22 Common Phrases We All Secretly Hate

[ashling]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/14/annoying-phrases_n_5118472.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

"Everything happens for a reason."
... except when it doesn't.

"If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."
"If fact #1 is true, then fact #1 is true." This falls under the "you actually just said nothing" category.

"To be frank..."
"As opposed to the rest of the things I say, which are evasive..."

"Honestly..."
"Typically I'm lying, but in this case I'm being honest."

"My bad."
This expression makes light of a mistake -- rather than a sincere apology, "my bad" is the verbal equivalent of a shrug.

"Killing it."
Because what's success without severe aggression? Also, it may be physically impossible to say this phrase without simultaneously high-fiving someone.

[et al.]

to which I would add:

"back in the day"
generally used by those who think of themselves as just too damned cool to be specific -
which day? . . . because everything is not "now" or "then" .. . . "today" or "that other day"

"I have to be brutally honest"
honesty has nothing to do with it

additions?

[CurtEastPoint]

1. "It is what it is." "At the end of the day."

[derby378]

2. These two would be okay if used sparingly

Our culture, however, is not particularly inclined towards the concept of "sparingly."

[CurtEastPoint]

5. You're right. I have heard the 'day' expression used 2, 3, 4 times in a talk or radio snippet.

[RebelOne]

26. Politicians use it all the time on C-Span. n/t

[ashling]

3. Do you mean that

its not what it is? or it is what it isn't? or maybe it depends on what "is" is

[raccoon]

10. maybe it depends on what "is" is --seems like I remember somebody saying that.

A former POTUS, in fact....

[geardaddy]

4. Mine are the misuse of "literally"

and "back in the day"

[ashling]

34. What is the correct use of

"back in the day"

just sayin'

[geardaddy]

37. Oh hrmph!

Grrr!

[A HERETIC I AM]

6. I am regretfully guilty of this one!....

"When I was your age"


Also, I am getting REALLY tired of people, including ostensibly educated people, starting their sentences with "So"

As in "So, we began the experiment by gathering a sample of 150 of my students"

Yes, I have heard college professors and scientists use this annoying as hell verbiage.

I agree with the "Honestly" bit as well. I take it the rest of what you say isn't all that honest, then?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

9. The worst is when their answer to a question begins with 'So,".

"What's the weather like today?" "So, the weather is cold and windy."

[csziggy]

15. Sometimes "So" takes the place of "Umm"

One person in a discussion on MSNBC (don't remember which show, which discussion, who it was) annoyed me because they began every single sentence with "So, ..." even in the middle of their statement. It became so distracting to me I changed the channel.

The phrase that often annoys me is "turn of the century" especially since they are usually referring to the change from the 1800s to the 1900s. We are now over a decade into the NEXT century - please qualify which century change you mean! If it is used in my presence, I am tempted to say, "Oh, I thought by 2000 things had progressed further than that!"

[ashling]

35. We are now over a decade into the NEXT century

Yeah, but back in the day . . .

just sayin'

[ashling]

44. I always just say

Last edited Tue Apr 15, 2014, 11:16 AM - Edit history (2)

"Back when I was young and stupid ..."

[UrbScotty]

80. Another one is when people say, "So?"

As if to mean, "What's your point?"

[brooklynboy49]

7. I'm in the minority

I like "back in the day" and use it sparingly. I'm in complete agreement about the phrases "honestly" and "to be frank" (or "frankly&quot . For the very reasons cited, I make a conscious decision not to use them. I don't think there's anything wrong with saying "my bad" if referring to a small, inconsequential matter. The first two I just hate because I hate all platitudes. "Killing it" is cool if used by younger people, I'd say the cut-off for use is 30.

P.S. I never say "when I was your age" because I hated hearing it when I was young and vowed never to use it when I got older. So far I've kept my promise

[ashling]

13. The Platitudes were a great group back in the day

Who can forget, "Gun's Don't Kill People," by the Platitudes

[Jade Fox]

20. Haha! nt

[Art_from_Ark]

41. I don't see anything wrong with "to be frank" or "to be honest"

I doubt whether anyone always gives their candid opinion about everything to everyone. Many times, people will say something they don't really mean, just to be diplomatic. Starting out a reply to a question with "to be frank" or "to be honest" just means that you're letting the other person know that you will be giving them your candid opinion.

