hzurr]

you can't test human evolution, because that would be terribly unethical, and also our generations are inconveniently long. this much is true, but the concept of evolution can be and has been tested and verified repeatedly in fruit flies, bacteria, pea pods, and a range of other nonhuman species with sufficiently short lifespans.

the contention that man evolved from apes != the theory of evolution. it's just the logical extension of said principle to a world which evidence suggests is several billion years old.

really, every phrase that routinely comes up in that debate is aggravating. "it's just a theory," "gravity is 'just a theory'," etc.

on the other hand, i will totally sign the heck out of that petition, Hzurr.

See, this is why I think people need to distinguish between microevolution and macroevolution. Bugs adapting against certain pesticides, bacteria adapting to different environments is microevolution, which is pretty easily observable and irrefutable, but since there's confusion on what exactly people mean by the term "evolution," you have people on both sides of the issue certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that the other side is full of idiots.


Back on topic of phrases that bother people:

- People using "it matters" as a synonym for "it depends." Actually, I think my little sister is the only one who does this. Hmm...I should excile her to Tubular Turkey.

[Totally Guy]

"10 items or less" is another old one.

[Chicken Little]

"It is what it is" Oh how I hate this phrase. I understand the meaning behind it, but does it have to sound so very redundant?

[evisiron]

"Stop [insert weapon name]-ing, Noob!"

Often heard at gaming centre when kids fail to realise that different weapons are suited for different situations.

Also, in Call Of Duty LANS, "No Bashing!!" makes me drop what I am doing and go on a bashing spree. :smallbiggrin:

[Evil DM Mark3]

Well, no. Discrimination means, when applied to people, not treating them in the same way. Differentiate. In many cases, I am pro discrimination. It doesn't have to mean treating people badly, it means treating them differently. If I speak english to someone and german to someone else, I am discriminating them. Would they complain, if they each only speak that language? I don't think so.

I am aware of this, perhaps I should clarify. In the spheres that the phrase is used it is illogical. There is nothing positive about giving anyone a job over another based on the colour of their skin, whatever that colour is.

[Eldan]

It is positive for the one getting the job, however. I.e. the phrase is technically correct, though I see what you mean. It's also negative discrimination for anyone not in the group and generally, when the word discrimination is used, the "negative" is implied.

[13_CBS]

"Chainmail", "Trellised mail," "Banded mail", "Scale mail", "Plate mail", and all those fantasy "mail" derivatives. ESPECIALLY "chainmail".

They're just...wrong...:smallfrown:

(Granted, these words, especially "plate mail" and "chainmail", could be signs of language simply marching on...but I shall go forward kicking and screaming.)

[Lyesmith]

"Hello Dave... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOAcAXxA7zM&feature=related)"
The video explains it all, really.

[Mike62]

I hate the sports phrase "Threepeat" for a third championship.
It isnt even correct. Three-peat would imply the third repetition, which would more properly be applied to the fourth championship, not the third one. The first is the first, the second is the repeat so the third could only be the twopeat.

[AetherFox]

"African/Italian/Puertorican/German/Mexican, etc. American": If you were born in America and currently live there, you are an American, regardless of your heritage. If you moved from America to Italy and had a son/daughter in Italy, would they be an American Italian? No. Therefore, I see no reason it should be the other way around.:smallannoyed:

Hope I didn't offend anyone. Feel free to mentally stab me if I did.

[Jorkens]

Not really. Anything is a hypothesis until it's been subjected to the scientific method (woo! Flashback to 5th grade science class!), in which a hypothesis must be testable, and repeatable. Since you can't really repeatedly test human evolution, nor can you repeatedly test an "intelligent creation", they both are, technically unscientific.

Both viewpoints are people looking at the world around them, and making guesses as to it's source. They draw on different observations and make a hypothesis based on those guesses. Now, those observations may support one side more than another, but technically, they're both hypothesis.

