Are there any phrases or expressions that really annoy you?
What do you find annoying in speech?
I’m not keen on superfluous comments such as “at the end of the day” or “do you know what I mean”. Or pseudo-psychological expressions, like “closure”.
What irritates you?
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(NSFW) Well met, and “how are you doing?” When they really don’t care about how you are doing… I used to answer that question literally with something like “I have diarrhea. ” , or “I am bored. ”
Nothing really annoys me, but it’s irritating when people say “junk” when referring to male genitalia & also “i’m sorry for your loss” kind of grates.
I dislike the expression “all but” as in: “Common decency has all but disappeared.” Why not just say ”...almost disappeared”?
I can tolerate it if it’s spelled “all butt” as in: “J Lo is all butt”. That usage makes sense to me.
When people say ‘it is what it is’ or ‘these days, ......’ I hate the first because it smacks of passivity and upholding the status quo and the latter because there is no such thing.
@LuckyGuy haha man she is “all butt” huh? Was the whole rumor about her having butt reduction true. I’ve heard it was scary big before she got super famous.
Anyways, growing up as this generations teenagers I frequently had to hear the terms Yolo and swag to justify people acting like total morons. Its finally died down only to bring a storm of twerking and instagram. And now that these have lessened I fear for what my future holds…
Whatever; I don’t care.
I work with one manager, a competent and generally very likable guy in many ways, but he is a big guy and forceful, and he speaks that way, too (and kind of loudly), who always punctuates his statements with a belligerent-seeming “Know what I mean?” (as you noted in your question). I often want to tell him that speaking that way, and as frequently and as not-even-waiting-for-your-response as he does, makes him come off as kind of a bully – which he is not. Highly annoying.
We also have an even more likable guy in the area (not in our group, thank the pasta), who has to speak to everyone he greets at least three times. Passing him in the hallway on the way to or from the men’s room (if I can’t avoid him), I’ll get, “Hey CWOTUS. How’re ya’ doin’? Didja have a nice weekend?” and sometimes (if the weather’s particularly nice or nasty – and this being New England it’s usually one or the other), “Oh, some weather we’re having, isn’t it?”
Every single day, and sometimes three times in the day. It. Drives. Me. Up. A. Wall.
“Or/And whatnot.”
Any sentence that begins with, “Actually,...”
“That’s so gay.”
These two bug me the most:
“I could care less.” – People think this means they don’t care when it actually suggests they do. I don’t mind when people say it correctly. That is, “I couldn’t care less.”
“Same difference.” – This is just stupid. How is this the same as “same thing?” It makes no sense.
A whole nother
It’s like driving a golf pencil into my eardrums.
I really cringe whenever I the the word “So” unnecessarily precedes a sentence in speech or writing, as in “So I’m trying to call about an order…”
“Basically, ”
Ugh! That word really doesn’t mean anything, and adds no value to a sentence.
Correcting typo..
I really cringe whenever I see or hear the word “So” unnecessarily used to start a sentence in speech or writing, as in “So I’m trying to call about an order…”
Like as in – ” I was like going to the store when like these two guys came up. I was like terrified….”
‘shower, shit, and shave’ oh thank god I never hear that anymore a dealkiller for sure.
@trailsillustrated It’s “shit, shower, and shave.” Surely one would opt to defecate before washing themselves rather than after.
“No Problem” spoken by clerks and waitstaff. I should think that my simple request for some ketchup, a clean spoon, or my check would not be a problem.
The term “transparency” used by high up muckity muck supervisors and/or politicians. When they use that term, I know they are hiding something.
“I’m going to put you on hold” which is where I was put for approximately 35 minutes this afternoon when attempting to straighten out a problem with a service provider. The second time I was put on hold, was at my own request, as I could not, after about 10 attempts of the representative repeating her statements, understand a word she was saying. She spoke with a very heavy accent (I’m guessing Mumbai) and it sounded like she was standing on an airport tarmac with wind and planes taking off.
“I need a pin number to complete this transaction.” No you don’t! You mailed me the special promotional card and it does not have a pin number on it, only a promotional code! I realize that the cards that you purchase from the store have a pin number printed on them, but this card was not purchased at the store, you sent it to me in the mail with a PROMO CODE number on it. I am trying to give you my credit card number so that I may USE THE PROMO CODE CARD THAT YOU MAILED TO ME! No, that is not my zip code. You have the wrong zip code. I just gave you the correct zip code, you need to change that in your files. I know that you think my zip code is something else, but I assure you, Madame, that that zip code does not exist in this county, it is incorrect. The correct zip code is on all of the billing information that you have sent to me in the past 10 years, including on the package with the card with the PROMO CODE that I am trying to use. Then she said, “May I put you on hold?” Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!
