"AT THE END OF THE DAY" named most irritating cliche

Associated Press ^ | 3/24/2004

[sinkspur]

LONDON - At the end of the day, it's the most irritating cliche in the English language.

So says the Plain English Campaign which said the abused and overused phrase was first in a poll of most annoying cliches.

Second place went to "at this moment in time," and third to the constant use of "like," as if it were a form of punctuation. "With all due respect" came fourth.

"When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message -- assuming there is one," said Plain English Campaign spokesman John Lister.

"Using these terms in daily business is about as professional as wearing a novelty tie or having a wacky ring-tone on your phone."

Lister said people should follow the 1946 advice of writer George Orwell: "Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print."

The Plain English Campaign, which offers annual awards for good use of the language, surveyed its 5,000 supporters in more than 70 countries for the poll.

Other terms that received multiple nominations included: 24/7; absolutely; address the issue; around (in place of about); awesome; ballpark figure; basically; basis ("on a weekly basis" in place of "weekly" and so on); bear with me; between a rock and a hard place; bottom line; crack troops; glass half full (or half empty); I hear what you're saying; in terms of; it's not rocket science; literally; move the goal-posts; ongoing; prioritize; pushing the envelope; singing from the same hymn sheet; the fact of the matter is; thinking outside the box; to be honest/to be honest with you/to be perfectly honest and touch base.

Formed in 1979, the Plain English Campaign is an independent group that campaigns against cliches, jargon and obfuscation, particularly in official and public documents.

[untenured]

I'm no expert, but a lot of these appear to be American contributions.

[EggsAckley]

I've heard Hannity use "at the end of the day" over and over again in the same story. Waaaaay over-used!

[danneskjold]

"you know what I'm saying?..."

very annoying...

[secret garden]

Let's not rush to judgement.

[ISonnet]

I have to agree with the survey. I've always wanted to hear someone ask "and what about the next day?" in response to that hackneyed phrase.

[Gaetano]

New Jersey slime-ball Governor Jim McGreevey is the worst offender of "at the end of the day."

[Alberta's Child]

I vote for "to tell you the truth" as the most annoying cliche.

As is someone isn't telling the truth unless they preface their remark with the phrase, "To tell you the truth . . ."

LOL.

[sinkspur]

John Kasich and Joe Kennedy use "at the end of the day" in every other sentence. It's lazy and annoying.

[Old Sarge]

I nominate, "Preshiadit!" "Hi-how-are-you" (especially with no eye contact), "Fine-and-you?" (especially with no eye contact), and "Have-a-nice-day" (same deal).

[Petronski]

Become very suspicious whenever someone says "the fact of the matter is..."

[dead]

I really want to hear what "The American People" think about this.

[Monty22]

I literally use these words, basically all the time. It's not rocket science.

[babaloo]

I vote for "Let's step back and take a deep breath" for the Top 10.

[stainlessbanner]

Runner up: "Think Outside the Box"

[Old Sarge]

New Jersey slime-ball Governor Jim McGreevey is the worst offender of "at the end of the day."

Naw, gotcha beat - Terry McAuliffe. Rush played an interview where he counted the occurences. Seventeen times in one interview.

[Mamzelle]

Nothing maddens like teeno-babble..."and I was like...and she was, like, whatever...and they were, like..."

I'm like, "like" is the most annoying cliche.

[spodefly]

"It's a no-brainer."

Whenever I hear someone say that, I want to kill them.

[Utah Binger]

"Having said that", "That said", Aaaaaaarggggggghhhhh

[al_c]

At the end of the day, it's the most irritating cliche in the English language.

I agree! I once worked with a gal from across the pond and this was one of her favorites, right along with "Brilliant!" and "Gorgeous!" I got tired of hearing it. Through a strange turn of events, this lady is now my wife's Mary Kay director and, yep ... she's still using the same old catch phrases.