Posted on 05/29/2007 2:17:17 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
Readers have responded in their thousands to The Daily Telegraph's call to select the worst phrases in the English language.
Since our invitation was issued in February, more than 3,000 of you have submitted personal inventories of the damned, containing the phrases, aphorisms and clichés that irritate the most.
High on the list of grievances was the increasing use of slang, poor grammar and the incorporation of Americanisms into everyday speech.
Many of you shared frustrations over the misuse of "forensic" and "literally", while management jargon such as "downsizing", "brainstorming" and "thinking outside the box" also received plenty of nominations.
The Daily Telegraph has responded with its own compilation of annoying phrases, and She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook is now available on Amazon.
Here is a selection of your comments so far:
"It's not rocket science". Rocketry is engineering, not a science. - Tony
The phrase "up close and personal" was irritating to start with and has become hackneyed and meaningless e.g. I went on a river trip and was thrilled to get up close and personal with a crocodile - Margot Lang
I can't stand "to die for". Nothing's that good and even if it was, you'd be dead and wouldn't be able to enjoy whatever it was. - Vivsy
"Pushing the envelope" always conjures up for me some ridiculous scene in a mailing room or post office. - Nigel Brown
Why, when someone famous dies, do tributes always "pour" in? Also, when a plane crashes in the sea, the media is quick to remind us that the waters are always "shark-infested". - S.Winrad
Only £1,999.99. - P.H.Heilbron
"This door is alarmed". Is it really frightened? - Alan Lawrence
The infuriating rising inflections at the end of sentences that make everything sound like a question? - Steve Grant
I hate being addressed as "hallo there". My name is not "there". And why have all the cookery books and frying pans disappeared? What is a "cook" book and a "fry" pan? - Susan Byers
When the waitress plonks the plate in front of you and says, "there you go". Where do I go? Where's there? - Ken Clarke
"It will be in the last place you look". Well of course I'm not going to continue to look for it when I have found it. - Tom Batt
Excellent set up, kitkat.
I was thinking about ways to make that a truly hilarious scene. One would be to have one of the meeting attendees quietly give the score card to just one person but tell that person everyone was getting the cards, when, in fact, no one else was getting them.
“Oh my, you’re so big”
I’m really getting sick of that one.
150 posts in, and no onw has mentioned “rilly”. I was rilly sick last night, so I wuz up rilly late and watched this rilly lame movie. But, it had a rilly hawt chick in it. Rilly. Seriously.
That’s exactly how I pronounce the word, and I can’t stand when it’s pronounced “ant”. That’s a bug. Say the words “gaunt”, “daunt”, “flaunt”, “haunt”, “jaunt”, “taunt” and then “aunt”. They should all rhyme!
already said?
Yup. “Myself” is another one.
whinge intr.v. Chiefly British., whinged, whing·ing, whing·es.
To complain or protest, especially in an annoying or persistent manner.
[Dialectal alteration of Middle English whinsen, from Old English hwinsian.]
“shut up”
bump for later reading, unless that phrase really bothers some freepers and they can provide a better one
but I don't want anybody else to say it.!!!!roflmao...
“My revenge: press 2 and speak very bad Spanish.”
Now that’s funny!
Along these lines, I tried to wax eloquent posting a few trite clichés, but that was easier said than done. I couldnt pinpoint the cause but I was at a loss for words. As a matter of fac,t clichés seemed to be in short supply in this day and age. At my wits end, and thinking ignorance is bliss, I thought about throwing in the towel, biting the bullet and giving up this pipe dream. I would leave well enough alone and give up my ill-fated attempt lock, stock and barrel.
Then it dawned on me, that if only I would dig in my heels, make a Herculean effort, shift into high gear and leave no stone unturned, there was hope for the future and I could take my place in the sun. To make a long story short, I took the bull by the horns and in a labor of love, I decided to rack my brain, and putting some method to this madness I made a last ditch effort to search the web where it was a forgone conclusion clichés from the sublime to the ridiculous would be found to my hearts desire. In the last analysis, my whirlwind tour of the Internet yielded results which in no uncertain terms that were second to none.
I saw a sign once that said "No Admittance Past This Point For Anyone Who Says "Nukuler".
for example...
"The democrats are all sons of b#tches."
As opposed to , " the democrats are all a bunch of son of a b#tches".
Personally, I’m tired of the buzzword “Lean”.
nothing is wrong, but the media overuses it like many others.
it depends on what your definition of the word “is” is.
Back in the day.
Back in 2006. Back in November. What’s with the obsessive use of the word back?
AnywayS
Where’s he/she/it AT?
I have a SENSE that...
My SENSE is....
His employer wants him to be in charge of the situation.
That's the whole purpose of his beginning the encounter with a remark about the item you were perusing.
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