# Phrases that revolt you just by the reading... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2015, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917 "2015-05-26T22:31:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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 27, 2015, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/61 "2015-05-27T18:56:52Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > ‘Chirping’. And ‘throwing shade’. > > Unless you’re 17, you sound an utter ass! What do those even mean? I’ve never heard “chirping.” I’ve heard “throwing shade” but never knew what it meant. /old ---
**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:** [May 27, 2015, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/62 "2015-05-27T18:59:54Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > My brother had a teacher who consistently reversed “criteria” and “criterion”-- that is, she thought “criterion” was the plural. She’d been teaching high school English for more than 20 years. Yeah, that one would bug me, too. If you’re going to be pedantic, at least be right. (The acronym one is perfectly fine by me. Our language brains don’t process what the letters mean individually, so it makes sense to build some redundancy into the phrase, in my opinion.) ---
**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:** [May 27, 2015, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/63 "2015-05-27T19:01:22Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > My brother had a teacher who consistently reversed “criteria” and “criterion”-- that is, she thought “criterion” was the plural. She’d been teaching high school English for more than 20 years. Yeah, that one would bug me, too. If you’re going to be pedantic, at least be right. (The acronym one is perfectly fine by me. Our language brains don’t process what the letters mean individually, so it makes sense to build some redundancy into the phrase, in my opinion. Once again, something like “the La Brea Tar Pits” comes to mind where, if you were parsing it, says “the The Tar Tar Pits.” Obviously, our brains don’t translate “La Brea” any more than they parse the individual words in “PIN” or “ATM” or “VIN.” It’s just a single syntactic unit, divorced from its literal derivation.) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/64 "2015-05-27T19:04:14Z")
“Junk” for male genitalia. No, junk is something you don’t treasure. “99% won’t repost this”. How the hell do you know that in advance? Oh, that’s right, you just hit the share button for something someone else wrote. “This post needs to get across the USA!” Then fucking send it to one guy in Maine and another in California. Done. “I checked on Snopes, and it’s true” No, you didn’t. You just hit the share button, because I checked on Snopes and it isn’t true. “Anything-gate”. Because Watergate wasn’t a scandal about water. “Coercion”. To me it says Holy Christ, I’m talking to a libertarian. “The X claimed Y victims, including Z Americans.” Like only American lives are important enough to call out separately. Ditto women and children. “Islamofascism” If you want to be a first class bigot, just wear some fucking sheets, okay? “Blood and treasure”. If you’re a pirate talking, maybe. Otherwise, no. “Borders, language, culture”. See Islamofascism above. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/65 "2015-05-27T19:05:07Z")
> [@Turpentine](#): > > I feel lucky that I’ve never heard anyone say “za”. > > On the other hand, I’ll automatically disqualify a person from me ever liking them if they say “sammich.” People have written “sammich” many times on this board and I go into a near homicidal rage every time. I don’t know why even. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/66 "2015-05-27T19:07:02Z")
> [@funky\_little\_lee](#): > > “closure” I hate “closure” as well, and I particularly hate it when it is used to justify the death penalty. First, someone invents the word “closure,” even though there are already plenty of perfectly good words like “resolution.” Then the idea gets reified, and then somehow venerated, so that people _must_ have it no matter what the cost, after a traumatic experience. If you don’t have it, you can’t go on. It’s like having your emotional parking validated, or something. Proceed ad absurdum, and there are actually people arguing for the death of one person, because it will bring other people that precious “closure.” ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/67 "2015-05-27T19:12:21Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > What do those even mean? I’ve never heard “chirping.” I’ve heard “throwing shade” but never knew what it meant. > > /old They both pretty much just mean to talk shit although throwing shade usually implies that it’s cleverer and subtler than just “You’re ugly.” ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/68 "2015-05-27T19:14:44Z")
> [@Sangahyando](#): > > Heaven knows why, but this “Mc” thing (with “creative” names surrounding the “Mc”) annoys the crap out of me. Where the heck does it come from? Well, I know that the Scottish “Mc” in names, means “son of” – but, why has American idiom latched onto this particular thing – of all things – for this particular purpose? It’s a strictly American usage as far as I know – doesn’t happen in the UK – and it just seems to me, vomit-inducingly twee and whimsy. I know that it makes no sense for me to be this pissed-off by it – it’s only a language thing which English-speaking nation A likes and I, a member of English-speaking nation B, don’t – but most of this stuff is, after all, not about the making of sense. AFAIK, it references McDonalds and Douglas Coupland’s book [Generation X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X:_Tales_for_an_Accelerated_Culture) where a low level service industry work became a “Mcjob”. It grew as a meme from there. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/69 "2015-05-27T19:23:00Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > AFAIK, it references McDonalds and Douglas Coupland’s book [Generation X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_X:_Tales_for_an_Accelerated_Culture) where a low level service industry work became a “Mcjob”. It grew as a meme from there. I would guess a different derivation, as the “Mc” there is taken from “McDonalds” and used to indicate some sort of corporate soullessness to the word that follows. McMansion, for instance, dates back to at least [1985](https://books.google.com/books?id=o8XhvIgLn-4C&q=mcmansion&dq=mcmansion&hl=en&sa=X&ei=BxlmVevKCYTaoATRsYPICQ&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ), from a quick search. To me, the “Righty McRighterson” construction feels like it comes from a separate, unrelated lineage. Something like “Righty O’Righterson” would work just as well, but “O’Mansion” and “O’job” wouldn’t. Heck, even “Righty Righterson” would convey the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/70 "2015-05-27T20:04:26Z")
I doubt it’s any more deep than the Mc prefix being common and a strong indicator that it’s a last name. ---
