# Stupid Quotations You Hate To Hear **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 19, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241 "2012-04-19T03:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/21 "2012-04-19T13:19:26Z")
I save “beats the alternative” for the healthy person bitching about hitting their next decade marker birthday. I think I got “meh” from The Simpsons. I use it for “I’m not really thrilled about that but do not hate it either,” while “feh” for me is more like, “I dislike that and question why you would.” “Meh” is more of a detached dislike; “feh” a more active version. Thanks for the upthread explanation about Yoda’s quote and its misusage. That puts it into perspective about when and why I find it annoying. I hate “it is what it is” because to me it sounds like a way to come off as philosophical while actually saying “shut up, nobody cares what you think.” If I’d say it, that’s what I’d mean by it. I’d prefer, “yeah, it sucks, but what are you gonna do?” in a resigned tone as an alternative. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/22 "2012-04-19T13:27:42Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > “Taking that to its logical extreme…” > > Every time I hear that phrase, it is followed with a straw-man attack, trying to pin some absurd belief upon me. It is an attack upon moderation. > > I like cool weather. Taking that to its logical extreme, I must wish for an ice age. > > Pfui! I wish this thread were in the pit, where I could get really extreme! Thank you. I hate that one! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/23 "2012-04-19T13:28:02Z")
I hate the one about no democracy surviving when the citizens discover that they can vote themselves funds out of the public till. First of all, no one really originated that quote, it was probably a made-up quotation from the start. Second of all, democracies have rarely even gotten close to falling due to welfare spending and have never fallen due to it, that I know of. Third of all, many democracies have fallen when people subvert it in order to _prevent_ social spending. So the people who justify the lack of social spending in order to preserve democracy are ironically those most likely to subvert democracy in times of strenuous fiscal arguments. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/24 "2012-04-19T13:35:55Z")
“Never assume anything, it makes an ass out of u and me.” This one drives me up the wall! Assume is a perfectly good word, but now I find myself saying things like “Am I correct to think that…” just to avoid hearing this quotation. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2012, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/25 "2012-04-19T13:57:42Z")
“Have a nice rest-of-the-day!” What kind of stupid, meaningless sentiment is that? “God puts these little trials in our way to test us.” Yeah? Well fuck him and his twisted sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/26 "2012-04-19T14:01:01Z")
“You leave me no choice” is always a lie, and I hate it. “Forgiveness is easier to get than permission” implies that we should always strive to do what’s _easiest_. Your sociopathy is showing. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/27 "2012-04-19T14:52:02Z")
> [@bup](#): > > “Forgiveness is easier to get than permission” implies that we should always strive to do what’s _easiest_. Your sociopathy is showing. I’m not sure about that. I think what it implies is that difficult beaurocrats is difficult. ---
**Author:** ![atlantic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@atlantic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atlantic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/28 "2012-04-19T15:01:41Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > “To make a long story short” is often never used to make a long story short (as evidenced/supported by the most recent South Park episode). I hate this one, too. I work with people who say it all the time … a half hour later, their story is finally complete. My addition to this thread is “I could care less.” Ugh! No, you _couldn’t_ care less because if you care less then, well, **YOU CARE**. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/29 "2012-04-19T16:01:48Z")
> [@atlantic](#): > > I hate this one, too. I work with people who say it all the time … a half hour later, their story is finally complete. To make a long story short, they all lived happily ever after, the end. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/30 "2012-04-19T16:16:46Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > “Never assume anything, it makes an ass out of u and me.” > > This one drives me up the wall! Assume is a perfectly good word, but now I find myself saying things like “Am I correct to think that…” just to avoid hearing this quotation. Oh I hate this one too. On some message boards I used to post on, like everybody would always write the word as “ASSume”, which was obnoxious. Obviously some assumptions are unreasonable, but if no one ever assumed anything, the world would come crashing to a halt. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/31 "2012-04-19T16:19:43Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > “God puts these little trials in our way to test us.” Yeah? Well fuck him and his twisted sense of humor. This, and several other variants: “Everything happens for a reason.” “God never gives you more to bear than he knows you can handle.” “When God closes a door, he opens a window.” _No._ Shitty things happen all the time. They happen randomly and for no reason at all; they are very often more than a person can bear; and there is very seldom some unexpected serendipitous outcome which reveals God’s “ultimate plan.” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/32 "2012-04-19T16:20:14Z")
