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The most heinous phrase in the English language

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    The most heinous phrase in the English language

    In terms of...

    Is it just me or is everyone in this country desperately addicted to using this phrase to start every single sentence? Politicians on the Today show, people being interviewed on telly, colleagues at work, management at work...every bloody one has to use and keep using the stupid phrase all the bloody time.

    It reminds me of that brilliant Murray Lachlan Young poem, 'Simply Everyone's Taking Cocaine' - but a corporate babble version.

    Please tell me I'm not alone here...

    #2
    The most heinous phrase in the English language

    sorry pants, there are so many much worse than that.

    But I understand your sensibility here.

    (We have done this before, where my most hated was '24/7')

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      #3
      The most heinous phrase in the English language

      Word.

      I mean, the most heinous phrase in the English language isn't a phrase, it's a word.

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        #4
        The most heinous phrase in the English language

        Scientists on radio explaining their research. Why do they always start with "So,..." before their explanation? There's no need for it!

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          #5
          The most heinous phrase in the English language

          New one, just heard:

          'Brand new, Red Dwarf, coming to Dave'

          you decide...

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            #6
            The most heinous phrase in the English language

            Let's be absolutely clear...

            what were talking about as one of the most heinous (and wrongly used by politicans) phrases in the English language.

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              #7
              The most heinous phrase in the English language

              Anything used by politicians is 'heinous'

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                #8
                The most heinous phrase in the English language

                Oh, get real!

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                  #9
                  The most heinous phrase in the English language

                  Gerontophile wrote:
                  sorry pants, there are so many much worse than that.

                  But I understand your sensibility here.

                  (We have done this before, where my most hated was '24/7')
                  You've given me a George Michael earworm now.

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                    #10
                    The most heinous phrase in the English language

                    In 2004 the Plain English Campaign asked its supporters in more than 70 countries which phrases were the most annoying. The top ten came out like this:
                    at the end of the day
                    at this moment in time
                    like (as, like, a form of punctuation)
                    with all due respect
                    to be honest
                    let's touch base
                    I hear what you're saying
                    going forward
                    absolutely
                    blue sky thinking

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                      #11
                      The most heinous phrase in the English language

                      Eggchaser wrote:
                      Scientists on radio explaining their research. Why do they always start with "So,..." before their explanation? There's no need for it!
                      Word. Word. And a thousand times, word.

                      "At the end of the day" is the "basically" of the '00s, and I hate it.

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                        #12
                        The most heinous phrase in the English language

                        "Blue sky thinking"? What does that mean?

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                          #13
                          The most heinous phrase in the English language

                          Oh, and if I never again hear the phrase 'mother tongue' to refer to one's first language, it will be too soon.

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                            #14
                            The most heinous phrase in the English language

                            On the other hand, the Plain English Campaign are a bunch of quasi-autistic wankers.

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                              #15
                              The most heinous phrase in the English language

                              Toro, you just said a lipsmackingthirstquenchingacetastingcool walinghightalkingfastinanenervatingcoolmotivatingc ooltalkinthinghwalkingfastenervating... etc mouthful

                              or something

                              Who knew?

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                                #16
                                The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                bugger

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                                  #17
                                  The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                  I got a job interview in a few days out of looking at all you cunts! Thanks all.

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                                    #18
                                    The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                    ok, someone wants me to be a writer.

                                    I am not.

                                    Some of you know how this works.

                                    I am not worthy.

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                                      #19
                                      The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                      Two OTF staples, which really get right up my nose, since their 'inception':

                                      "So, , then" (translated: "I don't want to commit myself to an opinion just yet, in case it's ridiculed")

                                      "To be fair..." ("In order for me to be able to walk away from this debate looking as if I've 'won' somehow...")

                                      I blame football managers for that last one. See 'Inappropriate Championship Manager' for good parodies of its use.

                                      You'll all be first up against the wall, come the revolution, etc, etc. Grrr...

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                                        #20
                                        The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                        I didnt realise until now, that people outside the otf clique, actually read this shit... well there you go.

                                        Fuck them all.

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                                          #21
                                          The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                          Ger, mate, what exactly are you trying to tell us?

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                                            #22
                                            The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                            "Like..." liberally peppered throughout conversations.

                                            "It was, like, amazing..." etc. No, you slurring, mealy-mouthed twat - it either was "amazing" or it wasn't. Make your fucking mind up! This one is another example of not wanting to seem committal about a statement, but it's one that has become really like a subconscious vocal tick or affectation (particularly among people of certain social groups, I notice). Was this originally an American affectation that has worked its way into English English via TV and film? I have that impression.

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                                              #23
                                              The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                              no GO, cant. I need a job

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                                                #24
                                                The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                                "In terms of" is one of those bits of syntax waste that I hate. I don't mind it so much when people are speaking, but it drives me nuts when one of the reporters I edits writes something like "Nobody knows what FDA's new drug-eluting stent requirements will look like in terms of its pre-market testing." That gets angrily red-penned into "FDA has yet to announce the new drug-eluting stent pre-market testing requirements." What is so damn hard about being direct and concise?

                                                "Like" is a subconscious vocal tick, perhaps brought on by nerves. It seems to appear most commonly in young women, but it's moved beyond that. It makes the speaker sound stupid, although I've known some very smart people to be afflicted with it.

                                                I don't have a problem with the "So, XYZ, then" as a thread title. I think it's something one might say during a convienient pause in a conversation in a pub in order to begin a new discussion on a new subject. It comes across as less demanding than saying "Let's talk about XYZ now."

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                                                  #25
                                                  The most heinous phrase in the English language

                                                  evilC wrote:
                                                  This one is another example of not wanting to seem committal about a statement, but it's one that has become really like a subconscious vocal tick or affectation
                                                  The second part of this statement undoes the first: it is a filler, and that's all. No more offensive to my (subjective) ear than a person umming and aahing because they are speaking on the fly without sufficient forethought.

                                                  One that really annoys me (being a low-level bureaucrat) is people that respond to a question with "WELL!" followed by a large pause whilst they think about what they are actually going to say. These people are braggarts, scared of losing their right to be the first to answer a question and intent on dominating conversational space, even when they have fuck all of use to add.

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