Words, usages, and phrases that annoy the shit out of you...

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If my dad wants to agree with something you've said, he says "This is true." It really, really gets me annoyed, for no other reason than overuse as far as I can think.

-- caitlin (wpsal...) (webmail), December 23rd, 2003. (caitlin)

Oh yes, yes yes. I second that one. And the people who say it, say it over and over.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:02 (twenty-two years ago)

But Ed, those words have different interpretations in almost every country in which they are used.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I blame the consolidation of global political power and the diminution of class mobility on people who write in the passive voice.

I also have a horror of people who write prolifically in all caps.

― felicity (felicity), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:07 (twenty-two years ago)

"It must say something about ILX that this is the most repeated topic of all time..."

This is true.

But, this is a topic that should be dealt with routinely and harshly... the only way we can correct the language and suppress it's organic growth is by exposing and banning every new usage as it occurs... Isn't that what the French do?

― andy, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Least favorite (mis)usage ever - "ON accident..." it's BY accident you fucking moron!!

Also: 'fridge,' girls who refer to each other as 'girl,' proactive...i'll be back when i think of more....

― roger adultery, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I know, oops, but still it pisses me off.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

The recurrence of this topic is always accompanied by the recurrence of complaint about its recurrence.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 01:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Space. All this crap about needing space. Fuck off, then.

― Roderick the Visigoth. (Jake Proudlock), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 03:19 (twenty-two years ago)

All girls must now refer to one another as "guy"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 03:30 (twenty-two years ago)

ok?

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 03:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Using "Sexy" in a business environment that has nothing to do with sex. As in "this is a very sexy proposal for our company". Well, I guess, if ripping people off is what turns you on.

― BrianB (BrianB), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 05:26 (twenty-two years ago)

'exact same'.

― luna (luna.c), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

"bird" instead of "girl" or "woman". AAAAAARGH.

― Melly E (Melly E), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 21:10 (twenty-two years ago)

When people call each other 'babe' and the completely inappropriate use of the word 'literally'. Also can I add at this point, even if it may not be entirely relevant, the unjustifiable grammatical error in Rachael Stevens' song 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex' : "accuse me of things I never done." And I've listened hard for "I've never done" to try and give her the benefit of the doubt but she doesn't say it.

― barbara wintergreen, Monday, 29 December 2003 18:24 (twenty-two years ago)

"Begging the question" and "chomping at the bit." The first is almost always used incorrectly, and the second should be "champing," Goddamn it.

― Salmon Pink (Salmon Pink), Monday, 29 December 2003 20:18 (twenty-two years ago)

or "bits"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 29 December 2003 20:34 (twenty-two years ago)

'any way shape or form'. Most heard in full-media-glare denials of misdeeds. Used by dodgy sportsmen who have been 'coached' by their minders for the occasion. It immediately strips the first dozen layers of credibility from whatever statement is being made.

'poetic justice'. Used by the lazy to describe all 'justice' the speaker approves of, instead of a particular type. The adjective is rendered meaningless.

Agree re 'bird' for woman/girl, and lament its threatened return. Stinks of 'I'm being un-PC, where's my medal?'. Also the C-person uses it, which kinda ends the argument.

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Monday, 29 December 2003 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

optics

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

also photonic inplace of optic

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:10 (twenty-two years ago)

"the....(insert superlative)...in pop."

― barbara wintergreen, Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:19 (twenty-two years ago)

To return to the top of the thread, I still after 20 odd years gag on 'outreach' as a VERB....

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:46 (twenty-two years ago)

the mightily empty "i could care less" variant on being unable to do the same

― ermes marana, Tuesday, 30 December 2003 01:47 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

People who pronounce the word "presentation" as "PRE-sentation".

― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:29 (twenty years ago)

since i was reading some VICIOUS anti- rachael ray sentiment last night and i'm still feelin' the love: "E.V.O.O. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL"

― s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:32 (twenty years ago)

"YUM-O"

― s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:33 (twenty years ago)

cf.

― gear (gear), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:34 (twenty years ago)

Also: 'fridge,'

Wait, huh? Fridge is the thing you put food in, whats wrong with it?

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 18 August 2005 08:01 (twenty years ago)

Saying "it impacted on me" instead of "it had an impact on me"... well that's annoying enough but, just recently, I've heard people say "it impacted me" - which surely would only make sense if the speaker was a molar?

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 09:10 (twenty years ago)

'fridge,'

I'm picturing him saying things such as "Would you like me to remove another beverage from the refrigerator for you, whilst we watch some association football?"

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:29 (twenty years ago)

bougie, instead of bourgeois. heard it four times last week.

