# Buzzwords and hackneyed phrases that must DIE **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 26, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338 "2008-06-26T17:48:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mr\_Buttons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@Mr\_Buttons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Buttons)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/21 "2008-06-26T20:37:22Z")
**Staycation** What the hell happened to just “Taking a few days off work”? I just read that word for the first time about 2 weeks ago in the “Business” section of our newspaper. I wanted to kill the writer of that article as soon as I saw it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/22 "2008-06-26T21:08:45Z")
There’s just a while bunch of nouns that have been converted to verbs – that should all go away and die. Let’s not “interface” any longer, shall we? Another of my least favortite terms is “face time”, as opposed to time spent on the phone. ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/23 "2008-06-26T21:19:07Z")
[QUOTE=vertizontal] And I expect this thread to utilize best practices to achieve an enterprise solution. [/QUOTE] a _world-class_ enterprise solution! ---
**Author:** ![BlinkingDuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eada6e/32.png) [@BlinkingDuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlinkingDuck)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/24 "2008-06-26T21:20:38Z")
Gahhhh…decimate bugs me. I don’t know why but it bugs the snot out of me. In a 401(k) discussion resently I said my 401(K) had been decimated. Everyone assumed I had lost everything. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/25 "2008-06-26T21:25:41Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] “Big Bob’s Walk-In Naturopathic Clinic takes care of the _entire_ patient holistically, rather than just treating the disease.” [/QUOTE] Yeah! When I go to Little Mike’s Appointment Only Naturopathic Clinic, they mostly use standard medicine but ONLY treat my KNEE holistically! What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/26 "2008-06-26T21:29:46Z")
He has a lot on his plate. Multi-tasking. Irons in the fire. Balls in the air. The metaphorical hat. Hell, I still hear “Think outside the box”. ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/27 "2008-06-26T21:33:06Z")
“Deliverables.” Yes, I know it’s probably a perfectly cromulent word in some business paradigm, but it makes me twitch. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/28 "2008-06-26T21:47:03Z")
[QUOTE=muttrox] Really? Why not? [/QUOTE] It seems every software company uses “robust” to describe their product. They need a thesaurus. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/29 "2008-06-26T21:54:55Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2008, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/30 "2008-06-26T21:57:52Z")
[QUOTE=AuntiePam] He has a lot on his plate. Multi-tasking. Irons in the fire. Balls in the air. The metaphorical hat. Hell, I still hear “Think outside the box”. [/QUOTE] Well… Jargon-speak in the corporate IT world? It is what it is. We have to balance our resource management between _strategic_ and _tactical_ items. And simply having the ability to execute is not enough, we need to _deliver the solution_. One that’s a _turnkey_ solution, and the _measure of success_ would be its simplicity: one that your {fifth-grade son|grandmother who doesn’t speak English} could figure out and use. ---
**Author:** ![Rack-a-Bones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/31 "2008-06-27T00:25:14Z")
[QUOTE=Shoeless] “Perfect storm” is the one currently bugging the crap out of me. [/QUOTE] Oh Zog yes. This makes me twitch. It was really bad a few years ago and I remember reading an editorial begging people to quit writing it. I tried to find the article but my Google skills failed. Speaking of which Google-fu is quite annoying. and “brainstorm.” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/32 "2008-06-27T01:35:47Z")
\*\*Buzzwords and hackneyed phrases that must DIE \*\* Am I the only one who ground his teeth at the word “buzzword”? ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/33 "2008-06-27T01:54:09Z")
[QUOTE=Belrix] Not political but I’d love to see phrase “Information Superhighway” taken out behind the building and shot. [/QUOTE] What? I haven’t heard that since at latest 1993, with the exception of references to the year 1993. The ones I hate are: “under the bus,” obviously. This one is a few years old and I thought it was dying, though. “all your ducks in a row” cute, but can you figure out a way to form a sentence without using it? “touch base **s** with you” I’m not a baseball fan, but I think it’s just _base_. And you’re overusing it, corporate shill! “that doesn’t ji **v** e” just flat-out misused 99% of the time. It’s jibe. And it’s overused. And that absolute worst? “it is what it is” this wins the awards for the most overused _and_ most meaningless phrase I’ve ever heard in my life. It has become almost a stutter for some people, coming out 5 or more times in a very brief conversation, sometimes at random. It was mildly insightful when my philosophy teacher said it years ago (phrased slightly differently); you, however, just sound like a douche. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/34 "2008-06-27T01:59:44Z")
[QUOTE=wolfman] The thing that pisses me off is it doesn’t make any sence. It’s used in the meaning of sacrificing someone so you can get away. … [/QUOTE] Having recently been thrown under the bus at work, I have to say the phrase really resonates with a victim. The point of the phrase is not the escape of the Thrower, but the inevitability of the Bus. The Bus is going to take someone out; someone in its immediate path. The Bus does not hunt in a pack, and swerve for any victim thrown to distract it. The Bus (that would be your Boss) just goes full steam until it runs over the first available victim. Then it stops and holds Team Building exercises. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/35 "2008-06-27T02:19:23Z")
The word “pivot” seems to be getting used a lot this political season. It hasn’t quite reached the stage of hackneyed ubiquity yet but I can see it getting there. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/36 "2008-06-27T02:40:19Z")
“let by gones be by gones” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/37 "2008-06-27T03:06:32Z")
I came in here to say ‘‘on the ground.’’ They use it on NPR all the time. My boss also tends to say, ‘‘At this level…’’ No matter what I ask him, his response is, ‘‘At this level, we should…’’ I don’t even know what that means. What other level is there? I’ve been working here nearly a year… have I not discovered all there is to discover about my _call center job_? Do we get colored belts or something as we rise through the ranks? And as much as I love The Office, if my husband says _That’s what she said_ one more goddamn time… :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/38 "2008-06-27T03:25:13Z")
[QUOTE=WF Tomba] Have they banned _throw one’s hat in the ring_ yet? My sister really hates that one. [/QUOTE] You’re kidding. Has anyone since Wendell Willkie “thrown their hat into the ring”? It’s as retro as straw boaters (which, come to think of it, were ideal for ring entry). ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/39 "2008-06-27T03:27:40Z")
[QUOTE=robardin] Well… Jargon-speak in the corporate IT world? It is what it is. [/quote] And…it’s all good. > [@](#): > > And simply having the ability to execute is not enough, we need to _deliver the solution_. One that’s a _turnkey_ solution Does anybody else wish this was misspelled “turkey” more often? “We can offer you a turkey solution.” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/40 "2008-06-27T03:32:58Z")
**Olives** , the next time he says “At this level…” you should stand on a chair and say, “Well, how about this level?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338.md?page=3)