The Most Irritating Phrases in the English Language

[proud2BlibKansan]

It's 2008, and we're pretty sure we recently had a conversation that didn't involve a single catchphrase from "Clueless." Progress, right? Eh, kinda. Oxford University -- home to the wordsmiths responsible for adding "bootylicious" to the most comprehensive dictionary of the English language -- recently released a list of the top 10 most irritating phrases in current use, and it doesn't give us much hope for humanity.

Researchers combed through a variety of British books, blogs, magazines and broadcast transcripts to compile a database of words and phrases in current overuse/misuse, and then chose the worst offenders. Among their top picks were bad grammar ("shouldn't of," #8), redundant verbal tics ("I personally," #3) and regular old overused terms ("24/7," #9).

The rest of the Oxford list: "It's not rocket science" (#10), "It's a nightmare" (#7), "Absolutely" (#6), "With all due respect" (#5), "At this moment in time" (#4), and "Fairly unique" (#2). Their top pick? "At the end of the day," gratingly popular (and totally meaningless) with politicians, athletes, pundits, and management types. It's basically a glimpse at what it will sound like in hell.

http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/11/12/the-most-irritating-phrases-in-the-english-language/

[begin_within]

1. "speaks to" irritates me

as in "her tragic story speaks to the issues of race and class in America." I am so sick of "speaks to."

[KansDem]

125. Would you be copasetic with "addresses?"

As in "Her tragic story addresses the issues of race and class in America."

Just curious...

[panader0]

2. "At the end of the day."

[lame54]

3. "I could care less"...

Couldn't we all?

[OnionPatch]

19. That one is especially irritating because

the phrase was originally supposed to be "I *couldn't* care less." Meaning of course that there is no way you could care any less than you do. You are already caring the minimum amount. If you *could* care less, then you care at least a little bit, or you wouldn't be able to care less.

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

4. "My bad!" drives me nuts. Makes absolutely no sense.

[Genevieve]

46. i hate that one.

[question everything]

49. Agree. Where did it come from? (nt)

[lame54]

75. The first place i saw it was South Park...

when the alien turned the cows inside out

i was confused by the phrase at first

then I started hearing it everywhere

[Gidney N Cloyd]

84. I believe it caught on as a basketball term. Like when a penalty is called.

[TexasObserver]

5. With all due respect, at the end of the day, it's absolutely a nightmare 24/7.

[denem]

104. With all due respect, at the end of the day, Sarah Palin is absolutely a nightmare 24/7

[Candie Date]

6. Uh oh

Obama uses #4 quite a lot.

[trof]

7. Bottom line...

[Touchdown]

14. I got a friend that uses that all the time.

It comes a few sentences after he says "Just a heads up.":eyes:

[Cirque du So-What]

8. By and large

The other catchphrases are all annoying as hell too, but I wanted to plug 'by and large,' which - no matter how it's parsed - makes no fucking sense whatsoever.

[trof]

24. Yep. I have absolutely no idea what that means.

[Sal Minella]

26. I think that one is actually a nautical term, having to do with the ship swinging around downwind

on the rope/chain attached to the (dropped) anchor. Something like that. Anyway, I remember it being a nautical term (like "three sheets to the wind," "at loggerheads," "hard-up" etc.

So I assume "by and large" was used originally in speech to signify "taking a broad view" or "in the greater scope of things."

[question everything]

52. This is correct

Definitions of By and Large on the Web:

* By means into the wind, while large means with the wind. By and large is used to indicate all possible situations "the ship handles well both ...
www.answers.com/topic/glossary-of-nautical-terms

* Currently means in all cases or in any case. From the nautical: by meaning into the wind and large meaning with the wind: as in, "By and ...
www.nauticalcurrents.com/nauticalterms.htm

* usually; as a rule; "by and large it doesn't rain much here"
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:By+and+Large&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title

[jkshaw]

9. I have come to absolutely hate "going forward."

It appears to have only recently become a catch-phrase.

Somewhere in the latter half of the seventies, "exacerbate" became the mot du jour. Occasionally it pops up today, but in the seventies it was applied to everything from mosquito bites to affairs of state.