Evolution doesn't make testable, falsifieable predictions as to what we will see in the future, but it does make testable falsifieable predictions as to what we will see in the past and the present - specifically, it predicts that as we continue to archaeologize, we'll continue to find organisms that are related to earlier and later ones, and not find ones that are related to nothing on land or sea unless there's a good reason that the fossil record of their ancestors vanished. Since our knowledge of natural history isn't complete at the moment, these constitute predictions. And so far, they've not been falsified.

I'd imagine that there are also predictions about what we might see in terms of common DNA between different species.

[The Rose Dragon]

"African/Italian/Puertorican/German/Mexican, etc. American": If you were born in America and currently live there, you are an American, regardless of your heritage. If you moved from America to Italy and had a son/daughter in Italy, would they be an American Italian? No. Therefore, I see no reason it should be the other way around.:smallannoyed:

Hope I didn't offend anyone. Feel free to mentally stab me if I did.

Yes! Thank you! I should have said that earlier, but I just couldn't bring myself around to it (that a valid sentence?).

[FelixZ]

"Chainmail", "Trellised mail," "Banded mail", "Scale mail", "Plate mail", and all those fantasy "mail" derivatives. ESPECIALLY "chainmail".

They're just...wrong...:smallfrown:

(Granted, these words, especially "plate mail" and "chainmail", could be signs of language simply marching on...but I shall go forward kicking and screaming.)

Chainmail was a form of armor worn to protect against sword slahes and the like.

[theedj]

When apartment hunting:
"Young professional or graduate student wanted."
What defines a person as a 'young professional?' If they are able to pay rent, clean up after themselves, and I am able to sleep undisturbed then I could care less whether you are a lawyer in the making or work the drive-through at Burger King. Hell, even if Daddy pays the bills at least they're getting paid!

In political speeches:
"...blah blah blah hard-working Americans blah blah blah..."
Not all Americans are hard-working, and if they were, you wouldn't have to qualify your statement. Furthermore, the plan you are proposing doesn't distinguish between the hard-working ones and the lazy ones, so why specify?

"The fact of the matter is..."
This was mentioned in another post but I want to emphasize it. Announcing that the statement you are about to make is a fact does not make it so. Along this line of thinking, saying things like, "It logically follows that..." also qualifies.

"I don't mean to be offensive, but..."
Yes, you do, and you are.

[13_CBS]

Chainmail was a form of armor worn to protect against sword slahes and the like.

But the thing is, "chainmail" is a pleonasm. Chain was an old term for mail. Maille/mail was the French term for mail. Somewhere along the line, possible around the Victorian era, someone seemed to think that "mail" meant "armor", hence things like "Chainmail" being supposed to mean "chain armor", but ending up actually meaning "chainchain" or "mailmail or whatever. Just bugs me.

[three08]

When apartment hunting:
"Young professional or graduate student wanted."
What defines a person as a 'young professional?'

oh there's a very clear meaning and reason behind this: it's their way of indicating that they will not rent to you if you have children, the law notwithstanding. a "young professional" is someone who doesn't have time for a family.

so this aggravates me as well.

[BizzaroStormy]

Not really a phrase but something that really pisses me off anyway.

People on message boards who feel the need to sign their posts. They alreayd have a "signature" that is automatically added to their posts as well as the fact that their name is in big bold letters net to the post anyway.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Hard-working-single-mother. Or rather the implication that all parts of that phrase are interwoven, that all women with children but no partner are hard working saints. Infact I have never heard anyone talk about single-fathers. Ever. In my life.

[Da Beast]

See, this is why I think people need to distinguish between microevolution and macroevolution. Bugs adapting against certain pesticides, bacteria adapting to different environments is microevolution, which is pretty easily observable and irrefutable, but since there's confusion on what exactly people mean by the term "evolution," you have people on both sides of the issue certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that the other side is full of idiots.

The idea that there are different types of evolution, micro and macro, is false. All evolution happens in small steps and "macro" evolution is just collective micro evolution over time. When people make a distinction between the two it's usually because they don't want to deny that a well substantiated scientific theory is true but at the same time won't admit that evolution could possibly account for the genetic diversity we see in the world. Thus we get a false categorization of grudgingly accepted small changes and imaginary species defining ones.

