Words or phrases that annoy you (even if you can't explain why) . . .

[PinkyMacGodess]

Another: "on the daily" (meaning "daily"/"every day"/"on a daily basis"). e.g. "My best friend is moving just a few blocks away, so that means I'll get to see them on the daily." Just sounds weird to me.

Sounds presumptuous. 'And what if I don''t want to see you/them 'on the daily'?'. Make it sound like you don't have much of a choice in the matter. Like being married to them. A friend got divorced because 'they just couldn't stand looking at their partners face every morning anymore'. Yikes...

 

[usagora]

Sounds presumptuous. 'And what if I don''t want to see you/them 'on the daily'?'. Make it sound like you don't have much of a choice in the matter. Like being married to them. A friend got divorced because 'they just couldn't stand looking at their partners face every morning anymore'. Yikes...

That was just a random example sentence. It's the phrase itself ("on the daily") that I'm saying annoys me.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

That was just a random example sentence. It's the phrase itself ("on the daily") that I'm saying annoys me.

And I agreed. I would be somewhat horrific to have someone you know and aren't married to say 'I'll see you EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE'. Um, no... I'd like to think that 'forever' isn't that disturbing...

I have a 'sick sense of humor', and it's 'an acquired taste', or so I've been told. I guess I hang around too many doctors/geniuses I guess.

 

[usagora]

And I agreed. I would be somewhat horrific to have someone you know and aren't married to say 'I'll see you EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE'. Um, no... I'd like to think that 'forever' isn't that disturbing...

Ok, I guess I chose a bad example sentence because you keep focusing on the incidental content of the example apart from the phrase in question. Again, it's the phrase ("on the daily") in and of itself I'm talking about--how it sounds, not what it means. I just like to give an example sentence so people can see how it may be used in real life. It can be used in lots of contexts. Let me use another sentence that maybe doesn't carry so much baggage, lol:

"I drink coffee on the daily."

That just sounds dumb to me. Just say "I drink coffee all the time/daily." Saying "on the daily" sounds like someone's trying too hard to sound "slangy."

 

[rm5]

I agree with you, @usagora! "On the daily" does sound stupid. Sounds like you're trying to sound like you know what you're talking about and trying to use "fancy vocabulary."

Another one that irks me (I'm guilty of using this one, too!) is "push," in the context of, "We are gonna push these videos to YouTube tonight." I think I've only used it in that context maybe once—it also sounds stupid.

 

[KaliYoni]

Let me use another sentence that maybe doesn't carry so much baggage

(cue news reader voice)
Let's go to the video:

 

[usagora]

Another one that irks me (I'm guilty of using this one, too!) is "push," in the context of, "We are gonna push these videos to YouTube tonight." I think I've only used it in that context maybe once—it also sounds stupid.

It does sound a bit silly in that context, though I'm always "pushing" commits to my GitHub repository. But that's actually the official term for it in that context (coding), so it sounds more natural.

 

[rm5]

It does sound a bit silly in that context, though I'm always "pushing" commits to my GitHub repository. But that's actually the official term for it in that context (coding), so it sounds more natural.

True, I forgot about "push" in the context of coding (I don't code, but I've heard developers use that term).

 

[DaveFromCampbelltown]

And I agreed. I would be somewhat horrific to have someone you know and aren't married to say 'I'll see you EVERY DAY OF YOUR LIFE'. Um, no... I'd like to think that 'forever' isn't that disturbing...

I have a 'sick sense of humor', and it's 'an acquired taste', or so I've been told. I guess I hang around too many doctors/geniuses I guess.

You should try keeping company with Forensic Pathologists...

 

[adrianlondon]

"Can I get ...." when ordering something.

"No, you can't get a coffee. I work here, I'll get it and give it to you".

It's very American. Us Brits don't say it, we ask if we can have something. However ... I do sometimes have to stop myself saying "can I get" as, like many American phrases, they are snappier. Like safari.

 

[usagora]

"Can I get ...." when ordering something.

"No, you can't get a coffee. I work here, I'll get it and give it to you".

It's very American. Us Brits don't say it, we ask if we can have something. However ... I do sometimes have to stop myself saying "can I get" as, like many American phrases, they are snappier. Like safari.

As an American, I don't believe I've ever used either of those phrases ("can I get" / "can I have") when ordering at a restaurant, though I do hear it all the time. I always say, "I'm going to have" or "I'd like" instead.

 

[adrianlondon]

"I'm going to have" is very presumptuous 😁

 

[usagora]

"I'm going to have" is very presumptuous 😁

No, because if it's on the menu, the offer has already been made 😉 In fact, there's a famous restaurant in Atlanta, GA where they yell out "What'll ya have?!" when you're up to order.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Ok, I guess I chose a bad example sentence because you keep focusing on the incidental content of the example apart from the phrase in question. Again, it's the phrase ("on the daily") in and of itself I'm talking about--how it sounds, not what it means. I just like to give an example sentence so people can see how it may be used in real life. It can be used in lots of contexts. Let me use another sentence that maybe doesn't carry so much baggage, lol:

"I drink coffee on the daily."

That just sounds dumb to me. Just say "I drink coffee all the time/daily." Saying "on the daily" sounds like someone's trying too hard to sound "slangy."

