What turn of phrase do you hate?
Every time I hear someone say 'eh' in a questioning tone or to mean 'um actually' I lose my shit. Or even just to play something down.
Like I literally come to hate the person instantly. Its a very strong feeling on a very small sound.
Instant downvotes if I see it on Lemmy too. HATE IT.
How about all y'all?
'could care less' instead of "couldn't". I know it's just a regional / generational difference, I don't really care about being a prescriptivist or that my way is more "logical". Phrases and idioms can be stupid and counterintuitive. But that 's said, it bugs the living hell out of me, and I instantly think anyone using it is an ignorant dumbass.
Quite so. Isn't there an Internet law that you can never post something pedantic about language without making a typo or other error?
The phrase was used decades ago to be somewhat of a dismissal or threat.
As in I care so little already, do you want me to care even less which will be not at all?
"Dad! You don't care about my hamster!"
"I could care less...." (removed again and the next stop for hammy is the freezer)
Absolutely.
Apart from the exact cases the lovely krudler just mentioned I agree with this. The misuse is very annoying.
If I cared any less I’d have to start thinking about how little I care, and I don’t care enough for that.
I literally dislike it whenever anyone uses the word literally when they clearly mean figuratively.
Its just extra syllables to lie to me.
There's this process in language where intensifiers --- words that amplify the strength of the meaning of the rest of the phrase --- tend to become used in areas that they aren't really truly appropriate in and thus "weaken" in meaning.
So, for example, "awesome" once truly meant "awe-inspiring", but it's been used enough in weaker senses the past several decades here in California that it doesn't really mean that any more. It just means "very good" now.
I don't think that the Brits do that with "awesome" --- or at least not as much --- but they like to use "colossally" in a similar way.
The above Wikipedia link has a list of intensifiers, including "literally", and you can probably recognize a bunch of them that have "weakened".
Really blows my mind that so much ink is spilled over "literally" while "really" gets a pass for doing the same thing really.
Epic
brilliant!!!
As I said in another comment, it isn't just using it incorrectly that's annoying, it's also using it unnecessarily. People use "literally" for emphasis in sentences where no adverb is needed. It should only be used if you are clarifying that you mean literally when the sentence could otherwise be interpreted as figurative
It's just become a stylistic habit. People do it in imitation of what they hear everyone else do. This actually makes it even more annoying to me, though I know this is just instinctive human behavior.
"It is what it is". This cliche is symptomatic of learned helplessness and only serves to protect the status quo against any sort critical analysis and reform.
It's sad you feel that way. We can't magically change the weather today, it is what it is. But if we keep pressuring businesses and politicians, we may be able to mitigate it for future generations.
Pretty context dependant. Some things you can't change and have to deal with, so it is what it is. We got shit tools but the work needs to be done now so it is what it is.
Fully agree, it contributes nothing but impotence. I make a habit of saying "we're stuck with this unless..."
Sometimes change is impossible, but not nearly as often as this defeated little phrase gets thrown around.
"It's just common sense." No, it's usually either an inference you made based on incorrect information, or it's information you gleaned from your particular environment that not everyone has experienced.
Terry Pratchett used to describe that as the school of "what my mate down the pub said" thinking.
I catch that shit in political debate all the time.
"We need some common sense gun laws!"
The speaker is saying, "Whatever I deem to be common sense is the right way of thinking and anyone disagreeing is an asshole."
Think I've eliminated that phrase from my comments and speech. I've sure tried.
Any turn of phrase which is stated incorrectly. Eg.
“They didn’t do their diligence on that one”
“The gig is up”
Both from a podcast I listened to. I’m still not sure if they ever learned.
I could care less.
You put the nail on the head
I know what all of these are supposed to be except the tender hooks one. I've said it aloud and it's driving me crazy because I can NOT figure it out.
Is it a regional one maybe? I'm from the US so maybe it's one from elsewhere in the world? I bet I'm going to feel like a real dumb dumb when I figure out the answer and it's hella obvious lmao.
Edit: Googled it and figured out that it's actually "tenterhooks" and just basically means that someone is uneasy. I've never heard that phrase in my life. Kinda dope that I learned a new phrase today!
Ah the classics of !aneurysmposting@sopuli.xyz
This really my wife's story, but: Person: "That really bottles my mind!" My Wife: "You mean 'boggles' my mind?" Person: "No, its Bottle." Ooookay.
One bit of English that’s always stated incorrectly…
…is the word “incorrectly”.
I get unreasonably enraged at "am I the only one who". It's so arrogant and dismisses all the people who have been expressing the same opinion. Yes, you're so special and unique, you must be the first person to bring it up.
I've also had it with "literally". There is no need to use that word unless you are saying something that might be interpreted as figurative and you are clarifying that you mean it literally. "We literally live on the same street". Is there a figurative meaning to that? Why do you need to specify you mean it literally?
I’ve also had it with “literally”. There is no need to use that word unless you are saying something that might be interpreted as figurative and you are clarifying that you mean it literally. “We literally live on the same street”. Is there a figurative meaning to that? Why do you need to specify you mean it literally?
I came here only to search for this one. And to add some, but that's later.
"Common sense" when it actually means "something you would know if you'd lived my exact life". There are very few things in this world that are actually "common sense", and to be honest the whole concept should just be removed from cultures in which it is present.
"Turn of phrase."
I much prefer the phrase "parlence of our day."
I said something my husband didnt understand. I forgot what, but I said it was a common turn of phrase.
He said, Turn of phrase? What is this made up language you speak?
I had to prove to him "turn of phrase" wasn't something I made up.
"Give something 110%"
Fuck no! 100% is the max. Even that is often too much to ask. Also, what's in it for me? Your appreciation huh? Well fuck you.
"I have a challenge for you".
No you don't. You have a problem and want to make it mine. Piss off.
I am going through peoples replies sorta laughing to myself but what you have is the closest thing to something that irritates me. honestly 110 is like all the think out of the box bussiness speak to actualize externalities and such.
"Let that sink in..."
All I think about is what does the sink want, and why is it outside? Any point they were trying to make is now a joke to me. Better to say "think about that for a minute."
Often used after saying something that they think is some big profound revelation. No, I was able to understand it all just fine in real time.
"Let's agree to disagree"
This solves nothing, it just equates to a polite way of saying I'm done talking to you.
What do you do if you realise you're just arguing in circles and nothing will be solved by continuing discussing that topic?
I usually ask them if they drive a volkswagen. Stops the discussion dead, lol!
I actually usually just say something like. Look we just disagree. Usually the other person just wants to keep up the disagreement conversation so I through that into a few responses as, I dunno, politeness before I just stop responding.
But there are some of us who don't even care if Star Trek is better than Star Wars.
This argument dates back to the '80s, so we're talking TOS & TNG vs the original trilogy. I would argue they're not even really the same genre. Star Trek is proper scifi. Star Wars is action/adventure with scifi dressing.
I'm biased because I love Star Trek. But also I like Star Wars. It doesn't have to be either-or, especially because it's apples vs oranges.
what is the solution? them conceding that you are correct?
Sometimes you have to back the fuck up on an unproductive argument. I don't like it either, but it's often an honorable way out for both parties.
Very close friend and neighbor was arguing with me about 01/06, an event that gave me PTSD-lite. It came to the point that we either dropped it or threw hands. Still, I refused to shake his hand on "agree to disagree".
It admits that neither party is willing to change their opinion so an agreement can't be reached, let's move on.
"Have your cake and eat it too"
Motherfucker, you have it backwards because you're too smoothbrained to understand what a fucking paradox is.
The original, correct version is "to eat your cake and have too".
The idea is that you want to eat a cake, but still have the cake afterwards. This is a paradox because you can't be in posession of a particular cake after you already ate the damn thing.
Booleans work in any order. A and B is the same value as B and A
Unless you're interpreting the phrase as "have your cake and then eat it too"? Which I never did before, but that would make your objections make more sense to me.
I had always wondered what the point was. Now that actually makes sense.
I learned this from the Unabomber
The original is just fine. If you eat your cake you won't have it anymore. You can't have both be true at the same time. Switching them over would be clearer but it doesn't mean the first one is wrong.
“Most people think ___.” No, unless you’re citing a statistic or roughly quantifying how many anecdotes you’ve heard agreeing with you to support that statement (both of which rarely happen), that’s just your opinion wrapped up in language to avoid actually justifying it.
Additionally, even if most people think something, I don’t care what most people think. In my experience what most people think vs what the best thing to think is are often not aligned.
When talking politics:
"It's plain as day" "Common sense" "I don't know about that" "We all know" "It's just natural" "Normal" "Everybody (verbs) (x)"
Like that kind of stuff irks me in normal conversations but when we are talking about something that is part of common debate, obviously it's fucking not already known "common sense", and dismissing evidence that clearly contradicted it by saying "I don't about that" or similar just sends me.
It's a problem with trolls, strangers, and even loved ones for me. It's just wild
Every time I hear someone say ‘eh’ in a questioning tone or to mean ‘um actually’ I lose my shit. Or even just to play something down.
Like I literally come to hate the person instantly. Its a very strong feeling on a very small sound.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eh
Eh (/ˈeɪ/ or /ˈɛ/)[1] is a spoken interjection used in many varieties of English. The oldest Oxford English Dictionary defines eh as an "interjectional interrogative particle often inviting assent to the sentiment expressed."[2] Today, while eh has many different uses, it is most popularly used in a manner similar in meaning to "Excuse me?", "Please repeat that", "Huh?", or to otherwise mark a question. It is also commonly used as an alternative to the question tag "right?", as a method for inciting a reply, as in "Don't you think?", "You agree with me, right?", as in, "It's nice here, eh?" (instead of "It's nice here, right?"). In the Americas, it is most commonly associated with Canada and Canadian English, though it is also common in England, Scotland, and New Zealand.
"We don't take kindly to British English around these parts."
Sorry, eh
I tend not to boil people down to their habits. They likely don’t know it bothers you and don’t know why they’ve made an enemy of you. Their reaction to me bringing it up will absolutely determine how I feel about them, though. I can teach myself to get past almost anything if I can justify their action in good faith.
I often find my strong reactions tells me more about something within myself I need to find and address more than it says anything about the annoyance.
Fuck you Tom! That's how you react to your brat violating the bodily autonomy of another human beeing!? Hearing you say that means he feels it's normal, he's got permission and that it's good masculine behavior. You're teaching your son to be an asshole instead of a functioning human being. Boys will behave better if we teach them to, so you better pick up the slack and join the rest of us in raising your fucking child!
"Bro" or any variation thereof that assumes familiarity where none exists.
The artifice offends.
Started getting offended by "bro" sometime in my early 40s. "Dude" is much the same. If we're friends? I won't even notice. But if the speaker is older, I feel talked down to. If they're younger, it feels disrespectful.
Most of my friends are half my age, I'm fine with that address from them. Other people? "You don't know me like that."
Yeah I also don't notice it if we're friends. It's the assumption of familiarity that bugs me/feels disrespectful, I think...
im not your bro, friend.
"Literally" meaning figuratively. I'm fine with most words changing with use; but we need that word! It's how you indicate you're not exaggerating or speaking dramatically! Especially these days, that clarification is important!
I'm also seeing a lot of corporate buzzwords in job descriptions. I get that these are essentially technical terms, but they're not being used for accuracy or clarity here. You just don't like how short your description is.
Eh, to make a long story short, corpos have been using jargon and buzzwords in job descriptions, literally forever. 🤪
Yes, and some people manage to make it slightly worse by trying to be correct saying figuratively instead. You don't need to add that!
I've taken to using 'actually literally' to indicate I'm not being literally figurative. It's a losing battle, though. Anything we come up with to mean being literal will become a dramatic enhancer eventually.
"Carrot and stick". It originally invoked an image of someone riding on a donkey's back with a carrot dangling from the end of a stick hung in front of the donkey's nose, encouraging it to move forward with the promise of the carrot which it could never catch. It meant to lead someone around by the nose. But at some point someone decided that the carrot was a reward and the stick a punishment and that's how most people use it now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrot_and_stick
Goes into more detail.
Had not noticed that! Yeah, the phrase seems to have evolved past what I pictured when younger.
Good point....you're right!
In writing: "A Masterclass in X" to describe some sort of exemplary behavior. Hate hate hate seeing it.
I'm more forgiving with spoken language, but agree with the use of "literally" to mean "figuratively", it bothers me.
And in niche hairstyling lingo I hate when people use the word "micro-plopping" to describe scrunching or blotting with a cloth, because that technique precedes the word by at least 25 years, it wasn't invented recently and didn't need a new word. Plopping is tying your wet hair up in a cloth in a accordioned arrangement for awhile, and scrunching is just scrunching. What they are describing is better explained by saying they blotted with a cloth and/or scrunched with a cloth.
Similar to a 'masterclass in x' that I dislike is 'the art of x'
Today I learned of the legal term "act of god". (English speaking countries.)
I find it absurd to attribute god and do so in legalese.
/edit: well, maybe not hate, but irritated and dislike
It's not a religious thing. Legally it's a disaster that could not be avoided, no human is liable, hence act of "god".
The hence in that sentence make no sense to me. I don't see god doing this time. Often they're even explainable.
Hurricane? No, it could be avoided - by a large set of industries respecting climate guidelines instead of fighting them with lobbying.
If something can legally be an act of God, God should be held accountable
I don’t hate anything. That word seems to mean something different to most people than it does to me. I’m careful with my language, and hate describes such an extreme emotion that I’ve yet to encounter anything I’d genuinely feel that way toward - except maybe cancer.
There are, however, things people say that I do dislike. Not just the loose use of the word hate, but also trendy phrases and slogans like “fuck around and find out.” What bothers me about those is that if you’ve already seen two people use the same phrase, it’s already old and no longer clever or funny - it’s just recycled noise at that point.
You "hold the fort". It's a military position.
Only a fort molester would "hold down" the fort.
wait what
a) can forts be molested b) does holding something down meaning it's being molested? think paper weights c)
a) can forts be molested b) does holding something down meaning it’s being molested?
I don't know, but that's what I think off when someone says "hold down the fort".
think paper weights c)
And if the expression was "hold down the bouncy castle" that would make a lot more sense. Not as an expression .. but on a windy day at least.
Just imagine it entered common use through a Looney Toons skit where they had to "hold down" their inflatable fort or it would blow away. It's not true, but it's plausible enough you could just decide to believe it.
"No offence, but ..." followed by an insult.
Or starting off with an insult, then ending it with "Just saying ..."
As if these phrases nullify being a dick. If you're going to be an asshole, own it. Don't make excuses up.
"no offense" then proceeds to offend said person, or people using the word "YALL" how did it become popular when 15-20years ago and was considered unintelligent. Also people saying "entitled to thier own opinions" but end up saying thier own opinions matter more.
I don’t rember where I heard (must’ve been a TV show) it but it always stuck with me when a character said "yes offense".
I use y'all because my native language has a plural you and english doesn't I use y'all because it's the most neutral plural you english has. I suspect that's part of the reason why it's over-represented online, esl learners.
Yeah I hate that word so much. It's so grating.
I think hip-hop, specifically dirty south hip-hop, dominating mainstream pop charts around that time had something to do with it; e.g. Outkast, Lil Wayne, Lil Jon, Rick Ross, Ludacris, etc. I also remember about 10 years ago reading reddit posts as well as hearing people in grad school intentionally advocate for the usage of y'all (or the even more annoying folks) as better inclusive term as opposed to "you guys".
But if y'all annoys you, let me tell all y'all about super plurals like all y'all....
People who add periods to their acronyms (which is unnecessary to begin with), and then omit the last period.
M.A.S.H
R.I.P
Oh god; where to start?
And now there's one more:
‘action this’. Why decide on a verb like ‘do’ or ‘complete’ or ‘revisit’ or ‘prioritize’?
FWIW, ive been questioning our use of a security tool and get blank stares when I say “it doesn’t change anything”. Yet somehow they understand “it generates great data but our process doesn’t action anything”
how does utilize become begs the question
You think utilize is stilted formal phrasing? Unfortunate. For society, I mean.
"I have nothing to hide" -Man wearing pants
Y'all does it for me
I use often that IRL and commenting. Made myself a deal around 2000 or so that I would only say things online that I would say to a person's face, and that I would use my own voice online, comment as I really talk.
The Internet would be so much better if everyone were like that. People are so much nicer in person
I use y'all because my native language has a plural you and english doesn't I use y'all because it's the most neutral plural you english has. I suspect that's part of the reason why it's over-represented online, esl learners.
I am in the Northern US, and though I don't use y'all in speech, I do use it often in writing.
There isn't a plural you. Y'all works for this well
"It is what it is" when describing a bad situation.
No, that's defeatist as hell, it will be whatever it will be when I've given it everything I can to make it better.
I’ve read that one differently all this time. I thought It is what it is when it’s handed to me a mess. I can’t change what made it a mess. I can only clean it up. Coming to terms with the fact none of us can change the past and finding blame is pointless if i still have to clean it up.
EG: when faced with cleaning up a hoarders house. We might not have caused it but it still needs to be cleaned up. That’s when it is what it is so we don’t keep blaming what is usually the dead person found in it who can’t do anything about it anyways.
There's a reason you dislike it so, I wager
It's not that deep." – dismisses attempts to expose faulty logic by asserting that logic is not necessary in this particular case.[8]
"Lies of the Devil." – used as a response to any fact that threatens the integrity of an individual or group.[9] "Stop thinking too much." – redirects attention from the topic, idea, or argument at hand to the alleged overuse of thought itself.[10]
"You clearly care way too much about this topic." – implies that one's level of concern or interest in a particular topic or situation is excessive and thus invalidates any further conversation or exploration[2]
"There are worse things in life to worry about." – implies that less significant issues are not worth addressing since they are not as significant as other issues and implies that a person's situation is not significant enough to even warrant discussion or action[11]
"It's all good." – nullifies, without evidence, any possible debate by asserting the issue is already settled.[12][user-generated source?]
"Here we go again." – implies that the redundant, cyclical nature of a given disagreement means it will never be resolved.[13]
"So what? What effect does my action have?" – used to dismiss an individual's involvement in a larger cause on the grounds that one person is too insignificant to ever have a meaningful impact.[2]
"Let's agree to disagree." – used to stop discussion of an issue rather than attempt to resolve it;[14] may, however, instantiate a dialectic.
"It is what it is." – implies that things are unchangeable, therefore there is no point in further discussion.[15]
"Let people enjoy things." – purports that criticisms to consumable media are attempts to prevent consumers from enjoying said media.[
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9
I have come to dislike this saying quite a lot. I have heard friends, family, the general populace utter this saying so often for the last 4-5 years It's become grating to hear.
People who talk in buzz words as if this makes them insightful and intelligent and think others who don't are ignorant and stupid.
I think 'emotional intelligence' is the one that has really bothered me the most really. It also can't even be quantified but everyone goes around talking about how 'high' theirs is and how they only want to be with other people who are 'emotionally intelligent' as they are. It's just another way of saying you don't like someone because they don't feel the way you do about whatever thing.
"What I think she was trying to say is that- 🤓☝️" Stop trying to put words in my mouth or speak on my behalf when I am right here to put my point across to everyone.
That followed by those public event speakers that brush off the first round of goodmornings and then say "SAy iT lOuDeR! wHeRes yOuR eNeRgY! DIdNt yOu aLl eAt bReAkfAst?! 🤪" Idk what it is about hearing this sentence early in the morning that inspires so much hatred in me. You could have the most riveting, inspiring and thought provoking presentation in the world and have done lots of commendable deeds but if that string of words exits mouth before showing all of it, I automatically dislike you and whatever you have to say next.
