# Phrases/terms that aggravate the hell out of you **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 26, 2020, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894 "2020-10-26T02:04:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/101 "2020-10-27T02:45:55Z")
> [@saucywench](#): > > Yes, I know the rest of it and its origin. You say that like of course we all know that… I don’t. Can someone help? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/102 "2020-10-27T03:21:20Z")
I had a co-worker who hated “if you stop to think about it” - she actually pretty always stopped to think about things before she presented/suggested them, and was offended by the implication that she had not. Since I tend to just spout off about 30% of the time, it didn’t annoy me nearly as much. But that reminds me of “wrong answer”. Had a boss who would assign research items, and if you didn’t come up with her desired answer would tell you “wrong answer” and you would have to go off and try again. Particularly annoying because, in general, there isn’t one absolutely best answer to any business, so if she would tell me what she wanted, I could have made good faith effort to justify what she wanted. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/103 "2020-10-27T03:56:21Z")
“Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezie!” Said to small children to encourage them to do something they think is hard. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/104 "2020-10-27T05:32:45Z")
But if that’s all it is, why all this, especially that dude reference?: > [@saucywench](#): > > I can’t stand “easy peasy.” Yes, I know the rest of it and its origin. It is even more annoying when it’s a dude utilizing the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/105 "2020-10-27T18:17:56Z")
Or really just a sort of recognition that certain aspects of whatever it is are out of anyone in the gathering’s control, whether it is due to something that already happened or something that is outside your sphere of influence- someone else decided, someone else has made their mind, etc… I hear it a lot of the time at work when we’re talking about decisions the business has made- “it is what it is” is usually shorthand for _“those dunces in XXX department have made a horrendous decision that’s going to hamstring them, and result in a lot of work for us, and probably a lot of rework as well, once they realize the error of their ways, but we can’t change their minds, so we had better get on with it.”_ ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/106 "2020-10-27T20:33:48Z")
@bump: Agreed. Often when facing an unpleasant situation the group will spend more time lamenting their fate and trying to imagine an alternate world where the constraints were different. Which totally derails them from the immediate task of developing the least-bad way to tackle the problem they’re stuck with. The real problem for me as an individual was the phrase became popular at a time I had a boss who used it as I said. It was basically his shorthand for “My bonus is more important than your weekends, so forget about the extra headcount or equipment you need. And no, I will never support you if that means pushing back against salescritters promising the impossible yesterday. Not my problem; totally your problem.” So ever since then the phrase has been a bit of a trigger for me. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/107 "2020-10-28T01:05:48Z")
“As per”, as in, “As per Bob’s instructions…” – “As” adds nothing. The workplace jargon is indeed out of hand. A few weeks ago I mentioned an issue to my wife, who used to be in the corporate world but escaped 30 years ago, and she said “What are you going to do about that?” I told her, “I will proactively socialize that with leadership.” When she gave me The Look, I said, “I’m’a tell my boss.” ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/108 "2020-10-28T01:35:02Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > “I will proactively socialize that with leadership.” That’s like the opposite of socializing. … Oh, and I hope that when your wife asked you, she also slapped some sense into you. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/109 "2020-10-28T03:07:22Z")
After 35 years, she knows me well enough that she could tell I was \*\*\*\*ing with her. But I did tell her that if I ever start to really talk like that, to have me killed. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/110 "2020-10-28T22:40:12Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > “Have a Blessed day.” I always straighten those people out. “A BLESS-ed day!” A few more. “Funnily enough”. Either I’ll laugh, or I won’t. Then we’ll know if it was funny enough. “Respectfully…”. I know respectful when I hear it, and it doesn’t depend on your inclusion of “respectfully…”. A grammatical cavil, but the superfluous “of”, as in “he’s not that good of a player”, is annoying. “Going forward…” I’m not a fan of corporate speak generally, but if you’re going to use this expression, let there be a sense of “never mind about assigning blame; let’s just try to be better in the future.” Which is missing from uses like “going forward, we’re going to need more work from you for less money.” I think the “to be honest” problem can be solved by substituting “to be frank”. Now you’re explaining that a hard truth in need of expression is about to be aired, without any suggestion that most of what you say is dishonest. Somebody complained about “in lieu of”. My problem with it is how often the speaker actually means “in view of”. I usually object to foreign phrases where there is a perfectly good, familiar, English equivalent. But when they say “accomplished fact”, I hear “you’re probably too unsophisticated to know even such a common foreign phrase as _fait accompli_”. If you do feel that way, substitute a vernacular phrase like “done deal” or “cut and tried”. Finally, “the important thing is…”, with its suggestion that only one thing can be important. “I know I caused thousands of dollars in damage, but the important thing is, no one was hurt.” ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/111 "2020-10-29T00:54:41Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > “Funnily enough”. Either I’ll laugh, or I won’t. Then we’ll know if it was funny enough. “Funnily” does not even sound like a real word to me. It sounds like characteristic of or similar to a conical device for guiding poured liquids. > [@](#): > > I usually object to foreign phrases where there is a perfectly good, familiar, English equivalent. But when they say “accomplished fact”, I hear “you’re probably too unsophisticated to know even such a common foreign phrase as _fait accompli_”. If you do feel that way, substitute a vernacular phrase like “done deal” or “cut and tried”. Oh, come on, you know the correct expression is “cut-and-fried” (not “cut-and-pry”). ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/112 "2020-10-29T01:08:42Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > I hate when people (usually politicians) use the word “folks”, or even worse, “folk”, instead of “people” to give it a more common, “folksier” tone when they’re describing something. Like a politician saying “I’ve been hearing from folks that…”. To me, it just sounds manipulative and stilted, like they’re trying to be one with the commoners. I could barely tolerate it when Obama would use it (often), but I’ll give him a pass. No one else has any excuse. Shoot. I came into this thread to post exactly this. But you beat me by a couple of days. I hate, _hate_, this. The faux-folksiness (if I may) sets my teeth on edge. And it’s out of control these day. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/113 "2020-10-29T01:11:55Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > That reminds me of the phrasing I have been seeing in news stories lately, “we reached out to (involved party) but have not gotten a response.” I mean, ick. What happened to “(involved party) had no comment” ? Those two strike me as meaning quite different things. “Have not gotten a response” means the reporter/whoever called the subject of the story, but didn’t get a call back. While “had no comment” means, or at least could mean, that the reporter actually spoke to the subject, who said he/she had no comment. There was a response, and the response was “no comment.” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2020, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/114 "2020-10-29T12:40:05Z")
> [@AppallingGael](#): > > “Respectfully…”. I know respectful when I hear it, and it doesn’t depend on your inclusion of “respectfully…”. Along the same lines, if someone starts out a comment with “no offense, but…” it’s guaranteed they will follow that with something offensive. ---
**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:** [October 30, 2020, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/115 "2020-10-30T00:09:02Z")
(Clears throat) Cacti is correct. Octopi is NOT! ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/116 "2020-10-30T00:33:11Z")
3 of 4 dictionaries I see list “octopi” as one of two acceptable plurals (Collins does not). All 4 list “cactuses” as one of the acceptable plurals – Random House also lists “cactus” as a third plural. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/117 "2020-10-30T00:51:02Z")
_“A ‘pop’ of color”_ - it’s time to find a new pet phrase. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/118 "2020-10-30T02:19:11Z")
The whole “makes it pop” and variations thereof annoys the hell out of me. Makes me want to pop the speaker in the face. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/119 "2020-10-30T02:33:14Z")
Pro-tip, at the end of the day, make no bones about it, it is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2020, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/120 "2020-10-30T02:34:59Z")
> [@chela](#): > > Pro-tip, at the end of the day, make no bones about it, it is what it is. That is a phenomenally empty sentence! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=7)