Words, usages, and phrases that annoy the shit out of you...

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what?

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 22:36 (twenty-two years ago)

That seems like it'd be right up your alley, TEH ONE AN ONLEY DEANN GULBAREY

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 22:36 (twenty-two years ago)

My friends got into saying "P-word" as a jokingly PC way of saying "pussy" .. i.e. - "so-and-so is a p-word." I tried to explain that it's a real pussy move to be afraid of saying pussy and hypocritical of anyone then to call anyone else a p-word. I think it fell on deaf ears.

― TEH ONE AN ONLEY DEANN GULBAREY (deangulberry), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 22:37 (twenty-two years ago)

my p hurts!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 22:37 (twenty-two years ago)

If my dad wants to agree with something you've said, he says "This is true." It really, really gets me annoyed, for no other reason than overuse as far as I can think.

― caitlin (caitlin), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:21 (twenty-two years ago)

"Have a Cool Yule!" - I haven't actually heard this lately but because of the season I remembered this the other day and darkly mulled over its wankiness.

― Chriddof (Chriddof), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:26 (twenty-two years ago)

using "Cool Yule" seems like it should automatically warrant a knife in the face.

― El Santo Claus (Kingfish), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:36 (twenty-two years ago)

My father met Cheech Marin while drunk and got his autograph. My father is not the autograph type, but kept it because it is a small bar napkin that says "BE COOL FOOL, CHEECH." A man of few words, that Cheech.

― TEH ONE AN ONLEY DEANN GULBAREY (deangulberry), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:38 (twenty-two years ago)

I cant stand it when I hear someone say 'impactful' is that even a word? Impact is not a property, its created.

― bill stevens (bscrubbins), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:45 (twenty-two years ago)

It must say something about ILX that this is the most repeated topic of all time:

Four Words: Use Other Words Please
"Use other words please."
Commonly used phrases that inexplicably bug you
Most irritating cliche/phrase/expression
"Taking Things to a Whole `Nother Level!"
words that annoy
Words that should earn the author a slap
PROVERBIAL and other tip offs to poor writing

― N. (nickdastoor), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm getting really pissed of with american interpretations of 'Liberal', 'Libertarian' and 'Conservative'

― Ed (dali), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I also get upset about "N-Word" as well. If you're using it in a critical context, people will understand that. If you're not, then you should have the conviction to let people hear it if you want to say it.

― TEH ONE AN ONLEY DEANN GULBAREY (deangulberry), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:54 (twenty-two years ago)

I hate "touch base" and "metrosexual"

― phil-two (phil-two), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:55 (twenty-two years ago)

OH come on, let's touch bases.

― TEH ONE AN ONLEY DEANN GULBAREY (deangulberry), Tuesday, 23 December 2003 23:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, "metrosexual" is possible the lamest noun of the new millenia.

― andy, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Or is it an adjective? I don't know.

― andy, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

If my dad wants to agree with something you've said, he says "This is true." It really, really gets me annoyed, for no other reason than overuse as far as I can think.

-- caitlin (wpsal...) (webmail), December 23rd, 2003. (caitlin)

Oh yes, yes yes. I second that one. And the people who say it, say it over and over.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:02 (twenty-two years ago)

But Ed, those words have different interpretations in almost every country in which they are used.

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:03 (twenty-two years ago)

I blame the consolidation of global political power and the diminution of class mobility on people who write in the passive voice.

I also have a horror of people who write prolifically in all caps.

― felicity (felicity), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:07 (twenty-two years ago)

"It must say something about ILX that this is the most repeated topic of all time..."

This is true.

But, this is a topic that should be dealt with routinely and harshly... the only way we can correct the language and suppress it's organic growth is by exposing and banning every new usage as it occurs... Isn't that what the French do?

― andy, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:14 (twenty-two years ago)

Least favorite (mis)usage ever - "ON accident..." it's BY accident you fucking moron!!

Also: 'fridge,' girls who refer to each other as 'girl,' proactive...i'll be back when i think of more....

― roger adultery, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I know, oops, but still it pisses me off.

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 00:54 (twenty-two years ago)

The recurrence of this topic is always accompanied by the recurrence of complaint about its recurrence.

― the music mole (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 01:00 (twenty-two years ago)

Space. All this crap about needing space. Fuck off, then.

