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We've had the thread about words people dislike..


Parrothead
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What about one for expressions. I just want to bang my head against a brick wall when I hear/read "I don't want to overstep my bounds".

 

It makes me think people think of themselves as penned puppies or something.

 

What is your mot hated expression?

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This thread just reminded me of something. Back when I was still working in the corporate world, I was surrounded by annoying buzzwords and overused phrases. Some colleagues and I used to have fun with that by using this online BS Generator and then seeing how many times we could work these phrases into the conversation on conference calls. Good times. :)

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I just tried it, Julie, and I got "facilitate world-class technologies". It sounds like something I have heard on a commercial. :lol:

 

Yep, love the BS Generator.

 

It's really useful when you want to "synergize dot-com communities", "strategize dynamic solutions", and "facilitate B2C functionalities". I found that it enabled me to "cultivate killer web-readiness" while "harnessing seamless technologies" in my quest to "expedite frictionless applications". :D

 

Careful, it's addictive. Once you start generating BS, it's hard to stop.

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"Let me be clear."

 

Use concise words so I know what you're saying. Don't tell me that NOW you're going to talk on my level.

 

ETA: "With all do respect..." causes the same reaction as "No offense, but...." Every time I hear the phrase, it reminds me of the movie Talledega Nights.

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This thread just reminded me of something. Back when I was still working in the corporate world, I was surrounded by annoying buzzwords and overused phrases. Some colleagues and I used to have fun with that by using this online BS Generator and then seeing how many times we could work these phrases into the conversation on conference calls. Good times. :)

 

We used to do the same thing! We had fun leveraging our synergies...

 

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I live in Texas, but I am NEVER "fixin to" do anything! :hurray:

 

 

LOL. I used to work with a guy from TX and he was always fixin' to do something. Great guy, but it took me a while to get used to that. What really killed me was when he was fixin' to git 'er done. Where's the twitching smiley?? :lol:

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"Let me be honest with you..." - What, have you been lying up until now?

 

I'm a Christian but Christianese makes me want to gag:

 

"I felt led to..." - God cannot possibly be both telling you X is always wrong and Suzy over there that X is fine to do.

 

"I feel called to..." - How convenient that you are "called" to do what you already wanted to do and would do anyway.

 

"Lift up our hearts" - What does this even mean?

 

I'm sure I'll think of more later.

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LOL I will show my dh this thread. He is always picking up corporate world BS-ese and bringing it home - and I'm always reacting to it. My dh is actually a very sweet un-manipulative person, but he picks up popular phrases like a magnet picks up iron filings.

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"Touch base". Every time DH has a call or email conversation with an IT recruiter, this expression is used at least eight times. I don't even want to know if he's job sniffing anymore because I don't want to hear "touch base" come out of his mouth. It must be an IT thing.

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Awesome! Leveraging your synergies is so critical to enabling strategic mindshare..... :tongue_smilie:

 

What industry were you in? I worked in the tech industry.

 

I was in HR in healthcare. Ooh, if ever you go back to work I'd love to cultivate your out of the box thinking to facilitate our evolution into a new paradigm. Onboarding dynamic talent is mission critical, you know. Do you have a resume? :cheers2:

 

As far as other phrases go, I'll see your "I know, right" and raise you a "look alive, people."

 

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I was in HR in healthcare. Ooh, if ever you go back to work I'd love to cultivate your out of the box thinking to facilitate our evolution into a new paradigm. Onboarding dynamic talent is mission critical, you know. Do you have a resume? :cheers2:

 

Wow, you were in deep. That's some good BS right there. :lol:

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Oooh, I've got a million. One of my least favorites:

 

"At this time..."

 

Pretty much any sentence that begins "At this time" means exactly the same thing without those three words.

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"This too shall pass." I know this is true. It's just not actually helpful to me at the moment. My mom says it to me all the time, which is probably why it bothers me. I love my mom. However, when life is crashing down, and I feel as if I might be crushed under it's weight, I want something sympathetic, or at least something that sounds as if someone out there gives a fig. This too shall pass comes across as dismissive to me. It's probably my issue though.

