 #1 (permalink) Tue May 29, 2007 17:38 pm Phrases that like really bug us all, basically |
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Hi,
The topic heading is taken from an article in a UK daily newspaper published today and here are some examples sent in by readers of the newspaper today. There are over 3,000 in all but I have just chosen a few.
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Which phrases or expressions frustrate you the most? Which is the worst culprit in terms of polluting the English language.
Should we just accept irritating phrases as an inevitable part of the English language’s evolution and "chill out"? Or do you hate the phrase "chill out"?
At the end of the day, do we really need to say six words when one will do, ultimately?
Posted by Paul Bates on May 29, 2007 4:14 PM
Jawonnabag? Whatever happened to 'Would you like a bag sir?
Posted by Carl Portman on May 29, 2007 4:13PM
Politicians who say "clearly", when it is clearly unclear. I first noticed to trend of using it this way in the John Major era.
Posted by Keith (no longer in Shanghai on May 29, 2007 4:07 PM
I particularly dislike lazy speech and so-called "street speak". My pet hates are:
Innit
Izzit
Aks (instead of "ask" as in "I aksed him")
Should of
Hopefully
Vunerable (instead of "vulnerable")
Involve (with a long "o")
Know what I mean?
I hear what you say
Thinking out of the box
Blue-sky thinking
Education, education, education (remember that from the 1997 election?)
With respect (when "respect" is the very last thing the speaker feels)
At this moment in time (what is wrong with saying "now"?)
At the end of the day
No problem
Singing from the same hymn sheet
24/7, 9/11, 7/7
Incorrect use of "decimated" and "devastated"
I don't accept that (instead of "I disagree")
I can see from the above list that I am beginning to qualify for old-fogey status. That's as may be, but I love the English language and, whilst I am aware that language changes with time, I prefer to maintain a certain decorum and elegance.
Posted by Lucy Fairfax on May 29, 2007 3:59 PM
Adding you know to a sentence shows a degree of ignorance I don't Know
Posted by Gordon Hall on May 29, 2007 3:58 PM
The most annoying expression or statement : Tony Blair after last General Election.
"The people have spoken and we are listening"..........Yeah right so we've noticed!
Posted by Garry on May 29, 2007 3:58 PM
'Bored of'
It should be 'bored with' or else 'tired of'
Posted by Heather Baker on May 29, 2007 3:55 PM
ouwith - typo is a word i dislike.
Posted by Jim on May 29, 2007 3:54 PM
Let us have some happy thoughts! What about great words that are seldom heard? Ouwith would be my example. An old English word which died out in England but is still common in Scotland. A great word - the antonym of within. Any more great words?
Posted by Jim on May 29, 2007 3:46 PM
'I mean' anecdotally included in many, many conversations and discussions with celebrities and pundits. Where did it come from? Also, what exactly do YOU 'mean'?? Why can you not articulate what 'I mean' before you 'I says' it?
Posted by Conrad Gills on May 29, 2007 3:44 PM
I'm devastated.
Less people/things/.
At the end of the day.
It's like.
human rights.
Posted by John Ross on May 29, 2007 3:43 PM
"Train station". This is an American term. To those who use it, would you also say "sidewalk" for the pavement? Why is everyone so keen to use American vocabulary? ...
Posted by Jonathan on May 29, 2007 1:38 PM
Jonathon, interesting point, but I feel your pavement/sidewalk argument is flawed. Technically the pavement is the road makeup - i.e. the bitumen/asphaltic wearing course with various layers of sub-base depending on the pavement design. The part you walk on is the footpath. So technically if you call it a pavement you are neither using American English of English English - you are just wrong (from a technical viewpoint at least).
The point about the railway/train station was not to ascertain its origin, but to consider why train station is considered wrong. The railway is always stationary and the trains become stationary at these allocated points (unless Network Rail are involved then it can be the opposite way around). A phrase used more widely in American English is not necessarily wrong.
I would however use station in general but rather than say it is almost tautology I would say it is wrong not to quality it. Coach or Bus station (as you point out) is one example- but others such as police station, fire station, petrol station...etc mean not qualifying it can lead to confusion.
Posted by Bobby Vee on May 29, 2007 3:38 PM
Diversity
Posted by Jared Green on May 29, 2007 3:34 PM
its Father Christmas, not bloody "Santa Claus"!
Oh, and i suppose the one that really gets me is "reality tv"
Posted by Tom on May 29, 2007 1:57 PM
Are you serious?? that's like saying 'it's father not daddy'
People call 'Santa' whatever they want to call him.
And it's called reality Tv because it's TV about reality...what else do you want it to be called?
'A tv programme about a bunch of people sitting in a room/jungle/beach tv'??
seriously....
Posted by Gotalife on May 29, 2007 3:34 PM
"Know what I mean", "110%", "Fink", "You wiv me?","Sort of like", "Aint done nuffink", "Wassup?", "Proper, proper", "Gobsmacked", "Dude", "Cool", "Man". Pretty much every lazy Americanism or gutter phrase that has now overrun this nation of once intelligent people. The most annoying thing is that even journalists and other supposedly educated peers have accepted a slackening of standards as acceptable.
Posted by Michael Hughes on May 29, 2007 3:29 PM
Like, seriously, that's totally abhorrent, man, that's like, m8, I can't, I mean, seriously, like, dis sml spce 2 sml 4 my cmnts, totally, that just sucks. And as for the questions?
Luv 4eva
R
Posted by R on May 29, 2007 3:24 PM
Any phrase in which "should of" replaces "should have" makes me cringe, as I do when "less" is used when "fewer" is correct.
Posted by Carl Tomlinson on May 29, 2007 3:23 PM
"solutions"..everything is a solution. Duster and polish is now a cleaning "solution", a lorry offers haulage "solutions". Innumerable software "solutions" which actually cause problems which require more "solutions".
Posted by Philip Branigan on May 29, 2007 3:15 PM
'refute' when 'deny' is meant
Posted by Paz on May 29, 2007 3:14 PM
Do we feel so superior that we have to pick up on every little mistake in language. Watching 'The Apprentice' I note that Sir Alan Sugar's speech is at times grammatically incorrect, often posing the question "was you .....". Neverthless I feel sure most of us have admiration for his achievements. So language in itself does not make one superior to another. This discussion can be viewed in two different ways. Either you are of the belief the English language has been hijacked by those with wholly unacceptable language skills. Alternatively you may feel the purpose of language is as a means of communication and grammatical errors should not matter too much.
For me the most annoying is the use
of "really really" when the word extremely could be used, for example "it was really really hot outside"
Posted by Alistair Walker on May 29, 2007 3:08 PM
How about the entire voice-over commentary often given to sports and other events being watched in-vision which is clearly superfluous & banal?
Posted by simon coulter on May 29, 2007 3:08 PM
Many posts have criticised the reply 'good' to the question 'how are you? I agree, but it gets worse: 'good, good' is now as common. To my horror, a friend replied 'good, good, good' to my question the other day. He's not my friend anymore.
Posted by Blogicos on May 29, 2007 3:04 PM
"I was like.." for "I said..", "to be honest," "alright?"are irritating phrases in SE England.
But there are plenty of good pithy neologisms and Americanisms: e.g. realtor,megatrend.update.comfort zone.
The inverted commas with the fingers gesture is used in Germany to signal "you are repeating yourself."Excellent. |
Do you want any more?
Alan
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