Overused and abused words

Cranky · November 2020

thumpingrug said:

My new boss keeps telling us we are on a "journey". If he says it once he says it 20 bloody times. Some are up for the journey, some need to reflect on their personal journey, others missed the Journey briefing. i just want to get off the fucking bus.

Next staff meeting bring a lighter and hold it up for the journey concert

merlin · November 2020

Awesome. When it isn't.
Literally. When it means "figuratively" or when inserted for emphasis as in "I'm literally on the bus now".

A good book is "The King's English" by Kinsley Amis. Does all of this....

Kittyfrisk · November 2020

Cranky said:

Kittyfrisk said:

"Pedant"
Canvass ; to discuss thoroughly; solicit votes; seek opinions; poll: canvass the neighborhood
Not to be confused with:
Canvas – heavy fabric used for making sails; a tent; an oil painting

I put the ass in it, then, that's alright

You like said 'ass' huhhuhhuh...

thecolourbox · November 2020

The word unprecedented in general seems to be rather overused (and then misused by idiots who think it's pronounced unpresidented).

yocky · November 2020

"Reach out to" meaning contact.

Amongst other things it makes me think of this (NSFW) scene, which is usually an inappropriate thing for me to be thinking about at work.

Grunfeld · November 2020

phil_b said:

the over use of "super" instead of very

I got rid of nearly all my usage of "very" when I read something (?Mark Twain?) which described the word as weak and lazy emphasis, and if you imagine you've used "damn" instead of "very" you'll know whether to keep it or not.

Funkfingers · November 2020

ICBM said:
Gutted

If I never hear those words in a news report again - apart from those concerning massive natural disasters or major wars, or fish processing - then it will be too soon.

What about all those urban drug dealing gentlemen, stabbing the fuck out of each other?

thecolourbox · November 2020

Grunfeld said:

phil_b said:

the over use of "super" instead of very

I got rid of nearly all my usage of "very" when I read something (?Mark Twain?) which described the word as weak and lazy emphasis, and if you imagine you've used "damn" instead of "very" you'll know whether to keep it or not.

I also dislike the use of the word "Uber" in this situation. They don't even spell it correctly

Strangefan · November 2020

sev112 said:

Gullible - doesn’t actually mean what you think it does - look it up

I'm a damn idiot.

Dominic · November 2020

Yes , the 'reaching out ' thing is just awful .......it always makes me think of somebody in a film just about to be swallowed by quicksand .
Essex people say ' obviously ' a lot which is annoying ,obviously .
Why do people from Essex say 'yous ' instead of you and people in Northern call centres say "yourself " when the correct term is you ........eg ' is there anything else we can provide for yourself ?'
Why are calls always monitored for 'security and training purposes ' ........I bet they never use them for training .How about start employing staff who are already trained , institute better security and stop recording me OR tell the truth and say "we are a slippery , lying,con- artist extortionist dressed up as an Insurance company to rip as much money as we can from you and fight as hard as we can to trip you up and never pay out a claim if we can get away with it .That's why we record you on the phone .

JohnS37 · November 2020

I have worked quite a lot as an advertising copywriter. Advertising space costs money, so a lot of the time a copywriter is trying to capture the reader’s attention (first job) and tell an impressive story (second job) while using as little space as possible.
One way to achieve this is by using elaborate expressions, and perhaps the advertising/marketing industry has, over the years, set a regrettable example that we have all unwittingly followed.
The antithesis of this overemphasised language is, for example, the writing of Ernest Hemingway, who manages to paint vivid pictures in the reader’s imagination using the minimum of words, and usually plain and simple words at that. This is real magic, and any copywriter who could write like Hemingway would long since have resigned his studio job.