November 10, 2008

You've no doubt seen that new list of the most irritating phrases and words in the English language.
Researchers at Oxford University released it last week, and I've seen it turn up seemingly everywhere.... in every blog, in every newspaper, and on most newscasts.

Now, with all due respect, I personally agree with most -- but not all -- of the fairly unique phrases selected by Oxford.
A few lines down I'll list the 10 phrases that are -- at this moment in time -- considered most annoying.
Then, since it's not rocket science, I'll add a few of my own.
I think you'll agree that, at the end of the day, it's absolutely impossible to pin down phrases that everyone agrees on.
Even for language experts, I'm sure it's a nightmare to research thousands of choices, so I suppose I shouldn't of been too judgmental about the Oxford researchers.
Those poor guys have probably worked on this 24/7, for months.

Here's Oxford's official list of the most irritating phrases:
1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science

Now, I'll tell you 10 more that irritate me:
1 - "To make a long story short" *(when it's too late for that)
2 - "No problem" *(after asking your waiter for something)
3 - "My bad" *(Hey, this 'bad' belongs to me)
4 - "Went missing" *(the opposite of "came found")
5 - "A drug deal gone bad" *(probably a bad idea all along)
6 - "Ran him over" *(Why not just 'ran over him'?)
7 - "Stay on message" *(new political jargon)
8 - "Let's touch base" *(Are we gonna advance on a fly ball?)
9 - "From the get go" *(sounds like instructions for a horse)
10 - "Summering in Spain" *(like, I'll be nighting in my bed)

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