JFF Phrases That Irk You. Have Any?

Updated on September 01, 2011
D.P. asks from Beverly Hills, CA
50 answers

You know the kind--the "pat" answers people give so freely.

Along with "this too shall pass," I would say that "been there, done that" tops my list as most annoying.

Do you have any phrases that drive you batty?

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So What Happened?

Thanks! These are great!

And lets not forget the sentences that start like "Nothing against "them" (blacks, Mexicans, purple people), but.....xyz...."

or

"No offense, but...." (You better believe it's going to be offensive!)

Oh....and "race card"!

Featured Answers

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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

"It's my passion", "I'm passionate about" "My bad"

All that stuff about 'being in a better place'. No they're bloody well not! I don't want them anywhere else!! I want them right back here with me, alive.

I like 'this too shall pass' as well.

ETA: Oooh, I just remembered another O.: 'I'm not racist, but (something racist about someone).'

7 moms found this helpful

H.G.

answers from Dallas on

Okie dokie. Pisses me off everytime :(
**I like this too shall pass. Makes me feel better sometimes!
my word that irritates me- moist/damp

7 moms found this helpful

G.T.

answers from Redding on

What's for din din?
Whatever.
I hate when that happens.
My rent is gonna be late because I forgot to send in my welfare information.
I had a girlfriend like that. (my hubby uses that O. WAY too frequently)
Will you please come tell my kids to stop playing on the stairs, they wont listen to me?
How much is my rent, I keep forgetting.

5 moms found this helpful

More Answers

K.J.

answers from Chicago on

"God doesn't give you more than you can handle"

ETA: Really, why do people think it is ok to say this? My little brother has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, and YES, it is more than he can handle.

11 moms found this helpful
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A.C.

answers from Boston on

"just sayin" To me that's nothing more than an excuse to be rude.

8 moms found this helpful

V.C.

answers from Dallas on

It's for the best.
She's in a better place. (Hopefully true, but not comforting for a grieving person to hear.)
You'll get over it.
God needed another _____.
God helps those who help themselves. (then they tell you that's in the Bible.)

edit: I wish I could send Andra C more than O. flower.

I actually like "have a blessed day!" The security guard at O. place I work would say that to everyone coming in the gate. It really set the tone for the day. He passed away in February and I sure miss him and his blessing.

As far as "I am not a racist," minorities can be racist also. So that brought to mind another phrase I hate: "reverse racism."

8 moms found this helpful
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D.D.

answers from Denver on

"God never gives you more than you can handle"

I really hate that O. because it completely discounts my belief that God gave us free will to make choices. Sometimes we don't make the best choices, and in those cases we need to turn to God and the people in our lives that he gives to us to make things right.

6 moms found this helpful
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H.F.

answers from Pocatello on

I hate the "I could care less" phrase too! It's so meaningless! And Victoria C., it also bothers me when people say "God helps those who help themselves" and claim that is from the bible, it is from Poor Richard's Almanac by Ben Franklin. And people who use that phrase are usually trying to justify themselves for not being charitable.
Another O. that bothers me is when people talk about how great things used to be in the "old days" or even the "good old days," or "100 years ago" oh yeah, greater social inequality and more primitive medical care were so much fun! And stop trying to tell me that people had better morals back in the "old days" when a man could beat his wife without fear of being arrested, if a woman was raped she must have been “asking for it,” people’s intelligence and worthiness could be judge solely on the color of their skin, and children worked in filthy, dangerous factories if their parents could not afford to send them to school. Such good old days!

6 moms found this helpful
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S.K.

answers from Dallas on

"Shut the front door!!!" Aah! So annoying!

6 moms found this helpful
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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

"This won't hurt a bit", said by a doctor or nurse with a needle in their hand.

"In a hurry are we?" by a police officer with a ticket book in his hand.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" said by the speeder to the cop after going 50 in a school zone with children present at the cross walk.

"I only had two drinks", said by the driver that just ran over a curb that can't stand up by himself when asked to get out of his vehicle.

"We were attacked in international waters" said by President Johnson when he lied about our warships being attacked by the north Vietnamese. It started the intense American involvement in the Viet Nam War that killed thousands and thousands of Americans so Johnson could have a "Legacy" for the history books. If it were up to me, no government building, or school, or park would have Johnson's name on it.

Good luck to you and yours.

6 moms found this helpful
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M.H.

answers from Atlanta on

"Just saying" aaaarrrgh! It's just a good excuse to be rude!

5 moms found this helpful
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R.L.

answers from Roanoke on

"shoot me an email"

5 moms found this helpful
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S.!.

answers from Los Angeles on

SpiderMonkey... You would probably strangle my mom and my daughter. Ha Ha Ha. My mom says OkieDokie for everything (instead of yes) and my daughter has now picked up on it and she says it for everything as well. Ha Ha Ha.

Can't think of a phrase right now, but just wanted to say Hi everyone, hehe

eta I finally thought of O.... this morning! hahaha. I am tired of hearing "Get 'r' Done"... ugh...

