# "At The End Of The Day" And Other Phrases To Kill Off Now, Part XVII **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150 "2013-03-28T02:39:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/41 "2013-03-28T20:35:22Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > The one I have is rather narrow in usage - > > I fly a lot (a lot) and flight attendants have to make a number of announcements during the flight. It has become common for them to use the phrase “Once again -” at the beginning of every single sentence they utter. > > I guess I understand that it has a variety of meanings for them, it’s often used in place of “I SAID!” or “HEY MORON I’M TALKING TO YOU!” As in, “Once again - the captain has turned on the fasten seatbelt sign and asks everyone to please remain seated.” - translation - “YOU IN THE YELLOW SWEATSHIRT - SIT DOWN!” > > But really, they use it for every sentence! “Once again, we will be landing shortly. Once again, please turn off all electronic devices. Once again, this means anything with an on-off switch has to be turned off. Once again, you will be able to use your cell phones once we have landed. Once again, you may not use laptops while we are taxi-ing in to the gate. Once again…” Another good one for flight attendants is the misuse of “momentarily”. FA: “We’ll be arriving at the terminal momentarily” Me (in my mind): “NO! Let’s stay there long enough to get all these people and bags out of the plane! How about if we arrive at the terminal ‘in a moment’?” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/42 "2013-03-28T20:39:23Z")
Am I the only one who can’t see this thread title without the score from _Les Mis_ starting up in my head? ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/43 "2013-03-28T21:16:24Z")
What is the _barrier_ preventing you from completing this task? We don’t have _problems_, we have _opportunities_. I’m going to _task_ you with some _deliverables_. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/44 "2013-03-28T21:49:39Z")
They should take all these phrases and “throw them under the bus” ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/45 "2013-03-28T22:00:57Z")
These aren’t recent vintage, but \*Mark my words… \* and _Let me get this straight…_ more often than not come out of the mouths of blowhards, and I detest them (the phrases). ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/46 "2013-03-28T22:12:48Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > Another good one for flight attendants is the misuse of “momentarily”. > > FA: “We’ll be arriving at the terminal momentarily” > > Me (in my mind): “NO! Let’s stay there long enough to get all these people and bags out of the plane! How about if we arrive at the terminal ‘in a moment’?” Even worse: “we’ll be leaving the ground momentarily” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![AuntPam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@AuntPam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntPam)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/47 "2013-03-28T22:49:00Z")
“Fulsome” does not mean “full”. “'I’ll get back to you with a more fulsome response.” Please don’t do that, I have enough obviously insincere flattery in my life already. “Revert back” is a) redundant and b) faintly insulting, suggesting that the speaker may devolve into the listener at some time in the future. If you mean you’ll call me or e-mail me when you have an answer, please say so. IT (information technology) mid-level managers are fond of saying “You haven’t been permissioned for that function.” I assume they mean “permitted to use that part of the program.” The general IT overuse of acronyms: “If the RSTR specs aren’t sent through DB first, the CIRT string gets corrupted.” I raise my hand and say “We’ve got a TMA problem here.” “A what?” “Too Many Acronyms.” (Sometimes they get it. Usually not.) “As per your instructions…” NO! It’s “per your instructions”–you chowder-head. And my favorite: “comprised of”–which means “included of”. The United States comprises 50 states. The contiguous mainland portion comprises 48 states. But they’re not “comprised of” states. I don’t care how many times you hear it, it’s wrong. In grammar circles, I am what is known as a prescriptivist. As we say “If you remain silent in the face of bad grammar, the errorists win.” ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/48 "2013-03-28T22:57:14Z")
My boss, constantly: “Let’s take that offline.” We _are_ offline. It’s a conference room. No one is on the phone. No one is on a computer. You’re looking right at me. We’re not both wearing Google glasses. This isn’t Avatar/The Matrix/Inception/Source Code/Total Recall/Vanilla Sky/The Cell/Strange Days/eXistenZ. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/49 "2013-03-28T22:58:56Z")
> [@campp](#): > > We don’t have _problems_, we have _opportunities_. AAAIEEEE one of my best friends from school has started doing this. Last year she explained to me how she doesn’t say ‘problems’ any more, she says ‘challenges’. As in ‘I had some challenges trying to book my flight on the airline website.’ No you didn’t. I’ve tried booking flights on that website before, and believe me, that wasn’t a challenge. That was a fucker of a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2013, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/50 "2013-03-28T23:36:59Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > My boss, constantly: “Let’s take that offline.” Ha ha! Reminds me of commercials that tell you to “log onto our website at [blahblahblah.com](http://blahblahblah.com).” No. No. I’m not logging on. I’m browsing, or visiting, or reading, or viewing, but unless I need a username and password I am not logging onto your fucking website. I don’t know why this bothers me as much as it does. But don’t fucking tell me to “log on” to your website if I’m just going there. I’m not logging the fuck on! There’s no logging involved. I am not creating a log! ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/51 "2013-03-29T01:27:31Z")
