Phrases you hate...

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My boss just told me "Let's start thinking outside the box". Don't you hate that kind of stupid, bourgouis businessman talk? "It's a new paradigm" is hated by me as well. Talk amongst yourselves!

― Elly, Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:07 (7 years ago) Permalink

I hate the phrase "don't you hate the phrase". It generally used by banal motherfuckers trying to feel better about they own cacklish.

― THIS IS THE SOUND OF ALTERN 8 !!! (noodle vague), Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:10 (7 years ago) Permalink

don't we already have this thread?

― tehresa (tehresa), Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

we've done this before…

"slippery slope…"
"as it were…"
"if you will…"

― remy (x Jeremy), Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

Elly OTM. What about these:

"let's touch base"
"I hear what you say"

---

PS - Check out Bullshit Bingo.

― Jack L., Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

We've done this, but....

- "Know what I'm sayin'?" -- Tell ya what, if I don't know what you're saying I'LL FUCKING ASK! Until then, let's just assume that I do.

- "Taking things to a whole `nother level" - Why must life now be reduced to a giant game of "Donkey Kong"?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

Reply thusly:
"Anyone who says 'let's think outside the box' is the last person who should be suggesting it. Everyone thinks of 'outside the box' strategies. Being innovative is the new boring. Box mentality is the new alternative. Get with it."

― I AM OTM, Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:14 (7 years ago) Permalink

WHAT ABOUT "OTHER PEOPLE DON'T SPEEK THE INTELLIGENT ORIGINAL ENGLISH LIKE I DO"?

― THIS IS THE SOUND OF ALTERN 8 !!! (noodle vague), Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:15 (7 years ago) Permalink

- I'm not married to it....

- Just triple-checking (never seems to check or double-check, though)

- Would you mind— and if you do, that's totally fine, just tell me, it's 100% perfect if you don't want to— but, could you possibly...

― I AM OTM, Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

I find most of these phrases very useful. We could replace them by mandatory 'I am an idiot' t-shirts, but until these are introduced, people announcing the fact is very helpful.

Going back to the very first one, my boss's boss is also inclined to talk about 'ticks in boxes'. I have tried to use "putting ticks outside of boxes" as if it represents a highly desirable combination of creativity and getting the job done, but no one is really buying it at the moment, presumably because they know me.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Sunday, 20 November 2005 00:49 (7 years ago) Permalink

do a search and you'll come up with a bunch of other "phrases you hate" threads. i've posted most of mine there.

― mimi in st. louis (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 20 November 2005 01:09 (7 years ago) Permalink

"as it were…"
"if you will…"

these two always come up in "phrases you hate" discussions. what's wrong with them?

― mimi in st. louis (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 20 November 2005 01:10 (7 years ago) Permalink

they're wrong-sounding and pretentious-sounding, but they both mean something specific and serve their purpose pretty well.

― mimi in st. louis (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 20 November 2005 01:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

is this the most popular topic on ilx ever? it's hilarious that we haven't just done this before. we're doing it on another thread, like, now.

― Kim (Kim), Sunday, 20 November 2005 01:30 (7 years ago) Permalink

What's weird is it says "after the sex" comes a golden shower, so do they have sex with all the clothes on or do the womens get fully nude, fully fucked, and then fully dressed before they are fully pissed on? Because I think it would suck to pay to watch people fuck with their clothes on just so I could see them get pissed on at the end.

― What a pisser, Sunday, 20 November 2005 01:43 (7 years ago) Permalink

you hate the phrase "after the sex"?

― tehresa (tehresa), Sunday, 20 November 2005 01:45 (7 years ago) Permalink

you hate the phrase "after the sex"?

pretty much

― What a pisser!, Sunday, 20 November 2005 01:47 (7 years ago) Permalink

i take it you're not a cuddler?

― tehresa (tehresa), Sunday, 20 November 2005 01:47 (7 years ago) Permalink

"let's just cuddle"

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Sunday, 20 November 2005 02:07 (7 years ago) Permalink

"It's all good" - AAAARRGGH!
"You know how that goes" - either tell me or don't.

