Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Cliches: Which ones are you SICK of?
- Thread starter wattage
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Not a cliche, but a difference in vocabulary or understanding between young and old.
I was at the pool the other day and since I saw this happening, walked over to the guard (20ish) and asked if sitting on the lane dividers was frowned upon. Does this question make sense to our young members?He asked me what did I mean? I had to follow up with is it bad to sit on the lane dividers? He understood that and said yes. This is somewhat beside the point of this particular post, but I also asked him what is the YMCA policy for kids playing in lap lanes, during times designated for swimming laps when people were waiting to swim laps? He told me he had no clue... Hmm.
I mentioned it before in this thread, but was at McDonald's today ordering a lunch and after everything I said, the response was no problem. That's really bothering me these days, because as a rule there should be no problem ordering what's on the menu, or the voice in the box being able to produce what you order.
I think you got a special one there, has nothing to do with 20ish people's comprehension
[doublepost=1466520733][/doublepost]
- Let's take it offline
- Let's circle back
- The devil is in the detail
Most clichés are used by a certain type of pompous - but exceedingly inarticulate - individual who wants to seem more important and powerful and confident than they actually are, and think that using these expressions will aid that endeavour.
A few posts back, @mobilehaathi deplores the use of car analogies, - and I agree with him - but, personally, I find sporting ones even more mindlessly infuriating.
1. Are you a team player? (No, I am always tempted to reply, we are work colleagues, not team mates - this is life, not a bloody football game).
2. Thinking outside the box. (A classic example of mendacious doublespeak: This is because while it is a tedious cliché, yes, but, what is worse is that corporate life actually punishes, rather than promotes those who really do actually attempt to 'think outside the box'.)
3. At this point in time. (I've long thought that 'now' sounds a lot better, not least because it is a nice, crisp, old word, one that is perfectly useful, whereas 'at this point in time' is invariably used by self-important men trying to puff themselves up).
4. Going forward. (What is wrong with the verb 'proceed'?)
A few posts back, @mobilehaathi deplores the use of car analogies, - and I agree with him - but, personally, I find sporting ones even more mindlessly infuriating.
1. Are you a team player? (No, I am always tempted to reply, we are work colleagues, not team mates - this is life, not a bloody football game).
2. Thinking outside the box. (A classic example of mendacious doublespeak: This is because while it is a tedious cliché, yes, but, what is worse is that corporate life actually punishes, rather than promotes those who really do actually attempt to 'think outside the box'.)
3. At this point in time. (I've long thought that 'now' sounds a lot better, not least because it is a nice, crisp, old word, one that is perfectly useful, whereas 'at this point in time' is invariably used by self-important men trying to puff themselves up).
4. Going forward. (What is wrong with the verb 'proceed'?)
Last edited:
I think of "going forward" as meaning something more along the lines of, "from now on." As in, "I know in the past we've allowed people to warm up their leftover salmon for lunch using the office microwave, but moving forward, I think it would be best if we just stick to burnt popcorn."
What is wrong with 'from now on' - it is perfectly correct and completely comprehensible English.
"Going forward" is the sound of someone who strangles grammar and smothers clear speech whenever they open their mouth in a formal setting with bosses (to impress) and subordinates (to bluster) present.
It is obfuscation at its self-important but inarticulate finest, and it is not something anyone would say in the pub when chatting with mates or friends.
Let us put it this way: I have rarely heard this expression come from the mouth of someone who understood how to express themselves clearly and who knew - or knows - how language works.
Last edited:
And - on a finely calibrated gauge of assumed self-importance how did the speaker rate?
I usually don't participate in message boards, but language is a particular pet peeve
of mine.It is my very humble opinion that a certain group of people that are not negligible in number are just lazy. Lazy to exist and lazy to think. This translates to lazy to perform critical thinking while they speak and also to speak.
Having worked in several countries, it is very hard to get clichés and their meaning. Add to that if you are in a multicultural environment.
It took me a while to figure out what is a pet peeve.
It took me longer to figure out what was beating a dead horse. Was it beating it in a race? Beating it with a stick? It turns out, after some research, it was the latter. Because that was how horses were made to understand to move faster and supposedly, you can't make a dead horse move faster. But I can assure you, NO ONE that I work with, live with or interact with, has ridden a horse outside of some exotic holiday experience. OK, some really old folks actually do get it, but, why use this expression at all if almost no one can relate to it? Laziness.
Likewise having a chip on your shoulder is a 19th century or earlier experience where I think cargo workers or sailors could take chips on their shoulders from work and when there was a friction amongst them, they would fight for them. (It is a little bit more complicated than that... but I digress). I can assure you, no one carries chips at all on this day and age. So why still use this?
What really bothers me is that people just parrot them and this can go on for a very, very, very long time. To the best of my knowledge, "All roads lead to Rome" may have come from a long time ago, when all rock/brick roads in Europe DID lead to Rome.
The last one I dislike is similar abuse of language. "I love you with all my heart..."
Wasn't it established some centuries ago that the heart is actually a pump? It has been proven that people with artificial hearts can still love People love with their minds, or if you want to get biological, their brains I suppose. But imagine in 700 years, when people still use that phrase and start asking why they use it... and nobody will have a freaking clue... People just don't want change, especially in language.Never mind, it is water under the bridge now. At the end of the day, time will tell, if in a jiffy, we don't mean what we say when we should say what we mean. I mean, do you catch my drift? You know what I am saying? These phrases are a diamond in the rough even though they seem a dime a dozen. All’s well that ends well if you find the silver lining and think outside the box. Just remember the writing's on the wall and time heals all wounds.