> [@AuntPam](#): > > “Fulsome” does not mean “full”. “'I’ll get back to you with a more fulsome response.” Please don’t do that, I have enough obviously insincere flattery in my life already. . . . > > And my favorite: “comprised of”–which means “included of”. The United States comprises 50 states. The contiguous mainland portion comprises 48 states. But they’re not “comprised of” states. I don’t care how many times you hear it, it’s wrong. > > In grammar circles, I am what is known as a prescriptivist. As we say “If you remain silent in the face of bad grammar, the errorists win.” > [@August\_West](#): > > Another good one for flight attendants is the misuse of “momentarily”. > > FA: “We’ll be arriving at the terminal momentarily” > > Me (in my mind): “NO! Let’s stay there long enough to get all these people and bags out of the plane! How about if we arrive at the terminal ‘in a moment’?” Don’t you people use dictionaries? Are you of the opinion that only the first definition is a real definition and the others are just there for kicks? Fulsome - 2. Of large size or quantity; generous or abundant. Comprise - 2. Make up; constitute. Momentarily - 2. At any moment; very soon. What’s my ‘phrase to kill off’? Not a phrase, so much as a tendency to drop sentences’ subjects. “Think it’s better. Recommend emailing him.” Don’t tell me what to do, man. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/52 "2013-03-29T02:16:09Z")
[QUOTE=Ms. Pumpkin] “think outside the box” Who thinks inside a box? 😕 [/QUOTE] It reminds me of an old commercial that was probably for UPS or FedEx that started with a biz-speak guy saying we need to think outside the box, then the voice over says something like “You’re the shipping manager. Your job _IS_ the box.” Not sure what’s so bad about “metrics” - how else do you want to speak about a bunch of measurable things? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/53 "2013-03-29T03:05:21Z")
So be it Above my pay grade ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/54 "2013-03-29T03:28:06Z")
As a poster of this message, I feel I need to share out that any time anyone starts a sentence with “as a” this, that or other, there will be some bragging, pontificating, or chiding to come later in the sentence. I therefore nominate “As a…”, and “share out” for eternal destruction. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/55 "2013-03-29T03:54:58Z")
> [@Viridiana](#): > > I hate dismissive discussion-squelchers. Period. End of Story. God said it. I believe it. That settles it. (Seen on bumper stickers.) ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/56 "2013-03-29T04:16:57Z")
Here’s a locution, the speakers of which I think should be dissolved alive in boiling acid: Public speakers (usually politicians or police chiefs at news conferences) who ask themselves a series of questions and then answer them. Sorry, I can’t think of good search terms to find some, but they are commonly reported in news articles. Something like (hypothetical fabricated example here):“Do I think gay people should have equal rights with normal people? Of course I do. But we need to decide what rights even normal people have. Do I think marriage between a man and a woman is a right that normal people have? Of course that’s a right. And so, do I think that gay people should have that same right? Certainly. At the end of the day, gay people have as much right as straight people to participate in a one-man-one-woman marriage as anybody else! If only they choose to do so. But do they? NO! They choose, of their own volition, to demand same sex marriages! Do even straight people have _that_ right? No, of course not! ”Completely aside from the idiocy of anything such people are saying, that rhetorical technique of holding a question-and-answer session with yourself seems quite the vogue these days, and I find it utterly idiotic. (ETA: And while you’re at it, be careful who you’re calling “normal”, buster!) ---
**Author:** ![Dickerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@Dickerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dickerman)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/57 "2013-03-29T06:31:44Z")
My current pet peeve is the rampant use of “Having said that,…” and the similar “That said,…” Grrrr! ---
**Author:** ![Sally\_Mander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e56c9b/32.png) [@Sally\_Mander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sally_Mander)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/58 "2013-03-29T07:15:39Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > This topic is not in my wheelhouse. And its close cousin, “It’s not in my skillset.” Or, “Let’s ask Bob to work on this project. It’s in his skillset.” > [@Srsly\_Dad](#): > > just kidding or JK > > My teenage daughter uses this all the time, whenever she is incorrect or need to change something she has said. It is practically punctuation. > > Me - Do you have any homework tonight? > > Her - Nope. > > She thinks for a minute > > Her - JK forgot I have Math. > > You were not kidding, you were incorrect. I work with a woman who, when she misspeaks, will say, “Oh sorry, I was lying. It’s actually…blah, blah, blah…” No, you weren’t lying, you were mistaken. Lying is intentional. I want to punch her when she says that. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > Not a phrase, just a buzzword: I’m seeing “enterprise” in all sorts of ways lately that are absolutely meaningless AFAICT. We’re going through a big reorganization here, and everything’s enterprise this and enterprise that. You sure they’re not talking about renting cars? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![williamweigand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b3f665/32.png) [@williamweigand](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/williamweigand)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/59 "2013-03-29T11:52:48Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Am I the only one who can’t see this thread title without the score from _Les Mis_ starting up in my head? Nope… follow the link in Post #15 above. ---
**Author:** ![Tollhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e99b99/32.png) [@Tollhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tollhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150/60 "2013-03-29T15:16:10Z")
the phrase “its time to move on”…it is usually said in such a manner where the speaker presumes to know and speak for the other person, and often it is said in the most highly sensitive situation, such as when a person lost a loved one, i.e. It is said as a directive and is very. dismissive to say the least Victim of stupid phrase. “I cant believe my sister passed away so suddenly, she was young and …” Neanderthal speaker “yea, well, i know you miss her but…its time to move on” :rolleyes: thank you for telling me how i should feel and what stage of grief i should be in. i think the speaker should immediately be given a small placard upon muttering this line , an honorary award for idiot of the month award, or something [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/at-the-end-of-the-day-and-other-phrases-to-kill-off-now-part-xvii/654150.md?page=4)