# Annoying “new speak” that you’ve managed to adopt into your vocabulary… **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2021, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621 "2021-11-01T11:45:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/21 "2021-11-02T15:13:11Z")
_It’s been a minute._ It rolls off the tongue and I just can’t help myself sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/22 "2021-11-02T15:17:00Z")
I don’t really mind any of the phrases mentioned in this thread so far, except for “you do you,” but to be clear, that’s meant to be jerkish. It doesn’t just mean “be yourself.” It means, “you’re fucking your life up, you pathetic loser, but I can’t stop you, so keep at it if you want.” This one, however: > [@solost](#): > > One of those annoying ‘biz speak’ phrases has snuck into my vocabulary at work-- “going forward”, as in “we’ve done (business practice) (X way) up until now, but going forward, I think we should do it (Y way)”. is flat-out useful, and everyone should adopt it. It can’t be replaced with “In the future,” which is nebulous about when in the future you’ll start the new practice, whereas “going forward” indicates that you’re starting now (or even started recently.) The closest replacement is, in fact, “starting now”, but it’s really closer to “starting now (or having started recently), and continuing until we learn a better practice…” Any why use all those words when “going forward” fits the bill? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/23 "2021-11-02T15:17:54Z")
> [@jaycat](#): > > One of the funniest is “you do you.” As in “be yourself.” I most often hear ‘You do you’ in the context of ‘Please stop trying to impose your personal preferences on me as if they are some sort of universal law’ ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/24 "2021-11-02T15:22:32Z")
My spouse if fond of “It’s all good!”, which I have always interpreted as, “I wish to register my disagreement with that choice, but I’m not willing to mount an objection.” In other words, passive aggressive. So, (hehe) I will use “It’s all good!” only in response to my spouse. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/25 "2021-11-02T15:30:04Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I HATE that one with every molecule of my being. That is a statement that contains NO information, certainly no helpful or comforting information. Just shut up already. I don’t think “It is what it is” was meant to be comforting. I see it as a rebuke to people whining about how they don’t want the situation they’re in to be the situation they’re in, when whining won’t do anything. “Oh, great, the engines of the plane are on fire, why are the engines on fire? Why do I have to fly the plane that has the engines on fire?!? Why can’t the engines just _not_ be on fire?!?” “It is what it is, deal with it or we’re all dead!” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/26 "2021-11-02T15:31:31Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > For many years, I was very annoyed when someone began a story or explanation with “So…” > [@bordelond](#): > > This phrase-opening use of “So …” is a useful shibboleth (anti-shibboleth?) to roughly determine someone’s self-identified generation (e.g. Boomer, Gen X, Millenial, etc.). To my experience, “So …” is a fairly reliable marker for someone _not_ being a Boomer or Gen Xer. Even more annoying, and even more an indicator of relative youth I think, is when “so…” is used at the _ **end** _ of a sentence or phrase. As in: “Let’s go out and get some lunch.” “Well, I’m very busy and I just ate a bunch of snacks, so…” > [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](#): > > > [@solost](#): > > > > One of those annoying ‘biz speak’ phrases has snuck into my vocabulary at work-- “going forward” > > is flat-out useful, and everyone should adopt it. OK, well, thanks, it feels good to be vindicated by a SD peer 🙂 One annoying biz phrase I’ve heard a lot but _ **haven’t** _ succumbed to is “at the end of the day” used metaphorically to mean “when all is said and done”. Sometimes when people use it it’s difficult for a beat or two to tell from context whether they mean at the literal day’s end or not. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/27 "2021-11-02T15:33:30Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Even more annoying, and even more an indicator of relative youth I think, is when “so…” is used at the _ **end** _ of a sentence. As in: > > “Let’s go out and get some lunch.” > > “Well, I’m very busy and I just ate a bunch of snacks, so…” And even more so, the trailing ‘so…’ as a sort of placeholder for ‘so I think you are a fuckwit’ i.e. well, you didn’t mention [the detail that was obvious to everyone else, but I complained about] so…’ ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/28 "2021-11-02T15:34:08Z")
Well, I’m not the one who lit the engines on fire, so… ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/29 "2021-11-02T16:11:51Z")
…so you’re still the one who’s going to die if you don’t fix it. It is what it is! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/30 "2021-11-02T16:15:36Z")
I’m really sorry, but I think I started one: I used to use “apparently” more than frequently and now I hear everyone using it. Wait, what’s that? Is it? It IS – IT’S [ACTION ITEM, PROFESSIONAL SUPERHERO](https://professionalsuperhero.com/)!! ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/31 "2021-11-02T16:57:08Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I don’t think “It is what it is” was meant to be comforting. I see it as a rebuke to people whining about how they don’t want the situation they’re in to be the situation they’re in, when whining won’t do anything. > … This is WRT “It is what it is.” A dear close friend of mine used to say it when he was in hospice, and he meant it to offer comfort in some oblique way while still expressing anger. _“There’s nothing any of us can do about it at this point. I’m going to die, and that’s that.”_ And then he did. My association with that phrase is nothing but bad. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/32 "2021-11-02T17:06:58Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > I hate it when people begin a sentence with “I mean” when they’re not explaining something they just said Whenever I hear “I mean” used this way I always think of _Alice’s Restaurant_ – “I mean, I’m sitting here on the Group W bench…” ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/33 "2021-11-02T19:56:44Z")
I’m old enough that I’m not entirely comfortable with the spelling “nite”, so don’t get me started on all this other stuff. On the other hand, when people complain about the pronunciation “nucular” (for “nuclear”), I remind them that **everyone** pronounces “Wednesday” as if it were spelled “Wendsday”, and “iron” as if it were spelled “iorn”, so they should stop complaining about “nucular”. Yes, I suppose I’m contradicting myself. Too bad. And _get off my lawn_! (which sounds pretty dumb coming from someone who rents an apartment!) ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/34 "2021-11-02T20:03:04Z")
I found myself responding to a request with “ **Yeah – no** ”. And I HATE that. I’m not even sure what it means. “Yes I heard you but the answer is no?”. “Yes, but on second thought - no?” “I’m just spewing out words here.” (That phrase popped up often on the “Everybody Loves Raymond” show.) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/35 "2021-11-02T20:06:08Z")
I have a lot of trouble pronouncing “Wednesday”, for the reason you mention, my rule ended up being “Wednesday is Odin/Wotan/Woden’s day, so pronounce it Wodensday, but with an ‘E’ (Wedensday)”, it seems to work, and now I realize yours is even better, I’ll pronounce it “Wendsday” from now on 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/36 "2021-11-02T20:12:09Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > I have a lot of trouble pronouncing “Wednesday” I hope you won’t be offended if I ask: Are you a native English speaker? ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/37 "2021-11-02T20:17:12Z")
Not offended in the least 🙂 No, my first language is Spanish, that’s why words like “Wednesday” throw me for a loop, so I invent silly mnemotechnic rules to help me pronounce them. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/38 "2021-11-02T20:23:03Z")
I learned Spanish in high school. The pronunciation is always exactly like the spelling, so I understand why it is so difficult for you. Congratulations on a new mnemotechnic! ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/39 "2021-11-02T20:28:25Z")
You should hear me butcher “**[miércoles](https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/mi%C3%A9rcoles)**” when I’m shit-faced 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621/40 "2021-11-02T20:33:11Z")
Thanks!, I always say that English is easy to learn but hard to pronounce, while Spanish is the other way around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/annoying-new-speak-that-you-ve-managed-to-adopt-into-your-vocabulary/953621.md?page=3)