Journal: News & Comment

Most irritating phrases

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And now, the official list of the most irritating clichés in English:

1. At the end of the day
2. At this moment in time
3. Using "like" as, like, punctuation
4. With all due respect
5. To be (perfectly) honest (with you)

Some other nominees:

• 24/7
• Absolutely
• Address the issue
• Around (in place of "about")
• Awesome
• Ballpark figure
• Basically
• On a [whatever] basis
• Bear with me
• Between a rock and a hard place
• Blue sky (thinking)
• Boggles the mind
• Bottom line
• Crack troops
• Diamond geezer
• Epicentre (used incorrectly)
• Glass half full (or half empty)
• Going forward
• I hear what you're saying
• In terms of
• It's not rocket science
• Literally
• Move the goalposts
• Ongoing
• Prioritize
• Pushing the envelope
• Singing from the same hymn sheet
• The fact of the matter is
• Thinking outside the box
• Touch base
• Up to (in place of "about")
• Value-added

Apparently a "diamond geezer" is a London slang term for "a good guy" (that, or either a badly dressed rugby fan or a rock musician whose music doesn't justify his or her fame). The term, like the list, is British, and I'd never heard of it before I looked it up.

They sure must be tired of it there, however.

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