Phrases you can't stand...

Man of Honour
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14 Apr 2017
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"Are we on the same page?" and "I could care less" are the only two that make my teeth itch.

I don’t use the first one, but I often use the other one, so I’ll steer clear of you.

Not really the phrase but the way a lot of people say it... "I could care less"

Makes me want to punch them.

Oops, I’ll avoid speaking near you as well then.

Or "literally", that's the worst.

Ah, at last, something we can literally agree on, in addition, I don’t like “lessons will be learned”, as they never are learned.
Not a phrase as such, but hearing salt said as sult annoys me, but not as much as medicine said as medsun.
 
Soldato
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UK
I don’t use the first one, but I often use the other one, so I’ll steer clear of you.



Oops, I’ll avoid speaking near you as well then.



Ah, at last, something we can literally agree on, in addition, I don’t like “lessons will be learned”, as they never are learned.
Not a phrase as such, but hearing salt said as sult annoys me, but not as much as medicine said as medsun.

If you amend it to "I couldn't care less", as per the original usage of the term, we can be best buds!
 
Soldato
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7 Jan 2009
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6,358
"Are you winning"

this is a typical Boss/Supervisor comment when asking how your doing productivity wise.

1. I don't care if I'm winning.
2. you can clearly see how its all going, its right in front of you!
 
Man of Honour
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If you amend it to "I couldn't care less", as per the original usage of the term, we can be best buds!

I prefer to be on good terms with everyone Tek, but I’m afraid that I’m a lost cause with “I could care less”, too much time spent in the U.S. over the past 45 years I guess, too many American girlfriends all through the late 70s and 80s, it’s also no doubt the reason why every time someone thanks me, it provokes an instant response of “You’re welcome.”
At least I still say ‘sweets’, and not candy, and seek out the toilet not the bathroom, so all is not lost.
 
Soldato
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3,371
Any of the corporate buzzword bingo phrases annoy me.

"Stake in the ground" when talking about deadlines, or "firming up"
 
Soldato
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11,088
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Bristol
"if you can do the needful"
I used to work for Airbus/GKN and whenever I had to interact with the offices in Bangalore they'd say that all the time. Apparently very common in Indian English but it used to drive me irrationally insane.

But the one phrase that really triggers me... "unexpected item in the bagging area"
 
Associate
Joined
14 Feb 2007
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676
Can I get/grab a...

For example

"Can I get a Coffee" and "Grab a Coffee"

And "Absolutely" when agreeing with something
 
Soldato
Joined
21 Jan 2010
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21,948
"if you can do the needful"
I used to work for Airbus/GKN and whenever I had to interact with the offices in Bangalore they'd say that all the time. Apparently very common in Indian English but it used to drive me irrationally insane.

But the one phrase that really triggers me... "unexpected item in the bagging area"
Doing the needful is very much an offshore phrase. Ultra common!
 
Associate
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20 Mar 2012
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2,308
Location
London(ish)
Most of those already mentioned don't bother me. Yeah, sometimes words or phrases are used which mean the same as another commonly-used word or phrase, but that doesn't seem like something to get upset about. 'Could care less' and the misuse of 'literally' annoy me, but that's because they're actually incorrect. 'Literally' used in the correct way literally doesn't bother me at all.
'Do the needful' and 'flown' when referring to data FLOWING between systems is something that a lot of Indians I work with use. It doesn't bother me that they use it because they're not native English speakers, but it annoys me when my English colleagues use stuff like that.
 
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