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

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'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)

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bougie

― naus (Robert T), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:53 (twenty years ago)

"He's on fire"

As used to describe a footballer running into a streak of good form

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 10:57 (twenty years ago)

chav, prole, "get one...", but most of all commercials selling relatively expensive goods such as electrcal gubbins, fitted kitchens and the like where people say only "one-nine-nine-nine" instead of "nominally under two thousand quid". do you think not actually saying the proper number is fooling me?!!?!!

― stelf)xxx, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:01 (twenty years ago)

"Raft"

When used in phrases like "a raft of policies" or "a raft of new measures" - why?!?!??!!?

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:03 (twenty years ago)

which surely would only make sense if the speaker was a molar?

Or a colon.

COINKY-DINK, "guestimate," and any time someone ends an interrogative sentence with "at," as in "Where's my keys at?" or "Where's your head at?"

― pullapartgirl (pullapartgirl), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:22 (twenty years ago)

"let's unpack that (concept/policy/statement/generalisation)"

"hating on"

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:23 (twenty years ago)

Oh! Oh! This one REALLY annoyed me the other day:

"Action" used as a verb. (Especially with regards to some annoying little thing I had already been doing.) "Can you please action this?" Actually, no I can't. Action is a noun. If you would like me to DO it, then just ask. Argh.

Especially when coming from the same irritating marketing bods who last week asked me to "manage the relationship" with one of our suppliers. Fuck. Right. Off.

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:25 (twenty years ago)

oh i used to have a PA in the cubicle next to me for a while that said 'diarise' as in 'sure, john is free on tuesday morning, i'll diarise it'. aaaaarrrrggghh

― gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:26 (twenty years ago)

"Boss"

A term of address directed at Turkish shopkeepers by 13 year old boys and directed by Turkish shopkeepers at everyone else. The most annoying ever.

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:27 (twenty years ago)

I'm not your fucking boss!!!!!!!!!!

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:28 (twenty years ago)

"Madam" when used by shop assistants. This kept happening to me yesterday.

DON'T MADAM ME, YOU LITTLE...!!! OK, according to Watching The English, this means that they have socio-status assessed me as middle class or higher. But it irritates me because it makes me feel old.

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

i like most of these. i just like variety. i do hate 'action', 'impact on, etc, though.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:30 (twenty years ago)

dude, i call people 'boss'.

― g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:35 (twenty years ago)

I don't want you to think that I obsess over it, but "obsessing over something" as opposed to "being obsessed with/about something"

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:38 (twenty years ago)

People saying 'momentarily' when what they mean is 'in a moment'.

'Whilst'

― estela (estela), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:38 (twenty years ago)

oh yeah i fkn hate 'whilst' and 'amongst'.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:39 (twenty years ago)

i like whilst too! it's kinda romantic, like 'betwixt'.

― g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:45 (twenty years ago)

'betwexit' is ok, a girl i liked used it instead of between all the time. but whilst can fuck off.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:46 (twenty years ago)

"The plane will be taking off momentarily"

"AARRGGHHH!!! I certainly hope it will be taking off longer than that - we're flying to London!"

― Win A Lie-Down, Mrs. Davies (kate), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:47 (twenty years ago)

'betwexit' = betwizzle, obv

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:47 (twenty years ago)

i bet you all hate 'innit', too. i can't help it! *weeps*

― g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:48 (twenty years ago)

u say innit, only to piss people off, though, geez.

― N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:50 (twenty years ago)

everyone on this thread: get one grip

― Britain's Jauntiest Shepherd (Alan), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:51 (twenty years ago)

People who say or write 'cliche' when they mean 'cliched'–it's becoming very common and it really annoys me.

― estela (estela), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:52 (twenty years ago)

everyone on this thread: get one grip

"No can do"

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:53 (twenty years ago)

I agree with the original poster about 'veggies'.

― estela (estela), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:53 (twenty years ago)

Today I'm hating 'power off' and 'power down'. I've heard them said far too many times this morning.

'If I can just ask you to power off your machine'.

What's wrong with switch off?

― Rumpie, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:54 (twenty years ago)

"Thanking you" instead of "Thank you". Aaaaaarggggggghhhh!

― Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:54 (twenty years ago)

"Peeps," for some reason, stirs a visceral reaction in my soul. I loathe it so.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:55 (twenty years ago)

it's funny because andy's at the top of the thread are the exact things that bug me, too.

― Homosexual II (Homosexual II), Thursday, 18 August 2005 12:00 (twenty years ago)

"Literally" improperly used.

The word "proverbial" when overused or when not referencing a proverb but an idiom or cliche. (Correct: "Let's not count our proverbial chickens just yet." Incorrect: "I'm having a proverbial bad hair day.")

Redundancy in general.

Word inflation (i.e. "efficacious" for "effective" or "efficient").

― elmo (allocryptic), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:23 (twenty years ago)

Diarise? Diarise?!?!?!?????

Add that to my list, please.

― pullapartgirl (pullapartgirl), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:27 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 11888 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

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 week 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 week ago)

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

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

What do you get from shaming someone?

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

Sarcasm. Wow, so original.

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

lux aeterna “thread”

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

that sounds bad is it bad i shut up

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

easy for you to say where things are, MAP

― kinder, Monday, 12 January 2026 22:46 (four days ago)

lol

― map, Monday, 12 January 2026 22:51 (four days ago)

you could have said that a little KINDER

― map, Monday, 12 January 2026 22:51 (four days ago)

Can't Dusty win you over?

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

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

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