[Uncle Joe]

10. At the end of the day, you still have nighttime to deal with.

:)

[Uncle Joe]

39. Here is another one "the fact of the matter is" whenever I hear that, I know

the speaker is just buying time to come up with an answer.

[Rob H.]

11. Two that I hear all the time

"Moving forward" and "That being said."

[Touchdown]

12. "Be more Professional"

:puke: Professional is a noun, not an adjective! Corporate America has poisoned the language far more than pop culture has.

A professional is someone who gets paid for what they do, not wearing a tie or pantyhose. Yes, that sentence doesn't sound right because it's not an adjective.

Other corporate goodies...
Challenge. No it isn't. It's a fucking problem that is Impossible to fix in the 5 hours you want it.

Human Resources. GAG! So now we sentient beings have been reduced to mere resources, similar to iron, plastic and pulp wood. Use us up and throw us out (layoffs...or "rightsizing" another bullshit word).

synergy- I run far away from the person who can use that in a sentence. They've memorized the entire volume of "effective management" manuals.

Associate. No, no. You can't be an employee anymore. Because that means closeness, loyalty and commitment. Associate is better, because it keeps you at arms length. Since your not part of the company family being an employee anymore, it makes it easier on my guilt for firing you, because your just a mere acquaintance. An associate, if you will.

[question everything]

55. True. Verbalizing many nouns

and all the catch phrases. You almost have to use them to show that you are a member of the team.

And.. using many sports terms to describe issues and behavior in the work place.

[madeline_con]

73. He is a professional boxer. Adjective, see? n/t

[timtom]

87. Sorry, but...

American Heritage Dictionary, 3rd Edition:

pro·fes·sion·al adj. Abbr. prof. 1.a. Of, relating to, engaged in, or suitable for a profession: a professional field such as law; professional training. b. Conforming to the standards of a profession: professional ethics. 2. Engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career: amateur and professional actors. 3. Performed by persons receiving pay: professional football. 4. Having or showing great skill; expert: a thoroughly professional repair job.

--pro·fes·sion·al n. Abbr. prof. 1. A person following a profession, especially a learned profession. 2. One who earns a living in a given or implied occupation: hired a professional to decorate the house. 3. A skilled practitioner; an expert.

--pro·fes“sion·al·ly adv.

[IDemo]

13. "issues", versus "problems"

[Touchdown]

17. See my post on "Challenge" the corporate problem replacer.

n/t

[IDemo]

20. It's obvious you have issues. Try changing your paradigm.

If that doesn't work, ping me and let's do lunch.

[Touchdown]

27. My Paradigm? have you written your monthly goal statement yet?

I'll need that by COB today. Just sayin', without the I'm and the g.

[BlooInBloo]

29. You may want to consider leveraging the domain knowledge of a subject matter expert.

[IDemo]

34. I that case, I'm outta here. See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.

[IDemo]

15. I'll "ping" you if I think of any more ;)

[kittykitty]

16. "having said that. . . ."

[cherokeeprogressive]

18. "Perp Walk" and "Frog Marched"

I don't even understand what "frog marched" means.

[IDemo]

21. But those are time-honored DU traditions

[rucky]

53. We'll stop using it if we ever see it.

[LiberalEsto]

22. "Case in point"

and "Do lunch."

[Greyhound]

23. "Fairly unique, very unique, totally unique, really unique" just make me want to scream at

those that use them.

[hatrack]

74. " . . . very unique" - Worst.In.Class.

The absolute nadir in terms of redundancy and illogic.

[denem]

107. Quintessentially unique!

cur to the chase.

[donco6]

25. "Look . . . " usually followed by some explanation. n/t

[burythehatchet]

90. Oh yes. A fav of yapping heads. Like saying "look" before you pontificate

makes it so much more meaningful. Some PR schmuck must have recommended that to all of the drones and now they all use it ad nauseum.

[EFerrari]

28. I did a whole column on "At the end of the day if you connect the dots

you're with us or against us and that's the bottom line" once.

lol

I'm hating "methinks" lately, unless I'm talking to a resurrected Middle English scribe.

[BlooInBloo]

30. Hey! I say "methinks" from time to time. And it's totally unique!

hrmph!

