# Phrases I hate. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402 "2007-05-24T20:33:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/81 "2007-05-26T21:45:47Z")
[QUOTE=5-4-Fighting] It may still be wrong gramatically, but that’s the correct phraseology. [/QUOTE] It’s not even wrong grammatically. Suspend doesn’t only mean to hang from something. It also means to stop temporarily, as in putting someone on suspension, suspending a project, and so on. Suspension of disbelief means stopping your normal habit of disbelieving so that you can buy into whatever’s being pushed at you. You (general) can hate the phrase, but it’s not incorrect. Also, the only time I’ve heard “my bag” as anything other than literal is in Austin Powers. “That’s my bag, baby.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Solfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Solfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solfy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/82 "2007-05-27T03:04:22Z")
[QUOTE=Bambi Hassenpfeffer] Yes, there are other types of accidents that are not necessarily horrific. I bump the car in front of me approaching a traffic light at 5 mph. Still might close the road for a little bit, but it wouldn’t be what I call horrific. I can think of several other situations that wouldn’t be _horrific_. [/QUOTE] On my local news, every accident is horrific or tragic or some earth shattering dire adjective. It wears on ones nerves. And if an accident isn’t that significant, is it worth reporting on? ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/83 "2007-05-27T03:15:59Z")
I hate “it is what it is.” ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/84 "2007-05-27T03:55:31Z")
I had a job interview last Monday. It was for a pyramid scheme. They asked me if I can give them “one word to describe yourself”. I asked them if they were kidding. “Why not two?” I asked. She said she wanted one. So I said: “Hey, if a garbageman can be a ‘sanitation engineer’, then I can be ‘dynamic’.” “Ooh! Good word!”, she replied. “Are you kidding me? That’s a bullshit word I spouted out for you. It doesn’t mean anything. Out of curiousity, what’s the most common response you get to that question?” “Unique.” “That’s ironic.” ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/85 "2007-05-27T05:08:15Z")
May I suggest you check out the [Adventures of Action Item!](http://professionalsuperhero.com/) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/86 "2007-05-27T05:51:01Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Struan, I confess that I use that all the time - in my world, there’s no other word that describes “websites that actually do stuff rather than sit there”. Can you suggest an alternative? Sounds like a personal preference to me. Maybe that particular combination of syllables is just irritating to **Struan** for some reason. I’ve never heard of anyone having trouble with that word–“functional” is a perfectly cromulent adjective and the derivational suffix “-ity” is a perfectly cromulent way to turn adjectives into nouns. See also: reality causality fatality **Struan** , I’d be curious to hear just what it is you don’t like about the word. You made a reference to “ubiquitionality”, but have you ever heard of the word \*“ubiquitional”? The analogy is a non-starter. > [@TheLoadedDog](#): > > Anyway, a quick BACK OF THE ENVELOPE calculation leads me to think that my current peeve is how all businesses (even shitbox, back-alley ones) have to have SOLUTIONS in their name. The business trends that really irk me are the use of “extreme” for _every fucking thing_ (“Extreme Roofing”–I shit you not, I’ve seen it) and how everyone is turning every single business name into a possessive. It doesn’t make any sense. OK, so the bastardization of Cafe Milano into “Milano’s Coffee” could be justified if you tried hard enough; but why the fuck would an ice cream place be called “Cold Stone’s Creamery” (who the fuck is Cold Stone and why would he own a creamery?) or a hookah lounge be called “Fumari’s” (who the fuck is Fumari?). It’s getting so bad that the discount retail chain “GTM Stores” actually has “GTM’s Stores” on a sign in front of their Santee location. > [@rhythmonly](#): > > Another vote for “My Bad”. > > Your Bad what? What’s wrong with “my bad”? The “bad” they’re using (a noun) is a different word from the adjective you’re referring to. Just like “bad” in “Bad Motherfucker” is clearly a different word from the “bad” in “bad sandwich”–they have completely different meanings. Other examples of the same phenomenon (all definitions and most quotes taken from Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary): warrant (v): to serve as or give adequate ground or reason