This one isn't a phrase but it confuses me:
"Excuse me" being used by people walking in your general direction who aren't going to crash into you & you're really not posing any kind of obstacle to them going on their merry way, which leads me to assume it's an attention-getting device, as in "Hi I'm walking past you now, saw you weren't really noticing me, don't freak out at my proximity to you". Very weird, uniquely American convention that I haven't quite grasped yet.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Sunday, 20 November 2005 03:01 (7 years ago) Permalink

http://travel.mainetoday.com/fromaway/blog/003815.html

― Mike Hanle y 3000 (hanle y 3000), Sunday, 20 November 2005 05:38 (7 years ago) Permalink

describing things as "american"

― mimi in st. louis (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 20 November 2005 05:43 (7 years ago) Permalink

xpost I always assumed that was some sort of leftover excessive politeness from Britain rather than a uniquely American thing.

― Abbadabba Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 20 November 2005 05:43 (7 years ago) Permalink

I wish life was a giant game of Donkey Kong.

― The Yellow Kid, Sunday, 20 November 2005 07:09 (7 years ago) Permalink

There's no expression I hate more than "Gotta love it!" or "Gotta love ____!"

― Abbadabba Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 20 November 2005 07:25 (7 years ago) Permalink

People saying "That's what I'm talking about!!" when in fact they have not been talking about anything, or even if they have.

― Chinchilla Volapük (Captain Sleep), Sunday, 20 November 2005 08:20 (7 years ago) Permalink

"Whoa, settle down now...hehe" said by guys who think they're being funny, to people who aren't anywhere near being wild and crazy. eff off, boring guy in bad shirt.

― rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Sunday, 20 November 2005 08:29 (7 years ago) Permalink

it just. doesn't get. any better than THIS.

― mimi in st. louis (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 20 November 2005 08:36 (7 years ago) Permalink

I hate dorks and dorkettes who can't utter the word NO less than three times at once. That gattling gun, "NO-No-NA-NO!" is frigging stupid, irritating and worthy of a severe BITCH SLAPPING!

― BOHICA KAMAREK (BOHICA), Sunday, 20 November 2005 13:08 (7 years ago) Permalink

american???

― RJG (RJG), Sunday, 20 November 2005 13:22 (7 years ago) Permalink

hey IT IS WHAT IT IS so make sure WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE

― harvey d grace, Sunday, 20 November 2005 13:31 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yeah, Baby!
Make sure we are all on the same page of music!
Make sure you are on point with this one.
I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you.
Show me the money!
I'll have to check with the manager.

― BOHICA KAMAREK (BOHICA), Sunday, 20 November 2005 14:22 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yes, I don't know what this says about ILE. Actually I do.

Words, usages, and phrases that annoy the shit out of you...
Things you're sick of hearing: Single words, cliches, and tired phrases. Don't read if you hate pedantry.
Commonly used phrases that inexplicably bug you
Most irritating cliche/phrase/expression
Four Words: Use Other Words Please
"Taking Things to a Whole `Nother Level!"
Use other phrases please
Banal phrases that pepper everyday office conversation - report them here

― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 20 November 2005 15:55 (7 years ago) Permalink

I like the idea of office conversation being "peppered with banality"

― Abbadabba Berman (Hurting), Sunday, 20 November 2005 15:58 (7 years ago) Permalink

What we need is a annoying-phrase thread anthologizer.
Let's PUSH THE ENVELOPE on message-board organization.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Sunday, 20 November 2005 16:13 (7 years ago) Permalink

'ARE YOU FEELING ME?' lets hope not.

alba, youre everyones fact checkin' cuz

― sunny successor (he hates my guts, we had a fight) (katharine), Sunday, 20 November 2005 16:26 (7 years ago) Permalink

Sorry, I was aggressively drunk last night. Still, there's a good reason office conversations are "peppered with banality". It's to stop everybody remembering that they are pissing the precious gift of life away in mundane and pointless company for a mundane and pointless company.

― THIS IS THE SOUND OF ALTERN 8 !!! (noodle vague), Sunday, 20 November 2005 16:27 (7 years ago) Permalink

Yes, I don't know what this says about ILE. Actually I do

Repeating the past isn't necessarily bad... especially if there is no past for a newcomer.
Is this a semi-private board of stuffy folks bent on wanking off only in the company of fellow stuffy board members or what?

― BOHICA KAMAREK (BOHICA), Sunday, 20 November 2005 17:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

The idea is that you use the existing thread, Bohica, rather than multiply unnecessary ones. It's not a "we've done this" thang. Also, the point was that there are too many GRANMA PEDANTS on ILXor.

― THIS IS THE SOUND OF ALTERN 8 !!! (noodle vague), Sunday, 20 November 2005 17:30 (7 years ago) Permalink

The idea is that you use the existing thread, Bohica, rather than multiply unnecessary ones.

