# Phrases that make people in your field or group roll their eyes **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 15, 2005, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446 "2005-04-15T06:04:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/1 "2005-04-15T06:04:01Z")
All groups have these: stock phrases that inspire derision, sometimes so much that they’re basically reduced to jokes whipped out whenever a bit of sarcasm is necessary. People interested in queer history: “But that’s just how men TALKED in those days!” Translators: “Type this in French, would you?” ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/2 "2005-04-15T06:17:14Z")
After the discussion of any completely random event, someone turning to the actuary in the group and asking “what are the odds on that?” ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/3 "2005-04-15T09:13:31Z")
Videogame developers: “Wow, you get to play games all day? That must be fun!” ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/4 "2005-04-15T09:20:33Z")
Every field I’ve worked in: “The customer is king”. Guaranteed to get a laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Terrorcotta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@Terrorcotta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrorcotta)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/5 "2005-04-15T13:44:21Z")
In the graphic arts field we have a good many including: “Oh, just make it fit.” “Huh, I could do that at home with Publisher.” “I wish I could draw.” “I have a Polaroid, will that do?” "That’s great! Could I see it in (blue, red, yellow, burgundy) and maybe all over to the (left, right, centered)? "I want that type like they used in (Austin Powers, Matrix, TeleTubbies, name your own obscure film). “I want something real classy and rich but with a lot of yellow.” ---
**Author:** ![little\_bit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@little\_bit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/little_bit)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/6 "2005-04-15T14:02:52Z")
When filming a commercial: “We’ll fix it in post.” ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/7 "2005-04-15T15:06:37Z")
As a secretary being asked to do yet another mind boggling, useless, time intensive bit of nonsensical crap that serves only to make some middle manager look like they know how to use Excel - “Oh it’ll only take a minute”. (Can you tell I’m having a bad day?) ---
**Author:** ![DaphneBlack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daphneblack/32/5389_2.png) [@DaphneBlack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaphneBlack)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/8 "2005-04-15T15:57:34Z")
Post-grad students: ‘So, do you wanna, like, teach or somethin’?’ or ‘What are you going to do with _that_ degree?’ Classics students in particular: ‘Classics? What is that, like, Shakespeare\*?’ ----\> insert equally inappropriate ‘classic’ item - Daphne ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/9 "2005-04-15T16:13:36Z")
Meanwhile back in the technical writing department: [ul] [li]Don’t worry about the technical stuff yet, the engineers will fill that out when they edit.[/li][li]We don’t have any specs yet, just talk to marketing/engineering to get started. [/li][li]Our overseas contractor will write the docs, you will just need to localize them. That’ll only take a half-day, right?[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/10 "2005-04-15T16:20:02Z")
“Ah school, the best days of my life” ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/11 "2005-04-15T16:36:15Z")
“What, there’s a Classics department around here?” _snigger, snigger_ “Linguistics? Is that, you know, all about French and German and Italian and stuff?” ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/12 "2005-04-15T16:43:00Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > “Linguistics? Is that, you know, all about French and German and Italian and stuff?” God yes. I came in here to post something like this, and I just had to second it. The next time I tell someone I’m in Linguistics and they ask me how many languages I know, I will scream. I swear. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/13 "2005-04-15T16:44:48Z")
I’ll scream with you 🙂 (Are you in university? Which one?) ---
**Author:** ![pasunejen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@pasunejen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pasunejen)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/14 "2005-04-15T16:50:47Z")
First-year grad at the University of Chicago. You? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/15 "2005-04-15T16:53:04Z")
“So, you speak Saudi?” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/16 "2005-04-15T16:53:31Z")
When I was in anthropology grad school: “Anthropology? Cool! I love dinosaurs!” ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/17 "2005-04-15T17:06:06Z")
“Oh, he’s just so nervous!” This is always said right after a dog has tried to bite the shit out of you for some infraction like picking up his leash. “Oh no, honey, you can’t take him back there without me. He’ll just freak out if I’m not there.” Ninety percent of the time, these patients look around as if to say, “Thank god those nutwads are out of my face for a minute,” and sit quietly while the owner gnaws his fingernails down to the knuckle and hyperventilates. “We tried to trim his nails/clean his ears/give him medications, but he just won’t let us.” Won’t _let_ you? Good lord, who’s in charge here, you or the dog? And my personal favorite: “Oh, he bites us all the time.” ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/18 "2005-04-15T17:06:54Z")
This makes sense ONLY to polymer clay artists: “So… then you paint it?” “No. It’s not painted at all. The designs you see are made from colored clay arranged in canes (insert complicated-sounding explanation for simple process here).” “Ahh. So THEN you paint it!” “No. See, the clay is colored. It’s made into those shapes and then stacked and sliced.” “Oh. NOW I get it. You paint it after you slice it. How do you get the design on both sides?” :rolleyes: :smack: :rolleyes: :smack: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/19 "2005-04-15T17:13:48Z")
“Statistics? Oh, God, I HATED that in school!” > [@Terrorcotta](#): > > "I want that type like they used in (Austin Powers, Matrix, TeleTubbies, name your own obscure film). [TypeNow.net](http://TypeNow.net) has a [page](http://www.typenow.net/themed.htm) of fonts from popular TV shows and movies. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446/20 "2005-04-15T17:24:59Z")
> [@DaphneBlack](#): > > Post-grad students: ‘So, do you wanna, like, teach or somethin’?’ or ‘What are you going to do with _that_ degree?’ Oh yeah, preach it! And, if you’re a history grad student, you get one of two diametrically opposed responses: a) History was my favorite subject in school. b) I hated history in school. All those dates and stuff. So boring. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-make-people-in-your-field-or-group-roll-their-eyes/299446.md?page=2)