for. “promising enough to warrant further consideration” warrant (n): a commission or document giving authority to do something. “open the door, we have a warrant” affect (v): to produce an effect upon. “poor customer service affected our sales today” affect (n): the conscious subjective aspect of an emotion considered apart from bodily changes, as in “blunt affect” box (v): to engage in boxing with box (n): a rigid typically rectangular container with or without a cover, as in “a cigar box” It’s no skin off my knees if certain phrases irritate you (or anyone else here), but that doesn’t mean you have a license to “correct” the people who use them. I’ve played basketball since before I can remember and nothing beats “my bad” on the basketball court; you don’t have enough time to say “Sorry, my mistake”; just saying “Sorry” implies that your error was a personal affront to a particular person, which is an odd way to describe a mishap in a team sport; “my fault” is awkward, “that was my fault” is unweildy, and “sorry, that was my fault” doubly so. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/87 "2007-05-27T07:23:43Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] but why the fuck would an ice cream place be called “Cold Stone’s Creamery” (who the fuck is Cold Stone and why would he own a creamery?) [/QUOTE] Err…I don’t know if you were just using this as an example or what, but it’s not. It’s [Cold Stone Creamery](http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/). No possessive. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/88 "2007-05-27T09:45:43Z")
**BayleDomon** , that is the very point of my post. ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/89 "2007-05-27T13:49:47Z")
[QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] I had a job interview last Monday. It was for a pyramid scheme. They asked me if I can give them “one word to describe yourself”. I asked them if they were kidding. “Why not two?” I asked. She said she wanted one. So I said: “Hey, if a garbageman can be a ‘sanitation engineer’, then I can be ‘dynamic’.” “Ooh! Good word!”, she replied. “Are you kidding me? That’s a bullshit word I spouted out for you. It doesn’t mean anything. Out of curiousity, what’s the most common response you get to that question?” “Unique.” “That’s ironic.” [/QUOTE] “Dynamic” is a bullshit word that doesn’t mean anything? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/90 "2007-05-27T16:17:41Z")
[QUOTE=Mike Fun] I hate the expression “Do what?” or “Do what now?” when someone didn’t hear what you said. It’s a Southern thing and it makes the speaker sound fantastically ignorant. I feel like answering “I didn’t tell you to _do_ anything, but since you’re soliciting orders, learn to breathe through your nose, pay attention, and stop saying “do what?” since it makes you sound like a moron.” [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=WOOKINPANUB] I could not agree more! I dated a guy that used to say this constantly and it got to the point where I would actually yell at him “what the fuck are you talking about? who asked you to do anything?” [/QUOTE] I am dating a guy who does this. I did finally go off on him about it. “I never said anything about doing anything! If you didn’t hear what I said then you didn’t hear me say to do anything, so just say ‘What?’ Okay? What’s so difficult about just saying ‘What?’?” My boyfriend is not Southern though, he’s been in Florida (not really considered “Southern” except by Northerners) almost as long as I have and I never picked up that annoying habit. I also have a boss who does this, he is from Texas - not Southern either, fortunately he’s not a boss I see a lot. [QUOTE=BayleDoman] I use “Say what now?” which is more or less similar. I like it because I can ramp up the level of my confusion: “Say what?” -\> “Say what now?” -\> “Say what in the who now?” -\> “Say what in the who with where now?” [/QUOTE] Yeah … I’d have to hurt you. I’d only use something like that for shock and disbelief about something, “Who said what where?!” and it’s use would be very rare. ---
**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/91 "2007-05-27T16:30:57Z")
On the positive side, I like **"Oh, Shit!"** ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/92 "2007-05-27T16:33:39Z")
I sometimes use a line from _The Simpsons_: “Who shot who in the what now?” It tends to get a laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/93 "2007-05-27T17:00:24Z")
