# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/81 "2008-06-30T13:39:45Z")
Slate has some [comments](http://www.slate.com/id/2194425/) on “thrown under the bus”, along with several other favorite cliches. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/82 "2008-06-30T14:18:19Z")
Fucken GIFTING. The verb is “give”. People use “gift” when they want to sound important/wanky/new age/etc and it shits me to tears. Another one is “kitty” used seriously by anybody over about four. The word is CAT! EDIT: Yeah, I know these aren’t “buzzwords” as such, but “perfect storm” and “Staycation” had been taken, and I needed to vent my righteous anger somehow. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/83 "2008-06-30T14:22:04Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] It’s now 24/7/365. [/QUOTE] Yeah - and it makes my skin just crawl up the back of my neck, too. 24 x 7 x 365 is 168 years, not one year. Correct would be 24 x 7 x 52 but it _sounds_ wrong even if it’s more correct. (even more accurate would be 24 x 7 x 52.17857 but that’s doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue) ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/84 "2008-06-30T18:41:45Z")
[QUOTE=Big\_Norse] “ideation” - how is that even a word? [/QUOTE] “Ideation” really is a legitimate word, although in recent times it has been taken over by blithering ideates. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/85 "2008-06-30T19:09:56Z")
I agree with most of the ones here, but would like to single out **paradigm** and **going forward** for utter disdain. My contributions are: **speak to** , usually spoken as “Apocalypso will speak to this issue”. I am not speaking to an issue, I am speaking to you about a particular situation, problem, etc. **asshat** , unlike most of the buzzwords listed so far, actually means something (a “clever” :rolleyes: way to say someone has their head up their ass), but it’s way too overused. **teh** Ok, we get it. You’re hip and cool with your deliberate misspellings. Now do the rest of us a favor and stick your toungue in an electric socket. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/86 "2008-06-30T19:40:54Z")
“Speak to” is from parliamentary procedure; I happen to have my \*Robert’s Rules \* here because I was trying to look up something else (which I didn’t find). > [@](#): > > . . . limiting the number of times any one can speak to the same question . . . but Apocalypso is right in that it is consistently misused, abused and confused. Ban it. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/87 "2008-07-15T14:46:47Z")
[QUOTE=gravitycrash] B] Onomatopoeia\*\* No offense intended but that may be the **worse** user name to spell ever. [/QUOTE] Worst. Just sayin’… (bolding mine) ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/88 "2008-07-15T16:23:44Z")
Fucking **Green**!! Don’t take my favorite color and apply it to anything that can be remotely construed as environmental. The worst is when it is applied to more _economical_ issues: “Don’t leave the water running when you shave! Don’t you want to be greeeen?” “Don’t buy that gas-guzzling pickup truck! Can’t you see this plug-in sardine can is much greener?” The there is ‘greening’. Everybody in my town from the grocer to the plumber is ‘greening their business’. At first I actually thought it was about making more money, but then I started wondering why they were advertising it. :rolleyes: I don’t want to help the environment, god damn it! I just want you to cut my hair! Preferably as cheaply as possible and without any heart-wrenching seminars on global warming. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/89 "2008-07-15T16:40:42Z")
_Private Eye_ magazine has its own column devoted to sightings of “solutions”. Just where the hell did this solution-mania come from? You don’t have a frozen food aisle in the supermarket any more, you have Frozen Meal Solutions. Last week I passed a bus with the slogan “Flexible Coach Solutions” on the side. I’m glad I don’t work in the chemistry lab any more - I imagine the reagent suppliers have taken to advertising “High Quality Solvent Solutions” by now. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RunSilent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@RunSilent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RunSilent)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/90 "2008-07-15T16:46:32Z")
Looks like everyone is on the same page in this thread… ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/91 "2008-07-15T17:25:13Z")
I hate “solutions”, too, but that one seems to be dying out, at last. There was a time where every software company sold “solutions”, not programs. My current bugbear is “Westminster village”, referring to the Palace of Westminster, that seems to be gaining traction amongst political commentators on TV. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/92 "2008-07-15T17:40:09Z")