Yes. Precisely! For example, if you were burning to discuss bicameral vs. unicameral legislative bodies, there is already a thread for doing exactly that. Why start any more?

― Aimless (Aimless), Sunday, 20 November 2005 18:39 (7 years ago) Permalink

this thread is TO DIE FOR!

― tres letraj (tehresa), Sunday, 20 November 2005 19:09 (7 years ago) Permalink

There should be a special EXELSIOR thread for pasting in posts where people are admonished for not using Search.
Don't forget the amazing boringness of the time spent waiting for the search function to cough up threads. So much easier to start a new one and then wait for ilxors with faster internet connections to cough them up. It's like fishing!

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Sunday, 20 November 2005 19:51 (7 years ago) Permalink

EXCELSIOR. Pardon.

― Beth Parker (Beth Parker), Sunday, 20 November 2005 19:52 (7 years ago) Permalink

Thread title search, under "Advanced Search", is very quick, if you can guess words or phrases that might be in the title.

The slowness of full-text searches isn't anything to do with your internet connection speed, btw.

― Alba (Alba), Sunday, 20 November 2005 21:02 (7 years ago) Permalink

1. There are those that propose a board of SHOULD's and SHOULD'VE's? I guess the more rules the better, right?

2. The best thing to do when a string is redundant is to jump right in and announce the fact you have identified it as redundant instead of ignoring it, right?

3. After a three hour recovery period I am perfectly sober again.

4. Boo!

― BOHICA KAMAREK (BOHICA), Sunday, 20 November 2005 22:18 (7 years ago) Permalink

shut up and post phrases

― sunny successor (he hates my guts, we had a fight) (katharine), Sunday, 20 November 2005 22:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

"I'm totally hating on her!"

This sends me into fucking orbit for some reason.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 21 November 2005 03:12 (7 years ago) Permalink

I really hate those 'Magick Happens' bumper stickers.

― estela (estela), Monday, 21 November 2005 03:25 (7 years ago) Permalink

"Here goes nothing"— What does it mean? It's normally said when somebody is about to take a chance and do something risky or bold. In that case, they would be giving it nothing, they'd be giving it something!

"He's burning both ends of the same candle"— I don't know what I hate about it, I just do.

"They're just talking" as a euphemism for two people not in a relationship fooling around up to but not including sex. I actually preferred "being with each other," back when that was the thing to say.

Also, in a previous phrases-you-hate thread I mentioned hating "Can I get..." when asking for something. The only time it should be used is by a Southern Baptist preacher asking for an Amen.

― naus (Robert T), Monday, 21 November 2005 07:24 (7 years ago) Permalink

then how will Marvin get a witness?

― estela (estela), Monday, 21 November 2005 07:28 (7 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 239 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

yeah there will be no sexing up of foodstuffs plz

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 27 June 2012 18:57 (10 months ago) Permalink

the bacon fat is already gross enough even without being "sexed up"

― Lee626, Wednesday, 27 June 2012 21:36 (10 months ago) Permalink

Massively overused joke construct, particularly on Twitter:

"That awkward moment when [X...]"

― andrew m., Thursday, 28 June 2012 16:45 (10 months ago) Permalink

yes

― Peppermint Patty Hearst (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 28 June 2012 17:28 (10 months ago) Permalink

Mostly from other message boards:

"Am I the only one who..?/I am the only one who..."

"I am a bad person/going to Hell for saying this but..."

― MrDasher, Thursday, 28 June 2012 17:52 (10 months ago) Permalink

"Am I the only one who..?/I am the only one who..."

it seems like this is usually shorthand for "I have a slightly unpopular opinion, and only about 25% of you are gonna agree with me on this, but...[I think Isn't Anything is better than Loveless]." it doesn't annoy me much, but it's kind of a misleading conversation starter.

ilx search pulls up 60+ thread titles with the words "am I the only", so you're being tactful with your "other message boards" comment.

― starfish succulents (unregistered), Saturday, 30 June 2012 02:57 (10 months ago) Permalink

am i the only person who likes cold soup straight from the can?

ok so he really was the only one, what the fuck

― starfish succulents (unregistered), Saturday, 30 June 2012 03:08 (10 months ago) Permalink

"I'm looking at you"

― coal, Saturday, 30 June 2012 05:04 (10 months ago) Permalink

Actually I never really noticed or was bothered by that on here!