[QUOTE=Licentious Ectomorph] “Dynamic” is a bullshit word that doesn’t mean anything? 😕 [/QUOTE] In the context in which I was presenting, yes. One word can’t encompass everything I’ve experienced, dreamt, love, or dislike. I pulled up a word that sounded pretentious and she ate it up. I then told her that it was bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/94 "2007-05-27T17:49:50Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] **BayleDomon** , that is the very point of my post. [/QUOTE] I have to say, then, I don’t really get it. Is there a franchisee around you who’s called it Cold Stone’s? Is it just a hypothetical used to make your point? I’m sorry to be nitpicky, I’m just confused as to why you’d use a specific store that doesn’t use a weird possessive to gripe about weird possessives. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/95 "2007-05-27T17:56:57Z")
[QUOTE=BayleDomon] I have to say, then, I don’t really get it. Is there a franchisee around you who’s called it Cold Stone’s? Is it just a hypothetical used to make your point? I’m sorry to be nitpicky, I’m just confused as to why you’d use a specific store that doesn’t use a weird possessive to gripe about weird possessives. [/QUOTE] I think he’s just referring to people adding possessives that don’t belong in the name. Like assuming that because there’s a McDonald’s and Wendy’s the other burger place must be Burger King’s or Burger’s King … or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/96 "2007-05-27T20:17:00Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > BayleDomon, that is the very point of my post. Rereading my post, I can see that I was unclear. What I meant was, it pisses me off that people add the possessive case to business names that don’t have them. It frustrates me to no end that people see a business name and then just imagine a “'s” at the end of it and insist that that’s the right way–in cases like Cold Stone, Fumari and enigma (sic) the proprietors put a lot of thought into a name that would put out the vibe they were looking for, and throwing a “'s” on the end makes it sound like a cheap little storefront struggling to make its rent. It bothers me even more when their managers are so profoundly stupid that they can’t even agree on whether or not there’s a possessive in the name. It’s not difficult: - Find out if the business’ name is a proper name. (This should be astoundingly easy. “Jacob” is. “Cold Stone” is not.) - If it’s a proper name, it MAY have a possessive. - If it’s the name of a city, an acronym, the name of a product, or of an abstract concept it probably does not have a possessive. - If you still haven’t figured it out, it’s time for a new line of work, like street sweeping. … Or, what **Wile E** said. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/97 "2007-05-27T22:04:31Z")
Oh, I got it! When individuals throw the possessive in there by mistake, not the businesses themselves. Gotcha. Yeah, I’m totally with you on that. ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/98 "2007-05-27T22:28:06Z")
[QUOTE=August West] Luckily I have never heard this one personally in the wild, but my wife tells me of people in IT using the word “solution” as a verb, as in “We need to solution this problem”. Or even “We are solutioning that process”. I am not a violent person but if someone said that to me, I would go for their eyes. What the hell is wrong with the word “solve”? [/QUOTE] I guess they are related to the folks who decided to verbificate ‘action’ and morph the perfectly good ‘done’ into the ludicrous ‘actioned’. [QUOTE=Solfy] I want to run screaming from the conversation anytime someone runs out of things to say and switches gears with "any-whooo. . . " [/QUOTE] It’s old and I always thought it was more a fake Scottishism: 'Anyhoo, laddie, let’s go get a wee dram". > [@](#): > > My other hot button isn’t a phrase but the use of pointless adjectives. This is mostly heard on the local news, which I tend to avoid more and more: > "Two people were killed today in a horrific accident on I-79. . . " > There is some other type of accident? > "A terrible shootout in the east end left one dead and two wounded. . . " > This is to differentiate between the terrible shootouts and the really nice, friendly shootouts? And then there’s the ubiquitous “free gift”, which, apparently, are not the same as contrasted with gifts that you pay for. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/99 "2007-05-28T04:12:23Z")
[QUOTE=Rick] May I suggest you check out the [Adventures of Action Item!](http://professionalsuperhero.com/) 😃 [/QUOTE] Wow! Now, all of a sudden, I love this phrase, ‘Action Item’. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2007, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402/100 "2007-05-28T04:28:04Z")
If anyone gives you that line about “no I in team”, give the response Michael Jordan supposedly gave: “But there’s an I in win”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-i-hate/405402.md?page=6)