[Innis Cabal]

"Ginax has never produced a bad anime"

"You get more bees with honey"

[Collin152]

"You get more bees with honey"

That makes no sense. Bees make honey! You'd get even more bees with flowers.

[Tirian]

The line is "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar."

And, indeed, it is quite untrue. I actually once worked in a sub shop that had problems with fruit flies and the exterminator, who had run out of his normal bait, substituted our vinaigrette dressing to considerable success.

[_Zoot_]

I hate it when people say "Decimate" and think it means that it was totaly Destroyed...

The only time that i have seen it used Correctly is in Dr Who.

[Boo]

"Nice Shirt" and any variation of it. I know my shirt is nice, but people don't have to remind me every time they pass by.

Example of my shirts - Barf 3D (http://www.crowndozen.com/main/archives/beaut1.jpg)

[Raging Gene Ray]

I hate it when people say "Decimate" and think it means that it was totaly Destroyed...

I always thought that's what it meant...but I looked it up and found out that I was wrong.

The thing is, that "incorrect" meaning has become so popular, it is now the "correct" meaning.

Something similar happened with the word "proactive." It actually means something that holds something else back. But it became a buzzword due to pro- and -active both having positive sounding meanings and it's meaning changed to the exact opposite.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Here are two phrases that I like but that I dislike hearing people complain about. Seriously guys these phrases have real cultural depth, don't whine about them just becuase they need a little understanding in their old age!
Getting on like a house on fire. Because back when everone had thatch roofs when one house caught fire everone rallied round to help regardless of who they where, in cast their house caught fire too.
You can't have your cake and eat it. OK so historicaly it seems to have been ou can't eat your cake and have it but this also comes from the times when a friut cake was one of the few ways to keep fruit over the winter. It was a valuble commodity that you could either have now or keep until you really needed it.

[Dumbledore lives]

Well technically... This is a phrase I hurt, especially when people say something completely incorrect after wards. It just gets really annoying when repeated over and over again.

[evisiron]

"Nice Shirt" and any variation of it. I know my shirt is nice, but people don't have to remind me every time they pass by.

Example of my shirts - Barf 3D (http://www.crowndozen.com/main/archives/beaut1.jpg)

Aww, I am one of the people that if I see a really awesome and unique shirt, I will pay the person a compliment. Their shirt has brightened my day, and they will know of this good deed gods-dammit! :smallsmile:

As for Decimate, hasn't the 'destroyed' definition been in use since the 19th century?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/decimate

Words always get me in that which is the 'meaning' of the word, what its exact meaning is according to a book or what it means to the person who hears it?
When will we finally move to some kind of binary!?

[Oregano]

I hate the term Gothic, used in the sense of "depressing and dark".

That's one I remembered due to having just done a history assignment where the Visigoths were mentioned repeatedly.

[TheBST]

what its exact meaning is according to a book or what it means to the person who hears it?
When will we finally move to some kind of binary!?

Oh that's a whole other thread there.

Actually since somebody actually writes the dictionaries we use, even by commitee decision, the 'meaning' of words are still decided by people. It's just a battle between prescriptivists (conservative dictionary weilders) and descriptivists (popular usage malapropers). David Foster Wallace wrote an essay on this, and it's well worth tracking down.


Oh wait- I thought of it- the worst phrase in human speech:

Just be yourself

GYAAAHH!!! Firstly- trite as hell. Secondly: bad advice. If I were 'being myself' here I'd be using swear words for punctuation marks. Thirdly: semantic logic: "Be myself? As opposed to being who? Chairman Mao? Galileo? What the hell are you talking about?!"

[Raging Gene Ray]

As for Decimate, hasn't the 'destroyed' definition been in use since the 19th century?
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/decimate


I checked the same site, and I interpreted it as saying that the word means "to mostly (but not completely) destroy," as opposed to obliterate or annihilate.

By the way, I agree with speakers determining the meanings of words.



Oh wait- I thought of it- the worst phrase in human speech:

Just be yourself


The person saying that is usually being optimistic about the listener's nature, and attributing anything that might go wrong to putting on an act.