― Roderick the Visigoth. (Jake Proudlock), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 03:19 (twenty-two years ago)

All girls must now refer to one another as "guy"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 03:30 (twenty-two years ago)

ok?

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 03:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Using "Sexy" in a business environment that has nothing to do with sex. As in "this is a very sexy proposal for our company". Well, I guess, if ripping people off is what turns you on.

― BrianB (BrianB), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 05:26 (twenty-two years ago)

'exact same'.

― luna (luna.c), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

"bird" instead of "girl" or "woman". AAAAAARGH.

― Melly E (Melly E), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 21:10 (twenty-two years ago)

When people call each other 'babe' and the completely inappropriate use of the word 'literally'. Also can I add at this point, even if it may not be entirely relevant, the unjustifiable grammatical error in Rachael Stevens' song 'Sweet Dreams My LA Ex' : "accuse me of things I never done." And I've listened hard for "I've never done" to try and give her the benefit of the doubt but she doesn't say it.

― barbara wintergreen, Monday, 29 December 2003 18:24 (twenty-two years ago)

"Begging the question" and "chomping at the bit." The first is almost always used incorrectly, and the second should be "champing," Goddamn it.

― Salmon Pink (Salmon Pink), Monday, 29 December 2003 20:18 (twenty-two years ago)

or "bits"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 29 December 2003 20:34 (twenty-two years ago)

'any way shape or form'. Most heard in full-media-glare denials of misdeeds. Used by dodgy sportsmen who have been 'coached' by their minders for the occasion. It immediately strips the first dozen layers of credibility from whatever statement is being made.

'poetic justice'. Used by the lazy to describe all 'justice' the speaker approves of, instead of a particular type. The adjective is rendered meaningless.

Agree re 'bird' for woman/girl, and lament its threatened return. Stinks of 'I'm being un-PC, where's my medal?'. Also the C-person uses it, which kinda ends the argument.

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Monday, 29 December 2003 23:59 (twenty-two years ago)

optics

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:00 (twenty-two years ago)

also photonic inplace of optic

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:10 (twenty-two years ago)

"the....(insert superlative)...in pop."

― barbara wintergreen, Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:19 (twenty-two years ago)

To return to the top of the thread, I still after 20 odd years gag on 'outreach' as a VERB....

― Fred Nerk (Fred Nerk), Tuesday, 30 December 2003 00:46 (twenty-two years ago)

the mightily empty "i could care less" variant on being unable to do the same

― ermes marana, Tuesday, 30 December 2003 01:47 (twenty-two years ago)

one year passes...

People who pronounce the word "presentation" as "PRE-sentation".

― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:29 (twenty years ago)

since i was reading some VICIOUS anti- rachael ray sentiment last night and i'm still feelin' the love: "E.V.O.O. EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL"

― s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:32 (twenty years ago)

"YUM-O"

― s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:33 (twenty years ago)

cf.

― gear (gear), Thursday, 18 August 2005 07:34 (twenty years ago)

Also: 'fridge,'

Wait, huh? Fridge is the thing you put food in, whats wrong with it?

― Trayce (trayce), Thursday, 18 August 2005 08:01 (twenty years ago)

Saying "it impacted on me" instead of "it had an impact on me"... well that's annoying enough but, just recently, I've heard people say "it impacted me" - which surely would only make sense if the speaker was a molar?

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 09:10 (twenty years ago)

'fridge,'

I'm picturing him saying things such as "Would you like me to remove another beverage from the refrigerator for you, whilst we watch some association football?"

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:29 (twenty years ago)

bougie, instead of bourgeois. heard it four times last week.

― naus (Robert T), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:38 (twenty years ago)

"Chav"

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:39 (twenty years ago)

bourgie?

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:42 (twenty years ago)

"Yes, sir, I am bougie, I am bougie... etc."

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:44 (twenty years ago)

"what the...?"

― jimmy glass (electricsound), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:46 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 11900 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

satisfying post really, i am there. not sure if on topic, but close enuf.

also i have jean ennui

― look, he's country's own david bowie- deal with it (Hunt3r), Sunday, 4 January 2026 20:48 (one month ago)

To understand the jeans department you have to know that for a solid fifteen years or so, women's jeans all fit like leggings, and you really had no choice but to go around with every contour of your lower body visible to all. What you are seeing in the women's jeans department is the long-awaited backlash to the Skinny Jeans trend.

― Lily Dale, Sunday, 4 January 2026 20:49 (one month ago)

they're all so wide I look like a toddler though. i can envisage my perfect cut but they have never materialised!

― kinder, Sunday, 4 January 2026 22:09 (one month ago)

"so it begins" LotR movies came out like 25 years ago, give it a rest

― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Monday, 5 January 2026 21:05 (one month ago)

been hearing 'kinetic' a bunch in a military strike context... Hegseth, Leavitt, different DC talking heads: "A kinetic strike" or a "kinetic action"

They all seem to be using it so they sound smarter or more authentically militaristic

― Andy the Grasshopper, Monday, 5 January 2026 21:10 (one month ago)

they’re morons playing dress-up

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 5 January 2026 21:21 (one month ago)

"so it begins" LotR movies came out like 25 years ago, give it a rest

I had no idea this phrase was associated with LOTR.

― jaymc, Monday, 5 January 2026 21:29 (one month ago)

This /s nonsense simply will not do. If you feel compelled to use sarcasm you should be able to live with danger, accept that some might think you're serious.

― a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Friday, 9 January 2026 08:13 (one month ago)

That's how I often feel about emojis in general - if you have to put a smiley at the end of every few sentences to indicate you're just joking/not serious/etc., you probably should rephrase your post so it can't be so easily misunderstood.

― Lee626, Friday, 9 January 2026 10:48 (one month ago)

feel like "per say" has steadily got worse recently

some American dictionary's gonna claim it as a legit usage soon

― Sgt. Biscuits, Friday, 9 January 2026 11:30 (one month ago)

They'll really hone in on that particular usage

― Tracer Hand, Friday, 9 January 2026 11:31 (one month ago)

"colourway" - no idea why it annoys me other than maybe sudden usage everywhere; with the implication that if i dont know what it means / don't use it i must be out of the loop ? maybe i am now old.

― . (jamiesummerz), Friday, 9 January 2026 14:05 (one month ago)

I don't like /s either because it's more or less like a comedian explaining the joke afterward but it's kinda like "calling bank" I guess when compared to people claiming sarcasm after the fact when it's obvious they weren't or don't know what the word means

― Morning Dew key (Neanderthal), Friday, 9 January 2026 14:43 (one month ago)

maybe people in certain positions need to stop being sarcastic so habitually and stop blurting political brutalisms online where ppl might not understand. or do understand agree.

― madame defarge supporters club (Hunt3r), Friday, 9 January 2026 18:09 (one month ago)

and agree, that is

― madame defarge supporters club (Hunt3r), Friday, 9 January 2026 18:10 (one month ago)

Down with glibness imo
It’s too late for that

― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 9 January 2026 19:02 (one month ago)

Gliberal

Glibtard

GlibDem

― calmer chameleon (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 9 January 2026 19:35 (one month ago)

Lol I kinda like gliberal

― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 9 January 2026 19:36 (one month ago)

Glove me, I'm a gliberal

― calmer chameleon (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 9 January 2026 19:39 (one month ago)

lol

and well, as BY FAR the most instinctually sarcastic person in my family and circles, i am one to talk here right? <
but still some positions and venues point to a need for much greater care.

― madame defarge supporters club (Hunt3r), Friday, 9 January 2026 20:25 (one month ago)

sometimes sarcasm helps to illustrate the problem with something better than speaking direct does. however, that takes art and deft skill to wield properly - nowadays most people take sarcasm to mean "saying the opposite of what I mean in a really funny voice"

― Morning Dew key (Neanderthal), Friday, 9 January 2026 20:27 (one month ago)

oh— i have explicitly told people to whom i’ve been directly sarcastic that my arch sarcasm is intended to shame them, having reached a suspicion or certainty that sincere presentation of facts cannot move them. it is often a clear shaming mechanism.

― madame defarge supporters club (Hunt3r), Friday, 9 January 2026 20:43 (one month ago)

well it can be fun to use in that way, most definitely.

― Morning Dew key (Neanderthal), Friday, 9 January 2026 20:49 (one month ago)

What do you get from shaming someone?

