# Things people say - maybe too often **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** movies, liquor-alcohol\ **Created:** [January 10, 2024, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877 "2024-01-10T07:08:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/61 "2024-01-11T04:34:58Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > I’m sticking with “everything is about racism”. So by your logic, Black Tuesday must have been called that because of racism as well. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2024, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/62 "2024-01-11T04:56:53Z")
And don’t get me started on Black Friday… ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/63 "2024-01-11T05:04:43Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > **“That’s 90 minutes of my life I’ll never get back!”** (said of a bad movie). > It was original and clever when someone - maybe Rex Reed - said it in 1970. Less so today. I agree that that is a very lazy criticism. I only use it to complain about movies I found to be not just bad, but truly, offensively banal. Like I got tricked into sitting through some dreck when I could have instead been picking my toes while listening to Gregorian chants at 2/3 speed with jalapeño juice in my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/64 "2024-01-11T05:10:00Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Everyone who has cancer is in a war. They always lose their “battle with cancer”. But, everyone being treated for cancer is a “fighter”, even infants who have no agency in what may be happening to them. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/65 "2024-01-11T08:22:38Z")
**“Oranges and apples”** Say the bells of St. Chapples. Another old one that got shorthanded. Really, I can’t object to it. Pointing out a false comparison of two things that have some similarity (both fruits) but are still essentially different. You see, I don’t mind if something is useful and gets reduced to a catchphrase; everyone knows what it means. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2024, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/66 "2024-01-11T08:59:35Z")
I would agree that if something _becomes_ a racist thing (even if it was not originally), then that could represent a sound reason to retire it. To the best of my knowledge, that simply hasn’t happened with the pot/kettle thing; it’s just an idiom that happens to contain the word ‘black’. > **[White Woman Explains Why As An Anti-Racist Ally She Refuses To Say Any Word...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6YF-nxc7XI%2F)** > > Kelsey Porter used to think that, as a white woman, her acceptance of other races absolved her of racism, until she realized that not being racist wasn’t eno... ---
**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:** [January 11, 2024, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/67 "2024-01-11T12:01:01Z")
And if you want a variation on it where someone can’t retort ‘But they’re both fruit!’, there’s always ‘comparing apples and orang-utans’ ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/68 "2024-01-11T12:28:27Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > We need for this usage to change. But not just a regular change, no: a _sea change_ Well, that would require a paradigm shift, but yanno, not my circus,not my monkey ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/69 "2024-01-11T13:31:15Z")
“You know the definition of insanity is…” #1 Whatever it is you’re about to say, not it is not. #2 No, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Ben Franklin, or whoever else you were about to attribute that erroneous statement to, certainly did not ever say that (in all likelihood it probably originated in the “approval version” of the Narcotics Anonymous “Basic Text” released in November 1981, but nobody is ever going to say that). “Insanity” is a legal term. There is no such diagnosis of “insanity” in the DSM. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/70 "2024-01-11T15:37:44Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Everyone who has cancer is in a war. They always lose their “battle with cancer”. > **[Loved Ones Recall Local Man's Cowardly Battle With Cancer](https://www.theonion.com/loved-ones-recall-local-mans-cowardly-battle-with-cance-1819565052)** > > On Jan. 26, just four days after visiting the doctor for what he thought was severe indigestion or maybe an ulcer, Russ Kunkel got the dreaded news: A malignant, fist-sized tumor had metastasized between his stomach and liver. It was cancer. I once sent that to a friend of mine, totally forgetting her first husband had died of cancer. Fortunately she found it hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/71 "2024-01-11T15:41:28Z")
This thread is a total game changer. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/72 "2024-01-11T18:06:14Z")
The mention of bingo cards above makes me remember that when I worked the audio/video for a corporate conference hall, we literally made biz-speak buzzword bingo cards as a joke. This was seven or eight years before Weird Al’s “Mission Statement.” ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/73 "2024-01-11T18:20:32Z")
There’s one I don’t mind in casual conversion, but it drives me nuts when news anchors use it: “Get this,” as in, “The man returned to the shop and, get this, pulled out a gun.” I’m watching your newscast. Presumably, I’m getting all of it. If you feel the need to frequently remind your viewers to pay attention, maybe you need to present more actual news. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/74 "2024-01-11T18:32:27Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > This thread is a total game changer. _Another_ thread deprecating the cliché? These come around like clockwork. I wonder if there’s another word for that? ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/75 "2024-01-11T18:52:29Z")
This thread is like déjà vu all over again. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/76 "2024-01-11T19:35:30Z")
Well, I just thought of one because I used it this morning with someone who messed up, was embarrassed, and apologized profusely. Teacher: “I tried several times, but I just can’t log this student into Google. I can’t imagine what’s wrong!” Me: “You had the wrong password.” Teacher: “No, I got it from Power School!” Me: “You reversed two of the numbers. … … Hey, if that’s the worst mistake you ever make, you should be dancing in the streets.” ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/77 "2024-01-11T21:32:54Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > [@Author\_Balk](#): > > > > I hear you. > > I prefer that to “I feel you”. I like to stay ahead of the trends and use “I smell you” or “I smell what you’re laying down” if I’m feeling gregarious. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/78 "2024-01-11T22:48:19Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > **“Can I be honest with you?”** > > Another expression people use to much. Or, _“Let me be clear…”_ What, you weren’t being clear before? > [@wguy123](#): > > It is what it is. I prefer the Zen koan version: _“It is what it is not.”_ > [@Ludovic](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > Virtually every day on the local news (yeah, I know) there is a story or three about a murder. > > > > I know I’m morbid, but I always play a mental game of Spot the Cliche. > > My cliche is when the murderee was “brutally” murdered. Has anyone ever been described as “gently murdered?” And then we are informed that: _“Police are scouring the area for the suspect.”_ Sounds very clean. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/79 "2024-01-11T23:30:48Z")
But if the person with cancer dies, my understanding is the cancer dies as well. Worst case scenario is a tie. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877/80 "2024-01-11T23:37:43Z")
Unless you’re Henrietta Lacks. [Her cancer definitely won](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeLa). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-people-say-maybe-too-often/995877.md?page=5)