PARADIGM - LIASE - “THE ENTERPRISE”.
I had a manager who could use all three of these in one sentence.
What an asshole.
Some British doper hates “orient” . I just checked and the UK (as well as the USA) has the sport of “Orienteering”. Does that bother you too? Note that it’s not “Orientate-eering”. 
Right on! Tell it, brother! Amen! We could start a whole pit-worthy rant on this book in particular, and corporate management using psycho-babble to cover their shortcomings in general…but that would hijack this thread. Suffice it to say that the linked review nailed my feelings.
I hate the word “yeah,” too, though I hate it in all its forms. It’s as though whoever is using it is just too lazy to bother tacking on an “s” to yes. And it sounds a lot less confident. “So, do you like to swim?” “Yeah.” That answer seems so on the fence, like saying, “Yeah, it’s okay,” even if you love swimming. “So, do you like to swim?” “Yes.” That answer sounds a lot more sure. I guess “yeah” would be appropriate if you sort of like something, but I still don’t like it.
Also, I hate it when I ask a question only to be answered with “What?” when someone doesn’t hear me. Can’t you just say, “I didn’t hear that,” or “Pardon?” Saying, “What?” sounds really abrupt. I know it’s really common to say “What?” but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
My third most hated is anything that used to be a noun but is now used as a verb: “Liase,” “Incent,” “Interface.” Yuck.
OUCH - WET NOODLE TIME - I MISREAD THE OP - SORRY FOR THE MANAGEMENT SPEAK!!!
We do not! It is either “iss-yoos”, or “ish-oos”. My girlfriend and I have had arguments about this: I say “tiss-yoo”, she insists it is “tish-oo”. I doubt that there is a definitively “correct” answer, as with most pronunciational variances (thought this was the appropriate thread to stick this ugly phrase in that I just made up for the purpose ).
Re orienteering: that’s never bothered me. You’ve caught me in a contradiction, BwanaBob! I hadn’t thought of that - still can’t come up with a coherent reason why that’s OK but “oriented” isn’t - damn you!
Pamper – I hate the sound of the word. I hate what it means. I’d rather hear nails on a chalkboard than to hear someone say, I’m going to the spa today. I need to be pampered. Or a resort, cruise line, or hotel that uses the word in it’s advertisement. We’ll pamper you. No you will not, just treat me right.
Nestled – A beautiful cottage nestled in a grove of orange trees. A tender chicken breast “grilled to perfection” (Hate that too) nestled on a bed of fresh mixed greens. **Grill the chicken and put it on a plate of lettuce. **
I know it’s been mentioned already, but poo, poop, and potty are words that should be used by children – young children. Not adults.
I have a nitpick, but I believe it’s in the spirit of the thread. You spelled “goofball’s” in the possesive form, but it is in the plural context. :wally
I’m so glad no one got to mine yet, because Lord I hate them so -
it’s time to retire ‘extreme’ when it’s used to describe a sandwich (sammich?)
and my personal least favorite, ‘it’s a no-brainer.’ Why would I want that? I want things to be brainers, and I hate you for forcing me to decribe something as a brainer, which isn’t even a word!
I have to go pee.
Bastard! You find out what a person can’t take and then you force them to endure it Room 101 style. Bitch bastard!
To all my Straight Dope breathren,
Please stop using the word meme.
It’s a psuedo-science way of saying “idea” or “concept”. This reeks of “new-age” and sounds very pretentious for a board devoted to fighting you-know-what.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
Sincerely,
Brian
P.S. But, please, don’t hesitate to say meme, meme, meme! in some following post. It’s so damned funny when that happens
My two personal pollitically correct, warm-fuzzy, herbal-tea-ish, let’s-all-hold-hands-and-sing-kumbaya-around-the-fire pet but burners are:
community: your community, this or that ethnic community, we have to consult the community. This neighborhood is a real community.
stakeholders: have we consulted the stakeholders.
(although a mob of angry peasants holding sharpened sticks with which to impale vampires is a perfectly acceptable use of the word, IMHO)
so of course when some city councellor gets interviewed on the radio and puts them both together in the same sentence, I have to refrain from punching the car radio. Gachhh!
Two lesser sins, note above, and of which I am often guilty myself, are two words that are used way too often in the high-tech industry, and both imply superior knowledged being simplified or corrected for the ignorant interlocutor: actually, and basically.
(voted the two most often used words at Bell-Northern-Research in 1992-93)
and finally, I leave you with that eternal pearl of linguistic putrescence: irregardless.
proactive Yes, it’s been around a long time, but there are no signs of it ever going away.
medication Something wrong with the word “medicine?”
commentate No comment necessary.
Top choices - I use them all the time in my PRopaganda job (especially the doublethink “community”). “Service” is another appallingly abused and overused word. Ditto “excellence” and “quality”, which have come to signify the opposite of what they mean.
Julius, I see your “proactive” and raise you an active (as in "active participation).
“Medication”, “medicine” - I prefer “drugs”. At least it serve to remind speaker and listener both of the companies who make oodles of money out of the things.
My own contribution (may be limited to Hong Kong English): “meaningful”, as in “Please contribute to this meaningful activity”.
Fuckwits!