[ashling]

54. From now on you will have to use this in ALL of your posts

[Art_from_Ark]

81. Yes, in every post

To be frank, Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas!
Quite frankly, Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany!
To be honest, Jimmy Carter was President in 1978!
Honestly, 2 plus 2 equals 4!

[ashling]

55. As I recall, the flip side had

"From my cold Dead Hands"
=P

[pipi_k]

8. Actually, this one...

"I apologize if I made you feel that way."

I.e. "I refuse to take responsibility for my actions."

Is sort of a crock because nobody can MAKE someone else feel any way at all.



Example...over the weekend I spoke with a stepdaughter about a pair of crocheted slippers I made for her 3 year old daughter. Stepdaughter was the one who asked me to make them...I agreed.

Well, they were the slippers from HELL.

Really bad directions.

So I told her they were the slippers from hell, explaining why they were, and explained that the crappy directions were why it took me so long to finish them, and she got all teary-eyed and apologized.

I said it was not her fault.

Did I make her feel that way? No.

I still felt like a bit of a creep, though, and when I saw her again yesterday, here's what I said...

"When I spoke to you the other night about the slippers, I really didn't mean for you to feel badly".

I was not going to apologize for MAKING her feel badly.

Also...she is the type of person who takes offense/gets hurt very easily, so it's like walking on eggshells to find anything that won't cause tears.

Tiresome at the very least...

[raccoon]

11. ""I have to be brutally honest" -- usually the accent is on the brutal. nt

[ashling]

12. Its all about the brutality

[leeroysphitz]

40. I have to be viciously truthful. lol n/t

[Arugula Latte]

14. A fairly recent one: "I know, right?"

[Coventina]

16. Secretly? Nothin' "secret" about it!

[Populist_Prole]

17. "I'm just sayin" = Lamest comeback. Ever

It's epidemic.

Can't support your argument? "I'm just sayin"

Say something insulting or inappropriate? "I'm just sayin" ( in a defensive tone )

[Populist_Prole]

18. I had a Polish ex-pat ask me once

He has learned English reasonably well to function here but asks me from time to time for clarifications.

He once asked, in a frustrated tone something like: Why do so many people always say "what do you mean?" when he says something? ( "whaddya mean?" ) He just couldn't get over the overuse of such a mindless phrase. He was like "If I meant something different I would say something different".

The best I could offer is that the asker of that question didn't like the previous answer but doesn't want to say so.

[treestar]

78. IMO it means "I don't understand"

and that phrase is a more casual expression of it.

[UrbScotty]

19. "We have a lot of work to do"

"We need all the help we can get"

"We have our work cut out for us"

[Tom Ripley]

65. Add "we are going to work smarter, not harder" which is usually said by one who will do no work...

at all.

[Jade Fox]

21. Just please, everyone, stop saying "awesome"!

Thank you

[Coventina]

22. That would be awesome!

[RebelOne]

27. I am guilty of that phrase. n/t

[kwassa]

43. "Awesome" should be outlawed.

For many, it is the only adjective they know.

Educated people. Or so they say.

[kairos12]

23. "Can I level with you?"

[KamaAina]

24. "We need to talk."

[Skittles]

49. aw f*** how I detest that one

always from lovers

[Arugula Latte]

56. "But, we can still be friends!"

[Skittles]

66. that's actually true, until someone owns them

ugh

[LeftOfSelf-Centered]

67. Yes!

The meaning usually being "*I* have to talk,"

In the same vein there's "It's not you, it's me."

[KamaAina]

25. "In what respect, Charlie?"

[lululu]

28. it's not personal

[ashling]

36. It's ALWAYS personal

especially when someone tells you its not

[LynneSin]

29. You know.....

No I don't know, if I did know I'd cut you off so you didn't waste your time telling me something I already knew!

[LynneSin]

30. I'm not "racist, sexist, homophobic, an asshole etc etc etc" but..........

If you have to start a sentence saying that you are not a particular type of person then more than likely you are going to finish that sentence saying something that will pretty much identify you with the group that you just said that you're not really a part of.

[Boomerproud]

38. That is always followed by "some of my best friends are..."

Whatever group they're denigrating.

[Auggie]

31. "Can I ask you a question?"

[warrprayer]

32. to be perfectly frank...

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

33. "no problem" as a response to "thank you"

The overwhelming number of people I say 'thank you' to, whether on the phone or in a store, say "no problem" in response. It's such an uncivilized phrase compared to what I used to hear, such as "don't mention it", "it was my pleasure", or "you're welcome". "No problem" to me seems like they're saying "well I didn't really enjoy interacting with you and you're just another statistic I have to deal with in my daily life, but at least I didn't have to go out of my way for you and your thankfulness means nothing to me". Maybe they don't appreciate my saying 'thank you' and modern life has estranged people from each other. In that case I would prefer honest silence instead of something mechanical and un-neighborly like "no problem".

Another expression I've hated throughout my life is "can't we just be friends? I'm sure one day you'll find someone who's right for you." I'm still waiting, lol. Of course she doesn't want to be friends and brutal honesty would have been much more appreciated, at least for me.

[Ino]

46. Good grief...

As someone who says "no problem," I can assure you that I don't mean ANYTHING like what you've come up with. I find your interpretation astonishing.

To me, it means "Please, helping you was a pleasure... not a problem."

[treestar]

77. I don't mind that but a similar one I don't like

You say you hope the person's relative gets better, feels better, after a story of a bad thing happening to the relative.

Me: "I hope he feels better soon."

Them: "Me too."

Not sure why it irks me, but it seems to ignore your good wishes and to suggest you weren't commiserating with them or were even suggesting they didn't care enough about their own relative.

[KamaAina]

39. "Never gonna give you up,"

"never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you!"

[countryjake]

42. Ending with "just so you know"...

Someone that I know uses this phrase so often that if I were the creative type, I'd snip together all of her messages left to me on my answering machine and create a hilarious Letterman-like audio file, then send it on to her (hopefully to stop her use of it).

Another that I've become extremely aggravated with just this month is the "up by the bootstraps" reference. Living in close proximity to a disaster, it seems to be the proper meme that some folk have been cued to use in order to denigrate any aid being offered.

[Ino]

45. "I'm sorry for your loss"

It's such a lame trite cliche and doesn't sound very sorrowful or personal or even sympathetic to me. Just a rote phrase for the occasion.

[raccoon]

86. So, what are they supposed to say on such an occasion? nt

[Ino]

88. Something a bit more personal.

Like, "I'm sorry about your father," or "I am sorry. It's so hard to lose a parent," or use the deceased's name if you know it.

"I'm sorry for your loss" sounds like you're talking about a bracelet.

[Paper Roses]

47. 'Truth be told.'

Can't stand it.

[progressoid]

64. Yes! I have a client that says that too much.

Sometimes I don't think she realizes she's doing it. Often it doesn't even fit with what she's saying.

[GeorgeGist]

48. Epic

[Jamaal510]

73. +1

[IDemo]

50. It's all good

Really? Every bit of it?

[KurtNYC]

51. What a miserable person the author of that article must be

You attract whatever energy you put out so if one is miserable and highly critical of the actions and alleged shortcoming of others then one is going to attract other miserable, overly-critical people.

"We ALL hate" ? -- news flash: THERE IS NO SECRET PHRASE HATING CONSPIRACY! You may need sleep or coffee or something. Or just turn up your iPod and stop listening to the rest of us while we use common phrases. Good luck to you.

[astral]

75. On first blush, dont those conspiracy theories make you

Want to throw up in your mouth a little, just sayin!

Facts are facts, whether you choose to believe them or not.

Got lots more up my sleeve

(but im serious about the top three, they really do make me sick)

[davidpdx]

52. I teach college students

I've been finding myself using "kids these days" a lot.

[lululu]

68. "the youth"

when did that slither into the English language. It's as offensive as Educators.

[malthaussen]

53. Curious how often we don't say what we mean.

Many of these phrases are illustrations of just that.

-- Mal

[femmocrat]

69. "Keep in touch"... when it is obvious neither of you intend to do so.

That is kind of like, "I'll call you."

[irisblue]

57. " touch base with you"

holy moly I HATE that one. We are at work, not playing softball/baseball.

[ashling]

58. "Change is good"

to take the sting away from a less than optimal change.

I worked in the title insurance industry in the early 90s and the companies I worked for were always getting bought out and emaciated .

I worked with an insipid employee who took to saying this - No its not, change is change. period.

[Rob H.]

59. I've heard some cringeworthy ones in the tech industry

"Let's talk about that offline" said during a meeting to mean "Let's talk about that later." It always made me want to say, "We're not online now!"

"Sorry, I don't have the bandwidth for that right now" to mean "Sorry, I'm incredibly busy." You are neither a network router nor a radio transmitter. You never had nor will you ever have bandwidth, period.