[Oregano]

Wasn't decimating the killing of one out of ten people?, I think it was soldiers in Rome.

[evisiron]

Indeed, thats one of the 'old' meanings. My link has details, although they can be interpreted.

[Setra]

Just thought of another phrase, that while not hating, I dislike.

"Don't blame yourself"

It's hard to explain why I dislike it, but in short I have always felt when it was said to me it just made me feel worse.

Alternatively "It wasn't your fault" and "There's nothing you could have done"

The last one tends to make me go on a rant about what I could have done if said an an (in)appropriate time.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Wasn't decimating the killing of one out of ten people?, I think it was soldiers in Rome.From this (the reduction of a unit by one tenth) the broader meaning (to reduce anything by one tenth) came about.

[Oregano]

My brother told me to add "It's complicated" to the list, because it was overused by someone we know and it's arrogant and annoying.

I hate the phrase "optional" not optional, but "optional", as in "there was a choice, I made it for you." Said repeatedly in school.

[Jokes]

"It's really hotting up" annoys me. I have no idea how hotting replaced heating.

[Quincunx]

"You don't understand me" and all variations thereof, especially foolish on a board full of imaginative writers who make their living by expressing the personalities of people who are not themselves. You can find places where people might not have the experience to have insights about you, but saying something like that where everyone has the tools to understand--idiotic.


'Political correctness gone mad.' Seriously, this is only ever used to mean "I don't like them because they are of a certain group". I am a fairly conservative person and I HATE the vast majority of PC behaviour I have seen (like the Univerisy I am at having a woman's society. Why? Why do women need a society? What one aspect of university life has such a wide scale effect on women that utterly misses men?) but this phrase, urgh.

The idea is to have a place where women can speak without being interrupted by men. You may look at the Girl Threads in this forum and count the poster gender ratios to find how elusive that can otherwise be.


Not a phrase but the ubiquitous journalistic "s. A recent example. President was "target" of bomb that killed 53. Why the "s? What is it about the word target that is ambiguous here??

It's not ambiguity; it's the opposite of ambiguity. The quotations enclose the only part of the title where the word occurred in the source material. While the '53' (single quotes for quoting from within a quote ((box)) ) is also in the source material, a number implies enough exactitude to not require quotation marks.

[black_Lizzard]

Nope, "just deserts (http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/just-deserts.html)" is right in this case. It's not a word that gets used much in any other context than this phrase, but it is "deserts".

"Just deserts" may be more correct, but "just desserts" is more fun to imagine. For example, eating the "pie of damnation", or the "cake of many flagellations."

Phrase i hate the most is "teen." Say it out loud several times; it's just so annoying. News articles always use the word "teen" makes me just want to reach out and strangle the person who wrote it.

Honorable mentions go to olfactory, acumen, and other words idiots use just to sound superior. Sure, they're ok if used fluidly within the sentence, but they're irksome when used stiltedly to make the speaker sound intellectually superior.

[three08]

Oh that's a whole other thread there.
It's just a battle between prescriptivists (conservative dictionary weilders) and descriptivists (popular usage malapropers).

David Foster Wallace wrote an essay on this, and it's well worth tracking down.

Secondly: bad advice. If I were 'being myself' here I'd be using swear words for punctuation marks.
you, sir, have just won the internet. congratulations.

(i actually just spent a few seconds considering some sort of scheme where various obscenities could actually stand in for specific punctuation marks. it'd be a bit unwieldy, but a fun way to punch up a dull state of the union address.)

[Xallace]

I never liked the way the word "delight" sounds, but as for phrases, there are several.


"Fooding"- My best friend uses this one all the time. It's called eating. Or alternatively, "grabbing a snack," "going out to eat," "satisfying a craving," "silencing the munchies," etc. Food is a noun.

"I lost the game!"- Every time I hear it I want to take some gorilla tape and do something unkind to the part of their brain that houses this infernal brain-washing device.