4 moms found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Daytona Beach on

kiss my happy @$$-extremely annoying and a carry over from middle school (which was probably almost 20 yrs ago) (oh my goodness, i just realized it was almost 20 yrs ago. now i feel OLD)

truth be told- extremely over used by my sister.

Good night! (used as an expression of shock or awe..)

my sister hates the word "sconce". i don't know why, but she does. she says it sounds like a honking duck :)

my new favorite word i hate so much is "so!" my 5 yo just picked it up and he says it for everything. "caleb stop jumping on the bed before you break it." "so". sends me over the edge!

4 moms found this helpful
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C.J.

answers from Milwaukee on

AT THE END OF THE DAY--can't STAND that!

4 moms found this helpful
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J.K.

answers from Kansas City on

I absolutely HATE when people say "it is what it is"
No it's not!!! That is accepting something that you shouldn't
be accepting!!

4 moms found this helpful

L.A.

answers from Austin on

Ha, ha @ Leslie.. We say that all the time. It is a polite way of saying.. "They are not very bright." or They cannot help it, they are not very intelligent."

Any cute names for things..
Sammies, samiches.. (Yuck)

Whateva

Ginormous

Just use the proper language..,, It is not cute

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A.F.

answers from Fargo on

"Studies show......." What studies? How many studies? Who did the studying, and for how long?

And I am with Queen of the Castle on the phrase, "God won't give you more than you can handle!" What a pant load of elephant dung! That statement is actually Biblically incorrect. The Bible says that you "will not be TEMPTED beyond what you can bear." Key word, TEMPTED.
Any pat answer drives me batty. I admire people who can keep their mouth shut in a situation where they just don't know what to say.

Good question, Denise!

4 moms found this helpful

A.D.

answers from Norfolk on

"At the end of the day..." HATE that O.! J-wow on Jersey Shore overuses that phrase waaay too much hah

My husband also cannot make a definite statement. Everything ends with "or whatever" or "or something". Like today I asked him if steaks would be good for dinner..he responded with "yeah i'll grill the steaks or somethin". WHAT THE HELL!? What is this "somethin" else you're going to do? it drives me insaaaane how he has to throw these little phrases at the end of every sentance to sound super casual.

3 moms found this helpful
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B.

answers from Augusta on

"hello mcfly"
My stepdad would say that to me any time I did or said something stupid.
peeps ( I really hate this word,it's a little marshmellow chick not a person stop using it like it is)
yo ! -ug hate it
and whut up dawg? ( come on can't you speak english???)

3 moms found this helpful
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L.Z.

answers from Boston on

Oh boy, after this summer, more than ever...

-"It was a sign that it was/wasn't meant to be."
-"It's probably better, something could have been wrong with the baby"... (if the pregnancy lasted)
-"Let go, let god." (Clearly you have never been depressed or gone through failed infertility treatments if you say that.)
-"If god leads you to it, he will lead you through it." (Really now? Does he lead people through hell to get over the horrors they might be enduring, or does he lead you through suffering for the sake of suffering? Where is the other side of the "through"?)
-"We are pregnant." (Pretty sure only O. person can be pregnant as you stand next to your husband saying this...)
-"Don't worry, be happy." (Enough said.)

Other little words that irk me, as some have said:
-Hubby (with you, Theresa... cannot STAND that word!)
-Anywho
-Anywhoozle (my husband says this all the time and I have to grit my teeth as he says it)
-Preggers (With you Galwaygirl - nails on a chalkboard!)

Funny post, made me feel better, so thank you!!!

3 moms found this helpful

A.C.

answers from Provo on

I have a hard time with "mystical answers" such as:
"It's Karma"/ "Don't worry, Karma will get him"
"The Universe meant for that to happen"/ "The Universe was looking out for me" (what makes you so stinking special?!)
"Have a blessed day!"
"Preggers" (that word is like nails on a chalkboard!)

3 moms found this helpful

T.N.

answers from Albany on

HUBBY.

Bleck.

:('

oh, wait, that's only O. world, not a phrase. How 'bout HUBBY HUBBY HUBBY then

3 moms found this helpful

A.J.

answers from Williamsport on

"All the sudden"

How the heck did it become Ok to say "all of a sudden" this way?

3 moms found this helpful
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A.M.

answers from New York on

"You're not going to want to hear this, but... ..."

(Then don't tell me!!!!!!!!!!!!)

3 moms found this helpful
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L.F.

answers from San Francisco on

I can't stand when people say:

Peeps--for people
ta ta's--breasts
or over the shoulder boulder holder--for a bra
the girls--refering again to the breasts
toodles-
samich--instead of sandwich
plum tired and tuckered out.

There are more, but I am a bit hormonal--so I am going to stop while I am ahead! :)
M

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L.M.

answers from Norfolk on

"It is what it is"
"You've got your hands full"
I also HATE "I could care less" when they really mean "Couldn't care less."
"I was going to ____________, but _____________" Don't waste my time. No, it is not the thought that counts.
"Bless your heart." I am a Northerner transplanted in the South.... I just can't get that O..

