# 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:** 66
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1307 "2022-11-02T18:05:45Z")
> [@The\_Undeposable\_Hand](#): > > Not necessarily an expression of surprise. If I follow up with a question like that it’s because I am interested in the fact stated and want the person to elaborate on it. “You were in the Marines? Where were you stationed? Did you see any action? How long were you in? What made you want to join that service branch?” Which is why I DON’T get sarcastic even though I want to. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1308 "2022-11-02T21:10:59Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I only say it with weary resignation as a shorthand for some variant of “well we know what the situation is, it sucks, there is nothing we can do about it, so I guess we’re just going to have to live with it” Yep. I don’t mind the phrase myself. It’s like “these are the cards we’ve been dealt, now we have to play them.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2022, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1309 "2022-11-02T22:51:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I mean when people are talking or writing about _food_, what’s being eaten, or what’s going to be eaten, and they refer to the _food item_ or dish as “a protein.” That’s interesting. I mean, this is personal peeves, so I get it, but I find referring to something as “a protein” quite convenient and pretty normal vocabulary. Like when I cook dinner, I say I like to have a protein, a starch, a green vegetable, for instance. Saying “meat or meat substitute” is unwieldly, and not even really correct, as there are proteins I don’t really consider what most people think of as “meat substitutes.” Like eggs or tofu, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2022, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1310 "2022-11-03T13:58:31Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IMO for me, not speaking for @Hypno-Toad … > > The being surprised as such is not insulting at all. The choice by the responder to use that idiom implies (to me) surprise approaching disbelief and with the disbelief delivered in a sarcastic tone. Both of those reactions are very offputting to me, and at least a little insulting. > > So this: > > **A** : The last time that happened was when I was in the Marines. > > **B** : You were in the Marines? > > actually signals B's meaning as: > > **A** : The last time that happened was when I was in the Marines. > > **B** : Yeah, suuure you were in the Marines. BS much, Mr. Loser!!?! > > My tone in the second example just above is exaggerated for dramatic effect. But the whiff of sarcasm is still there and for certain strong smells, just a whiff is plenty to spoil the atmosphere. > > It sounds to me like words that’d be delivered by an actor with a New York accent in a ballbuster sitcom accompanied by a laugh track signalling “Zinger comeback scored!” > > > I readily grant that my interpretation of this idiom may be very much on the fringe of typical I agree. “I didn’t know you were in the Marines!” would covey the same sentiment, without the sarcastic subtext. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1311 "2022-11-04T04:57:02Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I didn’t know you were in the Marines!” would covey the same sentiment, without the sarcastic subtext. I disagree that there is any sarcasm inherent to this structure. You can make it sarcastic with body language and tone of voices. Like _YOUuuuuuu_? Eyes you up and down with a sideways look. _You_ were in … the _Marines_ scoff scoff and eyebrows at another person present. _That_ might be sarcastic. But, as I said, the sarcasm isn’t inherent in the structure. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2022, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1312 "2022-11-04T05:08:19Z")
I just saw an ad for “plant-based” tuna. Just no. Whatever happened to animal, vegetable, or mineral? ---
**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:** [November 4, 2022, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1313 "2022-11-04T05:49:20Z")
Oh, they’re just telling you that the tuna wasn’t from the ocean, but from an industrial plant in Baltimore. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1314 "2022-11-07T16:57:56Z")
nevermind ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1315 "2022-11-07T18:39:47Z")
Whenever someone is described as being “out of step” in politics. Is this in any way an effective attack? ---
**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:** [November 7, 2022, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1316 "2022-11-07T19:20:15Z")
It does have an ugly, fascistic sound to it. but the basic sense is that there is sort of rhythm section to society/culture, it is a huge dance that we are all trying to participate in, and this person who is “out of step” is fucking up the flow by dancing to a different drummer. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1317 "2022-11-07T19:26:57Z")
That makes sense. I was also thinking that it just seems so “old-time-y” that it doesn’t have any impact. But I suppose “sharing values” is likewise a tried-and-true phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1318 "2022-11-07T22:13:24Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > It does have an ugly, fascistic sound to it. but the basic sense is that there is sort of rhythm section to society/culture, it is a huge dance that we are all trying to participate in, and this person who is “out of step” is fucking up the flow by dancing to a different drummer. I agree, but will add: “out of step” is sometimes a weaselly way of saying “too old.” “Lost a step” connotes “too old” as well\*, but “out of step” carries implications that the person being insulted has failed to keep up with the times. > \* “lost a step” adds the ugly implication of dementia or similar loss of brain-function. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1320 "2022-11-10T15:04:04Z")
Lately I’ve noticed people responding to a kind deed/favor with “I appreciate you”. I want to say they got this from the guy on “American Pickers” who says it constantly when someone agrees to a sale. For me it is “I appreciate it”, ‘it’ being the favor/gesture. So whenever I hear this newer form it grates on my nerves. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1321 "2022-11-10T19:52:07Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Lately I’ve noticed people responding to a kind deed/favor with “I appreciate you”. I’ve started hearing it almost every day. It feels icky to me, like too personal. So I basically pretend I didn’t hear it. Same as when someone says “have a blessed day.” ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1322 "2022-11-10T21:26:12Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Lately I’ve noticed people responding to a kind deed/favor with “I appreciate you”. My kids started doing that, only it was ‘Preciate ya’ or something similar. I asked them if that meant thank you, and, if so, to please use ‘thank you’ instead. They actually complied with my request. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2022, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1323 "2022-11-10T21:33:40Z")
I think these are probably meme-related - along the lines of > **[I Can't Even](https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-can-t-even)** > > “I Can’t Even”is an Internet slang expression used to indicate that the speaker is in a state of speechlessness, either as a result of feeling overjoyed or exasperated, depending on the context in which it is said. Due to its incomplete sentence... ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1324 "2022-11-10T21:39:15Z")
I think I might have mentioned this before, but no one says “yes” or “no” any more. It’s always “yeah no” or “no yeah” and you’re supposed to I suppose guess from context which one is meant. This happened to me at work this week. I asked someone a yes-no question and he replied “yeah no.” So I actually had to ask “Does that mean yes or no?” The other one I have started to notice is not even a word. It’s kind of an emphatic grunt. Like I’d someone wants to say “no” or really emphatically, E says “no-uhhhh!” Sort of adding on an extra syllable. ---
**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:** [November 10, 2022, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1325 "2022-11-10T21:49:10Z")
> [@Acierocolotl](#): > > For me, the thing that gets my goat (and yet I have no goat to get) is the combination of jangled tenses. > > “Needs fixed,” is awful. “Needs fixing” or “needs to be fixed” is acceptable. It hasn’t become a thing in the local dialect so I can be a prescriptivist tyrant about it. However, I see it typed on occasion and it rankles. I feel the same as you, because this specific thing isn’t in my local dialect either, but if you go looking, you’ll find rather similar constructions in your own dialect that you find completely normal and acceptable - ‘gets broken’ for example, or ‘gets stolen’. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1326 "2022-11-10T22:34:34Z")
Yeah, “needs fixed” bothers me, but so does the British “I was stood there” or “I was sat there” instead of “I was standing/sitting there.” ---
**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:** [November 10, 2022, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894/1327 "2022-11-10T22:57:17Z")
“Love your face”. A statement of endearment common among young women that I find aggravating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=65) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-terms-that-aggravate-the-hell-out-of-you/923894.md?page=67)