[Greyhound]

31. Add the entire lexicon of corporate speak. n/t

[123infinity]

32. "a high rate of speed" when referring to any machine in motion

rate of speed is acceleration. "high speed" is all that's needed to convey the information. :grr:

[KamaAina]

33. "My friends..."; "Ya betcha!"

:puke: :puke: :puke:

[foxfeet]

35. "My friends..."

[reflection]

36. "It is what it is." n/t

[Sophree]

100. You beat me to it.

And I thought I looked pretty closely to see if anyone else had posted "It is what it is." Anyway, I agree- extremely annoying.

[DireStrike]

37. "irregardless"

It just won't die!

[Stuart G]

38. I agree...irregardless...is very irritating..

[BlooInBloo]

40. Doesn't meet the OP's requirements. It's not in the English language.

[DireStrike]

44. It's also not a phrase

I should have come prepared before wading into a pack of grammarians!

[BlooInBloo]

45. I'm a mathematician. I have no problem with the concept of a one-word phrase.

[ihavenobias]

41. "Git Er Done!" (sp?)

Not sure that can be topped.

[RandomKoolzip]

42. "March in lockstep;" "Loyalty oath;" "Speaking truth to power;" 'Strawman."

Well, on DU they're fuckin' annoying as hell.

[DireStrike]

47. I disagree about "Strawman"

It's necessary and useful WHEN USED PROPERLY. Like literally.

Oh, poor, sweet literally... to take you into my arms and comfort your wounds... not literally, of course....

[ismnotwasm]

43. Well

I use a couple of them. And some, I've never heard of. I use to use fucking as a verb before the ones I use, "It's a fucking nightmare". Still annoying I suppose.

[melonkali]

48. The "HEY!" interjection epidemic. For example . . .

It started in sportscasting: "So then Coach Bob says to his team -- HEY -- we gotta shore up our offensive line."

But it's spread to myriad other areas. "I think Bob finally just said -- HEY -- it's time to move in another direction."

If this trend continues, we'll soon be hearing from the pulpit: "Then Jesus saith unto them -- HEY -- give unto Caesar . . ."

[question everything]

57. Very common among reporters and anchors on TV

I think that on the Today Show recently someone read a letter pointing on how rude it was that they all addressed each other with "hey."

[question everything]

50. Irregardless!! (nt)

[cordelia]

51. "Needless to say"

It irritates me. It just does.

"truth to power" also.

[Le Taz Hot]

54. "The reason why . . . "

the "why" isn't needed. I don't know, it's just one that's been bugging me lately.

I was surprised about the "with all due respect." It's the professional equivalent of "well, bless your heart."

[pink-o]

56. Just about everything previous posters mentioned!

but let me add an irritating way to speak--not for the phrasology, but for what it really means. When someone prefaces a thought, beginning a sentence with "I'm not a racist, (or a bigot, or a homophobe, or a chauvinist or humorless or whatever)..BUT..."

Well, you KNOW they're gonna finish that sentence with something racist, bigoted, homophobic, misogynist, humorless, et al. Why not just start the sentence with "Yes, I'm a huge asshole and I'm about to say something really prejudiced and inappropriate about a whole group of people."

I'd have a whole lot more respect for them--even though they'd still be assholes.

[Neshanic]

58. "place making" Neo-traditional"

[DemoTex]

59. "No problem" as a response to "thank you."

Arrrgggggggghhh!

[ColbertWatcher]

60. Was "thrown under the bus" thrown under the bus? n/t

[Dogmudgeon]

61. Meme(s)

In all its forms, the "Meme" is pseudoscience for Skeptics.

--p!

[Dogmudgeon]

62. "Can you say 'Fred Rogers'? I know you could."

--p!

[Ezlivin]

63. "Each and every"

As in "I want to thank each and every one of you."

[Dukkha]

64. I NEVER want to hear an Obama cabinet member say

"I serve at the pleasure of the president"

ewwwwwww! it is so creepy sounding especially with the all-hands-groping smirking idiot.

[phusion]

65. In what respect, Cherlee? n/t

[Sophree]

66. "It is what it is."

Makes no sense and is highly irritating.

