# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/41 "2012-03-12T20:21:43Z")
I’ve said it before. Meme. I have no problem with the concept. Its just a terribly tinny word. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/42 "2012-03-12T23:00:59Z")
I’ve heard myself use the word “synergise” too late to stop myself and felt dirty afterwards ☹ Can I please submit “real” as a qualifier? As in “we have real strengths as an organisation”. Either we have strengths, or we don’t, don’t say real when what you actually mean is something like significant. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/43 "2012-03-13T04:17:52Z")
poster child ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/44 "2012-03-13T04:25:44Z")
“It’s a win-win for everybody.” AARGH! ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/45 "2012-03-13T05:59:51Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > “At the end of the day…” > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > “At the end of the day…” What’s wrong with that phrase? I mean, when it’s all said and done… OK, serious question, what’s a good phrase to talk about when everything is resolved, or done, or over? As for my contribution, I’ll add two things said to someone complaining about their job. 1. You should feel lucky to have a job. 2. Then why don’t you go work somewhere else. Everybody complains about their job from time to time, and sometimes it’s even legit. What you really mean when you say that is, “I don’t care about your problem, so stop bugging me about it.” Frankly (if I was employed) I’d rather hear that. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/47 "2012-03-13T06:14:26Z")
“Epic” and “fail” and “epic fail”. Never a fan of “give 110 percent” since its usually impossible in most contexts which it is used. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/48 "2012-03-13T06:26:39Z")
FUNNER… is not a word, nor will it ever be. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/49 "2012-03-13T07:25:51Z")
> [@jabiru](#): > > 24/7 - especially when followed by “all the time” or some variant. > > Fanbois. Or 24/7/365 - yes! 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for all 365 weeks of the year! ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/50 "2012-03-13T10:17:39Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Or 24/7/365 - yes! 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for all 365 weeks of the year! I did recently encounter the term “working 16/7” - which at the very least took into consideration a person’s need to sleep and could in fact be an accurate description of their working pattern. Still a bit annoying, but not as egregious as 24/7 used in the same context, because a person can’t do anything 24/7 for more than a couple of days at the most. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/51 "2012-03-13T11:00:05Z")
I’m going to draw from the world of the foodie for my contributions: Artisanal: This word is used to connote food (especially bread) that is somehow better than the stuff you usually find on the supermarket shelf. It’s also used to sell mass-produced bread, just the stuff that goes stale within a few days because it’s not wrapped properly. It denotes something that has been made in small batches, usually by hand. It’s twee, precious, and overused. Let’s get rid of it. Sourced, especially “locally-sourced”: Unless I’m paying more than $50 for dinner, I really don’t give a rat’s ass where the food comes from. I know that the food in the vast majority of the restaurants where I eat comes from foodservice companies like Sysco. And I don’t care. Please stop using this term as though it matters. It doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/52 "2012-03-13T11:51:45Z")
“Synergy”. I’m not sure that even the people using this word know what they’re trying to communicate by saying it. “Learnings”. What’s wrong with “lessons”? Not a very common one, but I saw a jug of whole milk at a grocery store recently that was labeled “HOMO MILK” - and that’s just wrong on so many levels. “Disenfranchise”. This one took off after 2000 and seems to have stuck, even though “disfranchise” means the same thing and is much more elegant. (You wouldn’t call a handicapped person “disenabled”, would you?) “Literally” used as an exaggerative. If you say “My head literally exploded when I heard the news”, then you are lying, because head explosion tends to result in death. “Mouthfeel”. What’s wrong with “texture”? ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/53 "2012-03-13T12:28:23Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Mouthfeel”. What’s wrong with “texture”? “Mouthfeel” isn’t the same thing as “texture”. For example, yogurt and ice cream are both “creamy” and “smooth”, but the mouthfeel is very different. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/54 "2012-03-13T14:07:21Z")
“Quite frankly.” This phrase is, quite frankly, overused. It may be, quite frankly, the most overused phrase in this thread! Even if it isn’t, it may be, quite frankly, annoying as crap! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/55 "2012-03-13T18:33:54Z")
“To be honest;” well, thanks for the warning that THIS statement is honest, compared to everything else you say. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/56 "2012-03-13T19:01:38Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > “To be honest;” well, thanks for the warning that THIS statement is honest, compared to everything else you say. I always take it as a warning that what’s about to be said next may not be what you want to hear. “How’s the food I made?” “Well, to be honest, I didn’t think it was that good.” ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/57 "2012-03-13T19:18:58Z")
Is “solution” still tossed around more than it should be? (For example, there are no more “garbage dumpsters”; now they’re “large-scale waste management solutions”.) ---
**Author:** ![jordanr2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/58 "2012-03-14T01:16:51Z")
“Amazing” - I could happily live the rest of my life without hearing this word again. ---
**Author:** ![Ana\_Byrd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Ana\_Byrd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ana_Byrd)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/59 "2012-03-14T10:22:45Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > WAKE UP!! Always in caps, always with the exclamation points, always screamed in-your-face by right-wing religious nutters. As in WAKE UP AMERICA!!..WAKE UP SHEEPLE!! Jeebus is coming!! The ship of state is going under!! It’s everywhere…on amateur illiterate blogs, in the comment sections of news sources, hell, there are whole websites devoted to telling me to WAKE UP!!. This isn’t just a dog whistle for the wingnuts it’s a gawdam cattle call. > > If one more nitwit screams WAKE UP!! at me I’m going to…I’m gonna… > I dunno.. > > Go back to sleep? > SS **Sheeple.** If I hear someone use this word, they will have to work very hard to get me to like them. And I like liking people. And seconding **give 110%** , which only seems to be used at company meetings. If I can easily picture Grahame Coats from Anansi Boys saying it with a smirk, it should not be said. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2012, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/60 "2012-03-14T10:36:01Z")
> [@Enola\_Gay](#): > > Organic HEY! :mad: **Nava** , ChemE, specialty Organic Chemistry. My sister in law describes any decoration or household item she likes as “rustic”. As All-Smashing Og is my witness, induction stovetops are not rustic! Can we erase “rustic” from the dictionary, or at least from her copy? ---
**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:** [March 14, 2012, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274/61 "2012-03-14T10:55:13Z")
> [@jordanr2](#): > > “Amazing” - I could happily live the rest of my life without hearing this word again. Ditto. When people say this, I often ask, “Amazingly good or amazingly bad?” I mean, the apocalypse is going to be pretty amazing, too, right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-words-expressions-to-abolish/615274.md?page=4)