# Phrases/sayings you hate/like **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2008, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225 "2008-05-06T00:54:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/121 "2008-05-12T15:02:20Z")
Ever heard “every so long”? “Every so heavy”. I think you’re wrong. I’m done. Sorry about the hijack. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/122 "2008-05-12T15:20:53Z")
[QUOTE=jimpatro] Ever heard “every so long”? “Every so heavy”. I think you’re wrong. I’m done. Sorry about the hijack. [/QUOTE] No, but that’s just bad construction. I have heard “we’ll put a mark every so many feet”. Sorry, bud. I think you’re just caught up with a pet theory. ---
**Author:** ![BrknButterfly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/439d5e/32.png) [@BrknButterfly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrknButterfly)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/123 "2008-05-12T15:54:32Z")
I hate the, “Do as I say, not as I do” Or something to that effect. Makes me want to sucker punch someone. Then there are the “dad’isms” that he creaited all on his own that make me roll my eyes until they want to fall out. I always hated, “Your ass is grass, and I’m the lawn mower.” Umm. Gross. “My way or the highway.” “While you are under my roof…” Oh there are so many more, but I don’t want to bore you… ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/124 "2008-05-12T16:02:04Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] People who use stupid replacements for “anyhow.” _Anywho_, _anywhistle_, whatever. Just stop it! [/QUOTE] YES!! Yes oh Yes oh Yes oh Yes!!! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/125 "2008-05-12T16:06:24Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] You know what’s always bugged me? “If wishes were wings, pigs would fly.” What does that even mean? Are there a lot of people out there wishing that pigs could fly? Or maybe there are a lot of pigs out there with wishes, not necessarily about wings? [/QUOTE] I always heard this one as “if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.” ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/126 "2008-05-12T17:14:31Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] People who use stupid replacements for “anyhow.” Anywho, anywhistle, whatever. Just stop it! [/QUOTE] I heard “anyhoodles” yesterday. It made me all stabby. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/127 "2008-05-12T17:25:10Z")
People 'round my office are obsessed with saying “reach out” instead of “contact” or “make a request”. I have taken to saying “reach around” instead, knowing that nobody will ever have the nerve to correct me on it (thus admitting they know what it means, thus confirming they are Naughty People). It’s hard carrying it off 100% deadpan. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/128 "2008-05-12T17:52:13Z")
[QUOTE=NajaNivea] It made me all stabby. [/QUOTE] I love this. This will now become part of my vocabulary. I thank you!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Aholibah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Aholibah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aholibah)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/129 "2008-05-12T18:45:41Z")
I realize I’m coming a little late to this party, but I’d be really interested if **jimpatro** could provide any evidence in support of his contention that ‘every so often’ is a corruption of ‘ever so often.’ It is a contention that I find utterly contrary to reason, since, as he admits, they really have completely opposite meanings. I’ve followed his argument and I am not convinced – I’d love to see a cite to some reputable source on language and usage. ‘Every so often’ seems to me to be a fixed idiom, not susceptible to the kind of parsing he’s trying to do on it. Unlike ‘ever so often,’ which is not a fixed idiom – compare to ‘ever so handsome,’ ‘ever so delicious,’ ‘ever so sloppily,’ ‘ever so [pick your adjective or adverb].’ ‘Every so often’ compares best to ‘every now and then.’ It’s pretty close to identical in meaning, and equally unsusceptible to parsing. Does **jimpatro** object to that phrase too? Does there need to be such a thing as _a_ ‘now and then’ for ‘every now and then’ to be an acceptable and, indeed, fully standard phrase? What about ‘every once in a while?’ Does that get up his nose too? ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/130 "2008-05-12T19:05:18Z")
I don’t like when someone starts a sentence with “first of all.” Nothing ever good comes from a sentence that starts like that, because there usually is a “secondarily” in there as well. One little phrase I do like is, “And if grasshoppers had machine guns, birds wouldn’t f\*ck with them.” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/131 "2008-05-12T21:49:53Z")
[QUOTE=jimpatro] Never said that. I’m saying they (mis)use a term that’s a corruption of another term. I know when people say “every so often” they mean occasionally. And “ever so often” means frequently. Yeah, what is my prize Johnny? [/QUOTE] You are missing the subtlties of American English, **jimpatro**. When you hear “ever so often,” you are most likely listening to somebody who drops the final letter from “every,” as in, “I had twenty-seven rose plants, and the rabbits ate ever’ single one of 'em.” It isn’t a grammar thing, it’s a dialect thing. So long, for now. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2008, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/132 "2008-05-12T22:01:17Z")
