# More words/expressions to abolish **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274 "2012-03-09T15:13:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/21 "2012-03-11T13:54:07Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Since it seems we’re banning “non-words” now; I want to ban _supposably_ and his inbred brother _supposively_. Thank you. Also, let’s get rid of “at this point in time.” Let’s get rid of it _ **now.** _ ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/22 "2012-03-11T16:52:34Z")
> [@eldowan](#): > > In my company, a very well known global giant, there _are_ paygrades. And, while true, that the term is used to refer to people higher in the hierarchy, I have seen painfully few times when it meant ‘smarter’. Perhaps I should have said “more capable” instead of “smarter”. But, among people who I see use “above my paygrade”, it nearly always means ‘smarter’. excavating (for a mind) ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/23 "2012-03-11T17:09:48Z")
all these examples just get me all stabby. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/24 "2012-03-11T17:16:41Z")
“Bro” and “brah.” I use “bro” sometimes (mostly with my brother), but never in the college-dorm context. “Brah” just needs to die a quick death immediately. ---
**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:** [March 11, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/25 "2012-03-11T17:58:08Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > Perhaps I should have said “more capable” instead of “smarter”. But, among people who I see use “above my paygrade”, it nearly always means ‘smarter’. > > excavating (for a mind) Not to me – to me it means “I don’t want to take responsibility for the consequences of this thing. That’s not my job – leave it to someone higher up the food chain.” I’m perfectly aware the odds favor that plenty of people up the food chain will be dumber than me. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/26 "2012-03-11T18:09:42Z")
Zombie. Zombie needs to be reburied, pronto. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/27 "2012-03-11T19:34:05Z")
Organic ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/28 "2012-03-11T19:37:07Z")
And if we can ban sounds, I would make it a felony to play horn honking sounds on the radio. There are several annoying commercials that contain horn honking and every time they play them while I’m driving, I get startled thinking someone is honking at me. ---
**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 11, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/29 "2012-03-11T22:22:35Z")
“Pre-planning”. All planning is “pre-” by definition. Putting “pre-” in front of words ending in “-ed”. The “-ed” says it’s been done- the “pre-” is redundant. To all those who shall say it’s O.K. since “it’s for emphasis”, I’ll accept that when you accept double and triple negatives as proper speech. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/30 "2012-03-11T22:29:26Z")
We should abolish the words “foodie” and “badonkadonk.” ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/31 "2012-03-11T22:37:37Z")
“At the end of the day…” “The bottom line…” “Dollars to donuts” “Here’s the thing,…” “Proactive” And, of course “Mouthwatering” ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/32 "2012-03-11T22:40:54Z")
Oh, and “obvious”. It is a word you should never need to use. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/33 "2012-03-11T23:34:10Z")
**Orientate**. Ugh. Orient is a perfectly good word. Use it instead. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/34 "2012-03-12T01:23:52Z")
> [@eldowan](#): > > In my company, a very well known global giant, there _are_ paygrades. And, while true, that the term is used to refer to people higher in the hierarchy, I have seen painfully few times when it meant ‘smarter’. The way I hear it used is, “That’ll be a massive pain in the ass and I don’t get paid nearly enough to do it.” As **eldowan** states, it almost never means, “smarter.” ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/35 "2012-03-12T16:31:35Z")
I’m sick of people ‘reaching out’ to me. It makes me feel like telling them to keep their hands to their damn selves, which makes no sense since typically we’re not even in the same state, let alone the same room. Just say you are calling/emailing me to try and sell me something so I can say no thanks and then we can all get on with our day, OK? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/36 "2012-03-12T16:33:06Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > I’m sick of people ‘reaching out’ to me. Woud you rather they reached in to you? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/37 "2012-03-12T18:40:06Z")
“Lovingkindness”. It just looks weird. “Luncheon” - for some reason this word just bugs the hell out of me. What’s wrong with just saying “lunch”? “Fellowship” “At the end of the day…” “Touch base” “Get the juices flowing” has always grossed me out ---
**Author:** ![Dahnlor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahnlor/32/533_2.png) [@Dahnlor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahnlor)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/38 "2012-03-12T19:26:35Z")
Within the realm of advertising, the word “Technology” when it refers to something that is **not** technology. “Our armpit goop has advanced fast-drying _technology!_” No, your goop just [supposedly] dries fast. Armpit goop is not freaking technology! ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/39 "2012-03-12T19:31:23Z")
All my students nowadays seem to say “build off of” when they mean “build on”. “Newton built off of his knowledge of mathematics and astronomy to create his celestial mechanics.” I try to tell myself that language change is inevitable and natural, but let’s face it, so is resistance to language change, and in this instance I definitely know which side I’m on. Who the HELL let that barbarism into non-colloquial written English? ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/40 "2012-03-12T19:40:44Z")
Sorry, **Soylent Juicy,** but I just can’t resist: Let’s touch base at the Fellowship Luncheon to share some lovingkindness. At the end of the day, it’s the best way to get the juices flowing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274.md?page=3)