What ever floats your boat. I believe this is an insult.
Oh, you just reminded me of one, @Kardamom:
PIN number.
It’s a “PIN” for “Personal Identification Number”. It’s not a Personal Identification Number number.
Don’t worry; I won’t hold it against you.
@YARNLADY Do you think “to each his own” is an insult, as it’s really the same thing? Just curious.
I accept your acceptance, @Kardamom.
I’ll mention another one that I see on more and more websites featuring “teaser” links that promise much and deliver little (or try to sell something that you didn’t want in the first place):
“This one weird trick…” Oh, how I hate that phrase now.
“This one weird trick of a flat belly.”
“This one weird trick for buying car insurance.”
You’ve probably seen your own pet peeve links worded that way.
@livelaughlove21 I see a slight semantic difference. To each his own implies more of an openness and the other is often spoken in a derisive tone.
It probably depends on the context.
“I listen to everything.”
“Rap/Metal/Punk/Country/etc is not real music!”
“Today’s music sucks!”
“I’ve never seen The Wire.”
“You should read [some plebian book like Harry Potter]”
“You know what I mean?” as an interjectory phrase – or the shortened, “ya know?”
I use them occasionally, but some people use them in every-other sentence.
@Pachyderm_In_The_Room – Starting a sentence with“So,” grates my nerves when I’m listening to radio interviews! When did that start?
What is for lunch? “Shit with sugar”.
Every time I hear it, I taste it. It is like a bitter-sweet fudge that has been dropped in sand. It gets in the gaps in your teeth and sticks to the roof of your mouth.
Also “Paranoia”, bur not in English, in Spanish, and not used to mean the mental condition of being paranoid, but rather the slang version meaning weird or strange or mind bending or trippy. That is not what paranoia means.
The “n” word being used freely and carelessly
On Plenty of Fish and other “internet dating” websites (and now that I think of it, I’m none too fond of the phrase “internet dating” itself):
“I love to laugh.” Oh, spare me the insipidity of that statement about oneself. Really. “I love to laugh.” There’s a revelation! Nothing like baring one’s soul and admitting to a controversial love of laughter. I’d prefer – maybe – an honest “I love to pull single wings from flies and watch them spin afterward.” That’s something to say, at least.
Laugh if you must, but only if you like to.
“Your call is important to us.” Yeah, right.
^^ I heard that statement about 500 times while I was on hold today.
“Um”
“Like”
“Back in the day”
“Whatever”
I hate it when people say “knock on wood” and then they knock on wood…
I also hate it when people say “For all intensive purposes” instead of “all intents and purposes”
Oh I forgot about “the N word.” No, not the actual word, but the expression itself.
“I know, right?” uggggg are we in junior high?
I agree with “It is what it is”....yeh that feels dismissive
Also agree with “at the end of the day” I want to finish it with “you’re another day older” from the song “At the end of the day” from Les Miserables
I’ve also noticed some people saying “n-n-n-n-no” and “y-y-y-y-yeah” – it’s difficult to type it out, and they say it very quickly. I’m not sure I understand why they feel that the extra syllables are necessary.
@CWOTUS People saying PIN number drives my fiancé apeshit. Same goes for ATM machine and VIN number. lol
There really aren’t any phrases that bother me. I’m sitting here trying to think of something, I’m coming up with nothing.
Edit:
I lied, I just thought of one. When people say supposebly instead of supposedly. It’s like nails on a chalkboard.
The phrase “God willing.” People say this as if they are making a profound remark rather than talking nonsense. Part of the annoyance of course is due to being an atheist.
The seemingly ubiquitous “so” that prepends every sentence replaces “uh” for some. At least that’s my theory.
I note with great horror that “literally” is no longer “literally.” Mainstream dictionaries have now added a definition to include the informal usage meaning “not in the literal sense, but with strong feeling.” Huh??? That literally makes my head spin ;-)
When someone begins a sentence with “honestly,” that tends to put me on alert that they’re being less than honest—or giving themselves an excuse to be a little too forthcoming with information.