― Piggy Lepton (La Lechera), Friday, 9 January 2026 21:00 (one month ago)

you hope they will reach understanding or they will tell you are an ass

― madame defarge supporters club (Hunt3r), Friday, 9 January 2026 21:11 (one month ago)

if you are trying to shame someone who should not be ashamed you need to reach your own better understanding.

it is helpful to be told. it’s been done to me on ilx and was useful.

― madame defarge supporters club (Hunt3r), Friday, 9 January 2026 21:15 (one month ago)

Sarcasm. Wow, so original.

― calmer chameleon (Ye Mad Puffin), Friday, 9 January 2026 21:19 (one month ago)

just read some of the lux aeterna post and we may be heading there

― ICE = Tonton Macoute (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 9 January 2026 21:20 (one month ago)

lux aeterna “thread”

― ICE = Tonton Macoute (Boring, Maryland), Friday, 9 January 2026 21:21 (one month ago)

that sounds bad is it bad i shut up

― madame defarge supporters club (Hunt3r), Friday, 9 January 2026 21:30 (one month ago)

Palazzo are like wide starting from the hips, whereas flares only get wide from the knees down … though I am going off of American terms.

― sarahell, Monday, 12 January 2026 15:40 (one month ago)

"middle of nowhere"

maybe it's kinda weird that i'm miffed by this phrase that i've heard all my life and has been beaten to death but come on, places are interesting, be a little less basic.

― map, Monday, 12 January 2026 22:10 (one month ago)

easy for you to say where things are, MAP

― kinder, Monday, 12 January 2026 22:46 (one month ago)

lol

― map, Monday, 12 January 2026 22:51 (one month ago)

you could have said that a little KINDER

― map, Monday, 12 January 2026 22:51 (one month ago)

Can't Dusty win you over?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGW1mwWvgTo

― Wilfried Nuance (Tom D.), Monday, 12 January 2026 23:19 (one month ago)

two weeks pass...

North star

― ledge, Friday, 30 January 2026 14:26 (three weeks ago)

bespoke

― Paul Ponzi, Friday, 30 January 2026 22:33 (three weeks ago)

"one true North"

― Ima Gardener (in orbit), Friday, 30 January 2026 22:43 (three weeks ago)

In orbit otm … I think we inhabit the same jargonverse

― sarahell, Friday, 30 January 2026 22:56 (three weeks ago)

I was in a meeting recently where that kept coming up, and it reminded me of Game of Thrones “king in the north” and then I went back and forth thinking about Kit’s wooden acting and whether they explained the breeding practices of giants, and that was as productive as the meeting was had I been more attentive.

― sarahell, Friday, 30 January 2026 22:59 (three weeks ago)

bespoke

This was picked up at my work this past year to denote custom tech solutions, which is bad for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact that I'm fairly certain a large number of people who have had to adopt it do not know what it means.

― whimsical skeedaddler (Moodles), Friday, 30 January 2026 23:08 (three weeks ago)

The person who keeps saying it to me could not use a compass to find north if it was painted on.

― Ima Gardener (in orbit), Saturday, 31 January 2026 00:38 (two weeks ago)

I've grown averse to "we're underreacting", not because I find it to be untrue. But lately every time I've seen it used, that was the totality of the message - so it often comes across as "why isn't anybody doing anything?", right after we've seen evidence of how many people are risking their own lives to do something.

It would have more power used as a preample for a call to action or suggestions for how to engage, or sharing the positive gains from fighting back as a means of encouraging more, but everyone i know who says it just leaves it at that.

― Bertolt Blecch (Neanderthal), Tuesday, 3 February 2026 20:53 (two weeks ago)

"we're underreacting" - with no metrics how does one know

― Minty Gum (Latham Green), Tuesday, 3 February 2026 20:54 (two weeks ago)

why isn't anybody doing anything

Right if there is _any_ possible silver lining to Minneapolis, it may include a diminution in talking points such as:

- why aren't Americans in the streets protesting

- Americans are too lazy/comfortable; they won't put their lives on the line for their principles

- people are insufficiently outraged

― calmer chameleon (Ye Mad Puffin), Tuesday, 3 February 2026 23:20 (two weeks ago)

Watching Minneapolis has changed my understanding of what community still can do in today’s world.

― madame defarge supporters club (Hunt3r), Wednesday, 4 February 2026 00:06 (two weeks ago)

Otm

― Bertolt Blecch (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 4 February 2026 03:06 (two weeks ago)

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