It has stood out elsewhere on the internet because of the stupidity and mundaneness of what follows...people who says things like "Am I the only one who didn't like the movie Avatar?" "Am I the only woman who doesn't care about shoes?" etc. But I suppose expressing such false ideas of uniqueness are annoying regardless of how they are phrased.

― MrDasher, Saturday, 30 June 2012 05:06 (10 months ago) Permalink

Calling things or processes "sexy" in corporate speak really annoys me. Seems to happen more and more.

This was pervasive in my office around 2008. The most frequent users always sort of hesitated a bit right before and after saying it, like they felt transgressive or something.

"Sustainability is a really..." should i say it? "...sexy..." I said it! I said it! What did you think? "fundraising topic this year..."

― goat news for people who love boat news (how's life), Saturday, 30 June 2012 16:03 (10 months ago) Permalink

"you gotta love ____"

invariably said about something or someone i don't even like

― (REAL NAME) (m coleman), Saturday, 30 June 2012 16:13 (10 months ago) Permalink

"no-brainer"

invariably said about an issue or decision that requires thought

― (REAL NAME) (m coleman), Saturday, 30 June 2012 16:15 (10 months ago) Permalink

"full of [cheesy/bacony/caramelized/multi-processor/etc] goodness"

― funny-skrillex-bee_132455836669.gif (s1ocki), Saturday, 30 June 2012 16:29 (10 months ago) Permalink

"Good point, well made"

― owenf, Saturday, 30 June 2012 17:26 (10 months ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

I don't normally have these feeling about phrases, but "massage the data" is something I never need to hear again.

massage (v, t) -- to manipulate? to examine? to adjust? to squeeze? to grope? to what?! i hate this usage of the word "massage."

― nicest bitch of poster (La Lechera), Friday, 20 July 2012 13:46 (10 months ago) Permalink

manipulate (gently)

― Je55e, Friday, 20 July 2012 20:26 (10 months ago) Permalink

"massage the facts" is used a lot in law settings -- it has a winky euphemistic connotation that I don't really mind.

― Will Chave (Hurting 2), Friday, 20 July 2012 20:28 (10 months ago) Permalink

"legendary x" used any time more than five people have heard of someone, as in "legendary jazz tubraphonist billy eames comes to the blue hat this saturday." I mean "legendary" doesn't just mean "famous" and a lot of the people described that way aren't even famous.

― Will Chave (Hurting 2), Friday, 20 July 2012 20:33 (10 months ago) Permalink

I avoid it too. I sometimes use "finesse" in places that some might use some form of "massage."

xp re "massage"

― Je55e, Friday, 20 July 2012 20:36 (10 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

"It's almost... as if..."

Stop it now ILX.

― This Is... The Police (dog latin), Friday, 31 August 2012 14:11 (8 months ago) Permalink

It's almost as if you got zinged on another thread.

― Know how Roo feel (LocalGarda), Friday, 31 August 2012 14:14 (8 months ago) Permalink

zinged by you restating exactly what i'd just said but not understanding it and then repeating it back to me in a snarky way? yup...

― This Is... The Police (dog latin), Friday, 31 August 2012 14:21 (8 months ago) Permalink

"the answer depends on who you ask"

No it doesn't! You're just using that as cover for the fact that you can't distinguish a correct answer from an incorrect one.

― look at this quarterstaff (Hurting 2), Friday, 14 September 2012 05:24 (8 months ago) Permalink

"I come bearing gifts"

especially when it's used ironically and the "gift" is something really really unpleasant. "I come bearing gifts!" *drops a huge stack of papers on desk* / *shits on desk* / *shoots u in face*

― crütis what we aim for (unregistered), Friday, 14 September 2012 13:34 (8 months ago) Permalink

"if you could..." statements that trail off without a consequence. "if you could take out the trash before you leave..." I guess the implied second half of the sentence is, "I'd really appreciate it," but why not just say so?

― crütis what we aim for (unregistered), Friday, 14 September 2012 13:40 (8 months ago) Permalink

hate it when people say "because of, or perhaps in spite of..." when they mean either "because of" or "in spite of", but certainly not both.

― crütis what we aim for (unregistered), Friday, 14 September 2012 13:41 (8 months ago) Permalink

(er, "in spite of, or perhaps because of...", I mean)

― crütis what we aim for (unregistered), Friday, 14 September 2012 13:52 (8 months ago) Permalink

"doesn't pass the smell test"

Again through overuse.

― Träumerei, Friday, 14 September 2012 16:19 (8 months ago) Permalink

"the next level"

― purveyor of generations (in orbit), Friday, 14 September 2012 16:20 (8 months ago) Permalink

2 weeks pass...