And one I'm surprised no one mentioned:

"That's just your opinion." Or "In your opinion."- Of course it's my opinion! If I'm using a subjective word like "best" or "delicious," how could it be anything other than my opinion? Do I have to say it aloud? Is it not assumed?

[Leigh]

When people say "OMG" out loud.:smallannoyed:
I'm fine with it in chatspeak over ichat and things, but when they say *oh emm gee!* in person, it bugs the hell out of me.

...Oh! And Paris Hilton's "That's Hot!" but that's a given...

[Dallas-Dakota]

"Fooding"- My best friend uses this one all the time. It's called eating. Or alternatively, "grabbing a snack," "going out to eat," "satisfying a craving," "silencing the munchies," etc. Food is a noun.
I completely agree.


You should just NOM.:smalltongue:

[Quincunx]

"That's just your opinion." Or "In your opinion."- Of course it's my opinion! If I'm using a subjective word like "best" or "delicious," how could it be anything other than my opinion? Do I have to say it aloud? Is it not assumed?

(Formatting added.)

Sadly, no. Most of the time, that it's an opinion isn't even assumed by the speaker. I commend your clear thinking.

[Hzurr]

"Fooding"- My best friend uses this one all the time. It's called eating. Or alternatively, "grabbing a snack," "going out to eat," "satisfying a craving," "silencing the munchies," etc. Food is a noun.

I dislike "fooding," but only because it sounds stupid, not because of being a noun incorrectly used. Transending grammer rules is what English is all about. I mean, the word "Google" is a noun, but people talk about "googling" something all the time. We don't always say "send me a message on IM" we say "IM me." We don't say "add me as a facebook friend, or send me a message on facebook," but rather "facebook me."

Yay English!!

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

These are not phrases, but words that make me nuts.

"Irregardless." The word is "regardless." "Irregardless" is not a word. My ex's cousin, a lawyer, would use this imaginary word frequently. (I never have a goat on me when I wanna slap someone for saying it.) :smallannoyed:

"Noo-cue-lar." This is the phonetic spelling of the mispronunciation of "nuclear." As we enter a heavily policital season, the candidates are starting up the ads that dominate television commercial time. One of them is pressing for alternative energy, and keeps mispronouncing this word. I don't wanna slap him with a goat...I wanna throw the whole goat at him! :smallamused:

"Warsh." Somewhere in NY, there is a breed of people who manage to add an R to "wash." Thus, one's laundry needs to be warshed. After excessive sweating, one should warsh up. That excessive activity might be warshing and waxing one's car. Personally, I wish they'd warsh the R out of their wash. :smallwink:

[captain_decadence]

A lot of these seem to be attacks on accents and/or dialects. Coming from a person with a strong accent, it's not something that is easily controllable. I can, with extreme effort, make my voice sound like "Standard American English" (another rant, that doesn't exist) but it's very stilted.

Also, dialects are no more incorrect than "normal english" and are frequently more regular and have a clearer grammatical system than the standardized english. It may sound odd to you but that doesn't make it wrong. Take a linguistics or psychology of language class sometime. (This is coming from a spokesperson in grammar in written, especially formal, English so one should not think that I am a linguistic heathen but rather that I give great lee-way to the spoken language)

The word "moist" makes me really uncomfortable. It's just nasty.

My best friend is from Canada and hates the word "couch" so she calls them a Chesterfield. I don't enquire why.

[Totally Guy]

After excessive sweating, one should warsh up.

Do the dishes?:smalltongue:

Here the term wash up seems to refer exlusively to doing the dishes.


My best friend is from Canada and hates the word "couch" so she calls them a Chesterfield. I don't enquire why.

And that's a sofa. Or in some rare cases... a settee.

[Griever]

How can anyone hate Phase? Seriou- ohhh, Phrase... oh...

Was about to start talking about Waxing Gibbous vs. Waning, hmmmm....

*flees*

[RTGoodman]

"Warsh." Somewhere in NY, there is a breed of people who manage to add an R to "wash." Thus, one's laundry needs to be warshed. After excessive sweating, one should warsh up. That excessive activity might be warshing and waxing one's car. Personally, I wish they'd warsh the R out of their wash. :smallwink:

That's not just a NY thing - my old roommate from college was from eastern NC and added "r"s to random words. For instance, he needed to turn on the "warter" to "warsh" the dishes.