Don’t use utilize, when plain old use will do. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/93 "2008-07-15T17:44:20Z")
[QUOTE=DrCube] Fucking **Green**!! Don’t take my favorite color and apply it to anything that can be remotely construed as environmental. The worst is when it is applied to more _economical_ issues: “Don’t leave the water running when you shave! Don’t you want to be greeeen?” “Don’t buy that gas-guzzling pickup truck! Can’t you see this plug-in sardine can is much greener?” The there is ‘greening’. Everybody in my town from the grocer to the plumber is ‘greening their business’. At first I actually thought it was about making more money, but then I started wondering why they were advertising it. :rolleyes: I don’t want to help the environment, god damn it! I just want you to cut my hair! Preferably as cheaply as possible and without any heart-wrenching seminars on global warming. [/QUOTE] The marketing of “Green” seems to be an attempt by business interests to give environmentalism the same level of respectability and success as the “War on Drugs”. The sooner it’s marketed and promoted, the sooner the public will tire of it and things can go back to the way the have always been. There was a “Green” promotion before the film last night, and it was so smug it made me want to club a baby seal. And I’m someone who recycles, using only compact florescent bulbs and takes public transit everywhere! ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/94 "2008-07-15T20:07:13Z")
I agree with “Staycation.” I just saw that one the other day in my local newspaper and I wanted to hurt the person who came up with it. What a stupid word! Also, “circle” or “circle the wagons,” as in, “Let’s circle on that and meet again next week to discuss ideas.” No…no, let’s not. But the one I just want to shoot anyone who uses (fortunately it seems to have come and gone quickly), is “Push present”: the gift (more like bribe) that some women expect their husbands to give them after they’ve pushed out a baby. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/95 "2008-07-15T20:42:34Z")
We have enough \*\*"\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Nation"\*\*s too. Being a diverse group who like a certain ballclub or product does not make you a nation. Graduating from or attending the same University does not make you a nation, it makes you alumnae or students. Nor does the t-shirt make you any kind of nation. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/96 "2008-07-15T21:15:02Z")
I have an irrational amount of hatred for the term “man cave”. I like the idea of everyone in a house having a space of his or her own; I just really, really hate when they call a guy’s room his “man cave”. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2008, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/97 "2008-07-15T23:23:14Z")
I agree on “gifting.” That drives me nuts. It’s _giving_! Along the same lines, “We’re going to be conferencing on that.” NO! You’ll be conferring. When you confer, you have a conference. Current use of “leet” or “elite.” Being able to spell poorly and 5ub5titute numbers for letters (i.e. “leetspeak”) doesn’t make you part of an elite group. It makes you an idiot. [QUOTE=AuntiePam] Irons in the fire. Balls in the air. [/QUOTE] It’s much more motivational when his balls are in the fire and the irons are in the air (think Poe’s _The Pit and the Pendulum_). [QUOTE=AuntiePam] Hell, I still hear “Think outside the box”. [/QUOTE] One of the best retorts ever came from a cartoon. I think it was Zits. The dad (an orthodontist) is trying to come up with a new slogan and wants to “think outside the box.” His teenager says, “Think outside the box? Dude, you _are_ the box!” [QUOTE=LisaRx] It’s so yesterday. [/QUOTE] There’s one that gets me. The use of “so” as a synonym for “very” or just inserted as filler or intensifier. It’s _so_ cool. I’m _so_ going to see that movie. It’s a _comparative_. Okay, pedants. Come and get me. Tell me that it’s common usage and people have been doing it for many decades. I don’t care. I still detest it. [QUOTE=wolfman] “Throwing to the wolves/lions” or “leaving for the sharks”, or even something like “hobbling for the hyenas” might fit. “Throwing under the bus” was assinine the first time it was said. [/QUOTE] My new pet phrase. I’m hobbling you for the hyenas if you don’t cut that out! He became a liability so we decided to hobble him for the hyenas. Yeah! [QUOTE=RunSilent] Looks like everyone is on the same page in this thread… [/QUOTE] Nah. Some of us are still back on page 1 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d9b06d/32.png) [@Boozahol\_Squid\_P.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boozahol_Squid_P.I)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338/98 "2008-07-16T00:37:23Z")
[QUOTE=LisaRx] Another vote for _It is what it is…_ [/QUOTE] Gah! Makes Squiddy ANGRY! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buzzwords-and-hackneyed-phrases-that-must-die/454338.md?page=4)