**Author:** ![Why\_Child](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b782af/32.png) [@Why\_Child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_Child)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/71 "2015-05-27T20:05:14Z")
> [@Lowdown](#): > > -… > -Would it be “gay” for a guy to drive a hatchback? > > > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > > > Second. > > … I actually logged on to say that one was mine, and I’ve been beaten to it, not once, but twice. Any variation of “gay” as an insult just sends me through the roof. Proud to say I broke my SO’s son of that one. 😃 > [@funky\_little\_lee](#): > > … > “closure” > > > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > > > … > > First, someone invents the word “closure,” even though there are already plenty of perfectly good words like “resolution.” Then the idea gets reified, and then somehow venerated, so that people _must_ have it no matter what the cost, after a traumatic experience. If you don’t have it, you can’t go on. It’s like having your emotional parking validated, or something. Proceed ad absurdum, and there are actually people arguing for the death of one person, because it will bring other people that precious “closure.” I agree this one is overused, but isn’t it just a misspelled bastardization of the word “cloture?” > **[Cloture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloture)** > > Cloture (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}UK: US: /ˈkloʊtʃər/, also UK: /ˈkloʊtjʊər/), closure or, informally, a guillotine, is a motion or process in parliamentary procedure aimed at bringing debate to a quick end. > The cloture procedure originated in the French National Assembly, from which the name is taken. Clôture is French fo... ---
**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 27, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/72 "2015-05-27T20:29:50Z")
“We’re a republic, not a democracy”. “Saul Alinsky-style radical”. “The Civil War wasn’t about slavery”. “My true friends will share this, but 98% of you won’t”. “Like this if you hate cancer”. “A baby duck sneezed, and what happened next will astonish you”. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/73 "2015-05-27T20:35:04Z")
> [@Why\_Child](#): > > I agree this one is overused, but isn’t it just a misspelled bastardization of the word “cloture?” > [Cloture - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloture) I think someone just made a noun out of the verb “close.” The suffix may have been chosen because it sounded like cloture, but I think someone wanted something beyond just “closing.” “Closing” already had wide application, and whoever coined “closure” wanted a word specific to the resolution of emotional trauma. Maybe it’s a portmanteau of “closing” and “cloture.” I have no idea what the first use was. I sure wish I’d bought stock in it, though. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/74 "2015-05-27T20:40:44Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I doubt it’s any more deep than the Mc prefix being common and a strong indicator that it’s a last name. Yeah, that’s exactly what I think. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/75 "2015-05-27T20:41:06Z")
Hmm. OK. Apparently “closure” was a medical term before it became a psychological term. “Closure” was used to refer to the closing of literal wounds, with stitches, epoxy, butterfly strips, or whatever. So whoever first applied it to emotional trauma probably borrowed it from the medical term. “Closure” for emotional wounds, just like closure for physical wounds. ---
**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:** [May 27, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/76 "2015-05-27T20:45:54Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I think someone just made a noun out of the verb “close.” The suffix may have been chosen because it sounded like cloture, but I think someone wanted something beyond just “closing.” “Closing” already had wide application, and whoever coined “closure” wanted a word specific to the resolution of emotional trauma. Maybe it’s a portmanteau of “closing” and “cloture.” I have no idea what the first use was. I sure wish I’d bought stock in it, though. Looks to me like 15th century, if you accept the meaning as “act of closing, bringing to a close” according to [etymonline.](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=closure&searchmode=none) There doesn’t seem to be a specific separate entry for emotional closure, but the meaning is related, I’d think. The earliest I could find for the specific phrase “emotional closure” is [1967](https://books.google.com/books?id=J1ivAAAAIAAJ&q=%22emotional+closure%22&dq=%22emotional+closure%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ui1mVdiuKZSZoQTVw4Jg&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBzigAQ). It’s been around awhile. The phrase “sense of closure” I could find in [1959.](https://books.google.com/books?id=V9lSAAAAMAAJ&q=%22sense+of+closure%22&dq=%22sense+of+closure%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xC1mVcrzM4H8oASCgYHwDg&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAzjcAQ) The 19th century references I could find for “sense of closure” are in medical journals, so you may be on to something there. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/77 "2015-05-27T21:00:50Z")
There’s a local investment firm for “high net worth individuals” that advertises on the radio. Their commercials usually consist of a current client recommending the investment company. One of them has some high net worth guy saying, “They handle my wife’s and I’s investments”. Seriously. I had to turn up the volume to make sure that guy said “wife’s and I’s”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/78 "2015-05-27T21:21:10Z")
“Use your words.” Okay: fuck off. “Children never lie.” Boy, have I got some bad news for you. ---
**Author:** ![yawuntz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a5b964/32.png) [@yawuntz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawuntz)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/79 "2015-05-27T22:51:26Z")
“Hone in” for home in. Goddammit, I know that it’s _…so common that many dictionaries now list it—and there are arguments in its favor. Hone means to sharpen or to perfect, and we can think of homing in as a sharpening of focus or a perfecting of one’s trajectory toward a target._ ^^^Pure unadulterated bullshit. I know, language evolves and all that, fair enough. But sometimes it just decomposes. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2015, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917/80 "2015-05-28T03:16:36Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > “Use your words.” I had to do that at my old job with a technician who was just out of high school, and usually responded to anything people said to her by grunting and shrugging her shoulders. I also had to say “(first, middle, last name), you look at me when I’m talking to you!” with yet another very young tech who suddenly decided to cop a major attitude with us. Those behaviors were extinguished rapidly! However, “cop a major attitude” is a hated phrase by some people, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-that-revolt-you-just-by-the-reading/720917.md?page=5)