― naus (Robert T), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:38 (twenty years ago)

"Chav"

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:39 (twenty years ago)

bourgie?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:42 (twenty years ago)

"Yes, sir, I am bougie, I am bougie... etc."

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:44 (twenty years ago)

"what the...?"

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:46 (twenty years ago)

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bougie

― naus (Robert T), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:53 (twenty years ago)

"He's on fire"

As used to describe a footballer running into a streak of good form

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:57 (twenty years ago)

chav, prole, "get one...", but most of all commercials selling relatively expensive goods such as electrcal gubbins, fitted kitchens and the like where people say only "one-nine-nine-nine" instead of "nominally under two thousand quid". do you think not actually saying the proper number is fooling me?!!?!!

― stelf)xxx, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:01 (twenty years ago)

"Raft"

When used in phrases like "a raft of policies" or "a raft of new measures" - why?!?!??!!?

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:03 (twenty years ago)

which surely would only make sense if the speaker was a molar?

Or a colon.

COINKY-DINK, "guestimate," and any time someone ends an interrogative sentence with "at," as in "Where's my keys at?" or "Where's your head at?"

― pullapartgirl (pullapartgirl), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:22 (twenty years ago)

"let's unpack that (concept/policy/statement/generalisation)"

"hating on"

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:23 (twenty years ago)

Oh! Oh! This one REALLY annoyed me the other day:

"Action" used as a verb. (Especially with regards to some annoying little thing I had already been doing.) "Can you please action this?" Actually, no I can't. Action is a noun. If you would like me to DO it, then just ask. Argh.

Especially when coming from the same irritating marketing bods who last week asked me to "manage the relationship" with one of our suppliers. Fuck. Right. Off.

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:25 (twenty years ago)

oh i used to have a PA in the cubicle next to me for a while that said 'diarise' as in 'sure, john is free on tuesday morning, i'll diarise it'. aaaaarrrrggghh

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:26 (twenty years ago)

"Boss"

A term of address directed at Turkish shopkeepers by 13 year old boys and directed by Turkish shopkeepers at everyone else. The most annoying ever.

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:27 (twenty years ago)

I'm not your fucking boss!!!!!!!!!!

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:28 (twenty years ago)

"Madam" when used by shop assistants. This kept happening to me yesterday.

DON'T MADAM ME, YOU LITTLE...!!! OK, according to Watching The English, this means that they have socio-status assessed me as middle class or higher. But it irritates me because it makes me feel old.

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

i like most of these. i just like variety. i do hate 'action', 'impact on, etc, though.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

dude, i call people 'boss'.

― g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:35 (twenty years ago)

I don't want you to think that I obsess over it, but "obsessing over something" as opposed to "being obsessed with/about something"

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:38 (twenty years ago)

People saying 'momentarily' when what they mean is 'in a moment'.

'Whilst'

― estela (estela), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:38 (twenty years ago)

oh yeah i fkn hate 'whilst' and 'amongst'.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:39 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 12578 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Damn. All that time teaching W to conjugate verbs was a complete waste.

― einstürzende louboutin (suzy), Monday, 13 July 2026 15:48 (yesterday)

things that my cat is which i remind him of daily:
sweet boy
fluffernutter (he's an orange tabby)
sugar booger
carpetbagger
pumpkin horker (he loves canned pumpkin)
tub o' love
handsome, as a noun. i.e. you're such a handsome.
sassafras
cutie patootie with a big bazootie

― shaking babies (map), Monday, 13 July 2026 15:53 (yesterday)

Re: picky bits. I dont mind people dropping this usually IRL from time to time. It grates when a brand does it

― rameau in the main room (dog latin), Monday, 13 July 2026 15:56 (yesterday)

'picky bits' sounds like 'sensitive ballsack' to me *shrug*

― shaking babies (map), Monday, 13 July 2026 15:59 (yesterday)

picky tea
― kinder, Saturday, December 23, 2017 9:22 AM (eight years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Glad you're all coming round - hoped this would die a death but instead, as you've noted, it's in the bloody supermarkets now.
Just makes me think of scabs

― kinder, Monday, 13 July 2026 16:01 (yesterday)

i call my elderly male cat alternately “big boy” or “little man”, “potato”, “Mister Sir” and various permutations thereof

― Luigi No...No!!! (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 13 July 2026 16:01 (yesterday)

yes, "picky bits" can fuck off, every few months this country tries to gaslight me into thinking that some twee marketing bollocks they just made up is in fact intangible cultural heritage at the core of our national identity.

― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Monday, 13 July 2026 16:12 (yesterday)

My obnoxious cat epithets:

animal
beautiful animal
wee beastie
creature
monkey
white cat
black cat
blue/green/yellow eyes ("owl eyes" for the one whose pupils almost constantly look like she's trippin on acid)
loudmouth
puzzled panther (Germs reference)

― peace, man, Monday, 13 July 2026 16:28 (yesterday)

rat creature (Jeff Smith/Bone reference)

― peace, man, Monday, 13 July 2026 16:28 (yesterday)

pretty sure a colleague from about a decade ago brought their snacks into work in a decorated tub that said "picky bits" on, the sort of thing you get in a card and gift shop

― kinder, Monday, 13 July 2026 18:15 (yesterday)

It’s giving dead skin…

― einstürzende louboutin (suzy), Monday, 13 July 2026 18:17 (yesterday)

Oh I have one of these. … ONE OF WHAT?

I have to believe this was deliberate.

― assert (matttkkkk), Monday, 13 July 2026 18:53 (yesterday)

anonydogs to me are labelled “pup” or “pups.” anonycats and often my just get “cat.”

i just started yesterday as a vol at a local humane society, intending to do both cat and dog work, so i suspect these may change.

there is a cat there who lives in seclusion who was lifted as a juvenile by a raptor and had all the skin from face to neck ripped off to bare flesh. he is loved well loved fixture. he is named “creature.”

― antimaxx factor (Hunt3r), Monday, 13 July 2026 18:55 (yesterday)

“my own”

― antimaxx factor (Hunt3r), Monday, 13 July 2026 18:56 (yesterday)

Lily, Anna replied (her mum is from Montenegro) and says:

Low/mid 30s is pleasant in Montenegro. It's much less humid than here. I'm assuming they're sleeping outdoors?? If they're sleeping up a mountain it will be lovely and cool. If they're down near the water there may be mosquitos. But it should be fine. Is she particularly sensitive to heat? It feels much worse here (London) than there...

― einstürzende louboutin (suzy), Monday, 13 July 2026 19:10 (yesterday)

breweries that now call themselves “fermentaries”

― Luigi No...No!!! (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 13 July 2026 22:44 (yesterday)

new to me

― Andy the Grasshopper, Monday, 13 July 2026 22:50 (yesterday)

seems to be all over Virginia

― Luigi No...No!!! (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 13 July 2026 23:05 (yesterday)

Our dogs, Sally and Pearl sleep in our bed. So I call them “bed rats.”

Sally is a pit bull mix and her most used nickname is Chonkey Donkey.

Pearl is a boston terrier and is sometimes called Granny Panda, but also Shit Biscuit.

― Cow_Art, Tuesday, 14 July 2026 01:01 (eighteen hours ago)

I call my dog "Bobo" at least as often as his given name, Howie

I also sometimes call him "muffinman" for some reason. it just makes sense.

― brimstead, Tuesday, 14 July 2026 04:04 (fourteen hours ago)

Chonkin' on Bobo

― stanes on the knees and blood on the jumber (Tom D.), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 06:34 (twelve hours ago)

I have a ridiculous amount of nicknames for Widget:

Widdy
Wibs (a friendship group of whippets are ‘wibbles’)
Minou/Min-min
One-one
Sweetheart/Sweetie
Baba
Widiot

There are others, but life is short!

― einstürzende louboutin (suzy), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 07:05 (eleven hours ago)

Picky bits is another development in the UK's fetishisation of bad industrial food.

― mahb, Tuesday, 14 July 2026 07:15 (eleven hours ago)

We’ve had a cat for five years who failed to acquire a name due to kids’ factionalism. So everyone calls her something different. Me? “Scrungs”.

― assert (matttkkkk), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 07:31 (eleven hours ago)

Best friend has an Australian doodle whose naming proved so difficult that he became Buster by default.

― einstürzende louboutin (suzy), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 07:35 (eleven hours ago)

well my dog is nicknamed “Picky Bits” so i am offended

― out of the cradle endlessly party rocking (the table is the table), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 11:01 (eight hours ago)

My dog picks his bits, how do you think I feel?

― einstürzende louboutin (suzy), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 11:03 (eight hours ago)

My cats had their bits removed

― marzipandemonium (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 11:36 (seven hours ago)

can anyone Britisher tell me why does Mark Clattenburg say 'picky bits' like that

― . (jamiesummerz), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 12:02 (seven hours ago)

i think i've just about had it with people zhuzhing things up

― Angine de Postecogloutrine (NickB), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 12:48 (six hours ago)

"Snuggles"

― pax ramona (Matt #2), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 16:05 (two hours ago)

or similar

― pax ramona (Matt #2), Tuesday, 14 July 2026 16:05 (two hours ago)

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