Cliche Alert

[Lord DragonsWing]

I recently read the list of cliche's that The Plain English Campaign list as the most annoying phrases in English. Their site is www.plainenglish.co.uk
Here's a general view of what the voters said they hated the most. Do you use these in your writing?

24/7, ballpark figure, bottom line, it's not rocket science, move the goalposts, push the envelope, touch base, between a rock and a hard place, glass half full/half empty, address the issue, bear with me, going forward, literally, ongoing, think outside the box, value-added, basically, awesome, etc.

 

[shereads]

24/7, ballpark figure, bottom line, it's not rocket science, move the goalposts, push the envelope, touch base, between a rock and a hard place, glass half full/half empty, address the issue, bear with me, going forward, literally, ongoing, think outside the box, value-added, basically, awesome, etc.

This week at the office, I can recall flinching at "glass half full/half empty," "bear with me," "literally," another "literally," and "ballpark." I work in marketing, so "value-added" and "think outside the box" are so overused that I don't even hear them anymore. I just see the person's mouth move, and nod.

Edited to add: "Content-rich" is beginning to pass the annoyance threshhold.

 

[Lord DragonsWing]

Edited to add: "Content-rich" is beginning to pass the annoyance threshhold

That's another good choice. It wasn't on the list but it fits for me.

 

[destinie21]

The saying "as if your life depends on it" gets me also the phrase "the new black" in my profession I hear that almost daily.

 

[Lord DragonsWing]

The saying "as if your life depends on it" gets me also the phrase "the new black" in my profession I hear that almost daily.

I'm not familiar with the term "the new black" but "as if your life depends on it" should also be on the list. Think we can vote on these next year? We've got some good ones. lol

 

[Guest]

Rather than start a new thread, I'll post this there; the site also included the "Foot in Mouth" prizes. - Perdita
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This award, which we first gave in 1993, is for a truly baffling comment.

The 2003 winner was United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld for comments in a press briefing.

'Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know.'

Previous winners:

2002: Actor Richard Gere who said: 'I know who I am. No one else knows who I am. If I was a giraffe and somebody said I was a snake, I'd think 'No, actually I am a giraffe.''

2001: Artist Tracey Emin, who explained 'When it comes to words I have a uniqueness that I find almost impossible in terms of art - and it's my words that actually make my art quite unique.'

2000: Hollywood star Alicia Silverstone for her comments quoted in the Sunday Telegraph.

'I think that [the film] 'Clueless' was very deep. I think it was deep in the way that it was very light. I think lightness has to come from a very deep place if it's true lightness.'

1999: Former England manager Glenn Hoddle. When asked by Trevor McDonald to explain his controversial comments on people with disabilities, he said:

'I do not believe that. At this moment in time, if that changes in years to come I don't know, but what happens here today and changes as we go along that is part of life's learning and part of your inner beliefs. But at this moment in time I did not say them things and at the end of the day I want to put that on record because it has hurt people.'

1998: Cardiff MP Rhodri Morgan. In an interview with BBC Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman he was asked if he would like to be the labour leader of the new Welsh Assembly. Rhodri replied 'Does a one-legged duck swim in circles?'. After a long puzzled pause Jeremy asked Rhodri if that was Welsh for yes!

1997: Nick Underwood of Teletubbies Marketing explained that 'in life, there are all colours and the Teletubbies are a reflection of that. There are no nationalities in the Teletubbies - they are techno-babies, but they are supposed to reflect life in that sense.'

1996: No winner.
1995: No winner.

1994: Dr Gordon Brown MP for his 'New Economics' speech. He covered 'ideas which stress the growing importance of international co-operation and new theories of economic sovereignty across a wide range of areas, macro-economics, trade, the environment, the growth of post neo-classical endogenous growth theory and the symbiotic relationships between government and investment in people and infrastructures - a new understanding of how labour markets really work and constructive debate over the meaning and implications of competitiveness at the level of individuals, the firm or the nation and the role of government in fashioning modern industrial policies which focus on nurturing competitiveness.'

1993: Former England cricket boss, Ted Dexter. Ted desperately tried to explain away another England defeat at the hands of the Australians by saying 'Maybe we are in the wrong sign. Maybe Venus is in the wrong juxtaposition with something else. I don't know.'

(Although we did not yet have a Foot in Mouth award at the 1991 ceremony, we made a special mention of a quote by United States Vice President Dan Quayle.
'We offer the party as a big tent. How we do that (recognise the big tent philosophy) with the platform, the preamble to the platform or whatnot, that remains to be seen. But that message will have to be articulated with great clarity.')

 

[shereads]

"We're all going to have to give one-hundred-and-ten percent."

 

[destinie21]

you're going to have to take one for the team.

 

[Lucifer_Carroll]

no bout adoubt it.

That humourless phrase needs to die. Painfully.

 

[Guest]

Awesome!

(I must be so cliche. I use that all the time. )

Lou - not cool.

 

[doormouse]

Not sure if this is one used in the States, but this one IRKS me!!!

"Yeah, but no."

I mean, really, is it yes, or is it no???

doormouse going back to her hole ... ;-)

 

[Guest]

"Yeah, but, no but, yeah, but, no but..." - Vicky, Little Britain. Effing hilarious!

(I tried 15 times to punctuaute that correctly, then gave up. Anyway, she talks very fast as she says it.)

Lou

 

[doormouse]

One that should be on the list that I see (and am guilty of using),

'lasting moments, but feeling like an eternity'

or, one we use at work,

'hey doll' eww I know LOL

 

[Guest]

 

[SummerMorning]

"sustainable development"

 

[Guest]

I think "Delphic obscurity" and "Sibylline obfuscation" are overused.

Perdita

 

[destinie21]

time came to a stand still

 

[Bizkit_Writer]

or how about like talking like we were like really like liking the word like in every other word usage.

(Someone stop me!)

 

[shereads]

I think "Delphic obscurity" and "Sibylline obfuscation" are overused.

Perdita

Less so in Miami. "Sybylline" is hardly used at all anymore south of Orlando.

 

[marshalt]

There is no "i" in team, but there is one in win.