Now here is a book I am going to get. The Daily Telegraph has published a compilation of annoying phrases, cliches etc in the English language. It is entitled She Literally Exploded: The Daily Telegraph Infuriating Phrasebook.
Curious to know whether any of the cliches, phrases etc that annoy me the most, have made it into the book. At the moment, the following set my teeth on edge: ‘close down the debate’, and ‘capture the public imagination’. I even hate that I have had to type them out here.
May 29th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Bel: It sound like a good book. It should capture the public imagination…LOL.
May 29th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Speaking of ‘closing down the debate’, an interesting discussion over at Iain’s blog, on climate change etc, and those who ’shut down the debate’. I think I’ve heard that sentence enough times in one day.
May 29th, 2007 at 7:12 pm
I’ve always been curious about the phrase “set my teeth on edge”
May 29th, 2007 at 7:24 pm
Anonymous, it comes from the Bible. In Ezekiel 18, God is talking to Ezekiel the prophet about a well-known proverb in Israel in those days. The proverb was ‘the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’. It meant that children reaped the consequences of their fathers’ actions. And God was telling Ezekiel not to use the proverb anymore, because He (God) did not want children paying for their fathers’ sins.
So that, as far as I know, is the earliest recorded use of the expression, ‘teeth (being) set on edge’. I wonder if anyone has seen an earlier occurrence.
May 30th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
My neck and jaw tenses every time I hear some do-gooder attempting to “raise awareness”.
May 30th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
How about “outside the box”?
May 30th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I have to confess that I get rather annoyed when I hear talking heads on TV telling us to “celebrate diversity” or “embrace” anything.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:39 pm
Why does my skin creep when I hear someone say: “that’s cool”. I sometimes say it to wind my sons up as they can’t stand it either, they think I’m far too old to be using such hip expressions.
May 30th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
I hate ‘put pen to paper’
May 30th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
Phrases and management speak may annoy, but phrases such as, “blue-sky thinking” and “thinking outside of the box,” do mean something. They are valid.
All very David Brent, and very much hated by academics etc. but business folk use these phrase because they work - they are descriptive. All industries and professions develop there own lexis; why should the business one be a source of ridicule?
May 31st, 2007 at 6:17 am
Let’s park that thought for the moment. Here’s an idea i want to run up the flagpole with you. We can use it as a trial balloon to lay down a marker.
May 31st, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Though guilty of using it in print myself, I hate people saying V-good, or ‘V’ anything.
Just thought I’d run that by you, can you buy into that? We obviously need to explore some more psychobabble but I can’t find a window in my schedule, so get your people to call my people and we’ll dovetail. Right now I need some space; it’s not you, it’s me. I’m downsizing my emotional breadth in order to spiritually purify. It’s a karma thing - my stress threshold needs refining.
Take care.
(I hate that - always sounds like a warning)
Go well
(how very wet)
Byee
(little hearts over the i’s?)
May 31st, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I would recommend everyone to one of the best threads on Croydonian’s sight. For my offering..
‘communities’
‘not fit for purpose’
‘reach out telephonically’
May 31st, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Move on.
May 31st, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Get over it.
June 2nd, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Going forward, I’ll think there will much more blue-sky thinking about your proposal.
June 2nd, 2007 at 2:42 pm
The Old Testament has already been mentioned. Other interesting, though not necessarily annoying phrases with a Jewish twist are:
1. To be on “tenter hooks”. From the Jewish East End. I’ll give a £5 W.H. Smith voucher to the correct answer.
2. “Hand me downs” - from East End clothing stalls, where the stall-holder would literally hand clothes down from the top of his/her stall.
The best rant on Blogpower?
June 2nd, 2007 at 9:28 pm
new labour.
June 3rd, 2007 at 8:10 am
Bel … don’t forget to get those nominations in for the Blogpower Awards - vote early and vote often!
June 3rd, 2007 at 6:40 pm
You are a tease, Mr Jacobs.
June 3rd, 2007 at 7:56 pm
I’ve been looking for someone like you for years. Send me an e-mail will you!
December 18th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
‘On my radar’, if the engineer from network rail comes in my office and uses this phrase again I will ethnically cleanse him