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P.M.

answers from Portland on

Almost every comment that starts with "Nowadays…" or "In this day and age…" or "Why don't people ever _____ anymore?" will end with assumptions that are trite, over-worked, or only partially true.

So those phrases advise me that the speaker/poster is about to engage in the ever-popular game of "Ain't It Awful!"

2 moms found this helpful
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T.B.

answers from Des Moines on

My best friend says ..... " with that being said" all the time. I love her to death but once I counted in our 20 minute conversation and she said it 12 times. Also my husband says "whatever" all the time. Pretty much he is saying is "shut up I don't care" Ugh!

2 moms found this helpful

J.B.

answers from Houston on

"You know, everything happens for a reason".... this is my personal least favorite, the next is when someone beloved passes and you get "They are in such a better place now..." I know this is true, but really is an "I am so sorry for your loss' all that hard???

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M.E.

answers from Jacksonville on

"It is what it is" Ugh!!!!! What does that even mean?! It is the most idiotic statement I have ever heard! And *everyone* says it where I live.

2 moms found this helpful

A.H.

answers from San Francisco on

I hate the phrase "I make my own luck"
especially in this economy.

2 moms found this helpful
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A.K.

answers from Houston on

People say, or they say - I need evidence buddy.

2 moms found this helpful
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A.H.

answers from Omaha on

When people start with "Don't take this the wrong way....." I would rather people just give it to me straight because when someone says that all I am thinking is obviously I could take it the wrong way because you assume I will! Drives me crazy!
A.

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T.L.

answers from Detroit on

These are the top three that tick me off:

"Really....I mean, Really T.?"
"Hello?" (implying like you are stupid or dumb)
"Earth to Mars, can you read me?" (when your mind is on other things)

2 moms found this helpful

C.A.

answers from New York on

When I am sick and I tell someone that I don't feel well and they say "yyoouu, what about me?" That drives me nuts. It's like I am supposed to feel sorry for them being sick. My husband does that to me all the time. Sometimes I just don't say anything cause I don't want to hear that comment.

2 moms found this helpful

M.S.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Fail
For the win
Fuhreeldoh
Are you kidding me?!?!

1 mom found this helpful
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E.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I really hate when people talk in text-speak.

Saying the letters "LOL" instead of *actually* laughing. Saying "OMG" instead of oh my goodness. That kind of thing. GRRRR!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.G.

answers from Albuquerque on

The O. that makes me cringe every single time, is "I don't mean to bother...but" and than they ask me for money. That makes me want to scream.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.B.

answers from Boston on

These are all good.

Mine is "you know what they say...a happy mom means a happy baby!," especially when said to justify some selfish or lazy parenting because it's "easier" or following basic standard recommendations is "too hard" and mom would be "happier" doing something else more convenient for her. I can't tell you how many times I've heard or read this in the context of something that makes me cringe. What especially irks me is that the real context is that of treating PPD, which is not something to talk breezily about.

1 mom found this helpful

A.G.

answers from Houston on

yeah..in response to someone being happy about something in their life like paying off their car, getting a promotion etc.....i hate it when people say

"must be nice"

It irks of jealousy, and complete sarcastic unhappiness for someones good news.

..........oh and the uneducated mix of the words "do you know what i'm saying?" "yoonowhammsayin?" in every sentence. Oh and i hate it when people call girls "shorty"....yuck

1 mom found this helpful
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M.R.

answers from Chicago on

"i'lll yack at ya later"
"Let's touch base soon"
"play-date"

1 mom found this helpful
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H.N.

answers from Sacramento on

"Your Man" refering to my boyfriend.

L.M.

answers from Kansas City on

YES!!! I KNOW!

> Shutup!! (wait, WHAT?)
> Oh, as if!
> DUH!
> Like (how many times can you say "like" in once sentence?)
> Word!
> Dude
> Acrossed (instead of across)

Oh, me, myself and I.... (OK, I get it...)

I was thinking to myself... (How do you do that?)

also when people make everything they say sound like a question.

K.L.

answers from Cleveland on

I didn't read all the responses, but I hate, hate, HATE when people say "irregardless". It's not irregardless, it's regardless! ARGH!!!

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M.G.

answers from Chicago on

I'm just sayin' and preggers or preggo. I HATE the term preggers, especially when I'm the O. that's pregnant!

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K.R.

answers from Dallas on

@Grandma T- YES YEESSSSS YESSSS!! My favorite when people are late on rent and they get charged fees "Why didn't anyone tell me I was late?" umm.... because you are suppose to be responsible for that...

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K.M.

answers from Denver on

Havent read them all, but I really hate when people say "I could care less," that means you do care some! It should be "I couldnt care less"!

J.S.

answers from Jacksonville on

Bestie/BFF - for best friend. I told my best friend that I will fire her if she starts that

Nom nom nom - When talking about something that taste good. Cringe.

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R.K.

answers from Abilene on

Just have to chime in. We are in the process of adopting a baby and everyone always says, "You know, when you get the baby, you will get pregnant." Ugh! I have medical issues and can't get pregnant, but that is none of their damn bussiness. Sorry, had to vent.

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