What Phrase Drives You Nuts?

not a phrase.. however, the word "LIKE" used in a conversation at every point... e.g.... like , I was going to get some coffee, and there was like this big line, and I was like... what, I 'm not waiting in this long line... like, I 've got texting to do and like..... ugh....... like...

Ugh.."Reach out" I'm SO over that O.!!!

•Starting a sentence with "So...." Every. Sentence.

•"Sunsetting" (ending a program, policy, etc.)

•Synergy ( need I elaborate? )

•Headcount reduction

•Rightsizing

•thought leaders

•this too shall pass

•Bestie

•Literally

• inflammable

•Drill down

•Buy in

Hi M., my grandmother used to say "only a commoner would confuse the words house and home, and sex and gender". And I agree.

On a lighter note my kids tell me when I say "Here we go yo" I sound very 90s.

But yeah, reaching out, and speaking out, as opposed to contacting and speaking, are over dramatic. Rolls eyes.

:)

Incorrect usage bugs me more than triteness

"Irregardless" - there is no such word. The word is "regardless."
"For all intensive purposes" - the phrase is "For all intents and purposes."
"I could care less" - the phrase is "I couldn't care less."
"Blood-curling scream" - it's "blood-curdling."

There are others, but those are the ones that make my teeth curl.

For me, it's more about context.

My biggest one is if, during an apology, you hear, "I'm sorry, but..."

Ugh. If you are going to apologize, just apologize. You can go ahead and explain why you did whatever is requiring the apology, but do NOT turn the blame on the person who is getting the apology... Own your mistake.

How much time do you have?? LOL -- I could go on and on.

I agree, "reach out" is overused so it's annoying.

I agree with A.L. about "like" - I used to emphasize that when I was teaching Spanish, putting the word for "like" in every sentence about 20 times and then asking the kids to translate it. They got confused, of course, at which point I suggested that it might be hard for people to follow their nonsensical use of "like" all the time.

I love B's answer about what the company says before they eliminate your department!

My personal nails-on-the-blackboard phrase: "I could care less." People just don't know that it means "I care, at least a little."

I also had the Double Is: "The problem is is that the project is too expensive." "The thing of it is, is that I hate that guy." There are very few instances where there are 2 "is" words correctly used, such as "The question is, Is he going to agree to it?" But people do it all the time.

Both "like" and the extra "is", along with some of the phrases listed by other posters (like "and such") are FILLERS that people put it to fill the silence. If they would slow down and create a real sentence, they'd be clearer.

Commercials with errors bother me because, presumably, they hired a professional writer to come up with the words. Mispronunciations bug me, like "real-a-tor" instead of realtor, "jule-ery" instead of jewelry, and the ridiculous "nuke-u-lar" instead of nuclear. There's a commercial now with a voice over saying "As a stay at home mom, this is really important." No, the thing is not the SAHM. I am the SAHM so the wording should be "As a SAHM, I know that safety is important."

I have a friend who ends every sentence with "blah blah BLAH" - it's an effective way to not finish the thought but still keep the "floor" so no one else can respond, without really explaining the rest of what she's thinking. But it's not effective in communicating anything.

"But" pretty much wipes out what you just said in the first part of the sentence: "I know you work hard for our family and you mean well, BUT…."

And the word "just" is almost always used to belittle someone else's position or feelings: "It was JUST a joke" or "I was JUST kidding." ("So get over it, you overly sensitive marshmallow" is what that says to me.)

And I agree with the post below about "my bad" - it's not nearly as powerful as "I'm sorry" but people use it to halfway admit a mistake without actually apologizing.

"Our employees are our most valuable asset".
You generally hear it right before they sell your department off.

I hate to hear the words...

Amazing, Awesome, on our journey,

One of the biggest... irregardless. It is not a word!! I received a resume from an MBA and he used irregardless... UGH... I used the shredder with the resume.

I'm with you on reaching out as well.

'My bad'. A completely insincere way to (not) take responsibility or to apologise. Very bad form.

Also 'cray cray' for crazy. I prefer the term 'nutter'.

ETA: Using swear words too much. I am not a complete prude and can swear with the best of them, but when used a lot, I think it indicates a lack of vocabulary and mental agility. Finding another, non-swearing way to verbalise your anger, amazement, surprise, frustration etc can be a fun way to increase your brain power.

"At the end of the day".... I hear this too often, and not in reference to an evening event. If you can't say "In the end" or "the obvious conclusion to this..." please, buy a thesaurus.

I once heard a radio interview where the guest used that particular statement no less that four times. I was ready for a nightcap!

"My bad" is another one. I hear completely intelligent adults use this baby talk statement.

One of the more irritating phrases.....when you are having a conversation and the person is talking and then says, "you know what I mean, you know what I mean". Grr! All I can think is, "believe it or not, I can follow a conversation". My usual response, "I understand what you are saying (thinking idiot)....

Amazing. Why is everything suddenly "amazing?" Why not fantastic? Or impressive? Or wonderful? "Look at this amazing view!" Really, it amazes you? Or you think it's beautiful, lovely, impressive, rugged? "We went to an amazing restaurant!" You were amazed by a restaurant? Or you thought the food was well-prepared and tasty?

Really, I think people just have a lack of vocabulary.

At the end of the day
That being said
To be honest
The thing of it is
And everything else like that
I know, right?
What it is, is that

And any other phrase that is used like an "ummm" because people aren't comfortable with putting a pause in their speech.

Just about anything ungrammatical.... Yes, I admit that I'm one of those grammar nazis.

There will be fad phrases (as well as individuals' pet phrases) forever, but we don't have to adopt them.

I don't know when the phrase "All of a sudden" became "All the sudden" to some people, but GGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!! I hate it.

"Just saying" at the end of something to justify saying something mean.

"To make a long story short" when indeed, they make it even longer!!!

People who say "you know what I'm sayin'?" after everything they say!!! Thank God I don't know anyone personally who does this but when I hear it I feel like it's the height of stupidity :-(

My bad - I hate that one!!!

It irks me when people say, "right" when you tell them something that is obvious or just plain common sense. To me, saying, "right" shows just how oblivious they really are.

I had a boss once that insisted on the whole "reach out" thing and it drove me batty. Hearing that seriously makes me want to scratch my own eyeballs out.

I have a friend that I should just make a dictionary of the words she uses incorrectly. Pacific for specific, vivid for livid, it just goes on and on. It's a good thing I love her!!

M

I hate "in the house", what the heck is that supposed to mean? Unless you are in a house and someone wants to validate that you are there. I went to check out a new preschool last fall and as the administrator was walking me to the classroom a teacher standing in the hall saw the admin and shouted "Katy, in the house!"...what?!?

"I forget" instead of "I forgot" or "I must have forgotten" or "I don't know". If I ask you when was the last time you had the car washed the answer is not "I forget". My husband says this is the shorthand way of saying "I tend to forget"...it still makes no sense!

"Learnings"- this was going around at work for a long time. After a conference our director would ask us to email him with our "learnings". I guess its another way to say "take aways" but why not just say "email me the things that you learned at the conference". I don't even think "learnings" is a word.

"in my previous life"- This was always used at work to describe things that someone experienced at a previous job without being specific.

"Put on your big girl panties." Hate it. Sadly it seems to be a popular phrase on this site.

Adding. 'N such" to the end of every phrase

So many words and phrases are overused and offensive- here's a couple:

"Who does that?"
Referring to someone as "Hot"