[Totally Guy]

That's not just a NY thing - my old roommate from college was from eastern NC and added "r"s to random words. For instance, he needed to turn on the "warter" to "warsh" the dishes.

Is it even possible to say water without there being an R sound there?

[Oregano]

Yep, the common way, the way I sometimes finding my way saying it "wa'er", it's horrible but I still say it.:smallfrown:

[Sir_Norbert]

Is it even possible to say water without there being an R sound there?
I see in your location that you're in England. Like me. I don't think you have an R sound in the word "water" at all. Just "w", "aw", "t", "uh". American dialects really do have an R sound at the end of "water" and at the end of "war", but not standardly in the middle of "water". A real consonantal R sound, the same as the one at the beginning of "rock".

Apologies if you already knew this, but from your post I guessed the most likely explanation was that you didn't.

[TeeEl]

I see in your location that you're in England. Like me. Just "w", "aw", "t", "uh".

Forgive me for being an ignorant Yank but I could have sworn you guys had more than one dialect/accent. Unless the teevee is correct and you really do all go around saying "pip pip cheerio old chap and all that, what?"

[Oregano]

We do all that, don't we? If we don't I'm going to have to find away to get Tally Ho out of my everyday vocabulary.

[Totally Guy]

I see in your location that you're in England. Like me.

I think that rings a bell...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v44/macdonnell/Norb.jpg
That's you just there^
It's me^


Edit:...Help! I'm on the top of a new page where the joke won't work.

[Gem Flower]

"Epic fail!"

GAH! *dies*

[Dragor]

"That's what SHE said!"

When it was a fairly new joke and actually fairly funny, this was good. This was fine. But when everybody you know uses it constantly... it's a bit annoying. Even I use it without even THINKING sometimes.

[Catch]

"The cake is a lie!"

You liked Portal. A lot. I get it. Can we, as a culture, collectively move on?

[Collin152]

Forgive me for being an ignorant Yank but I could have sworn you guys had more than one dialect/accent. Unless the teevee is correct and you really do all go around saying "pip pip cheerio old chap and all that, what?"

"Aw I wa't is a reum som'wear, foh away fr'm the cohd noight aegh, wif wun en-ohm's chaih, oh wouldn' it be loverly?"

[Jade Falcon]

"The cake is a lie!"

You liked Portal. A lot. I get it. Can we, as a culture, collectively move on?

Seconded. It got really annoying

And furthermore "This is Spartaaaaaaaa!"

I´m sick of it

[Boo]

To clarify on my annoyance with people saying "nice shirt" to me, it's because I've been told it about 10 times every day. SRSLY.

Oh, and I hate the word's "Epic", "Sick" and maybe one or two others. The two words that I specifically mentioned are commonly used as meaning "cool".

On that note, I've been wondering what's harder to understand. Today's slang, or the slang of yesterday (1900-1970).

[Raging Gene Ray]

To clarify on my annoyance with people saying "nice shirt" to me, it's because I've been told it about 10 times every day. SRSLY.


Is it always from the same people about the same shirt? You might just have one of the greatest shirts in existence and not know about it...

[Warpfire]

"Darn it." Or any use of darn when it isn't for mending clothing. It isn't really that I'm a stickler for proper usage, just that word irritates me. Just go ahead and say damn. Or if you really don't want to curse use "dang". It sounds less stupid.

Honestly, most 'safe' versions of swears I find silly/irritating, but I'm okay with them since I understand some people don't like cursing. Darn is the only one that really gets me.

Other than that there aren't many phrases that irritate me, and reading through this thread it seems like a lot of y'all should lighten up a bit. >.>

[Kjata]

I hate it when people use the phrase "The tequilas gone." I dont know why, but it drives me crazy.

[Raging Gene Ray]

What does that phrase mean? The only time I've heard it used was when an actual bottle of tequila was emptied.

