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Common phrases that society should phase out

LIVEFRMNYC said:
After something bad happens, people say "Everything happens for a reason".

NO IT DOESN'T!!!!! :mad:
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Yeah, if there is a reason for somethings happening I am still waiting. Some people may look back and try to find some reason however that is just life, things happen that lead to other actions happening.
 
Circle Back.

As in, "Let's circle back next week and see where we are on the project."

It's one of the douchiest things to come out of some buzzword obsessed middle manager's mouth. I'd like to circle back after hearing it to slap the **** out of them.
 
"We're pregnant." No, your wife is pregnant. You are an expecting father, but you're not pregnant.

"Starting a family." You mean "having kids." You started a family when you took up with your significant other. Childless couples are families, too.

"My birthday week." There's a reason the word day is in there - that reason being, it's not a week.

The business phrases everyone seems to loathe so much don't really bother me.
 
puma1552 said:
"moving forward"

why is this only ever used in business? nobody says this at home
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Scepticalscribe said:
That is another expression which I dislike intensely, and is only ever heard coming from the mouths of unimaginative types who are slaves to jargon.
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Aw, now you are hurting my feelings. Moving forward is very useful in business meetings.

John: "Let me tell you about the time XYZ Corp lost 50 trillion dollars doing exactly what you are proposing. It all began on Thanksgiving Day 1962 when, .... (10 minute anecdote followed by round table discussion of applicability of John's story in this case).

Bill (interrupting): Moving forward, ...
 
Tomorrow said:
"We're pregnant." No, your wife is pregnant. You are an expecting father, but you're not pregnant.

"Starting a family." You mean "having kids." You started a family when you took up with your significant other. Childless couples are families, too.

"My birthday week." There's a reason the word day is in there - that reason being, it's not a week.

The business phrases everyone seems to loathe so much don't really bother me.
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When I think of the word *family* I tend to think of more then a couple. I once saw someone post about having a family to support and they meant one other person. When I hear that I assume more then one person.
 
When receiving a gift oh you shouldn't have ok I'll take it back!

Or the standard response it was nothing or it was the least I could do. So okay what you are saying is this was the absolute minimum you could possibly do to fulfill some social convention.
Generally I don't like receiving gifts. Generally if I want something I'll buy it myself. If someone tries to get me a suprise gift its inevitably not quite right or completely wrong and just gets recycled.
 
jnpy!$4g3cwk said:
Aw, now you are hurting my feelings. Moving forward is very useful in business meetings.

John: "Let me tell you about the time XYZ Corp lost 50 trillion dollars doing exactly what you are proposing. It all began on Thanksgiving Day 1962 when, .... (10 minute anecdote followed by round table discussion of applicability of John's story in this case).

Bill (interrupting): Moving forward, ...
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Instead, why not something on the lines of 'can we move on to the next item', or, 'let's proceed to….';

Personally, I loathe business jargon speak, firstly because it is so derivative, and unimaginative; secondly, because it is usually some proto-macho middle manager's way of trying to sound as though he has leadership skills - which he confuses with posturing - and has mastered his universe, and thirdly, because it is yet another attempt to murder a beautiful language with prose that - for the most part - obscures its true meaning, rather than serving to enlighten whatever audience is present to hear it.

And, on the topic of business speak murdering a beautiful language, what is it with this ghastly aggressive (and again, pseudo-macho) vocabulary that we see from the business world? Terms such as 'head-hunting', and 'asset stripping' are now considered so normal that hardly anyone raises an eyebrow when they are used, but they are expressive of an extraordinarily aggressive set of values, and have certainly contributed to a de-sentising of both language and the wider business world.

Apple fanboy said:
When receiving a gift oh you shouldn't have ok I'll take it back!

Or the standard response it was nothing or it was the least I could do. So okay what you are saying is this was the absolute minimum you could possibly do to fulfill some social convention.
Generally I don't like receiving gifts. Generally if I want something I'll buy it myself. If someone tries to get me a suprise gift its inevitably not quite right or completely wrong and just gets recycled.
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Well, I'll happily take 'Oh, you shouldn't have', or 'It was the least I could do' over 'Because you're worth it' , (remember that Sony ad?) and the smug 'I deserve it'. At least, with these disclaimers, there is an acknowledgement, irrespective of how hollowly or insincerely it rings, that gift giving is a choice which has been made on the part of the giver, not something which is expected or demanded by right on the part of the recipient.
 
'And that's my point'.

No it bloody wasn't. It was my point and you are just now agreeing with me.

'This is a blame free environment'

So why are you so determined to find out who did it? Blame free does not exist and nor should it.

'I need someone to work tonight'

And I'm the only one you're asking so you mean you need me to work tonight and will ask for a reason for me not being able to if I decline your friendly request.

'Quick question'

Get lost, they are never quick and they usually end up with a 'quick favour' to ask.
 
What bugs me? To name but a few:

"Eatery" really grinds my gears. It's such an ugly, inelegant word. Someone took a perfectly good verb and mercilessly hacked into an noun. Ugh. It supplants lovely and usefully descriptive words like: restaurant, trattoria, cafe, coffee shop, deli, bistro, brasserie, pub, bar, noodle bar, sushi place, steak house, grill, cafe and diner. Places I'd look forward to.

"Simply put" is an insult dressed up as "trying to be helpful". Do I look like I need things "simply put"?

"To name but a few" really bugs me too. It's pompous sales patter. Nobody talks like that in real life.
 
Arran said:
What bugs me? To name but a few:

"Eatery" really grinds my gears. It's such an ugly, inelegant word. Someone took a perfectly good verb and mercilessly hacked into an noun. Ugh. It supplants lovely and usefully descriptive words like: restaurant, trattoria, cafe, coffee shop, deli, bistro, brasserie, pub, bar, noodle bar, sushi place, steak house, grill, cafe and diner. Places I'd look forward to.

"Simply put" is an insult dressed up as "trying to be helpful". Do I look like I need things "simply put"?

"To name but a few" really bugs me too. It's pompous sales patter. Nobody talks like that in real life.
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Excellent post, and very good examples of the mangling of the lovely English language.
 
The two that bug me the most are:

"thinking outside the box", and
"embrace change".

I hear these at work all the time, particularly by higher-ups who are trying to justify their decisions.
 
Common phrases that society should phase out

"Where is that jawn at" or "who's the jawn with the new car" or " I'm going to the jawn that has good pizza"

Ask me where I'm from lol
 
"To be honest..."

Uh, so you usually lie? Thanks for letting me know!


"Literally." "I literally peed my pants when I saw that!"

Literally means it actually happened. So you are excited that you urinated on yourself? But thanks to that misuse literally now means "figuratively." Unless used together: "I literally and figuratively peed my pants!" Yep, they are in need of Depends. Literally and figuratively.



Michael
 
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