“Me and her/him…” No, please.
“At this point in time.” That one goes back to the Watergate days, and we’re long overdue to drive a stake through its heart.
“Have a nice day,” when it’s already 7:00 p.m.
“Have a nice day,” period. This is another 1970’s leftover that’s been trite for decades.
People who misuse “literally.” The other day, I heard someone say that another person had been literally up someone else’s @$$. I got a very disgusting mental image.
“Honestly”, and “to be honest”, it implies dishonesty.
@LostInParadise lol, I used “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise” all the time, it’s just a tongue-in-cheek saying here.
How about anything followed by the word, “but”?
“I don’t mean to be rude, but…” That person’s about to say something rude.
“I hate to intrude, but…” Get ready for an intrusion.
“Sorry to interrupt, but…” Instead of waiting for someone to finish talking, the speaker broke in and really didn’t care.
There’s no room on here for that list.
I just hate the phrase.
@Blondesjon I agree with you. I told my grandsons just this week, I wish they had never heard of that word. They say I can’t to try to get out of everything.
“You are (pause) 99th in the queue.”
“Only time will tell” my cousin says this to me all the time when I ask him something and it’s annoying.
“God willing and the creek don’t rise.” That makes no sense to me.
OK, I’m really, REALLY over people saying “all _____ does not _____” when they really mean “not all _____ does _____”.
All is not lost? Really? Because it appears quite a bit has been lost.
“Yeah, no.”
I really, really hate that phrase. Why do people say it? It’s ridiculous. Special emphasis on the moron part of oxymoron.
Most of the phrases that annoy me have been said, but there is a word that bugs me when I see it written. “Whilst”
I’ve never heard anyone use this word, but I see it all the time on the internet. Methinks people use it to look intelligent.
I also don’t like “methinks”.
Don’t let the bed bugs bite. How on earth would you stop them?
@hearkat I only see it used once. “Whilst, when I was young…” I’m not sure if that’s incorrect, but it certainly is awkward.
“Whilst” is standard English usage for folks from the UK and their brethren. It is used exactly the same as “while.”
So “while, when my….” really doesn’t make much sense.
I have seen born and bred Americans and Canadians use “whilst”. That’s what makes me scratch my head.
Some of us Americans favor British literature and avoid social activities in which using proper grammar is unusual, and thus find it perfectly natural to use such words as “whom”, “whilst”, and “methinks”. Though, we do have to defend the Oxford comma often enough.
Response moderated (Off-Topic)
When folks end a sentence saying “right now”, in that fucking awful whiny way that makes it sound like a question…stop it.
To all of you who are discussing “whilst.”
I think you should discuss this matter amongst yourselves.
@livelaughlove21 – The text is just interview highlights; I know she said it at least twice because it stood out like a sore thumb in my ears. And even just using it twice in a 45-minute co-interview is ‘frequent’ in my estimation.
Personally, I will use “whilst”, “whom”’ and “amongst” on occasion, but in this example, it sounded so out of place.
“The unexplainable does not mean the inexplicable”. It’s not that I disagree with the core premise of that statement, but I don’t care for the way many sceptics like Shermer attempt to use it to their advantage..
<—pretty much guilty of 74.6% of the examples listed
“for sure”—or as it is pronounced here “Fershur”
I like kind of sort of like him, you know.
“When you’re older you’ll understand.”
“He’s in a better place.” (Said when he’s dead.)
“Allahu akhbar.”
@hearkat – I, you know, actually, sort of do, you know.
Love reading these so funny! @YARNLADY couldn’t agree with you more so glad nobody here uses that stupid cracker phrase – I’d want to punch them in the head. I never heard “whilst” in America but, very common usage here especially in written communications.
People who write really obvious (and bad puns) and then add either…pun intended…or…no pun intended…
And I still have no idea what either “I could care less” or “I couldn’t care less” means. Don’t tell me, please, because I am indifferent.
@BBawlight Really? Curious where you’re at, that’s kinda my area’s hillbilly sayings.
I really hate it when people shorten perfect to perf.
@AshLeigh – I’ve never heard “perf” for perfect. In my world, “perf” means perforated, as in “perforated tympanic membrane” when someone gets a bad infection or has a Q-Tip incident. I would be very confused if someone used it in a different context.
@KNOWITALL Erm… I’m in upper Florida… My mom says it all the time and I just don’t understand it…
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