I've noticed an increasing trend in customer service -- specifically in line situations -- for service people to say "May I please help the following customer?"

That just can't be right. "The following customer" implies that you're about to specify which customer you mean. It's not the same thing as "the next customer," is it?

― has important things to say about gangnam style (Hurting 2), Friday, 28 September 2012 23:09 (7 months ago) Permalink

Huh. Haven't heard that yet. Back when I was in retail, it used to bug me when my coworkers would say "Can I help who's next?"

― die face down in some dude's pool (how's life), Friday, 28 September 2012 23:24 (7 months ago) Permalink

"No, Pete Townsend really had a good handle on that one..."

― die face down in some dude's pool (how's life), Friday, 28 September 2012 23:25 (7 months ago) Permalink

Can I help who's next?

― Plasmon, Friday, 28 September 2012 23:26 (7 months ago) Permalink

it was an interesting post to read at 4:40 in the morning - the perfect time to read language log I find - but when I hear that phrase I just assume a speedy fusing of two separate sentences: "Can I help?" and "Who's next?"

― Fizzles, Saturday, 29 September 2012 03:48 (7 months ago) Permalink

Your call will be answered in the order it was received.

― mick signals, Saturday, 29 September 2012 04:18 (7 months ago) Permalink

doing more with less

― Thanks WEBSITE!! (Z S), Thursday, 4 October 2012 21:51 (7 months ago) Permalink

...in this time of economic uncertainty...

― Thanks WEBSITE!! (Z S), Thursday, 4 October 2012 21:52 (7 months ago) Permalink

"moving forward"
"touch base"
"killed/killing/kill it"

― Loo Reading (Capitaine Jay Vee), Thursday, 4 October 2012 22:11 (7 months ago) Permalink

This is more of a pet peeve-y thing but adding only "So" before a word as a response and ... nothing more.

"That movie was great!"
"So good."

"Did you watch the debates?"
"So boring."

I don't know why this irks me but it does.

― Loo Reading (Capitaine Jay Vee), Thursday, 4 October 2012 22:15 (7 months ago) Permalink

adding "kind of thing" to the end of rambling sentences

― Thanks WEBSITE!! (Z S), Thursday, 4 October 2012 22:16 (7 months ago) Permalink

"Like us on facebook" FUCK YOU DON'T COMMAND ME WHAT TO LIKE

― Faster than food (Myonga Vön Bontee), Thursday, 4 October 2012 22:35 (7 months ago) Permalink

― Fizzles, Friday, September 28, 2012 11:48 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think it's just an unfancy way of saying "I shall now assist whosoever may be the forthcoming person in the line"

― has important things to say about gangnam style (Hurting 2), Thursday, 4 October 2012 22:43 (7 months ago) Permalink

i see "...and whatnot" everywhere now. i read it all the time. even in stuff by really smart people.

― scott seward, Thursday, 4 October 2012 23:03 (7 months ago) Permalink

i used it in my youtube videos as a gag, but ever since i started doing them i hear/see it all the time. you know, any list of things followed by "and whatnot".

― scott seward, Thursday, 4 October 2012 23:05 (7 months ago) Permalink

i like using 'and whatnot'!
much better than swearing like a sailor.

― Philip Nunez, Thursday, 4 October 2012 23:11 (7 months ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

another sports one (basketball): "Icewater in his veins!" because to me that evokes a dude who would be shivery and uncomfortable, not cool under pressure.

― drunk 'n' white's elements of style (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 02:46 (5 months ago) Permalink

has their been any hatred for "could care less" yet? that one makes me cringe, like i have icewater in my veins.

― sadkdsajkldaskjdsajklasdkl (Pat Finn), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 05:43 (5 months ago) Permalink

In the 7th grade, the coach told me I had icewater in my veins after I hit two clutch free throws against St. Bavo. Presumably the icewater would absorb the excess heat caused by the stressful situation. Perhaps the equilibrium would be a stable 98.6. Use your imagination.

― toy_sleigher (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 05:51 (5 months ago) Permalink

it sounds painful though

― drunk 'n' white's elements of style (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 12 December 2012 06:03 (5 months ago) Permalink

"I'm just spitballing here but..."

Said often by dudes in office meetings and it's usually followed by a terrible idea.

― LIKE If you are against racism (omar little), Thursday, 13 December 2012 03:20 (5 months ago) Permalink

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