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I'm always put off when somebody describes drinking with a meal as "washing down" the food. Ew.

 

"A day late and a dollar short" isn't especially irritating per se, despite being rather timeworn and unimaginative, but it irks the heck out of me because I had a teacher who used it incessantly. Every third sentence this man uttered was punctuated with "a day late and a dollar short." Between that and the egregious black hair dye he seemed to think would make him look youthful, Mr. C. was quite the character.

 

But I'll admit to being kind of fond of, "I know, right?" My college roommate used to say that, and she was just so cheerful and agreeable. I can't hate the phrase because it reminds me of her.

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"Let me be honest with you..." - What, have you been lying up until now?

 

I'm a Christian but Christianese makes me want to gag:

 

"I felt led to..." - God cannot possibly be both telling you X is always wrong and Suzy over there that X is fine to do.

 

"I feel called to..." - How convenient that you are "called" to do what you already wanted to do and would do anyway.

 

"Lift up our hearts" - What does this even mean?

 

I'm sure I'll think of more later.

 

 

YES. I think perhaps you are my people. (Is that an annoying saying? Probably. But hey, I didn't say "prolly" because that would just make it worse. I know, right?)

 

You might like this: http://www.jonacuff.com/stuffchristianslike/

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One of my pet hates is using adjectives as nouns, e.g. my DH talks about 'working for an acute.'

 

I also intensely dislike the spreading habit over here of Americanising dates in adverts - Blah blah film 'at cinemas June 12th' which may sound fine to American ears but the English way is to say 'at cinemas FROM THE 12th OF June'

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'I could care less' drives me insane because it is completely nonsensical - I love the helpful diagram I saw online somewhere which illustrates the phrase.

 

'Put on your/my/his big girl/boy panties'. I can live with it if the speaker is saying it about himself, although it sound a little tacky, but said about someone else it is so insulting and patronizing.

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"With that said...." Every other stinking sentence!

 

"I'm not gonna lie..." As the story has changed 3 times already.

 

"It was all I could do to ..." (WHAT was all you could do?!?) I have seen this make sense, but very, very rarely.

 

"Irregardless." Argh! My phone didn't even underline that!

 

"Time when I..." (BY THE TIME I...) I swear this line can be passed down through DNA. Ds's father says it and I "caught" ds saying it. Ds doesn't not spend enough time with his father for it to have been heard and picked up.

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One of my wonderful girlfriends is from Chicago, and she says "come with"... as in "Want to come with?" or "Can I come with?"

Can you really not say the entire sentence? She blames it on her Jewish-Chicago upbringing (her words).

 

I had never heard this other than from her, so I'm not sure if it's a regional thing or not?

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"To make a long story short...."

 

Any time someone says that, the story is already too long. My boss and my brother use this phrase constantly and their stories are never shortened by its use.

 

And 99% of christianese. This video makes me laugh so hard: http://youtu.be/FjN_IDhCDZE

 

Also way funny:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2011/july/doing-authentic-ministry-with-my-smokin-hot-bride.html

 

I want to scream "just stop!" Can't we be Christians and still talk like normal people?

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One of my wonderful girlfriends is from Chicago, and she says "come with"... as in "Want to come with?" or "Can I come with?"

Can you really not say the entire sentence? She blames it on her Jewish-Chicago upbringing (her words).

 

I had never heard this other than from her, so I'm not sure if it's a regional thing or not?

 

I am from Michigan and people say that there all the time. Including me. :)

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"I don't mean to be bossy, but..." My dad says this ALL THE TIME and not just to his grown dc and his grandchildren. My mother says that people at church talk about his saying this! UGH.

 

Anything he says after this phrase is unsolicited advice on something that he should have kept to himself!

 

 

 

Since I'm complaining about something one of my parents says, I have to mention what both my teen sons hate that say. "I'm just sayin'." and "That's just life."(this follows me telling them something they didn't want to hear about the tough parts of life). They report that this drives them nuts. I've tried to stop saying it, but it pops out without me even thinking! UGH.

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