[Kjata]

Ya, i hate it when the tequila is gone. It was a joke.

[Arokh]

Currently my most anticipated phrase: "Second Platoon! WAKE UP!"
Reason: Another day in the military, full of fun and joy, is about to begin.:smallwink:

[Kaihaku]

"X is awesome! Why is everyone bashing X!?! You are all so stupid; A, B, and C are such utter crap! X is awesome!"

Where X is one piece of media and A, B, and C are older foundational pieces of media from the same genre.

[FelixZ]

Seconded. It got really annoying

And furthermore "This is Spartaaaaaaaa!"

I´m sick of it

The movie was about as historicly accurate as Jesus Christ Superstar (1978) to boot. Even worse is when you have people online claiming to be history proffesors and thinking that no Spartan warrior wore a breastplate or anything like that.

The director himself said that he chose to drop the breastplates from the movie to give his female audience something to ogle while the guys were watching th bloodshed and gore.

[Watchdog]

Whenever I complain about language barriers, or another inability to communicate I get this response:

"A smile is universal!"

...

No, a smile is NOT universal. The only things you can convey with smiling is "I am happy" and "I'm that creepy guy who follows you around."

You can't convey "Where is the restroom" or "Sir or possibly madam you need to move your car" which is what I usually need to say in other languages.

Plus, in some cultures the baring of teeth is a sign of aggression.

And that was my (short) rant of the day.

[Innis Cabal]

Whenever I complain about language barriers, or another inability to communicate I get this response:

"A smile is universal!"

...

No, a smile is NOT universal. The only things you can convey with smiling is "I am happy" and "I'm that creepy guy who follows you around."

You can't convey "Where is the restroom" or "Sir or possibly madam you need to move your car" which is what I usually need to say in other languages.

Plus, in some cultures the baring of teeth is a sign of aggression.

And that was my (short) rant of the day.


Actually...thats exactly what the saying means. Everyone knows when you smile, your happy. It has nothing to do with...anything outside of that.

And thats animals, and only some even then, that see a show of teeth as a threat. The human smile has evolved from a sign of fear or anxiety to what it is today, thus, a smile really is universal.

[Collin152]

Actually...thats exactly what the saying means. Everyone knows when you smile, your happy. It has nothing to do with...anything outside of that.


Which isn't useful at all when you complain about not beign able to convey something other than that.

[Innis Cabal]

No, a smile is NOT universal. The only things you can convey with smiling is "I am happy" and "I'm that creepy guy who follows you around."

The source of the phrase, and what its meant for, is that there is one thing you can do to communicate with another person. After that, the phrase no longer really means anything. I was just pointing out its not the phrase, but the idiot who uses it that you should hate. The phrase isn't broken

[Jim Profit]

"You are the weakest link, goodbye"

You might think that nobody in their right mind would say that now. You'd be surprised.

I heard it from my ex and wanted to taze her. (I'm an officer, if only she were near me, I would have..) I think saying something that lame should warrant a good tazering. It was lame when it was new, now it's just painful.


It's worse then who let the dogs out or don't worry, be happy. Atleast those had songs attatched to them. Hell, I'd even let a cowabunga go before the weakest link!

[Staven]

"Rise and shine"

Always heard between 5 and 6 o'clock. I hate it. It always implies that you need to get out of your nice warm bed to do something you REALLY don't want to do.

"You've got no legs to stand on"

Whenever my friend says this, it's laced with so much overconfidence that the words are partially hydrogenated (ooh, I'll be using that one again). No one has a right to be that overconfident, except for the woman at the beginning of Soapdish (for those who've seen it): "The oil refineries are now all mine. You're all fired." She could have been cobra commander.

"Too bad"

When used in an argument with a parent, they will usually spout this to justify doing something obviously wrong. Gets on my nerves.

[banjo1985]

"Chill out."

This makes me want to poke out the persons eyes with a rusty spoon and watch them eat them. I do not want to chill out, in fact I'm quite happy being tense/annoyed/enraged, and your attempt to placate me with a pointless empty phrase is not going to go well for you...