# Words/Phrases You've Been Meaning to Stop Saying **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 3, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453 "2004-06-03T14:49:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/1 "2004-06-03T14:49:09Z")
I know we have had many threads on annoying phrases and words others say but what about the ones you say? Surely you have some expression you say that’s so bad you cringe after escapes your lips, right? So here’s my list: **super spectacular** I say this when something’s not just great but greater than great. It’s more than spectacular it’s _super spectacular_. You can almost hear the trail of exclamation marks that follows it the way I say it, too. It’s embarrassing. **awesome** If you’re wondering who still says awesome anymore, it’s me. Good grief it’s awful and it needs to stop now. **Word?** I say this in lieu of ‘Really?!?’ **totally** Now I don’t say totally nearly as much as I used to but it still slips out occasionally. How on earth can you take someone seriously who, at the age of twenty ni–oops, _thirty_, still say totally. Sheesh. **dude** I say dude but much like the hacking smoker who refuses to quit because he actually likes smoking, I’m not sure I’m ready to give this one up yet. So, c’mon, 'fess up. Post your list. It’ll be _totally_ awesome, dude!!! ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/2 "2004-06-03T15:13:08Z")
For me just **totally** and **awesome** , two words that should have died out long ago but are just so hard to let go. At least **cowabunga** is gone. ---
**Author:** ![Mithril](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mithril/32/3517_2.png) [@Mithril](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithril)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/3 "2004-06-03T15:15:57Z")
“My bad”. It’s so juvenile. Ugh. Also, “Dude, seriously!”. It’s used synonymously with “Right on!”, which I have thankfully never said. ---
**Author:** ![foxymoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@foxymoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foxymoron)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/4 "2004-06-03T15:24:05Z")
**Dude** , **rad** , **awesome** , **like** , and **totally** are a few of the words I say far too frequently. I think maybe I never left the 80’s. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/5 "2004-06-03T15:37:10Z")
“Sure thing, dear, I’ll take care of it right away.” Gawd, I wish I could stop saying that! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/6 "2004-06-03T15:43:38Z")
“Yew Rawk!” I said this to a little girl who found the “Mr. Clean Magic Erasers” for me at the store yesterday. She looked at me like a side dish she didn’t order. I don’t think I’ll be able to give it up, though. And I really need to stop saying FUCK. I say it way too much. I’m considering hypnotism or some other thing to get myself to drop it. ---
**Author:** ![Shirt\_Ninja\_13](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@Shirt\_Ninja\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirt_Ninja_13)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/7 "2004-06-03T15:48:59Z")
> [@JuanitaTech](#): > > I know we have had many threads on annoying phrases and words others say but what about the ones you say? Surely you have some expression you say that’s so bad you cringe after escapes your lips, right? Occasionally, I toy with the idea of getting rid of all of my stock phrases. They are as follows (in no particular order). coo. k. kk. ok. ok, then. mm. mm hmm. mmk. fair enough. have fun with that. shit. fuck. dammit. word. sup? _cringe_ ugh. _bamf_ ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/8 "2004-06-03T17:15:54Z")
coolbeans! ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/9 "2004-06-03T17:18:56Z")
More votes for **awesome** and **totally** (and yes, I grew up in the 80’s so that’s my excuse). Others: **Eh?** and \*\*Hey? \*\* (I’m Canadian and try as I might, these still slip out at the end of some sentences … grrr … I HATE it). **Fuck** **Like** \*\*Wicked \*\* **Seriously** **Actually** Like, seriously, it’s totally wicked how I often I actually say all of these awesome words in one fucking conversation, eh? AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH ---
**Author:** ![tanookie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/48db29/32.png) [@tanookie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanookie)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/10 "2004-06-03T17:23:32Z")
Like, totally awesome dude! _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/11 "2004-06-03T17:25:06Z")
“You know what I’m saying?” I used to say this a lot. When I realized how it annoyed others I realized that I didn’t really like saying it, either, so I’ve pretty much eradicated it from my speech. “Pretty much” (as in the previous example) is another one I’d like to refrain from using. I prefer to use “virtually” in its place, though this, too, may get tiring if overused. “That’s the name of the game” and “the bottom line” have been successully purged, but I still catch myself nearly saying them from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/12 "2004-06-03T17:36:10Z")
