There are lots of these, of course, but these are some of my favourites (quite the wrong word, but no matter):
There's nothing worse . Example: "there's nothing worse than running out of milk on Christmas day". Of COURSE there are worse things. Being boiled in oil is worse. Losing a partner is worse. Being hung, drawn and...well, you get the picture.
If you like. Someone will choose an expression, and then attribute his/her choice to the listener. Example: "it's, if you like, similar to a new way of boiling carrots". But what if I don't like? What if I can see no connection at all with the boiling of carrots? It's your expression. You use it if you want to. Leave me out of it.
At all (when used in an odd position in a sentence). The best example of this comes in one of the Pooh Books (where it's not irritating at all, of course):
Pooh (to Kanga): Are you interested in poetry at all?
Kanga: Hardly at all.
I tried this out in a building society once when asked if I wanted to open an account. It was met with stony silence.
No problem (in pubs, restaurants, shops - you name it). This needs no comment from me!
Can anyone think of any more?
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Anything along the lines of 'we're not publishing your story' is jolly annoying!
ReplyDeleteI second that!Also, "it's not quite right for us"!
DeleteI'm inclined to think that the juxtaposition of jolly and annoying is on my list.
DeleteIf you like, there's nothing worse at all than, like Patsy says, being rejected and at the end of the day, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and so on and so forth ;-) x
ReplyDelete"Basically (another of my betes noires") I agree, Teresa!
DeleteWhat Teresa says is right, innit?
DeleteYou are so right about "no problem". ALL the young people say that now. "You're welcome" is something rarely heard.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I overheard an elderly gentlemen said "Thank you for your kindness" to a cashier and yes, he got back "no problem".
Kay, we once stayed in a hotel where a delightful waiter's refrain was "no troubles at all!". We rather liked that. Well, it made a change!
DeleteAAAARRGH! Teresa said it - "at the end of the day". And I very much dislike the way (mostly young) people intersperse their speech with "like", in places where it is completely out of place. Such as, "I went, like, do you really want to, like, wear this?"
ReplyDeleteYes, Meike - "went, like" = "said" in modern youth parlance. Very odd. I regret to say that my grandchildren say it...
DeleteIf one came from Liverpool one would have been used to almost every sentence ending with the word like as in "Let's scarper up a jigger, like".
DeleteA salesperson at the door who immediately says, "How are you today," when I don't know him/her from Adam, or "I'm not selling anything."
ReplyDeleteOh yes! That is infuriating!
DeleteGosh. Where do you still have sales people coming to your door - unless, of course, they are selling a particular brand of religion?
DeleteGreat examples! I detest the 'how are you' on the phone from the few marketers etc who manage to get through - meaningless and annoying. One of these days, I'll give them a longwinded moany answer (if I had time).
ReplyDeleteOh, give it a try, Rosemary!
DeleteOh dear this could be a rant from me as there are so many that drive me mad.....but no....picking just one it is when people use 'actual' where there is no need....for example 'when using this wonderful vegetable peeler you put the actual carrot here...'. Grrrr.
ReplyDeleteLibby, you're right. It's like the "basically" I quoted above. When anyone's asked a quesiton on the radio, they begin the answer with "basically". I think it's the new equivalent of "um" or er".
Delete"No problem" said by someone whose job is to do the service they've just provided always seems odd.
ReplyDelete"Don't get me wrong" is my pet hate.
Oh yes! "Don't get me wrong". I'd forgotten that one!
Delete"Literally".
ReplyDelete...particularly when it's not "literally" at all...
Delete"Whatever" has the capacity to make me a raging bull(ess)...
ReplyDeleteAnna :o]
Me, too, Anna. Particularly from a recalcitrant grandchild!
Delete"Guess what...?"
ReplyDeleteAnd they don't want you to guess at all, because they're going to tell you. Right now!
Delete'There you go,' when a waitress puts your plate or coffee cup on the table. And 'basically' should be banned.
ReplyDeleteI think you must have added "basically" while I was writing it in a reply above, Lynne! It's one of my pet hates, too.
ReplyDeleteHello Frances, my Mum says she has finished your giveaway prize - all we need is your address :-) Please email me at destinyauthor@googlemail.com or get in touch with my Mum via her Etsy shop, whichever way you prefer.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Meike. I have emailed my address to you.
DeleteOne that I'm hearing a lot lately is "I'm not being funny but...." and it is more than a little bit irritating.
ReplyDeleteOr, in certain circumstances, (and this has just been said to my sister, causing great hurt): "I have to be honest..." No. You don't have to be honest. That kind of honesty (in this case) has a price, and the price is other people's feelings.
DeleteAnd then there's "some of my best friends are black/white/Jewish/Catholic,(or whatever)but..." . Arrrrgh!
When I was in the US I wore a badge on my lapel which said "Don't tell me what sort of a day to have".
DeleteNow I have got to the stage in life when I realise that there are far more important things to get worked up over than expressions people use.