[Phredicles]

88. Damn right. I mean, what the hell else would it be?

The sad thing, though, is that I like to think I'm pretty good with words, and I'm guilty of plenty of these. My b... D'oh!!!

[Sophree]

98. I know, me too. n/t

:hi:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

67. In what respect, Charlie?

[AndrewP]

68. "Having said that..."

[dorkulon]

69. Tsunami as a metaphor.

Make it stop!

[kid a]

70. "back in the day"

[Lancer]

71. game changer

I also hate, loathe, despise and probably get all too worked up over ". . .mkay."

I guess it was funny on South Park. But it's smug, arrogant and belittling. I hate to see it thrown down at people whose only crime is arriving a little late for the conversation. Just plain rude. This world does not need any more of that. At the end of the day. Also.

[Samantha]

72. You got to be a team player

That is the one I hate the most to hear. Truly code for when your co-worker calls in sick, you do his job as well as your own because we don't want to spend the money for a temporary replacement.

[lame54]

76. The absolute worst are "LIKE" & "YOU KNOW"

[Liberal_in_LA]

114. oh gawd.. I hate those.

[City Lights]

77. "Take a listen," delivered by a squawking head introducing a video piece.

Hurts my ears...x(

[VOX]

78. "Exactly." "Exactly." "Exaactly." "Exaaactly." "Exaaaaactly." "Exaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaactly!!!"

A thoroughly shopworn word -- heard all the time in public, and in myriad one-on-one company meetings. :grr:

[stuntcat]

121. tehehe

I think I've said that before :blush: :blush: when I'm talking to my best friend and we're agreeing with each other over and over.

[Blue Velvet]

79. "redouble our efforts", "resiliency" and "ironical"

The first is a fave of politicians (Bill Clinton especially comes to mind), and it just seems redundant to me (personally).

The next two are words that just seem unnecessary and have been legitimized through over(mis)use.

[LanternWaste]

80. "it's like", "you know"

"it's like", "you know". Which have, I think, replaced "uh" as the filler when a brain farts.

"it's like" seems to go into every frikkin' sentence I hear at work. "It's like, I was mad, you know?". "It's like, I had to go to the bathroom, you know?"

I will be introduced to hell by Satan saying, "Dude-- it's like you really mad some poor choices, you know...?"

God on the other hand, speaks grammatically correct Latin and frowns on colloquialisms. :evilgrin:

[leftyladyfrommo]

106. I was listening to a highschool student talk the other day and

she used those two prases and "you know what I mean?" about every other word. It was really disconcerting.

[MadinMo]

81. "Try to be honest", "bring him/her up to speed".

The "Try to be honest" phrase drove my dad nuts. Why wouldn't he be honest and why should he have to TRY? And I can't stand for anyone to bring someone "up to speed". To me it sounds like they think the person was just a little slow.

And anyone who ends their sentences with "so", "I went to the grocery store and saw George, so....."

[Eryemil]

82. When the word 'magic' is used as an advjective

It drives me up the fucking wall. I never found out if it is a valid use of the term of not but I doubt it'd make much difference.

[Marr]

92. Like "magic underwear"?

That's a good point. I never thought about it, but I suppose it would be "magical underwear".

...

That just sounds so... Disney... somehow. "Join Peter Pan on his quest for the Magical Underwear in: Peter Pan and the Magical Underwear".

[Eryemil]

101. What I meant was

like: Harry Potter discovered he was magic.

I've seen it used so many times that I wonder if it can actually be a proper used of the word. It sounds so awkward.

I guess you're example could be considered an extension of this.

[Shrek]

83. "Don't go there"

A topic of conversation is not a travel destination.

:grr:

[ipfilter]

85. "Mute Point" or "Moot Point"

Partly because the first time I heard the phrase was from Rush Limpballs.

[Crankie Avalon]

86. "Jump the shark" nt

[boomerbust]

89. Independent Conservative

Faux name for Republican coward

[Marr]

91. "Folks"

I can't stand that condescending word. I am person. People have some dignity and intelligence. "Folks" sounds like a bunch of 'aw, shucks' shit kickers from the middle of Cant-Readville.

