Hello!
Here are some phrases and words that irk me with explanations for why
'Banter' - I used to like this word and now I hate it. This is because, without wishing to offend, it is now drastically over-used by a certain type of person. It is not uncommon to walk into a pub now and hear this type of person mention the word banter more than 100 times in 1 visit. 'Check out Hamilton's banter', 'Does Francis have good banter?', 'What's Leo's banter like?', 'Oh Henry it's just banter', 'I'm gonna banter Fred so badly', 'I love Lindon's banter'... this is the kind of thing one might hear on such an occassion, and it has to stop
'Be Yourself' - Nonsense. We all have to compromise to a certain extent otherwise the world would plummet into instant chaos. Robert Kilroy-Silk decided eventually to be himself, and look what happened. Never seen or heard from again...
'110%' - As in 'Steve, I'll commit to this project 110%'. 110% is impossible. 100% is the maximum amount of percent one can give. In truth, using a percentage to quantify the amount of effort one might put into something is actually in itself flawed. After you've done something, how would you then work out how much percent you actually put in? Not possible. Better just to say 'Steve, I'll give this project everything I've got'.
'Wow-Factor' - An utterly hideous phrase that is drastically over-used, particularly on TV programmes about people trying to buy houses. Typically, a couple will look at 5 houses which are all very similar, but they'll decide that only 1 is suitable because the other 4 'didn't have the wow-factor'. And then, even though it isn't usually my way, I'll feel distinctly angry towards the couple and hope that their motgage falls through. This is very out-of-character for me (I usually wouldn't wish a motgage request collapsing on my worst enemy), which only undermines how much I dislike this phrase.
'Never say Never' - I disagree. Say Never. Sometimes it's an entirely appropriate thing to say
'Wicked' and 'Sick' - I'm all for youngsters embracing language, but not to the detriment of what already exists. Sick and wicked are important words, referring to illness (or in some cases depravity) and evil respectively. They should not refer therefore to something that is good. Good is good, evil is evil and illness/depravity is illness/depravity.
'Going Forward' - As in, 'Going forward Malcolm, we need to make sure that the museum offers full disbaled-access'. You'll notice that the following sentence works just as well, and is in fact, far less annoying: 'Malcolm, we need to make sure that the museum offers full disabled-access'. 'Going Forward' has thus become a popular phrase, despite the fact that it is entirely redundant, given that time, at least in this realm, always moves forward
More to follow...
Stay safe. Or if you are currently in danger, become safe.
M
