1. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    7,471
    Likes Received:
    10,216
    Location:
    London, UK

    Words/phrases you want banned

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Tenderiser, Sep 2, 2015.

    I would like to throw the following words and phrases into Room 101 because they make me twitch and mutter evil things. You are welcome to join me with your own contributions.

    1. Utilise. Say use, damn it!

    2. Reach out. As in "let's reach out to our customers." No. Reach into a mousetrap.

    3. Touch base. As in "let's touch base on this later." No, let's not.

    This is supposed to be light-hearted, not a serious discussion about the evolution of language etc. Although, when I take over the world, these will be banned.
     
    Cave Troll and Sack-a-Doo! like this.
  2. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2013
    Messages:
    17,674
    Likes Received:
    19,889
    Location:
    Scotland
    Awesome. Unless it's the grand canyon, a black hole or the end of the world as we know it. It should never be a piece of pie.
     
    Tenderiser likes this.
  3. daemon

    daemon Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2014
    Messages:
    1,357
    Likes Received:
    978
    Some misuses of terms and idioms that really get to me:
    • Using "literally" to mean "not literally". It literally makes my ears bleed. (Not literally!)
    • Using "hacking" to mean exploiting a human vulnerability rather than a software vulnerability. It is an insult to actual hackers. (Example: if you leave your computer without logging out and someone gets access to your Facebook account, then that is not "hacking". If someone writes code to download your data from Facebook's server without proper authorization, then that is hacking.)
    • Using "I could care less" to mean "I couldn't care less". ("I could care less" = "I care more than not at all.")
     
    jannert and Tenderiser like this.
  4. daemon

    daemon Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2014
    Messages:
    1,357
    Likes Received:
    978
     
    KaTrian and cutecat22 like this.
  5. Sifunkle

    Sifunkle Dis Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2014
    Messages:
    478
    Likes Received:
    586
    @daemon 's covered my #1 hate (literally).

    (Maybe I'm just xenophobic, but) that 'off of' Americanism makes me grit my teeth. I've never heard, 'I put my keys on of the table'... it makes no sense I tells ya.

    Claiming something is ironic when it's just funny, coincidental or unfortunate.

    'Ticking all the boxes'. Do people really enjoy bureaucracy so much that they want to evoke it in situations that are otherwise blissfully free of it?
     
  6. daemon

    daemon Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2014
    Messages:
    1,357
    Likes Received:
    978
    YES.
     
  7. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2010
    Messages:
    15,262
    Likes Received:
    13,084
    "Begs the question." It's fine when correctly used, but I'm not sure that I've ever seen it correctly used, outside discussions of the phrase itself.
     
    Sifunkle and Steerpike like this.
  8. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    I'm with you on this one. :agreed: Though, had I been there on "coining day" I would probably have interjected something to the tune of, "And what's the likelihood of anyone using that correctly?" :bigmeh:

    ETA: You have to be from the American South-East to hear this one, but in that region the word "anymore" gets used to mean "nowadays" or "these day". That one needs a kick right in the teeth.
     
    Nicoel and Steerpike like this.
  9. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,557
    Location:
    California, US
    I hear it used properly infrequently enough that when it is used correctly it makes me stop a moment and say "Aha!" 99.9% of the time it is used wrong, particularly in the news media.
     
  10. General Daedalus

    General Daedalus Banned

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2015
    Messages:
    104
    Likes Received:
    43
    Go walkabout. This has to be the most annoying phrase ever.
     
  11. Bookster

    Bookster Banned

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2015
    Messages:
    172
    Likes Received:
    72
    Location:
    Right between the eyes
    "Shoot me an email".

    "Cut a check".

    "Do me a solid".
     
  12. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    7,471
    Likes Received:
    10,216
    Location:
    London, UK
    I'm a little afraid to ask but... what?

    Middle management speak needs to die.
     
    Mckk likes this.
  13. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    It means "do me a favor". It carries the implication that the result is of guaranteed benefit.
     
    Fullmetal Xeno and Tenderiser like this.
  14. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    7,851
    Likes Received:
    3,339
    Location:
    Boston
    YOLO
     
    Fullmetal Xeno likes this.
  15. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2015
    Messages:
    7,471
    Likes Received:
    10,216
    Location:
    London, UK
    Oh. In to Room 101 it goes!
     
  16. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    In general, and not to get too serious, I personally object to Brits objecting to Americanisms on principle as much as Americans objecting to Briticisms on principle. That's just ethnocentric. Australians, I've noticed, generally lean back and don't participate in that dynamic, thinking us all fuq-wits for doing so. :whistle::-D
     
    Gawler, Lemex and matwoolf like this.
  17. General Daedalus

    General Daedalus Banned

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2015
    Messages:
    104
    Likes Received:
    43
    My teacher told me to reply to anyone who says YOLO with SYLO - Sort Your Life Out
     
  18. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,557
    Location:
    California, US
    "Off of" at least makes grammatical sense, whereas "on of" would not.
     
    Mckk and Wreybies like this.
  19. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    Correct. It's a false grammatical parallel. The correct counterpart to "off of" would be "onto". ;)
     
    Fernando.C and Steerpike like this.
  20. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,557
    Location:
    California, US
    As for Brits, I'll present this excerpt from Henry VI, Part 2:

    "SUFFOLK: How camest thou so?
    SIMPCOX: A fall off of a tree.
    Wife: A plum-tree, master."

    So sayeth the Bard.
     
  21. Lemex

    Lemex That's Lord Lemex to you. Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2007
    Messages:
    10,704
    Likes Received:
    3,425
    Location:
    Northeast England
    'Irregardless' - So ... regarding? Why not just say 'regardless' and not sound like an idiot?
     
    daemon and General Daedalus like this.
  22. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    Though - and just to play devil's grammatical advocate - the Bard himself was known to make use of from whence as a construction when meter demanded the extra beat. This, to my mind, is unconscionable. Adding a preposition before whence is a capital crime in my book! Capital, I tell you! :ohno::-D
     
    Steerpike likes this.
  23. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2010
    Messages:
    13,984
    Likes Received:
    8,557
    Location:
    California, US
    Yes, that is a twist of the language for the sake of the art :)

    I got the Shakespeare quote from a reference to OED, which apparently shows the use of "off of" going back some 500 years, and provided multiple examples of such use. So even if the use is more common in American English now, it didn't originate here (ie. it is not an Americanism). And I read an interesting article some years ago that showed certain English uses in America that were originally British, but are no longer used in the UK, as well as other uses that evolved separately in the U.S. after the oppressors were thrown out. Quite fascinating.
     
    Wreybies likes this.
  24. GuardianWynn

    GuardianWynn Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Nov 12, 2014
    Messages:
    2,392
    Likes Received:
    843
    The fact that I heard the term "Literal" has gained a definition of "when used in the exaggerative figurative expression"

    This makes me cry on the inside.
     
  25. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe

    Agreed. :) From a linguistic POV, it's only intuitive that both BrE and AmE have diverged from there common point of origin. To say that modern AmE has somehow fallen from the mark represented by modern BrE is false. They have both changed over the span of time.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice