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.
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.
“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.
“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.”
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.
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.
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: