… “wait for it.”
TV characters, comedians, blog writers… everyone wants me to “wait for it.”
Unless you’re talking about Salma Hayek suddenly bursting through my front door, insisting that she paint my house… *
Then I really don’t want to wait for it.
Any current phrase make YOU want to run and hide in the turnip cellar?
(*Not a euphemism for something naughty. My house really needs it. And better easy-on-the-eyes Salma than my cousin Chuck, who usually does it, but wears low-riding Zubaz and listens to the Savage Nation as he paints.)
43 responses so far ↓
1 Bill Corbett on Dec 12, 2007 at 7:29 pm
A current phrase I like:
“Will you accept a complimentary beverage, good sir?”
All the kids are saying it.
2 jsg on Dec 12, 2007 at 7:35 pm
“Citibank warns of 4th-quarter results”
3 Courtney on Dec 12, 2007 at 7:37 pm
I don’t like the phrases “there will be a cover charge” or “Courtney, you have a bunch of meetings today.”
4 Bill Corbett on Dec 12, 2007 at 7:55 pm
““Citibank warns of 4th-quarter results”
Agreed. Offensive, and arguably racist.
5 doggans on Dec 12, 2007 at 8:03 pm
My least favorite phrase? “Sir, the restraining order is still in effect, please back away slowly.”
I can’t tell you how many times a day I hear people say it. So cliche.
6 torgosPizza on Dec 12, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Wait a sec. Bill, you have a turnip cellar? How can I get a slice of that pie? I hear the turnip industry is making huge gains, and projection for 1Q08 is through the roof! Whaddo ya say … partner?
7 MB on Dec 12, 2007 at 8:50 pm
As a writing teacher, I would be overjoyed to never see the words “past events”, “don’t get me wrong,” and “whole nother” ever again. Then I would have to stop scrawling my students’ least favorite phrases: “Your awkward world choice obscures your point,” “Please do not attempt formal writing while drunk,” and “DIE.”
8 Tim on Dec 12, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Pretty much any combination of words that are grunted out of John Mayer’s mouth are on my “I’d Rather Fire a Pneumatic Nail Gun Directly Into My Eye Than Hear This” list.
He’s an excellent guitar player, but I begin to plot out my own death whenever I hear him sing.
9 Daisyj on Dec 12, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Given the choice between world peace and universal awareness that “all right” is two words, I’d take the latter.
10 Gordon on Dec 13, 2007 at 3:44 am
My personal least favorite phrase:
a tie between “paradigm shift” and “owl-flavored”
11 Bill Corbett on Dec 13, 2007 at 4:05 am
Let me make this as clear as I can, TP:
I will never sell my beloved turnips. NEVER.
Sorry, it just upsets me to even think about it…
12 Bill Corbett on Dec 13, 2007 at 4:07 am
I half agree.
“Paradigm shift” = bad.
“Owl-flavored” = excellent.
(Not only as phrase, but as a brand new Ben & Jerry’s product.)
13 Ron on Dec 13, 2007 at 6:02 am
Would you call owl-flavored cough drops “owl drops”? Or would that be pushing it?
14 Kip on Dec 13, 2007 at 6:56 am
“Throw under a bus” I hear all the time now, often during election talk (is there any talk more beautiful to the human ear?), meaning, I gather, thoughtless betrayal (”Larouche really threw the pro-lifers under the bus with that remark.” ) . And everyone who says it acts like they’ve been saying it since they were 2.
15 Bill Corbett on Dec 13, 2007 at 7:43 am
““DIE.”
That’s some tough love, MB.
Don’t get me wrong, criticism is fine. But it’s a whole nother thing to wish death, as past events like have shown.
16 Merat on Dec 13, 2007 at 8:05 am
One that I say too often is “incidentally”, as in, “Oh, incidentally, your daughter called.” It’s an annoying linguistic quirk that I need to get rid of.
I had a few teachers who used “moving on” WAY too often. OK, we get it, you are transitioning to a new line of thought. Get on with it.
17 SaucyRossy on Dec 13, 2007 at 8:22 am
My least favorite phrase of the moment is “Cool beans”.
18 John on Dec 13, 2007 at 8:31 am
A few that bug me are “Sir, Do you ever wonder what Paris Hilton has planned for your life?” & “May we give you a copy of Watch Tower?”
Why do they keep asking me?
19 Shawn on Dec 13, 2007 at 9:54 am
It’s not a full phrase, I know, so it might not be treated with equal weight, but I really loathe it when someone refers to another person as ‘boss’ when the refer-ee isn’t actually the employer of the refer-er.
It sounds really condescending and snide, the unspoken rider saying “I know you’re not my boss and never in a million years will be. You’re a barista and I am a senior copy writer at an ad firm, and my well-being hinges on me cementing in my own mind that I am better than you”. Of course, I might be thinking about it too much.
20 Adam on Dec 13, 2007 at 12:12 pm
Does “The White Stripes” count as a phrase?
21 Andrew on Dec 13, 2007 at 2:14 pm
I hate it when people say they “have got” something. No, you don’t. You either “have” something or you “got” something. As in “I have an embarrassing medical condition. I got it from a public toilet seat.”
22 Kelly on Dec 13, 2007 at 3:17 pm
“Don’t go there,” when I’m not actually doing anything but talking. I also teach writing and my students have “issues” instead of saying “I was up all night and wrote this paper after the keg party.”
23 eegah on Dec 13, 2007 at 4:20 pm
My least favorite is “you have NO idea”. As in:
“He can be a jerk sometimes”
“You have NO idea”
For a while, this phrase seemed to appear in almost every movie trailer or TV show ad. The thing that’s annoying about it is that most of the time it’s just an attempt to appear smarter than other people who actually DO “have an idea”.
24 Conor Lastowka on Dec 13, 2007 at 4:24 pm
A disturbing trend with language is when pro athletes talk about how they or their team has “not been given any respect” or “disrespected.” Usually this means that in a contest where there must be a winner and a loser, the other team has been analyzed by experts and determined to be the favorite. AKA, disrespect.
25 Slade Rockfist on Dec 13, 2007 at 4:48 pm
“Decadent” in referring to any kind of food rubs me all kinds of the wrong way….
26 MB on Dec 13, 2007 at 4:53 pm
“““DIE.”
That’s some tough love, MB.
Don’t get me wrong, criticism is fine. But it’s a whole nother thing to wish death, as past events like have shown.”
My deepest apologies; I meant no offense. I just really, really hate comma splices : )
27 MB on Dec 13, 2007 at 5:22 pm
Sorry. I should add, by way of explanation, that we profs often develop a hideously dark sense of humor to deal with all the crap. I apologize for forgetting my place.
28 Onil on Dec 13, 2007 at 5:34 pm
“You’re watching The Situation Room.”
Unfortunately, it’s a lost battle but I am no fan of “quote unquote”. It is firmly entrenched in today’s vernacular. “Quote End quote” has gone the way of the telegraph and the dodo.
29 torgosPizza on Dec 13, 2007 at 7:36 pm
You realize that, if I needed to somehow quote you, I would say it thusly: “Onil said, quote, ‘Quote End quote has gone the way of the telegraph and the dodo, end quote.”
30 Bill Corbett on Dec 13, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Ah, my little jokey failed. I wasn’t offended at all, just referencing your comment…
“As a writing teacher, I would be overjoyed to never see the words “past events”, “don’t get me wrong,” and “whole nother” ever again”
And then I used all those phrases, see, and then… laughter… um… ensued…
Look over there, a flying manatee!
(dashes away)
31 Libby on Dec 13, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Oh. Most hated phrase ever….”Git Er Done.” There’s nothing more stupid on earth.
32 MB on Dec 13, 2007 at 10:56 pm
Oh! Now I have to apologize for my blondeness. I thought you were being extremely clever while making sure we all had One To Grow On.
Thank God you were 100% kidding. I was icing gingerbread cookies tonight all, “Bill Corbett thinks I want to kill students. But I really do like them, and want to be friends, friends friendsfriendsfriendsfriends, Life Day friends with these poor wretched essays!”
Sugar cookies are next, and I shall make a flying manatee.
33 QuackersnCheese on Dec 14, 2007 at 5:42 am
Ya know I hear the next NASA mission is to send a 40gig thumb drive filled with popular cultural referrences hurdling through space, and ” Git Er Done” is in the top 5.
34 QuackersnCheese on Dec 14, 2007 at 5:54 am
dec·a·dent (dk-dnt, d-kdnt)
adj.
1. Being in a state of decline or decay.
2. Marked by or providing unrestrained gratification; self-indulgent.
3. often Decadent Of or relating to literary Decadence.
n.
4. A person in a condition or process of mental or moral decay.
5. often Decadent A member of the Decadence movement.
Clearly when referring to food it must mean the first one being in a state of decline or decay. If you read all of these definition’s then surely you must agree. If you do not agree you must be number 4 or worse number 5 on the list. If so please for the love of all that is good call 911 or seek imidiate medical attention.
35 QuackersnCheese on Dec 14, 2007 at 6:00 am
The phrase I hate the most would have to be ” Just do it ”
Just do what? Do you want me to buy something, watch you make a fool of yourself, what just what is it that you want me to do?
Next would have to be ” Talk to the hand ”
Why would any sane person talk to a hand? Oh and flipping someone off still mean’s the same thing in any language including sign language.
36 Edgewriter on Dec 14, 2007 at 8:22 am
Some of my least favorite phrases:
1. “That’s what she said.”
2. “Does he have enough Gravitas?”
3. “Please stop choking me, sir.”
4. “hitchcockian”
5. Anything gay fashionista Tim Gunn says.
37 Natureboy on Dec 14, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Oh, that’s easy…the reply “whatever” makes my skin crawl….I much prefered the old saying we used to use in “whatever”’s place….”go to Hell”
38 Eddie Colton on Dec 15, 2007 at 1:02 am
“0g trans fat”
I don’t think there ever WAS trans fat in food. I think they came up with an obscure type of fat just so they could say there was zero grams of it. They used to only list saturated fat, and it’s still in everything. You probably can’t even have trans fat in food. I bet it only exists in exotic animals like the capybara. They might as well say “0g Asbestos.” That’s also true. Really, what’s the point listing all the things that AREN’T in my food products?
39 Nanner on Dec 15, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Yeah, that one and “weak sauce” make me shudder.
40 Nanner on Dec 15, 2007 at 9:12 pm
You know, I think you’re right. Dear god that is stupid!
41 customcartoons on Dec 17, 2007 at 4:56 am
I followed along with any particular slang of the day, up to the minute I hit 30, and suddenly any “new” phrase thereafter just sounded bloody stupid. So I can “shout out to my peeps” but when something’s “off the heezy”??? Wha?? That’s just … huh?
I can “talk to the hand” or “don’t EVEN go there”, but then some guy is “the shizzle fer rizzle”, and it’s just moronic!
The latest quip I hate is “cool, cool”, which my brother, aged 28, uses all the time. As in:
“What time should we meet tomorrow?”
“2 pm?”
“Cool, cool.”
We pretty much have everything in common, until he whips out that phrase! Then the generation gap is gargantuan!
42 customcartoons on Dec 17, 2007 at 5:10 am
AAAAAND: when someone in a debate with you begins their argument with, “I mean, let’s be honest…” as if, your opposing viewpoint is, therefore, not-so-honest, and he feels the need to call for some Fresh Air in this whole sordid business, before you go ahead and have your rotton little say. Oh, you thought you were going to get away with something, didn’t you, but he trumped you with the Honesty Card! What leg do you have to stand on now? Damn! He called for Honesty, I’m foiled again!
43 mrhappy on Jan 9, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I hesitate to comment as your respondents are so far ahead of the norm relative to on other sites I read, but I do have to say if I hear one more person elongate their meaningless prattle during a business meeting with, “having said that…”!
I KNOW you said that, you moron! What I don’t know is WHY you said that, and HOW you could think I would possibly care!
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