least favorite word/phrase

Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Homer Potvin, Jan 26, 2017.

  1. MarcT

    MarcT Active Member

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    Totally appears everywhere nowadays, as in it's totally awesome.
    Purchase, when what you really mean is buy a dozen eggs etc
    My personal pet hates are:
    My bad
    Wake up and smell the coffee
    He/she/we reached out to...
    Awesome
    Just saying
    Anyhoo
    He be like
    To deplane...................don't get me started.
     
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  2. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I like the "silk hat on a pig" line in Goodfellas better...
     
  3. Ghost Reflection

    Ghost Reflection Active Member

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    This one! Yes, it's so irritating to me!

    Haha, I've used that before. Mostly when someone mentions anything to do with archaeology, because I will monologue happily for hours, and rant about the history channel and ancient aliens. Why can't they present real archaeology! why! why! why!:cry:

    I'm guilty of so many of these irritating phrases.
     
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  4. Danish Anwer

    Danish Anwer New Member

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    'Whatever' tops most annoying words of 2016, according to the Washington Post.
     
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  5. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    "Sweeping." As in, "The President signed sweeping changes to the law..."

    I heard a reporter on CNN yesterday say that certain proposals are "very sweeping." Ouch!
     
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  6. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Yeah, that one is kind of silly. It's like there's giant broom wandering around looking for things to change.
     
  7. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Do you work for the Cooncil? :)

    For me it's definitely 'awesome.' Unless you are referring to the Grand Canyon or a collision of planets.
     
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  8. Awz

    Awz Member

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    "You of all people..." I cringe every time I hear or read that. It seem that anytime someone want's to make a counter point that's the go to phrase.
     
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  9. minstrel

    minstrel Leader of the Insquirrelgency Supporter Contributor

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    Two little ones:

    "So" to begin the answer to a question. "How do you get to San Diego?" "So, you head south on I-405..."
    "So" is unnecessary and wrong in this case.

    Also, "at":

    "Where's the TV remote at?"
    It's perfectly correct to say "Where is the TV remote?" without the "at." To me, the "at" makes it sound like the speaker is barely literate.
     
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  10. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I don't know. Walking into a bar and screaming "Where's my wife at?" has a certain ring to it.
     
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  11. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    If Tupac is wrong I don't wanna be right. :D
     
  12. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Did Tupac say that somewhere? I know I have, to great hilarity with one notable exception.
     
  13. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

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    My mom used to smack the shit out of me if I said "where's it at?"
     
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  14. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Right? Mine was an English teacher. Good times... good times.
     
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  15. Laurin Kelly

    Laurin Kelly Contributor Contributor

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    Apologies! It was Krayzie Bone, not 2Pac

     
  16. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    I was thinking of the old Snoop Dogg video with the old guy saying, "Where's my daughter at? She's with that doggie dog again!"
     
  17. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Oh, to add to that excellent list: FACT. As in: 'You can no longer debate any of the garbage I just said, because I ended the discussion with FACT." Or its irritating first cousin: END OF.
     
  18. Michael Pless

    Michael Pless Senior Member

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    "Bad boy(s)" - referring to something that's good.
    In my reading though "sit(ting) down" when from a standing position - sitting is a motion in the downward direction generally.
    "Dimly lit" - dimness is a quantity of illumination, making "lit" unnecessary.
     
  19. R.P. Kraul

    R.P. Kraul Member

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    Doesn't lit in its original sense apply to artificial light? Therefore, I see "dimly lit" as more specific, maybe an office with little to no natural light and a dim lamp. Whereas a dim room is one with little light, the type of light being irrelevant. Maybe I'm being pedantic, but IMO they evoke different umages.
     
  20. kenc

    kenc Member

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    I suspect the phrase is supposed to be "It's always coldest just before the dawn." Which would make more sense.
     
  21. kenc

    kenc Member

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    Where I used to work, the saying was "you can't polish a turd!"
     
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  22. SethLoki

    SethLoki Retired Autodidact Contributor

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    No, but you can roll it in glitter.
     
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  23. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    In the UK mine would be 'deliver' - as in 'through consistent lottery funding we delivered ten gold medals in rowing/we deliver IT solutions going forward/the boy delivered...passionate. Oh, note abuse of 'passionate:' passionate about delivering results, wanker...

    In the US probably 'serve' or 'served.' Politics aside, word usage has that touch of Cheston Heston Armageddon movie about it...
     
  24. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

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    Or those Japanese breadcrumbs..
     
  25. newjerseyrunner

    newjerseyrunner Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    The Mythbusters did it just fine
    [​IMG]


    My biggest pet peeve is when people use "talk" when they should say "speak."

    It also really irks me when someone uses "who" when "whom" was correct. Or even worse for me though is people who try to use whom to seem smart, but then get it wrong. I never understood the confusion. I wouldn't accidentally interchange "he" with "him."

    It's not really a word, but I also dislike the improper use of a semicolon.

    Oh, also unobtanium. While it is a term used in engineering and science, it's never used correctly in science fiction.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2017

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