I think what youre trying to say is that you want to communicate your own ideas in the way you wish to and not funneled through another mind.
Also yes anyone in public speaking wanting more of a response is annoying.
I dont let my emotions control me like that, but I know what you mean. :)
You hate things too friendo. You get angry. You make bad decisions because of it. Your emotions cause you to hurt people. This is a normal part of being human. No one "lets" their emotions control them; they are controlled by them no matter what.
The fact that you don't apologize afterwards doesn't mean you weren't wrong. It means you're a jerk.
Weird rant.
So you "know what op means" about hating a specific phrase, but you personally don't have emotions? If you don't have emotions how can you know what op means?
“I call it as I see it.”
“I’m just very straightforward and honest.”
No, you’re a prick. That’s what you are.
Yeah, being truthful is generally good but that's independent of being an ass about it.
People who champion "brutal honesty" generally seem much more excited about the brutality than the honesty.
"to make a long story short" - especially when used multiple times in one story and/or as a mindless audiospace filler to hold control of the conversation while assembling more thoughts/words... without knowing both the long and short version it literally adds nothing to the communication, it literally makes the story longer every time you use it (wasting my time), it's probably the longest socially acceptable way to say that (one could just say: "in short"), and it's got just enough word-scramble verbal complexity to occupy the higher order English parsing logic.
Perfect chance to interrupt their story:
“Please make your long story short.”
I've seen/heard a few Americans (old and young) saying something like "it has been a minute" to indicate "it has been a long time". What the hell is that? How did that start? Please someone enlighten me
It's just a euphemism, it's a sentence made funny by how much it understates the reality of the situation
That one's been around long enough I doubt anyone really knows its origin. It does follow a pattern of using the minute to describe various amounts of time.
For instance, a 'New York minute' means extremely quickly and a 'hot minute' is a long time, but much less than just 'it's been a minute'.
I guess it's the opposite of "I won't be a minute", which means I'll be fast.
Great flag, by the way.
"Not gonna lie..." Uh, good, I guess
Oh there's one I hate to no end.
To make a superlative, in Spain there's this sentence that it has become popular:
[whatever adjective]? not, the next thing
Tall? Not, the next thing
Difficult? Not, the next thing
Expensive? Not, the next thing
Blue? Not, the next thing
What the fuck is the next thing?
It was uninspired 15 years ago, now is just infuriating when you hear it five times in the same conversation.
I'll be honest, I'll be honest
when I hear the phrase "rustles my jimmies" it really, well...
Everyone started saying “That really grinds my gears” for a couple of years and then it just went away again.
You can thank Family Guy for that explosion.
I've heard that one since I was a kid, but yeah it did kinda drop off.
Haven't heard it much but I do like it
oh no
People who start sentences with "I mean,". It makes you sound like a contrarian or pedantic prick.
I mean, the other turn of phrase I hate is "living my/your/our/their best life". It's just cringe to me for some reason.
Agree, they are rarely clarifying what they mean. Useless filler like "literally"
“It is what it is.”
It infuriates me because it is usually said by a person so mentally lazy that they are causing problems for others. You can’t say it is what it is unless you can tell me what ‘it’ is!
It’s not ‘acceptance’, it’s spiritual bypassing at best and it makes me want to puke.
You say it to end a conversation with someone you don't want to talk to anymore dude. They don't want to talk to you.
You may find this interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9?wprov=sfla1
It is interesting. Sadly I am very familiar with thought-stoppers as an escapee from an insidious cult.
Y'all
Pure cinema
Instead of “et cetera”, the speaker says something akin to “dut da da”. Drives me crazy!
“It is what it is.”
If you don’t have anything valuable to add, say nothing. Like, silence is okay.
That phrase has always had a Buddhist-type quality of acceptance for me, even before I knew what Buddhism was. But I think it is favored by people who fail to recognize the difference between "seeing reality as it is" and "believing that reality can't be challenged or changed".
I don't often use it but I like the word "eh?!", it's funny to me the way it sounds