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

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"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 (nineteen years ago) link

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 (nineteen years ago) link

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

"hating on"

gem (trisk), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:23 (nineteen years ago) link

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 (nineteen years ago) link

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 (nineteen years ago) link

"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 (nineteen years ago) link

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

Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:28 (nineteen years ago) link

"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 (nineteen years ago) link

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 (nineteen years ago) link

dude, i call people 'boss'.

g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:35 (nineteen years ago) link

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 (nineteen years ago) link

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

'Whilst'

estela (estela), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:38 (nineteen years ago) link

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

N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:39 (nineteen years ago) link

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

g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:45 (nineteen years ago) link

'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 (nineteen years ago) link

"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 (nineteen years ago) link

'betwexit' = betwizzle, obv

N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:47 (nineteen years ago) link

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

g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:48 (nineteen years ago) link

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

N_RQ, Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:50 (nineteen years ago) link

everyone on this thread: get one grip

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

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 (nineteen years ago) link

everyone on this thread: get one grip

"No can do"

Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:53 (nineteen years ago) link

I agree with the original poster about 'veggies'.

estela (estela), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:53 (nineteen years ago) link

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 (nineteen years ago) link

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

Diddyismus (Dada), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:54 (nineteen years ago) link

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

Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 18 August 2005 11:55 (nineteen years ago) link

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 (nineteen years ago) link

"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 (nineteen years ago) link

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

Add that to my list, please.

pullapartgirl (pullapartgirl), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:27 (nineteen years ago) link

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.")

I hate that, too. I usually tend to say "colloquial" instead, if it fits.

Ian Riese-Moraine: a casualty of social estrangement. (Eastern Mantra), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:31 (nineteen years ago) link

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?!!?!!

What sends me apoplectic is THEY'RE NOT SAYING 1999 WHAT!!?!?!!

"This beautiful sofa, only eight four nine."

Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:34 (nineteen years ago) link

I can't believe the number of people who I've heard using the word "conversate". It's not a real word!

Leon C. (Ex Leon), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:34 (nineteen years ago) link

this is hard for me to type out because these words make me ill:

*ragu (as in the spaghetti sauce. I HATE SPAGHETTI!!)

*tabernacle

*salve

*moist


am throwing up in wastebasket now.

ai lien (kold_krush), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:34 (nineteen years ago) link

I can't believe the number of people who I've heard using the word "conversate". It's not a real word!

AGH! I hate that, too! And The Rapture used it in "Echoes" (the song). It's "converse" you dolts!

Ian Riese-Moraine: a casualty of social estrangement. (Eastern Mantra), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:36 (nineteen years ago) link

business-english now uses "piece" as a noun that means anything. it's the most annoying thing. "we need our customer service piece to etc..." "we'll get all the pieces in sync and blah blah..." i hate this so so much.

geoff (gcannon), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:39 (nineteen years ago) link

Here's a couple:

(1) People who append "thing" at the end of every sentence. For example, "Are you going to the party thing tonight?" Why add "thing"? My friend theorizes that it's a camp phenomenon, signifying a cooler-than-thou disinterest in the event. It's still unnecessary. Can't you just say, "Are you going to the party tonight?"

(2) When someone announces that they're 'all about [fill in]." What the fuck does that mean?

(3) "Impact" as a verb. IT'S A NOUN! Use "AFFECT"!!!

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:40 (nineteen years ago) link

I wrote "here's a couple" and listed three items. haha.

Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:42 (nineteen years ago) link

I do the thing thing too often. Generally it's when I'm unsure whether I'm using the proper noun for the thing in question. Like, "are you going to that party thing tonight?" shows that I don't really know if it's a true party or not.

oops (Oops), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:47 (nineteen years ago) link

"Get in"

"Job done"

"Bish bash bosh"

Huey (Huey), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:56 (nineteen years ago) link

Andy so OTM at the start of this thread. There's some TV commercial where the announcer talks about the "veggies" in a sandwich or something and it flips some atavistic switch that makes me really want to put his head on a stake, next to the heads of the director, the writer, the account guy, and the client.

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 18 August 2005 15:59 (nineteen years ago) link

Yeah, Oops, that sounds perfectly reasonable. At least it's not "dealie."

jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 18 August 2005 16:01 (nineteen years ago) link

This one only happens in print, but since when did "everyday" become a substitute for "every day." This also makes me want to kill, slowly and painfully. It's not rocket scientry, morans!

rogermexico (rogermexico), Thursday, 18 August 2005 16:01 (nineteen years ago) link

Cheesy white dudes using "my bad"
Cheesy moms referring to the toilet as "potty"

Outsider Enter Port City (sexyDancer), Thursday, 18 August 2005 16:03 (nineteen years ago) link

The word potty should be banned.

Leon C. (Ex Leon), Thursday, 18 August 2005 16:07 (nineteen years ago) link

I was annoyed by that at age 4!

Outsider Enter Port City (sexyDancer), Thursday, 18 August 2005 16:08 (nineteen years ago) link

"Jobs a good 'un"
"What's the script with [blah blah]"
"I want to check we're [singing from the same hymn sheet/reading from the same page]"
Pretty much anything Marketing people say. Argh.

Craig Gilchrist (Craig Gilchrist), Thursday, 18 August 2005 16:13 (nineteen years ago) link

This one only happens in print, but since when did "everyday" become a substitute for "every day." This also makes me want to kill, slowly and painfully. It's not rocket scientry, morans!

ugh, i hate that too.

i don't like "whilst" either although i suspect it may be more "right" in britain than over here -- i dunno though, it sounds like something that would be said by a preening five-year-old girl who wants to impress mum by being all properlike.

s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 17:12 (nineteen years ago) link

"everyday" as an adjective is a real word; but when people write it this way as a noun i go mental.

s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 17:14 (nineteen years ago) link

"amongst"

s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 17:17 (nineteen years ago) link

and especially "muchly"

s/c (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 18 August 2005 17:18 (nineteen years ago) link


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