Oh and when you have lemons, make lemonade because what goes around comes around.
I think you got a special one there, has nothing to do with 20ish people's comprehension
Replied to in another thread.
I don't have an issue with these terms as long as they are not overused.
Team Player has a very specific meaning, sometimes good, sometimes bad.
Thinking outside box, is a economical means of describing looking for non-conventional solutions (as I'm sure you know
).At this point in time, seems like it would be more efficient to say from now on unless a statement is being made about progress, where it does not sound so bad, or our progress, current progress, etc.
Going forward, does not sound much different than from now on.
I don't think there's anything wrong with it. I also don't think there's anything wrong with saying "going forward." I would not use them interchangeably in every context.
"Going forward" is something I would hear - and say - in a business setting to formally let people know of a change in policy or strategy. In such a case, saying "From now on" carries a bit of resentment or hard feelings with it, like somebody had been an idiot to do such a thing before and it will no longer be tolerated. In an informal setting, I would be more likely to say "from now on" because I probably care less about whether someone thinks I'm being brash with them.
I agree it's not something to say at a pub, but how is it in any way obfuscation? Its meaning is perfectly clear to most people.
Replied to in another thread.
I don't have an issue with these terms as long as they are not overused.
Team Player has a very specific meaning, sometimes good, sometimes bad.
Thinking outside box, is a economical means of describing looking for non-conventional solutions (as I'm sure you know
At this point in time, seems like it would be more efficient to say from now on unless a statement is being made about progress, where it does not sound so bad, or our progress, current progress, etc.
Going forward, does not sound much different than from now on.
Well, I'm not much into sports, or sports analogies, (they are ver-used, anyway) so any of that stuff - such as 'team player' - especially when it is used in a pseudo inspirational context - sets my teeth on edge. (And invariably puts me in the sort of mental mood where I will ask the most awkward and unsettling questions - the sort which are a carefully framed cul-de-sac - possible.)
"Going forward" makes me homicidal (in thought, not in deed; I oppose the death penalty). But it may give rise to a verbal assassination. (From me). Depending on whether I am of the opinion that the speaker is lazy, or merrily careless of language.
As for looking for a non-conventional solution, what is wrong with saying exactly that? It is self explanatory and there is none of the nonsense whereby self important types see refuge in confusing language that they think enhances their every utterance. (Hint: It doesn't).
And, I still prefer 'now' to the other monstrosity.
Now, nest up, I will ransack my mind and memory - and seek to extricate myself from other forms of online combat (and threads wherein we do dwell) - and rustle up some other egregious examples of sloppy speech.
[doublepost=1466527956][/doublepost]
Maybe it is the difference between American English and British English, but anyone I have ever heard use 'going forward' has come across as a self-important prat addicted to an especially egregious version of US business speak.
Certainly, in the UK and Ireland, 'from now on' is perfectly neutral, unless the context suggests that the speaker is issuing a command, - and mistakes have been made and blame assigned, in which case, yes, there could well be resentment.
In that sort of setting, if 'from now on' (a statement of fact, or an observation, rather than an order), was not possible, I'd say something along the lines of "For the future.." - or 'in future', or, 'for future reference'......
My point is that the English language allows for this sentiment to be expressed very clearly, without recourse to - what sounds to my ear - as a mindless cliché, the refuge of someone who thinks that this makes was they are trying to say somehow more important.
Actually, in my experience, the sort of person who uses these terms is usually giving a poorly articulated - and yes, a poorly thought out (both, in terms of content as well as how the talk is articulated or expressed) presentation. In fact, it is usually a very clear signal that a presentation of mind blowing mediocrity and utterly banal predictability is about to follow.
I hate when people use "the numbers" to describe statistics. Any sentence that begins with "The numbers say" usually ends with an uneducated sentence with misleading analysis of statistics.
At the end of the day.
At the end of the day you go to bed. That's what denotes the day (whatever the time) has ended.
It is what it is.
Popular with a Ukranian I used to work with.
At the end of the day you go to bed. That's what denotes the day (whatever the time) has ended.
It is what it is.
Popular with a Ukranian I used to work with.
Henceforth, use of "going forward" is prohibited.
Whence comes this dictum? Whither "from now on"?
What woes will betide transgressors?
The above matter having come on for hearing before the Honorable MacRumors Court on the twenty first day of June of the year of our lord two thousand and sixteen, and at said hearing:
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that each offending party shall be bestowed upon their forehead the letter G as a proper, suitable and pertinent admonition of "Grammar".
It is further noted that the 50 lashes at public square on the morrow as suggested by members of the hearing was surmised excessive.
So say we all.
Yes, let's hope that trend stops as quick as a Porsche Turbo.
[doublepost=1466541610][/doublepost]
Team Player is definitely a teeth grinder, but the concept of team in a non-sports, professional capacity has been around for years, and extremely common in the tech sector
Not challenging what you said, but an observation I'll make is that a team does not have to be a sports team, but any group of people working together towards a common goal.