Good advice is always annoying though. Some of it is so common that it gets distilled down to very few words. “This too shall pass” and “all things in moderation” are my two favorites. Saves a lot of speech making.
Uptick is a small increase of a historical trend
“Small increase of the historical trend” is a long winded way of saying “uptick” 
/humor
CC phrases:
Tippy top
Casting a wide net
My husband contributes “I’d like to pick your brain” to hated job jargon.
7 Likes
Agree with Tippy Top
That one really grates in my nerves!
3 Likes
“Clapback” and “AF”
I don’t know why, but these irk me…
2 Likes
“And go,” “literally” when it’s not, sale when it should be sell as in “I’m going to sale my house this weekend,” synergy/synergies, granular, actionable
1 Like
Good talk.
1 Like
My high school English teacher was on a never-ending quest to rid “normalcy” from our vocabulary.
I just saw this YouTube clip of David Sedaris on “Sunday Morning” talking about this topic: David Sedaris on irritating word choices - YouTube
1 Like
Was the teacher still holding a grudge against Warren Harding for using that in a political slogan in a winning 1920 campaign?
1 Like
Ironically, this is the one which has been used to denote an individual without assigning gender, at least since the 14th century - Chaucer evidently used it in that way, as did Shakespeare and Jane Austen.
5 Likes
This is interesting and makes me feel better! I’ve found myself using “they” for a single individual when I did not want to specify their gender. The grammar cop inside me gets a bit uncomfortable, but “they” feels smoother than the alternatives “he/she”, “s/he”.
I think I’ll decide if it was good enough for Shakespeare, it’s good enough for me 
.
4 Likes
I think that we could use a singular unisex pronoun set, like:
Subject: heir
Object: heirm
Possessive: heirs
I’m pronouncing the root “hair”.
Does that then imply also using “us” and “we” when referring to oneself - to be consistent. Or is that reserved for HRH only?
Although, lots of language that dates back a few hundred years is no longer suitable today - so I don’t think that is a good standard.
Nope, it doesn’t. Just because “they” and “them” is a correct term for second person singular, does not mean that “us” is correct for first person singular. Interestingly, the use of “you” for first person singular is relatively modern. It used to be “thee” and “thou”, while “you” was only plural.
It has been in continuous use for this since Chaucer’s time. Jane Austen was using it in that manner in the early 19th century, and even Dickens used it. It seems that the resistance to this use started during the 19th century, as did attempts at creating a new pronoun.
There were a number of gender neutral pronouns suggested since the 19th century, but so far, none has had staying power. On the other hand, people keep on using singular they, them, and their all the time, even without noticing it.
After all, how many times have you heard or said something like “somebody left their bag here”?
2 Likes
“Natty” for National Championship
“destroyed” or “destroys” used in video titles
“you deserve” used in advertising, especially lawyer advertising
3 Likes
Saw this link somewhere today and thought of this thread. Words and Phrases Made 2023's Banished Words List | Reader's Digest
“Actually,…”
“You know that (stupid conspiracy theory), right?” Usually “you know that the government secretly controls….”
“Irregardless”.
Trying to sound smart and getting it wrong. I had someone work for me who constantly told clients how “you-bick-wee-iss” the technology we were deploying had become.
1 Like
Cali.
Please don’t.
4 Likes
Yes - and “Ship” for championship. “Goin’ the Ship! Hoping to bring home the Natty!”
1 Like