[QUOTE=Missy2U] I love this. This will now become part of my vocabulary. I thank you!! 😃 [/QUOTE] Enjoy, I’m quite sure I shamelessly thieved it from someone else. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/133 "2008-05-13T01:37:12Z")
I want to scream incoherently when I see someone on the news whose house has just been destroyed by tornado/fire/massive termite infestation/whatever and they piously say, “I guess Gawd wuz lookin’ our for us.” ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/134 "2008-05-13T22:39:07Z")
[QUOTE=Inner Stickler] I’ve never heard “There but by…” and anyway you’re still saying that God’s giving you something the other did not receive. [/QUOTE] “There but for the grace of God go I,” means: If it wasn’t for God’s grace, I’d be in the same fix that guy’s in. And in Christian theology, nobody deserves God’s grace, it is an undeserved gift. It isn’t an expression of contempt for the other guy, it’s an expression of humility, that you know the same thing could happen to you, and it’s only by blind luck that it hasn’t. Your understanding of the phrase is the exact opposite of what it’s supposed to mean. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/135 "2008-05-14T03:03:15Z")
I have just discovered a new one. I’ve come across it three times in the last two days in a handcrafts marketplace, used to describe re-used materials such as old belts made into accessories, microchips into jewelry, vinyl records into bowls or purses, and so on. Upcycling. Or, up-cycling. Evidently using _up_cycled materials is way hipper and more eco-friendly than using _re_cycled materials. Suddenly, I’m feeling all stabby again. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/136 "2008-05-14T15:19:50Z")
Be that as it may, I’d like to give props to all of you. We’re through the looking glass here, but that’s what we get for being on the bleeding edge. So, let’s have a brainstorming session and see if we can Jenny Craig those numbers. One I liked: One of my old program managers liked pushing us to get our (sensors’) resolution down to a gnat’s eyelash. BTW: If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the precipitate. 🙂 ---
**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:** [May 14, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/137 "2008-05-14T18:39:55Z")
A lot of good ones here–I won’t repeat the ones I’ve seen that make me mad too (unless I’ve missed one, skimming the thread). But some of mine are: “push present” - this one makes me livid every time I see it, and I think it’s a fairly new one. The cutesy phrase is bad enough–the meaning makes it worse. Ugh. It sounds like you’re giving someone a gift for taking a crap. The triplet internet monstrosities: “amirite,” “inorite,” and “trustori.” Guys, it’s not cute, it’s not funny, it’s not clever. It’s old. Move along. Pick your favorite textism: “ne1.” “ur.” “wat.” Argh. I also dislike “lol,” but trying to stamp that one out when it’s so firmly entrenched is an exercise in futility. I’ve given up. I refuse to use it, but at least it doesn’t make me stabby (nice one, there! 🙂 ) anymore. I do, however, like “heh.” Baby mama/baby daddy. Saw this upthread, but I hate it so much I had to repeat it. Ugh. MILF. Another one that makes me angry every time I see it. Not cute, not funny, not clever. I don’t even like the sound of the word itself, and again, when you add in the meaning it’s just…blech. “so sex” to mean “so sexy.” I don’t know if this is a hip-hop thing or what, but it’s annoying. “She’s so sex.” That’s meaningless. And lest you think I spend _all_ my time on the internet, one from Corporate America: “Dialog with” to mean “discuss with.” Every time I hear that I want to pull out my Buzzword Bingo card. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/138 "2008-05-14T21:09:37Z")
“I don’t care if you’re black, white, red, green, blue, or purple.” Ironically, uttered usually by people who are racists and are trying to disguise the fact. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/139 "2008-05-14T22:02:10Z")
[QUOTE=Runs With Scissors] “I don’t care if you’re black, white, red, green, blue, or purple.” Ironically, uttered usually by people who are racists and are trying to disguise the fact. [/QUOTE] I confess, I have never met a green man who was worth anything. ---
**Author:** ![No1spoet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/77aa72/32.png) [@No1spoet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No1spoet)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2008, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225/140 "2008-07-23T11:18:54Z")
i hate cool beans!! seriously, just saying “cool” would be good enough, anyone who uses the phrase “cool beans” should die recently, something has been spreading throughout the people that I work with and it needs to die down a little. question: what time is it? answer: same time it was twenty-four hours ago HAHAHASHUTTHEHELLUP [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-sayings-you-hate-like/448225.md?page=8)