At the end of the day... we're fed up with clichés.
Plain English supporters around the world have voted "At the end of the day" as the most irritating phrase in the language.
Second place in the vote was shared by "At this moment in time" and the constant use of "like" as if it were a form of punctuation. "With all due respect" came fourth.
The Campaign surveyed its 5000 supporters in more than 70 countries as part of the build-up to its 25th anniversary. The independent pressure group was launched on 26 July 1979.
Spokesman John Lister said over-used phrases were a barrier to communication. "When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message - assuming there is one! Using these terms in daily business is about professional as wearing a novelty tie or having a wacky ringtone on your phone.
"George Orwell's advice from 1946 is still worth following: 'Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.'"
The following terms also received multiple nominations:
24/7
absolutely
address the issue
around (in place of "about")
awesome
ballpark figure
basically
basis ("on a weekly basis" in place of "weekly" and so on)
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 goal-posts
ongoing
prioritise
pushing the envelope
singing from the same hymn sheet
the fact of the matter is
thinking outside the box
to be honest/to be honest with you/to be perfectly honest
touch base
up to (in place of "about")
value-added (in general use)
« I'm done now!
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I hear what you're saying.. ugh... I hear that one too much.
The term "my bad" makes me want to puke. Other ones on that list are up there...but that one totally drives me nuts...
In terms of this entry I want to absolutely address this awesome issue, bear with me, I hear what you're saying. Basically, it boggles the mind, in terms of, thinking outside the box. To be perfectly honest with you, I just want to touch base and make sure we are singing from the same hymn sheet. The fact of the matter in terms of going forward, it's not rocket science. Absolutely, crack troops!
That list needs to be sent to every single news producer/writer/reporter everywhere.
Holy crap, I may as well stop talking altogether.
I was going to push the envelope and think outside of the box and make a value added comment. Yeah, I hear what your saying but it's not rocket science. Just bear with me and I will come up with something awesome. The bottom line is, I will address the issue even if I have to wrok on it 24/7.
They left out some of my least favorites:
"It is my opinion that..."
"Not a team player"
"So what I'm trying to say is..."
I'm surprised You know what I'm saying? isn't on the list.
I absolutely HATE "I hear what you're saying." It's always followed by "but," and then a remark designed to completely shoot down whatever it was you were saying. It's such an Asshole Management kind of phrase.