If nothing else, it's just too familiar for politicians (the biggest offenders with that word) to be using. I'd tolerate family members or friends referring to one another as "folks", but some schmuck I don't even know in an expensive suit? I don't think so. Address me like an adult, thank you.

[Sugar Smack]

108. G W Bush on September 11: "We'll bring the *folks* that did this to justice"

:wtf:

Me, I don't much like "folks" in any context, either.

[Jazzgirl]

93. My biggest pet peeve...."at the end of the day".

That term has always pissed me off. The first time I heard it I wondered what the hell it was supposed to mean. It was just a bunch of words strung together contiguously that meant jack to me.

[Le Taz Hot]

94. One more:

"Conversate." ":wtf: The word is "converse.

[lpbk2713]

95. "I'll get back to ya."

Hmmm. Where have I heard that one lately?

[aikoaiko]

96. Truth to Power. As if truth isn't power or power can't be truthful.

I hate that phrase.

[spanone]

97. fox news

[JitterbugPerfume]

99. somebody call a wahhhhhhmbulance

If I see that one more time I will scream.

I do not care that it is not in the dictionary. It is invasive here and it is annoying.

[ProgressiveFool]

102. "In my honest opinion"...

First of all, your opinion is usually not asked for, and second of all, it damn well better be honest.

[Sugar Smack]

103. "competitive solutions" ,"major global players", "high performance"

I can't stand that when I see anything advertised that way.

In the past decade I've noticed a lot of nouns getting "verbed". That gets on my nerves, too. I write whatever schlock comes into my head in a notebook. I don't "journal".

[denem]

105. Family Friendly

[leftyladyfrommo]

109. I hate "awesome" and "absolutely" and

"at the end of the day." I hear those over and over again.

Oh, and "toolbox."

[Release The Hounds]

110. Oh, SNAP

[sixmile]

111. Don't go there!

Oh no you didn't
Using 'dis' instead or 'disrespect'
'Aks' instead of 'ask'

[Liberal_in_LA]

113. "talk to the hand"

[Liberal_in_LA]

112. 'outside the box" as in thinking "outside the box" made popular on "apprentice"

[stuntcat]

120. it surprises me how long that crap's lasted

I hated it the first time I heard it.. that was like NINE years ago. I figured it would sound idiotic to everyone before long but now people are still saying it :mad: If I ever hear anyone say it in person I might snack them.

[imnothere]

115. I was gonna do this; here are mine (and I think it should be phrases that should be banned)

*It is what it is

*Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve

*It's amazing

*anything with the word "dude" in it. Especially grating when addressed to a female!

[Buns_of_Fire]

116. This thread has pretty-much decimated MY conversations for the rest of the year!

It's probably just as well. In social and business situations, I'll have to confine myself to "yes," "no," or drooling from now on. (Which is close to my normal method of communication, anyway.)

Or perhaps I'll take the George Carlin route, where he suggested substituting the word "f**k" for the word "kill" in all those old B-movie Westerns ("Alright, sheriff, we're gonna f**k you now -- but we're gonna f**k ya slooooow...").

This week's substitutions will be for the words "change" and "paradigm." Just warning you.

[tilsammans]

117. Corporatespeak's favorites, like "incent" . . .

. . . as in "The sales team was INCENTED to exceed expectations."

And "spend" as a noun. "Corporate SPEND increased in the events area."

:puke:

[JitterbugPerfume]

118. people who say

piehole

[JackRiddler]

119. I prefer to say: "It's only rocket science..."

Newtonian mechanics and the Calculus are taught to tens of millions of high schoolers around the world. The phrase "it's not rocket science" privileges possessors of this knowledge as though they possess a general intellectual authority in all subjects.

[Winterblues]

122. "What ever"

:shrug:

[LibDemAlways]

123. No one phrase. However, my daughter's 10th grade

English teacher injects "um" at least two or three times into every sentence. The students sit there and keep a running talley. The other day my daughter recorded 137 "ums" in less than a half hour. I listened to the woman for 10 minutes during back to school night, and it was worse than fingers on a chalkboard.

[KansDem]

124. "Go figure"

I don't know why but this phrase just rubs me the wrong way. Like I have to go somewhere else to figure something out...

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

126. Any phrase containing "a real", as in "A real American..", or "A real liberal.."