So it bothers you when people vocalize their question marks, eh?
post
"Turn of phrase."
I much prefer the phrase "parlence of our day."
"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.
'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.
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...." (bitch again and the next stop for hammy is the freezer)
Like people who complain about "literally" being used hyperbolically, I'm always a tad concerned that someone wasn't able to discern this to the point of making that inability known publicly.
Gonna bookmark this; it's a great explanation.
If I cared any less I’d have to start thinking about how little I care, and I don’t care enough for that.
Absolutely.
Apart from the exact cases the lovely krudler just mentioned I agree with this. The misuse is very annoying.
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."
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
“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.
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".
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 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.
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.
Translates to "I just noticed something and I'm broadcasting that I'm generally inconsiderate without any self awareness" far too often, I agree.
"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.
"Ding ding ding!"
I think it's condescending as fuck.
Bless your heart dear
Also can be condescending as fuck if you know what it really means
Yeah that's a well known southern insult. It's really not that subtle, but then again, god didn't intend for everyone to be as smart as you.
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.
"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."
"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.
That is the most Ricky Bobby thing ever, but sadly its also a very southern thing
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)
Two questions:
Is it a pillow fort?
Where is JD Vance in this scenario?
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.
People who add periods to their acronyms (which is unnecessary to begin with), and then omit the last period.
"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.
I was thinking of it more in a work context where when I question why some old and very inefficient work flow can't be optimized in some way, I get that cliche in response.
It means whomever is above them is perceived as rigid. Maybe they are, maybe not. Do a POC in spare time and present it. Maybe something will come of it, maybe not. Either way, it is what it is.
Something I recently read when researching the tetragrammaton in Judaism, the name doesn't necessarily mean just, "I am that I am," it also means, "I am becoming that which I am becoming." And things seldom look exactly in 3D as I picture them in my head or on paper. So it's an interesting concept.
I don't recall the site, some Jewish site about the rabbinical reasoning or translation.
Then don't live that way.
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.
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.
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 call it as I see it.”
“I’m just very straightforward and honest.”
No, you’re a prick. That’s what you are.
"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. 🤪
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.
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!
"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.
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.
The original is just fine.
You missed part of my comment. What you're referring to as the "original" version is not the original version
"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.
Oh god; where to start?
- 'literally'. It's best when using the Essex pronunciation of 'litchally' for maximum cringey delivery.
- 'the ask'. Because 'request' or 'question' is too hard to say around the pablum.
- 'the spend'. Off the car lot, it sounds super-douchey.
- 'action this'. Why decide on a verb like 'do' or 'complete' or 'revisit' or 'prioritize'?
- 'begs the question'. Chances are, it really doesn't. And using that wrongly makes you sound like Mike Tyson saying 'utilize'
And now there's one more:
- 'utilize'; or, really, anyone using stilted 'formal' phrasing instead of plain English. You don't sound posh, but you do sound like you're three kids in a trenchcoat trying to fake being an adult so you don't get booted from the R-rated movie.
‘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”
You think utilize is stilted formal phrasing? Unfortunate. For society, I mean.

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