Oh... That is a weird sentence, and in my mind 'goes without saying'. It is a rather 'long way' to get to a much shorter concise concept. Awkward for sure. 'I drink coffee every day' is clearer. 'I often ingest a steeped coffee been reduction in the hours between 0700 and 1445 during every diurnal cycle', is more specific, and yet almost as odd.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

You should try keeping company with Forensic Pathologists...

I do have many different medical and engineering types as friends and have gotten used to their lingo and occupations. One funeral director was peripherally involved in a 'switched body' incident, and he got into all the gory details. 'They looked very similar IRL, but were different heights and different eye color. Not that you could tell from what was left, and the injuries the other girl sustained left her in a 'body cast' with her face and head bandaged.'. YUCK! And he proceeded to talk about more of the particulars. *shrug* But it's their life, and life indeed. Someone has to do it. And never try to out-gross an EM medical resident. Yeah, no...

 

[ufgatorvet]

In my profession we are always dealing with wet material ... the room typically cringes when someone says the word "moist". 🤷‍♂️

 

[usagora]

Oh... That is a weird sentence, and in my mind 'goes without saying'. It is a rather 'long way' to get to a much shorter concise concept. Awkward for sure. 'I drink coffee every day' is clearer. 'I often ingest a steeped coffee been reduction in the hours between 0700 and 1445 during every diurnal cycle', is more specific, and yet almost as odd.

My original example sentence was nothing like the hypothetical one you just posted ("I often ingest . . ."). You were commenting on the hypothetical situation of the example and how you thought that would be weird (were it IRL), not the grammar of it. You clearly understood the meaning of the phrase in the original sentence, so it did its job. You just got carried away with your imagination 🤣 And just FYI, I actually used that specific example sentence because it was very similar to the context I read the phrase in that triggered my post here about it (it was a FB post on a friend's feed).

 

[usmaak]

All of this talk about how to order food…. When did the word “please” leave everyone’s vocabulary? When I order food, “may I please have…“ or “may I please get…”

I was a waiter quite a few years ago and people were much more polite back then.

 

[usagora]

All of this talk about how to order food…. When did the word “please” leave everyone’s vocabulary? When I order food, “may I please have…“ or “may I please get…”

I was a waiter quite a few years ago and people were much more polite back then.

I say "please" frequently, but I guess I just don't see ordering food at a commercial establishment as a context where that would be expected, though of course it's perfectly fine to say "please." I don't see an issue either way as long as the patron isn't being rude (e.g. snapping their fingers at the wait staff, demanding things, etc.).

Eating at a friend's house? Totally different.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Various forms of corporate or management speak are - to my mind - utter linguistic horrors, nothing but assaults on language and meaning, designed to confuse rather than clarify, and, above all, introducing half-understood (but supposedly positive) concepts from sports and science into the business world, where this abuse of language is especially pronounced.

A few examples that - invariably - put me in mind of a parabola of pure puke:

"Thinking outside the box"; ugh.

"Are you a team player?" or any of those ghastly (fake happy) "teamwork" slogans, which (somewhat mendaciously, and deliberately, at that) imply an egalitarian relationship that the hierarchy of the work world does not, in fact, accurately reflect.

 

[usmaak]

I say "please" frequently, but I guess I just don't see ordering food at a commercial establishment as a context where that would be expected, though of course it's perfectly fine to say "please." I don't see an issue either way as long as the patron isn't being rude (e.g. snapping their fingers at the wait staff, demanding things, etc.).

Eating at a friend's house? Totally different.

I always appreciated it when waiting tables.

 

[usagora]

I always appreciated it when waiting tables.

Oh, I totally get that. I'm just saying I don't think it's socially considered rude if people don't say "please" (as long as they're otherwise ordering in a polite manner--calm, not demanding, etc.) when ordering food at a restaurant.

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

In my profession we are always dealing with wet material ... the room typically cringes when someone says the word "moist". 🤷‍♂️

I spent a good 5+ minutes repeating the word 'moist', trying to see if I could end up not liking it, and I just couldn't get that far. *shrug* I mean 'you do you', and 'different strokes', and I can't stand the word 'squad', so reality is bizarre sometimes.

I ran into a list of words that people don't like, and squad wasn't on it, but there were a lot of others that I was surprised at.

Oh, there are some 'almost swear words' that are in common use in other countries (not usually in the US) that bug me too. A friend happened to use a couple of them rather frequently, and I thought I had him trained to not use them in my presence. Think again...

Cheers all!

 

[Rafterman]

"Can I get ...." when ordering something.

"No, you can't get a coffee. I work here, I'll get it and give it to you".

It's very American. Us Brits don't say it, we ask if we can have something. However ... I do sometimes have to stop myself saying "can I get" as, like many American phrases, they are snappier. Like safari.

"Can I get a cup of coffee?" - The waiter/waitress should say "sure, it's right over there."

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

"Can I get a cup of coffee?" - The waiter/waitress should say "sure, it's right over there."

Growing up, there was a restaurant/coffee shop where the rules were you served yourself for most things. Many people were even allowed to ring and cash out their own purchases. It was a cool idea that would never work today, but the owners kept doing it until one of the great economic collapses that were infamous around there.

People really liked the idea of getting your own coffee, and picking up your own order from the kitchen, and ringing yourself out. The 'good old daze'? Starbucks seems to have created their concoctions deliberately to make it impossible for people to get their own 'coffee'.