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
When I say, “Thank you, and told, “That’s okay.” That is a pet peeve.
“That’s okay” is never an appropriate or correct response to “Thank you.” The correct response is, “You’re welcome.” Or, “You’re very welcome,” or “quite welcome,” or, “It’s my pleasure.”
But not, “That’s okay.” Unless you want to sound like a 15-year-old.
“Look Outside Of The Box”
Using the pronoun “I” where “me” is appropriate.
“He sent an email to Joe and I”. It should read “... to Joe and me.”
Google Juice
Wow Factor
Negotiated
Think Outside the Box
Optimization
Customer Facing Performance
Knowledge Transfer
Game Plan
Real-Time
Customer Oriented
Win-win
Tailwind[s]
Off the Shelf
Bottom up
Workshop
On The Same Page
Go Public
Team Building
Monetize
Heads up
Reach out
Benchmark
Braindump
I could go on and on with this.
How about spelling / usage? (Your / you're)
“Something bigger than yourself”
Including that Bingo game in a movie sequence could be very funny if it were done so the audience understood what was happening and the right character was playing the game / standing up and shouting.
“I could care less” when they really mean “I couldn’t care less.”
~~~~~~~~
Not to mention, “supposablee” for supposedly
and....”irregardless” a joint mangling of irrespective and regardless
Paradigm shift.
“refer back to”
Utilize instead of use.
“prolly” as a substitute for “probably”
“In my past experience ... .”
Yech!
surge
Okay, so what does “yitbos” mean?
“You know” inserted liberally in conversation (It’s a disease).
> When I say, “Thank you, and told, “That’s okay.” That is a pet peeve.
I first encountered this when I emigrated to New Zealand. In Canada, “you’re welcome” was the only correct and polite response to “thankyou” and was always expected. “That’s alright” or “that’s ok” would have been the correct response to “excuse me” or “I’m sorry”.
It felt really weird expressing gratitude and getting a resonse for having done something wrong...
Even today, 14 years on, it still grates!
It’s = it is It’s a girl!
Its = It possesses something (used in the same way one would use “his” or “hers”) This is its final exposure to warm air.
Let’s = let us
Lets = real estate term; also, a verb: Jane lets us work here.
There is a very annoying trend among the young whereby the speaker almost spits out the last letter of any word ending in “t”.
“What” has become “wha-tihhhh”
You hear this constantly on any youth-targeted TV show.
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