"Moving forward...." Ugh. Stop it. (I've heard this in way too many places, not just the tech industry.)

"Upsize" to mean "increase" or "expand."

"Compact form factor." You mean "small." It's one word! Just say it!

"Complexify" to mean "complicate." Yes, it's a real word, and no, it doesn't make you sound smarter when you use it.

[ashling]

60. When I lived in WA state I was always

confounded that teachers were not certified by the state ... in WA they are "certificated"

[Rob H.]

62. That kind of makes sense

...since they had to go to school to get smartified.

[IDemo]

70. If you can think of more of these,

ping me.

[Vashta Nerada]

61. Irregardless, I literally understand.

To be frank, I get where this is coming from. We used to kill it when I was your age. You do know everything happens for a reason, right? Just sayin'.

[adirondacker]

89. You have Got to be shitting me, 'cause I'm totally down with that!

[Go Vols]

63. "I don't mean to be rude,but..."

is usually followed by something rude.

[raccoon]

87. Along with that, "Maybe I shouldn't say this, but...." usually followed by something they shouldn't

say.

[bif]

71. "In a few minutes from now"

As opposed to "In a few minutes from ten minutes ago?" How about just, "In a few minutes?"

[ashling]

72. Watergateism

At this point in time

[Jamaal510]

74. "Jeebus",

-"like..." (being said after other word in a sentence)
-"you know what I mean.."
-"it is what it is..."
-"you know what I'm sayin'..."
-"I'm keepin' it real..."
-"whatevs..."
-"seriously?"
-"are you serious?"

[edgineered]

76. YEAH BUT riles me the most.

I sometimes respond with a story.

I told Joe he had a flat tire.

He agreed, "Yes, the tire is flat"

He disagreed, "No, it only looks that way because the ground is soft"

He waffles, "Yeah but, it's not my car". It doesn't matter that the tire is flat.

[doxydad]

79. Nome sayn? n/t

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

82. So ...

So, when someone starts a sentence with the word "so", it just grates.

So stop it already.

So long.

[randr]

83. Duh--Dude!

[Initech]

84. George Carlin: "it's the quiet ones you got to watch".

"You hear this expression every time there's a mass shooting. It's the quiet ones you got to watch. Oh yeah? While you're watching the quiet ones, a noisy one will fucking kill you! Say you're at a bar and at one end there's a guy reading a book and not bothering anybody. On the other end there's a guy banging a machete against the bar yelling "I'm gonna kill the next motherfucker that comes in here!". Which one are you going to watch?"

[Boom Sound 416]

97. ...

[frogmarch]

85. I don't

hate any of them.

As for "frankly," this scene from Gone With The Wind would have been forgotten had it not been for that word. (Yeah, I know some here hate the movie think it deserves to be forgotten.)

[hermetic]

90. "Think about it."

Well, gee, thanks for the reminder. If you hadn't told me, I'm sure my little brain would just be going 'la la la, no thinking going on in here.'

If you know someone who says this a lot, I'd advise you to be very wary of that person. That's my experience, anyway.

.
.
.

[ashling]

92. As a college professor, I am constantly encouraging my students

to "THINK about it" . . . it's sort of part of the job description.

[hermetic]

93. To clarify...

to say that at the beginning of a statement, that isn't so offensive. Say, "Here, think about this."
That's cool.

BUT, go off on a rant about something, especially regarding someone's lifestyle or choices, and then end it with "Think about it!" I have thought about it, thank you very much. See the difference? Plus it usually involves finger-wagging.

I have a college education. It did help teach me how to think. I think about everything. I don't appreciate some narrow-minded jerk telling me I am not thinking about what I am doing. I have experienced that and it's why I decided to say it here.

I truly appreciate how hard it is to educate the young, especially these days. I salute you for your efforts. But don't tell me (and I'm not addressing you here) what to think. Or how.

Sigh...it ain't easy, getting old.

[Efilroft Sul]

91. Interesting thing about two of the phrases.

"Back in the day" and "my bad" were spoken by the ancient Romans.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

94. but they had repentance ritual

To go with Mea Culpa, so it was a serious declaration.

"My bad".....ugh hate hate hate that one.

[hopemountain]

95. "really?"

no, i am lying. (which is what i want to reply to "really?&quot

and….

"he's in a better place, now" or "she's in a better place, now"

[YankeyMCC]

96. I'm really finding "That said,..."

annoying.

That said, I'm a pretty bad offender myself.

[Boom Sound 416]

98. I mean...