Let me begin with a confession.
This post is of very little literary value, and required no research and no knowledge. It's just a venting of my annoyance with certain words and phrases that I think have been overused and/or misused to the point that I truly don't like hearing them in speech anymore, or reading them in the writing of others. I guess I should call them cliches, but mostly I just call them irritating.
The following is my current list of those expressions. It'll probably change by tomorrow.
1. It is what it is
2. Go for it!
3. My journey (everything in life these days is a journey)
4. If you will
5. I'm all about . . .
6. Iconic
7. Problematic
8. You've got this!
9. At the end of the day
10. No problem (when used instead of You're welcome)
11. Feeling badly
12. Stunning video
13. A sense of closure
14. Bro
15. Let's do this!
16. I could care less
17. Awesome
18. Reach out
19. To die for
20. Serious as a heart attack
21. No can do
22. Pushing the envelope
23. Giving 110%
24. Utilize
25. Irregardless
26. Amazing (as in My amazing husband, wife, etc.)
27. Towards
28. Have a good one
29. Be back in a few
30. Athleticism
31. Physicality
32. Transparency
33. Granularity
34. Impact (when used as a verb)
35. Know what I'm sayin'?
36. Come with?
37. You feel me?
38. Incentivize
39. Sounded like a freight train
40. Looked like a war zone
41. Penned (as a synonym for Wrote)
42. 24/7
43. Own it
44. True that
45. As it were
46. Take it to the next level
47. Proactive
48. In point of fact
49. At this moment in time
50. Outside the box
You might have noticed that some of the above are favorites of news anchors, and especially (for some reason) sportscasters and weatherfolks. I agree that teeth can be impacted, and colons can be impacted, and the earth can be impacted when struck by a meteorite--but how many times have you heard that rains will impact the coastline, or high temperatures might impact the I-95 Corridor? Is a word like affect not forceful enough anymore, for our action-charged news broadcasts? And have you noticed, by the way, that their "breaking news, as we come on the air" might've broken several days ago? Personally, I want to see the stunning video. Politicians are also full of phrases that aggravate me. For one thing, they keep saying the American people want this or that. Well, that's a big assumption. I'm an American person, and I often don't want what they think I want.
Words and expressions I didn't include above are the many that I used to hear a lot in my job--things like synergy and paradigm shift and value-added solutions, which are just as bad as, or worse than, the fifty in my list. By the way, on the political-correctness side of things, I'm also weary of hearing people say, "I find that offensive." It seems that almost anything we say or write is offensive to someone, somewhere. Maybe what I'm saying is, I find "I find that offensive" offensive.
Sometimes the silliest or most pretentious expressions wind up being more funny than irritating. During my IBM years I was once at a client location (it was a bank--I spent most of my workdays in banks) when their newly-installed computerized teller system developed response-time problems. When one of the programmers and I drove to a nearby branch to see exactly what was happening, the unhappy head teller pointed to her slow-as-molasses computer terminal and said, "This has left my team emotionally devastated." Strangely enough, they didn't look devastated, or even emotional, and we promptly fixed the problem, but that two-word phrase became one that we remembered, and used over and over at the bank's operations center for years afterward. I ran into one of those programmers not long ago, and when I asked him how he was doing, he grinned and replied that he was emotionally devastated. Some things stick in your memory.
What are some words and phrases that you consider to be overused, misused, frustrating, or just tiresome? Are you sick of hearing or reading those? Do any of yours match the entries in my list? (I won't find it offensive if they don't.)
A final note. Even though I've been unusually critical in this post, I do not pretend to be guiltless in the misuse of our language. I often find that I like using some expressions that I already know are wrong or ill-chosen. As a kid, I clearly remember my mom asking me why my friend Boyd, whose grandmother didn't allow dogs in her house, was crying so loud we could hear him bawling all the way down the street. "Snoopy snuck in," I explained to her, "but she drug him back out."
Hey, that still sounds correct, to me.
Well, John, it is what it is. Know what I’m sayin’?
ReplyDeleteI’d add redundancies, such as rain activity and emergency situation. And euphemisms such as pass instead of die. I live in a CCRC where garden plots are available to residents. However, most folks refer to them as patches, because “plot” reminds them of cemeteries. I insist on saying plot, which is probably why I have no friends.
How about “of course” instead of you’re welcome. Grrr.
Edward Lodi
Hey Edward. Ha!--garden patches. Yep, can't say plots. On the subject of passing, dying, etc., I have become weary of the phrase "sorry for your loss." I know it's hard to find something comfortable and appropriate to say, but this has become so common it sounds less heartfelt every time I hear it.
DeleteThe "no problem" as a response to "thank you" seems to be used more by younger folks. I can't tell you how many times I've heard it from waiters, waitresses, etc. Oh well.
