# Three More Expressions To Be Retired **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 26, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377 "2009-04-26T03:10:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RunSilent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e0b2c6/32.png) [@RunSilent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RunSilent)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/41 "2009-04-27T11:47:14Z")
Green ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/42 "2009-04-27T14:52:56Z")
> [@RunSilent](#): > > Green Add to that _Green Makeover_! I recently watched about 5 minutes of one of those moronic shows. It featured a bunch of “greens” being oh so environmentally correct by trashing perfectly good oak kitchen cabinets that were the really good stuff–no plywood, particle board, “wood-look veneer”-- just solid natural stuff that had a few zits in the door finish but was otherwise good for another 50 years+. The stuff was made so well that the ninnies had one hell of a time trying to crowbar and sledgehammer it into small enough chunks to pitch out the 3rd story window and into the dumpster. Their “green solution”-- bamboo harvested from some godawful 3rd World pesthole that’s never even heard of environmentally-sound agricultural practices and carted 5,000 miles+ in some tub registered in some other 3rd World pesthole that doesn’t give a crap about smokestack emissions and pumping waste oil out the bilge pumps! ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/43 "2009-04-27T15:27:02Z")
“Hybrid”. Oh goodie! It burns petroleum AND gives us lead acid batteries to deal with it! YAY! Yes, little Johnnie, that hybrid allows more fuel to remain in the hands of other, less-responsible countries to use! And by golly, little Johnnie, we are just so comfortable knowing they will burn it all very responsibly! Oops, I digress. I am tired of “terrorists” and would like to get back to words like “enemy”. That’d be nice. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/44 "2009-04-27T17:09:07Z")
I’ll second “it is what it is.” That phrase bugs me no end because it implies nothing can be done about “it” (which may or may not be accurate), and the person is not going to try to do anything. ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/45 "2009-04-27T17:27:06Z")
> [@Landshark](#): > > I’ll second “it is what it is.” > > That phrase bugs me no end because it implies nothing can be done about “it” (which may or may not be accurate), and the person is not going to try to do anything. I’ll confess to using “it is what it is” with the meaning you give above. It’s actually a useful way to politely tell someone “OK, we need to move on.” I think “back in the day” is kind of charming. “Win-win” has its uses. It certainly sounds better than “this is a plus-sum strategy!” “Wow … just wow” is an excrescence. As is anything that turns on halting, punchline talking. I think the difference between “I just threw up a little in my mouth” and wow … just wow" versus the other expressions is that the former are intended as jokey sayings or witticisms (after a fashion at least), which have considerably shorter half-lives than other, more pedestrians turns of phrase. In high school, my friends and I decided that there is never a case where the word “crap” could not be supplanted by a better word. Either use some form of the word “shit” or, if that is too vulgar for the occasion, don’t repair to the PG-13 obscenity “crap” but instead use a more erudite euphemism (like “excrescence”!). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/46 "2009-04-27T17:56:24Z")
> [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](#): > > \*\*Using “masturbation” as a metaphor for wasting time (as in “intellectual masturbation”). \*\* I’ll give up my intellectual masturbation when you pry my copy of College Sluts do Professor Wang from my cold, dead hands. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/47 "2009-04-27T18:02:15Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > I think “shovel-ready” is O.K. It’s not pretentious, and it’s descriptive. The longer version is “ready to pull off the shelf and advertise for bids.” The problem I have with “shovel-ready” is that some people think it means that, other people think it means “we have the plans AND the money, now we just need to build,” and still other people think it means “we have the plans but not the details, which we’ll work out when we get the money.” I have heard projects referred to as “shovel-ready” by various groups when they were at any one of those three stages. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/48 "2009-04-27T18:31:16Z")
> [@NinetyWt](#): > > Hotdog down a hallway. Nope, sorry. This one gets to stay because it’s… wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/49 "2009-04-27T18:42:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What would you replace them with? There needs to be some way to express those meanings. ‘Unique’ only has one meaning. It means one-of-a-kind. No other modifiers are needed. Does there need to be a way to say: Fairly pregnant. Pretty penultimate. Quite dead. Somewhat zero. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/50 "2009-04-27T18:45:59Z")
way, shape, or form ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/51 "2009-04-27T18:46:55Z")
That’s a no-brainer. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/52 "2009-04-27T18:53:49Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > That’s a no-brainer. Even when using it to refer to zombies. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/53 "2009-04-27T19:03:12Z")
“Going forward” ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/54 "2009-04-27T19:17:07Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > ‘Unique’ only has one meaning. It means one-of-a-kind. No other modifiers are needed. Does there need to be a way to say: > > Fairly pregnant. > > Pretty penultimate. > > Quite dead. > > Somewhat zero. Ummm, Webster uses both “very unique” and “fairly unique” as examples, and “quite dead” and “very [though perhaps not fairly] pregnant” are common. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/55 "2009-04-27T19:21:37Z")
“I’m not quite dead yet!” ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/56 "2009-04-27T19:53:34Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > I have heard projects referred to as “shovel-ready” by various groups when they were at any one of those three stages. How exasperating. > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Nope, sorry. This one gets to stay because it’s… wonderful. Please explain. How is it wonderful? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/57 "2009-04-27T20:06:43Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Ummm, Webster uses both “very unique” and “fairly unique” as examples, and “quite dead” and “very [though perhaps not fairly] pregnant” are common. But think about it. How does ‘very’ add anything to ‘one-of-a-kind’? Saying ‘very unique’ when you mean ‘very rare’ is just misusing the language. Same thing for ‘quite dead’. How can you get any deader than dead? If you want to describe the state of a woman’s pregnancy, surely you can be more precise than ‘very pregnant’. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/58 "2009-04-27T20:10:55Z")
“I want to say…” used to mean “I’m not sure, but I think…” “I’m all about…” “It is what it is.” “I’m so over it.” But _keep_ “I’m the Decider!” ---
**Author:** ![Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Kimmy\_Gibbler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimmy_Gibbler)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/59 "2009-04-27T20:18:26Z")
> [@wonderlust](#): > > “I want to say…” used to mean “I’m not sure, but I think…” On a related note, I do have nothing but unbridled hatred for stative verbs in the progressive aspect (and I am fighting a losing battle, I am sorry to report). That is, hideous forms such as “Are you wanting X?” or “He was needing Y” or “I’m guessing Z” instead of the much more refined “Do you want X?” or “He needed Y” or “I guess Z.” Seriously, this is a bigger pox upon our age than the swine flu. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2009, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377/60 "2009-04-27T23:11:21Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > But think about it. How does ‘very’ add anything to ‘one-of-a-kind’? Saying ‘very unique’ when you mean ‘very rare’ is just misusing the language. > > Same thing for ‘quite dead’. How can you get any deader than dead? > > If you want to describe the state of a woman’s pregnancy, surely you can be more precise than ‘very pregnant’. It’s not misusing the language at all. One of the definitions of unique is _unusual_, and a synonym is _strange_. And if you tried to analyze everything we say in English using logic you’d be dead long before you were halfway done. What the hell does _badass_ mean? A person’s butt that has spoiled? A donkey that does no good? An incorrect, stupid person? Think about it! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-more-expressions-to-be-retired/494377.md?page=4)