Posted on 05/29/2007 2:17:17 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
Readers have responded in their thousands to The Daily Telegraph's call to select the worst phrases in the English language.
Since our invitation was issued in February, more than 3,000 of you have submitted personal inventories of the damned, containing the phrases, aphorisms and clichés that irritate the most.
High on the list of grievances was the increasing use of slang, poor grammar and the incorporation of Americanisms into everyday speech.
Many of you shared frustrations over the misuse of "forensic" and "literally", while management jargon such as "downsizing", "brainstorming" and "thinking outside the box" also received plenty of nominations.
The Daily Telegraph has responded with its own compilation of annoying phrases, and She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook is now available on Amazon.
Here is a selection of your comments so far:
"It's not rocket science". Rocketry is engineering, not a science. - Tony
The phrase "up close and personal" was irritating to start with and has become hackneyed and meaningless e.g. I went on a river trip and was thrilled to get up close and personal with a crocodile - Margot Lang
I can't stand "to die for". Nothing's that good and even if it was, you'd be dead and wouldn't be able to enjoy whatever it was. - Vivsy
"Pushing the envelope" always conjures up for me some ridiculous scene in a mailing room or post office. - Nigel Brown
Why, when someone famous dies, do tributes always "pour" in? Also, when a plane crashes in the sea, the media is quick to remind us that the waters are always "shark-infested". - S.Winrad
Only £1,999.99. - P.H.Heilbron
"This door is alarmed". Is it really frightened? - Alan Lawrence
The infuriating rising inflections at the end of sentences that make everything sound like a question? - Steve Grant
I hate being addressed as "hallo there". My name is not "there". And why have all the cookery books and frying pans disappeared? What is a "cook" book and a "fry" pan? - Susan Byers
When the waitress plonks the plate in front of you and says, "there you go". Where do I go? Where's there? - Ken Clarke
"It will be in the last place you look". Well of course I'm not going to continue to look for it when I have found it. - Tom Batt
“Not a problem.”
Between is used with two items, among is three or more.
(Can I get an Amen?)
Surely you jest.
No, I am not calling you Shirley.
I tell you what.
If you are from Texas, THAT is a complete sentence.
"That said"-- Yeah, you said it; I just heard you. What happened to however?
.
Actually, we say "I think we oughta"
I hear especially from authorities being interviewed. Maybe they are trying to sound formal.
That one always gets me too. I also despise "have your cake and eat it too".
A good reply is, "the ceiling", or, "the sky".
.
Kinda like saying "You and I" when we
oughta be saying "You and me".
This is slightly off topic but I hear a definite shift going on in how the soft j as in just or ginger is being pronounced. It seems to be moving forward in the mouth so that it comes our dzust and dzinger. Anyone else hearing that?
LOL!!
.
"Ever thing" that ain't down!
This is rife in the education bureaucracy. I recently interviewed an educrat about a new charter school starting up in our area.
She went on and on about "learners". Finally I told her, " Learner is not a word. Go look it up in the dictionary; its not there."
What is wrong with using the word student ?
‘disrespect’ and its derivatives.
Drives me nuts.
An offshoot of the ‘self-esteem’ BS.
The fleeting quality of time means that by the time you say “At this time” it is already another time.
Ouch!
Work is the worst for this stuff. My personal peeves are "touch base" and "24/7."
If I'm feeling nasty, I say, "The sky. I'm surprised you haven't noticed."
Then I wonder why no one wants to talk to me !
Overused and generally untrue.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.