> [@bup](#): > > “You leave me no choice” is always a lie, and I hate it. > > “Forgiveness is easier to get than permission” implies that we should always strive to do what’s _easiest_. Your sociopathy is showing. It also ASSumes that you are going to be forgiven. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/33 "2012-04-19T16:24:51Z")
> [@Rodgers01](#): > > > [@california\_jobcase](#): > > > > “Life isn’t fair”, “no one said life would be fair”, and variants. These are invariably smugly used by those who are profiting from life’s unfairness as they pontificate to those who aren’t. > > Absolutely. I hate this one. And besides, smug people who say this, shouldn’t we _try_ to make it fair, where possible, instead of shrugging it off? Why on earth would they want to make it fairer? These are usually the same people who like to pretend that they got theirs without anyone else’s help, after all. These also piss me off: **1. “There is no ‘I’ in ‘team’”** : Sure, because a team is a Borg-like, hive-minded, collective consciousness, not a group of individuals who each bring unique talents and perspective to further a common goal. **2. “What makes you think your parents owe you anything?”** : I don’t know - perhaps the fact that it was their decision to bring their kids into the world? Call me a bleeding-heart liberal, but I do think that parents owe their non-adult children certain basics, including adequate food, shelter, clothing, and education. I most recently heard #2 from a so-called self-made man; he attributed it to _his_ stepfather (maybe it was his Mom’s boyfriend). I’m disinclined to take advice from a man speaking to children he didn’t create, whom he didn’t even meet until they were young adults, and whom he probably regarded as a baggage attached to a woman he wanted. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/34 "2012-04-19T16:35:03Z")
“Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.” Has that EVER worked? ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/35 "2012-04-19T16:47:57Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > It also ASSumes that you are going to be forgiven. :shakes fist: ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/36 "2012-04-19T16:50:11Z")
> [@cwthree](#): > > **1. “There is no ‘I’ in ‘team’”** . . . “But there are three _U_’s in ‘shut the fuck up.’” That is always \*my \*response. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/37 "2012-04-19T16:54:22Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I’m not sure about that. I think what it implies is that difficult beaurocrats is difficult. I can see using it in situations where you’re trying for clarification and not getting a thing back, and finally just saying “fuck it, we have to decide so let’s do this.” But usually I hear it in situations that either suggest the speaker knows the action is illegal/immoral/unethical/against regulations and just wants to do it anyway because it suits them. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/38 "2012-04-19T16:58:28Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > This, and several other variants: > > “Everything happens for a reason.” > “God never gives you more to bear than he knows you can handle.” > “When God closes a door, he opens a window.” > > _No._ Shitty things happen all the time. They happen randomly and for no reason at all; they are very often more than a person can bear; and there is very seldom some unexpected serendipitous outcome which reveals God’s “ultimate plan.” Yup. Heard “it was God’s will” when my dad died unexpectedly in his early 50s. I’m sorry that your view of the universe includes God the Mafia Don putting a hit out on my dad. The “God never gives you more to bear than he knows you can handle” kind of paints those who have utter breakdowns as either faking it or being slackers. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/39 "2012-04-19T17:01:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > “Have a nice rest-of-the-day!” “But come midnight, may the fiery gales of hell descend upon you.” ---
**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:** [April 19, 2012, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241/40 "2012-04-19T17:02:37Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > “Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about.” > > Has that EVER worked? Another along these lines: “I’m going to count to three!” Thanks for the entertainment, mom. Next time try for ten. Or, you know, smack the little asshole up side the head. “Would you like a spanking?” Why, sure, thanks. Could you also break a couple of fingers for me? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-quotations-you-hate-to-hear/619241.md?page=3)