# Verbal crutches I hate **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 25, 2003, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151 "2003-04-25T17:26:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/61 "2003-04-27T02:51:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DesertDog \* > \*\*Amen to that. Some grammar book I had for English Comp (Strunk and White, maybe? It’s been too long.) had the perfect antidote for that little affectation: “The not un-black dog chased the not un-white rabbit under a not un-clear sky.” > > Any time I’m tempted to obfuscate something with that technique, that sentence pops into my head and dissuades me. > > DD \*\* Double amen to that, I’m sure they were quoting George Orwell. Though it’s a bit off topic, check the meaning of the word factoid in a decent dictionary. Its current accepted meaning has grown to be a tiny, trivial fact. Its original meaning as coined by Orwell was a lie repeated often enough by the media to be accepted as fact. Think I’ll go outside tomorrow and view the not un-green grass under the not un-blue skies to enjoy the not un-troubling day. Though I’m sure that was not unexpected. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/62 "2003-04-27T14:25:55Z")
“Same Difference” (Unless used properly, which it rarely is, but that’s what 3 years of college math did to me I guess). “On accident” (It’s BY accident and on purpose) ---
**Author:** ![DEVA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@DEVA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DEVA)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/63 "2003-04-27T19:21:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MDM. President \* > \*\* > You folks have got to see Office Space if your really itching to get annoyed by bosses that ‘drone’. \*\* I’ll second that suggestion. Office Space makes my side hurt from laughing so hard! “Don’t hate the player, hate the game” and “Don’t hate, appreciate” make me want to SLAP somebody. And as for message boards: " **JMHO**" really irks me. We all have a pretty good idea what is FACT and what is OPINION. 🙂 Whenever I read ‘JMHO’, it always seems like a cop out or safety net. ---
**Author:** ![FudgeNugget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7cd45c/32.png) [@FudgeNugget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FudgeNugget)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/64 "2003-04-27T22:07:03Z")
**Phrases That People Should Be Shot For Saying (IMHO)** (Take note that not all of these phrases are verbal “crutches”, whatever that means) 1. “Why should I?” Because otherwise I’ll be wearing your arse around my thigh. 2. “Make me.” Self-explanatory. 3. “…like…” Filler. 4. “…and what not.” Filler used to make you sound intelligent. 5. “…and the like.” Filler used to make you sound intelligent. 6. “…and the such.” Filler used to make you sound intelligent. 7. “SWEET!” Obsolete. 8. “…is the bomb.” Obsolete. 9. “…is the man.” Obsolete. 10. “…'s dope.” Obsolete. 11. Certain forms of internet jargon like “sux0rs (sucks)” “jus (just)” “dun (don’t)” “u (you)” “wif (with)” “mah (my)” “chillin (relaxing)” “brotha (poser-speak)”, and a few others, all of which are mutilations of the words they’re supposed to mean, some aren’t even abbreviations. There are more but I can’t think of them at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/65 "2003-04-27T22:12:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bruce\_Daddy \* > \*\*Not a big Jeff Gordon fan? \*\* Hee! I’m not the only one who notices that! Back a few years ago, when we were in high school, my friend and I had a website on NASCAR that tried (and mainly failed) to be amusing. One of the pages was something about an interview with Jeff Gordon, or Jeff Gordon’s post-race speech, something of that sort. It basically consisted of “It was awesome, and I gotta thank my crew, they were totally awesome, and I gotta thank God too, he’s also totally awesome.” ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/66 "2003-04-27T22:31:00Z")
Two from The New York Times: – When a reporter is too lazy to identify the duration, the duration defaults to “long.” E.g.: “He long was known around the neighborhood for…” and “The zoo, long beloved by children and adults, …” – “To be sure” is an all-purpose transition. What the heck does “To be sure” mean?! ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/67 "2003-04-27T22:36:50Z")
Two from The New York Times: – When a reporter is too lazy to identify the duration, the duration defaults to “long.” E.g.: “He long was known around the neighborhood for…” and “The zoo, long beloved by children and adults, …” – “To be sure” is an all-purpose transition. What the heck does “To be sure” mean?! ---
**Author:** ![FudgeNugget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7cd45c/32.png) [@FudgeNugget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FudgeNugget)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/68 "2003-04-27T22:59:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MercyStreet \* > \*\*Two from The New York Times: > > – When a reporter is too lazy to identify the duration, the duration defaults to “long.” E.g.: “He long was known around the neighborhood for…” and “The zoo, long beloved by children and adults, …” > > – “To be sure” is an all-purpose transition. What the heck does “To be sure” mean?! \*\* “To be sure” = “Certainly” ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/69 "2003-04-27T23:46:53Z")
This drives me batty, but my friends say I’m being too picky. When I say “Thank you” to someone, I do not think that “Yup” is an appropriate reply. Aside from that, I could seriously live without the “like so much” or “like so many” trend, particularly when it is written. [Example:](http://www.newtimes-slo.com/archives/cov_stories_2002/cov_12192002.html) > [@](#): > > The young Templeton woman’s experiences, pathetic as they are, are hardly atypical in a shielded and sheltered world where youngsters without parents are hustled from residence to residence like so many broken chess pieces. If you have a crappy simile, adding “so many” does not make it better! ---
**Author:** ![Mariemarie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58f4c7/32.png) [@Mariemarie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mariemarie)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/70 "2003-04-28T00:18:37Z")
Here are some things that bug me. Misusing reflexive pronouns: “Georgy assigned the project to Patsy and myself.” “…as it were…” " Quite frankly…" “Don’t go there.” Overusing the world “piece” to mean: a table, a painting, a sculpture, a play, a garment. If you call it a piece instead of a vase does that make it more valuable? Prounouncing the word “processes” as “processEES”. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/71 "2003-04-28T01:17:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LilyoftheValley \* > \*\*This drives me batty, but my friends say I’m being too picky. > > When I say “Thank you” to someone, I do not think that “Yup” is an appropriate reply.\*\* And neither is “Uh-huh,” “Okay,” “Sure” or any other affirmative answer. The correct reply is “You’re welcome.” Slight hijack: If this communication is in written form, the correct response is: “You _\_ re welcome,” **not** “Your welcome.” ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/72 "2003-04-28T02:08:29Z")
“Whatnot” “Just so you know…” “Totally” “Sweet!” It’s absolutely vomitous. Up north, people tend to end certain sentences with “right”. As in, “I was going to the store, right? And I saw this guy, right?” Sometimes it makes me laugh. Sometimes it makes me angry. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/73 "2003-04-28T02:15:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > \*\*I hate it. And I watch baseball, and **every time** they interview anyone connected with baseball, they’ll say _no question about it_. \*\* I think this works in a lot of sports. But I do recall Peter Gammons saying this a lot on Baseball Tonight. Another phrase similar to this: _There’s no doubt._ Hershel Walker (former NFL running back) used to say this all the time. He’d use it at least once per answer in an interview. Usually proceeded by _Well_. _Well, there’s no doubt…_ over and over again. After my brother and I picked up on this we couldn’t watch an interview of him without breaking up. “You know” has already been mentioned, but it deserves special mention for me since my dad uses it all the freaking time. I wish I had never began noticing. But now that I do, it drives me crazy. My dad actually uses a lot of the ones mention here, but none to such stupifying levels. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2003, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151/74 "2003-04-28T05:47:00Z")
A (sorta) written one that makes me crazy: a lot of people write “should of” when they mean “should’ve.” Arg. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verbal-crutches-i-hate/171151.md?page=3)