As for redundancies, don't get me started.
When I first encountered "No problem" as a substitute for "Thank you" it was from millennials and was clearly meant to avoid any appearance of obligation. Saying "Thank you" was a sign of weakness.
DeleteJim, I think you're exactly right. But how sad is that??
DeleteWhen you wrote "utilize" I immediately thought of the word "incentivize" and then, bam, there it was later in your list! In the programming world I still work in, I hear the corporate speak that you mention (synergy and value-added solutions) and one that makes me twitch is "whiteboard" as in "let's whiteboard that." And there's a whiteboard tool to do that. And we have whiteboards EVERYWHERE where much pseudo code has been written on them over the years. I particularly loved your story about the bank situation and the emotionally devastated phrase. One time I heard a client rep say "a good idea walks around here for awhile until it gets noticed." I use that quite often now. By the way, I also hate "no problem" in place of "thank you."
ReplyDeleteAh yes--utilize. The most unnecessary word in the English language. Just use "use"--it means exactly the same thing without the pretentiousness. And, oh God, corporate speak. It seemed we had a new buzzword every month or two. It was probably serious enough to whiteboard!! As for whiteboarding, I'm usually not fond of any noun used as a verb. Let's dialogue, let's fellowship, let's impact the world!
DeleteSince I now mostly live in a cave away from civilization, I had not heard about the good idea walking around. Probably because that one's new to me, I kinda like it!
Thank you as always, Ed. (I'll wait for the "no problem" . . .)
John,
ReplyDeleteI always look forward to reading your column. I’d like to add my favorite annoyance, more importantly instead of more important.
Yolanda Lodi
How kind of you, Yolanda. And yes, yes, "more importantly"! Annoyances everywhere.
DeleteI hope one day I'll become immune to all that, but at the moment I do get irritated--especially during news broadcasts. I've said this before, but I often wonder what Walter Cronkite would've thought about the way news anchors now tease the audience to try to keep them tuned in until the big story later in the half-hour, etc. Stunning video coming up after this break . . .
Seriously, thanks for visiting SleuthSayers.
As a teacher, I’ve heard all the nauseating inspirational phrases way more than I’d have liked to. “You’ve GOT this!” “You ROCK, Rockstar!” “Remember your ‘why’…” Sigh. Because they usually come from administrators or lawmakers who have the capacity to actually improve things, these phrases usually inspire some other phrases I’d like to say, but would probably result in me losing my job.
ReplyDeleteSince I have teen and tween boys at home, plus one in elementary school, I get bro/bruh, skibidi, rizz/rizzler, gyatt, and Ohio all day long. At the risk of adding another tired phrase—I’m so done.
Ashley Bernier
I bet you *have* heard 'em all, Ashley. And yes, yes, "You rock"--I'd forgotten that one.
DeleteI suspect the lingo among teens and tweens goes way beyond the items on my list--we have lots of grandchildren, but we don't spend ALL our time with them, at least not enough to hear all the "in" words and phrases. For example, skibidi and gyatt are new to me. I suspect you ARE so done.
Hey, in my book, teachers ARE rockstars. Teachers, along with doctors and police and firemen, are the heroes of our time. Good for you!
Glad to say I avoid most, if not all, of those tedious comments. And I cheer you for adding 'the American people want'...they never finish with 'less dishonest politicians'. That phrase could be used all the time.
ReplyDeleteI'd add the pirate 'grrrr' sound, however they say it or spell the dang phrase. or 'yaa baby'...not said in reference to a female either...just that lazy, hoot, hoot, guy expression (sorry guys)... But then I frequently said 'you all' or even 'you'ns' in my formative years. Probably still falter occasionally. But if we're writing an irritating character, can we still double punch his persona by having him/her use those repetitive phrases?
John, as always, you floor me...... lol ..... god, you're killing me...stop....
Cheers, Wil
Wil, if you avoid these, more power to you! They are indeed tedious, and become more so the older I get.
DeleteAs for "y'all," I'm from a place and a time where that is heard in almost every conversation--I wouldn't be able to get through a day without using it a hundred times. And YES YES YES, any of these expressions, and many more, can and should be used in fictional dialogue. I can think of few other things we as writers could do that would better characterize the people in our stories. I do that in my stories ALL the time.
Keep up the good work!
“Anyone using the words ‘activation’ or ‘implementation’ will be shot.” - Maury Maverick, President of Smaller War Plants Corporation, 1944.
ReplyDeleteGood for him. I'll supply the bullets.
DeleteThe one that fries my liver is when a waiter/barista responds to your order with "Perfect!"
ReplyDelete"I'd like a double cocoanut latte with lashings of bacon grease and shea butter." "Perfect!" Even heard it in Greece.
Rob, he's just making sure you know you've placed an intelligent order. (Yes, it fries my liver too.)
DeleteI have a post on this very topic coming later this year, but John, I have to say, "Huzzah!" to you for a couple on this list. "Iconic," which I've seen applied in advertising to a new shade of lipstick. "Have a good one," which I hear several times a day in the elevator in my apartment building. My neighbors, I suspect, are too filled with deep thoughts or, more likely, anxiety to figure out if it's morning, afternoon, or evening. And maybe it's still, "No problem," down your way, but I'd be glad to have it back instead of its even more repellent younger cousin, "No worries." And yes, Rob, when did we become so dependent on the waiter's approval every time we eat out? And did they REALLY think the halibut was better than the red snapper? Or are they approval seekers too, telling us what they think we want to hear?
ReplyDeleteLiz, almost any celebrity in the news these days is iconic for some reason or other, especially if they've just died (sorry, I meant passed away). And "have a good one"?? Taken literally, that could mean anything from "have a good kid next time (unlike your last one)" to (in the hospital waiting-room) "have a good colonoscopy." I mean, how much effort would it take to say "day" or "morning" or whatever? As for waiters, I think they should undergo a polygraph test at the table.
DeleteBut Liz, you do remain a literary icon to me.
Aww, shucks, John. Love you too. And may everyone have a good colonoscopy!
DeleteFollowing up on Rob, when the waiter says, "Good choice!" Do they also say "You Lose!" if people pick something different from the menu? But going back a ways, I remember flinching every time at work when I heard "We've got an issue." Issue? Seems to me it was a problem. Man, I am becoming a Grumpy Grammarian. Melodie
ReplyDeleteGrumpy, grumpy.
DeleteMelodie, I think it'd be fun, if I were a waiter and about to quit anyway, to say exactly that to a customer after an order. "BZZZZT. You lose!" if it's not on the menu, or "Oh God, you're gonna regret that," after other orders. We all could use a little fun in our lives.
I probably just have an issue with waiters, these days.
"Really? Well, if you're sure..."
DeleteI tend to do this. A shrink I worked with back in the 90s said it stemmed from my childhood with an acholic and often violent father. One learns to not trust what we are told. It bugged everybody I was ever around and I tried to work on it. But, the default setting lives on to this day.
DeleteI can understand that, Kevin.
DeleteUnprecedented--- Often said by 20 something new to the area reporters while gesturing at something on a live shot. Not only do I have jeans older than they are, I also have a memory of the same damn thing happening multiple times here since the late 60s when I first started noticing news.
ReplyDeleteBreaking News--- If it happened more than an hour or two ago, it sure as hell is not Breaking News. That news broke hours ago. Whomever put the tag on the television banner or social media, deserves to have every single finger broken so they never do that again.
And, in general, if you don't care enough to report the full story this hour, then don't. Telling me I have to turn in next hour, or sometime later, for the rest of the story does nothing but annoy me.
Kevin (Shaking Fist At Clouds) R. Tipple
Oh my, yes. Unprecedented! Wish I had listed that one. As for Breaking News, there'd be a lot of Broken Fingers if they did what you suggested.
DeleteI get so annoyed by the unprofessional things reporters and anchors do, I probably shouldn't watch TV news anymore. I hate to get too prissy, here, but I hate to hear reporters say the pipe busted or the blood vessel busted, etc. Unless you're a sculptor or a dress designer or a drug officer, the word's burst, not bust.
Shaking my fist too, Kevin. And get off my lawn!
I grew up in the South, & also lived in New Jersey for a few years. I've been known to say "y'all," the plural form "all of y'all," & "ya's" depending on who I'm talking to!
ReplyDeleteMelodie, I also dislike use of the word "issue" instead of "problem". It's O.K. if it refers to a newspaper or magazine. And please don't anyone get me started on my #1 pet peeve of all time, "I'm like."
Elizabeth, I often wonder how the "I'm like" expression even got started. Sometimes it just replaces "I said." I overheard a statement the other day that went something like this: "Well, she was like why'd you do that, and I'm like why not, and she's like well, because it's crazy, that's why, and I'm like okay, okay." Try saying that, to my old high-school English teacher.
DeleteIn the Fifties in Queens, it was, "She goes" and "I go" instead of "She says" and "I say." Is that better or worse than "She's like" and "I'm like?" And is it worse when, like, writers do it on online interviews?
ReplyDeleteProbably about the same, Liz. Good point.
DeleteAny word ending with -ize, other than realize. "Empowering". And I am 100% behind Kevin with "unprecedented." How about just saying, "This has never happened before?"
ReplyDeleteEve -- How about "size"? Just kiddin'.
DeleteBoy, I'm feeling empowered by all these comments. I think this is unprecedented.
You know the answer, Eve. Because it usually has. ;)
ReplyDelete