"AT THE END OF THE DAY" named most irritating cliche

Associated Press ^ | 3/24/2004

[sinkspur]

LONDON - At the end of the day, it's the most irritating cliche in the English language.

So says the Plain English Campaign which said the abused and overused phrase was first in a poll of most annoying cliches.

Second place went to "at this moment in time," and third to the constant use of "like," as if it were a form of punctuation. "With all due respect" came fourth.

"When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message -- assuming there is one," said Plain English Campaign spokesman John Lister.

"Using these terms in daily business is about as professional as wearing a novelty tie or having a wacky ring-tone on your phone."

Lister said people should follow the 1946 advice of writer George Orwell: "Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print."

The Plain English Campaign, which offers annual awards for good use of the language, surveyed its 5,000 supporters in more than 70 countries for the poll.

Other terms that received multiple nominations included: 24/7; absolutely; address the issue; around (in place of about); awesome; ballpark figure; basically; basis ("on a weekly basis" in place of "weekly" and so on); bear with me; between a rock and a hard place; bottom line; crack troops; glass half full (or half empty); I hear what you're saying; in terms of; it's not rocket science; literally; move the goal-posts; ongoing; prioritize; pushing the envelope; singing from the same hymn sheet; the fact of the matter is; thinking outside the box; to be honest/to be honest with you/to be perfectly honest and touch base.

Formed in 1979, the Plain English Campaign is an independent group that campaigns against cliches, jargon and obfuscation, particularly in official and public documents.

[BSunday]

"First time caller, long time listener"

Aaaaaaaaugh!

[Fresh Wind]

All of our customer service representatives are busy right now...

Your business is important to us...

Please continue to hold...

[Steve0113]

I would add the use of..."actually." As in..."Actually I have been ..."..."Actually I am doing that..."..."Since you have asked, I am actually doing that..."..."Actually we have that on..."

Actually, that's not always the case. :) It can legitimately be used to soften the impact of pointing out a glaring factual error in another's post.

[Revolting cat!]

Most incorrectly used (including on FR): "That begs the question..."
Major pet peeve there. It's used instead of, "That raises the question..."

Even on FR, it's rarely used correctly.

I beg to disagree. "That begs a question" is an idiom, as well as a cliche, and idioms are not to be interpreted literally. Examples: "butterflies in one`s stomach", "cold shoulder", "get under one`s skin". Incidentally, that comma on the second quoted line from the top is used incorrectly.

[new cruelty]

Here are my two cents
Dollars to donuts
Run it up the flag pole

[GraceCoolidge]

There are people living in Kansas who claim "long walks on the beach" as a favorite activity.

No doubt these are the same people who are "equally comfortable in blue jeans and black tie".... ugh.

[3catsanadog]

And now with the elections coming up, we should shortly learn who has "gravitas" and who does not.

[Signalman]

I am, like, totally sick of the overuse of the word "like".
Like TOTALLY!

[biblewonk]

"you do the math"

"Been there, done that"

[GraceCoolidge]

Perhaps many responders to the survey don't consider this irritating use of "like" to be a cliche. I'm not sure it fits the definition of one. For most annoying speech pattern, I agree with you it's probably, like, the winner.

[new cruelty]

If that's what you think, you've got another think coming.

[Mr. Lucky]

I can relate to that.

[Doctor Stochastic]

In my humble opinion, running these cliches up the flagpole to see if anyone salutes constitutes a quantum leap forward in putting these puppies to bed.

[untenured]

Thank you for taking my call.

"Thank you" as a reply to "Thank you."

People do this in media interviews all the time.

[3catsanadog]

Disenfranchise

I'm tired of hearing that.

[biblewonk]

My son keeps saying "I know for a fact...". Can't stand it.

[ValerieUSA]

I'm surprised that I'm only one to mention "needless to say" so far.
My sister's mother-in-law said it over and over again in the midst of her very long stories that she prefaced with "long story short...."
If only.......

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

My vote would have to go to "Going forward...".

Where the hell else can one go? Backward?

[headsonpikes]

"At the end of the day" named most irritating cliche.

At this point in time, I'd have to agree.

This begs the question, "Can we push the envelope to the next level?"

[new cruelty]

Stick a fork in him. He's done.