Ugh. That’s another thing I say. When I want people to get to the flippin’ point I say, ‘Just bottom line it for me, OK?’ That has _got_ to go! And I curse. A lot. But I’m totally cool with that. I curse at the appropriate times and when I do I could make a sailor blush. I like people that curse! People that don’t are strange and weird and worthy of scorn, ridicule and daily public floggings at 10 a.m. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/13 "2004-06-03T17:41:39Z")
“That was so not cool.” Not that whole sentence, just the so bit. I don’t know if I’d be able to live without referring to things as “cool”. “This can only end in tears.” That’s my sorta catchphrase, I think, and yet it never really comes true. “Chief” I call _every_ stranger I meet chief. Even women, occasionally. I need to stop doing this, because some of them are just regular ol’ injuns… ---
**Author:** ![35340](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/8baadc/32.png) [@35340](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/35340)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/14 "2004-06-03T18:14:36Z")
**Jesus** - walked away from all versions of Christianity a long time ago but haven’t dropped that yet. **Bless you** - for sneezes. **Shazam** doesn’t seem to be catching on with me well. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/15 "2004-06-03T18:16:59Z")
Basically Pretty Pretty much Fuck I’m pretty much getting better with the last one. Basically, my daughter uses it more than I ever did, and it’s so revolting that it’s pretty much put me off saying it. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/16 "2004-06-03T18:40:20Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > She looked at me like a side dish she didn’t order. Damn, **Kalhoun** , you raw… er, you sure can turn a phrase! For me, it’s “Well, there you go,” which has to be one of the most content-free utterances ever. ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/17 "2004-06-03T18:44:03Z")
**Far out** is something I still say. For somebody my age, it’s still the most appropriate exclamation for a given situation. I’ve caught myself referring to something that was _really far out_ as **heavy** , but not very often anymore. I speak to the public for a living, so I’ve pretty much (sorry, **dwc1970** ) abandoned all catchphrases from my daily speech. It sorta goes with the territory. A word I _do_ say too often is “actually”. Not all the time, or to the point where anybody would get annoyed by it, but I’m aware of it. Eric Idle: “We’re actually standing in the actual cellar where the actual Rutles actually lived and…oh dear, there’s a rat up my leg.” ---
**Author:** ![yellowval](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/919ad9/32.png) [@yellowval](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowval)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/18 "2004-06-03T18:44:48Z")
Ah, I have lots of these! Alrighty then! Absolutely! Killer! (meaning awesome) Sweet! Dude! Actually … (this one runs in the family) Mother-fucker Fuck (and all its other delightful derivatives) Oh, for crying in the night! Jesus, Joseph, and Mary God bless America! (what I say when I start to say “God damn it” and realize I shouldn’t) **Stainz** , don’t feel bad about the “eh” thing. My husband and I were in Canada for three days and he started saying it too. Contagious, eh? Two summers ago there was a particularly entertaining group of Canadians at a music festival we went to in northern Minnesota who had T-shirts and stickers with the Canadian flag and “The ‘Eh’ Team” on them. I still have one of the stickers. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/19 "2004-06-03T20:28:35Z")
I am a terrible abuser of “FAN tastic” and “excellent” as general expressions of approval. I need to mix it up a bit more. Also, I recently realized that almost every time I say, “Thank you,” I add, “I really appreciate that.” It started as an extra acknowledgement for folks who had gone out of their way for me, and turned into a semantically null habit that probably sounds terribly pretentious. I’m trying to train myself to think first and say, “I really appreciate [the actual thing that deserves extra thanks]” when it’s warranted. ---
**Author:** ![Furry\_Mongoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Furry\_Mongoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furry_Mongoose)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453/20 "2004-06-03T20:49:09Z")
> [@Khiadra](#): > > coolbeans! I say Coolio Beanio or Coolios Beanios all the time… No-one ever knows what I’m on about… I like that 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-phrases-youve-been-meaning-to-stop-saying/248453.md?page=2)