Great thread!
 

Some of these we have already listed but we haven't written about them exactly like this guy.

I think that "He's a riot"! (Another phrase that makes no sense).

I will probably post some more of them "When pigs fly".

Nuff' said, which is also something that should be put to bed.

I will work on that. (I need to stop using this phrase).

1. To say the Least

How about you just tell me the appropriate amount, you lazy bastard. If water is boiling, don't tell me it's warm to say the least, tell me it's boiling.

2. Per Se

If I remember my high school Latin correctly, Per se translates to, "through itself", and means "innately", or "fundamentally". It's proper usage would be something like, "I don't hate all ugly people per se, but I hate when ugly people sit next to me on airplanes.".

Graduate students at Moron University are taught that adding "per se" to the end of any declarative sentence makes that sentence sound 25% more intelligent. They'll say, "I don't think he is lying... per se!" . Such usage is both incorrect and needless- notice I couldn't even bring myself to italicize the incorrect "per se"? That's how badly I hate it.


"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn....per se".


3. All I know is...

When you begin a sentence with, "All I know is....", I will take your words literally and assume you know nothing else. Speaking of which....

4. Literally

This can be butchered two ways- the first is when it's already clearly believable, as in- "Usually it takes me 20 minutes to get to work, but today it took me literally- literally, 35 minutes with traffic."- no one was going to ask you if you meant that figuratively, dimwit. Secondly, and more horrifically, is when people use "literally" when it isn't literal, as in, "my jaw literally hit the floor when I heard the news.". So you said, "literally" but meant the opposite. Got it. Which reminds me...

5. "Not to interrupt....." while interrupting

We all hate being interrupted, but saying, "not to interrupt", cushions the blow about as effectively as if I said, "not to kick you in the nuts...." before I kick you in the nuts. Just be honest and say, "to interrupt..." next time. Better yet, wait your turn to talk.

6. Mind if I ask you a question?

You just did, a-hole. Aaaaand you didn't ask if you could. So just go ahead and ask your super humble question already.

7. Easier Said Than Done

Can't we just assume everything is easier to say than to do? If anyone ever heard, "Well that's easier said than done!", and thought, "My God, you're right. I never thought it like that. But, make no mistake.....you are correct. Wow. " they should be put to sleep.

8. Maybe, maybe not

The word "maybe" implies it may not happen, otherwise the speaker would use the word, "definitely".

9. .....if you will

This phrase is also popular for Alumni of Moron University to use in meaningless fashion. Unless you are taking a metaphorical leap of word definitions this phrase is unnecessary. While shameless alumni think per se makes sentences sound 25% more intelligent, most morons agree that "...if you will." adds a mere 10%. Why? B ecause it's ah, well, annoying, if you will.

And I hope you won't.

10. Needless to say

When I hear that preface what I really hear is, "Hey, I know how to waste your time- keep listening....".

11. Not to Mention

That's funny, you are mentioning something you said you weren't. Oh wait I didn't mean 'funny', I meant, 'ignorant'.
___

My father advised me on this list and suggested I improve the first two paragraphs of the Gettysburg Address with the aforementioned phrases. The improved version appears below.

Literally Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation per se, conceived in liberty, and to say the least dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

All I know is, Now we are engaged in a great civil war, if you will, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure- maybe, maybe not. We are met on a great battle-field of that war, per se. Needless to say, We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, which is easier said than done, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. Not to mention, It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

:computer2:

http://www.chicagonow.com/lists-that...saythankspops/

One of my cousins posted this on Facebook once in reference to where he worked and I asked him if he had confirmed the building was indeed male and if it had made overtures to him of a sexual nature.

I wasn't quite that articulate in my comment but it sent a message without blowing it all out of proportion. Don't get me wrong, I have a problem with this statement because it's offensive but I also look at the intention of the person saying it. Were they really trying to disrespect an entire group of people or were they just tossing it off as just another word for "dumb"?

It needs to disappear from the vernacular, though. Nobody says, "that's so black" or "that's so Jewish" so it needs to go.

There is an old saying that goes: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"...and well intentions or not...using the word "gay" in place of stupid or idiotic...is rude, ignorant, and just plain uncalled for. As you pointed out...one does not say, "That is so (insert racially/religiously/nationally based term of your choice)"....if something is stupid or idiotic...then just say it is stupid or idiotic....leave the homophobia (or any other phobia) out of it. Just my opinion tho.

using the word "ideal" instead of idea..

like.. "That's a great ideal."

UGH!!!!

We need to conversate about that bone picking. It's an instant classic, don;t you know?

<3

This made me think of things my parents would say to me and the things I would think to myself as a kid when I heard them.

A few gems my mother often said to me:

“If you had another brain it would be lonely.”
WTF could that even mean? Who gets another brain? When has this ever happened? I remember thinking to myself as a kid, that’s just stupid. Brains don’t come in pairs why would it be lonely if it was alone. It wouldn’t think anything of it. Being alone I mean. If I ever got another one that is. Which isn’t likely.

“You could talk a glass eye to sleep.”
Well that makes sense anyway. The problem was with her New England accent it always sounded like she was saying “You’d tawk a glass ida sleep.” I have an Aunt Ida so when I was young I thought it meant I would talk her to sleep. And I just figured there was something I didn’t understand about her being made of glass.

“If you had a half a brain you’d be dangerous”
Leave anyone with just a half a brain and I doubt dangerous is the word you would use to describe them. I suppose it depends which half you leave. But I remember wondering why is she thinking about me having only half a brain in the first place?

“Why you see there’s a crowd around?”
She would say that just about every time I asked “what’s the matter.” I figured out what it meant eventually, but to a 5 or 6 year old, it’s just puzzling.

My father’s favorite things to say to me were:

“I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it.”
I remember thinking as a kid, how are those two things even connected? I didn’t ask because I did have a strong survival instinct, but I found it to be one of those particularly weirdly incongruent things that people say. I mean I didn’t bring him into the world, but off the top of my head I can think of a dozen ways I could take him out of it.

“I’m going to beat you to within an inch of your life.”
I always thought that was cutting it kind of close. What if your measurement is off?

he "you're amazing"
she"I know"

*Hot Water Heater* :|

:eyebrow:

For all intensive purposes – what does that mean? For reasons that have a high degree of emotional excitement or depth of feeling?

Suppository of information – I knew someone who said this. He also had a self defecating sense of humor.

Near miss – do people listen to what they are saying. If it is a near miss then it is a hit. Why would you call a hit a near miss? Just say, it’s a hit. And if you mean it wasn’t a hit but a miss then don’t call it a near miss because that’s a hit. Just call it a miss.

Stoked – please don’t say that.

My jam – I heard someone say this the other day. I thought it was dead. Hopefully that was just a last gasp. I hate that term.

#YOLO - I hate this even more than my jam.

Moot point - I have to mention this again because I just heard it used on a tv show, The Good Wife. Someone said it was a moot point because the bus carrying a particular individual had already left. I found it especially annoying because moot was originally used in law and the show is about lawyers. Moot means debatable. However, like the word nauseous, which means causing nausea, can now be used as feeling nauseous because of popular usage, moot can now be used as having no practical relevance. It is interesting how, in American English, if you keep using a word the wrong way and get all your friends to do it and they get all their friends and so on the word will eventually change to agree with your usage.

language evolves.

however, pressurised is NOT A WORD. IT IS "I FELT PRESSURED/I FEEL PRESSURED" NOT PRESSURISED

but the term "you shower of cunts!" should be used far more often.

Or perhaps devolves.

I have to agree. You cannot overuse "you shower of cunts!"

I always thought it was a word.

But there are a lot of words I don't know so there are probably some I think I know that aren't words at all. Some years ago when I moved to Mattapan, Ma I worked in Brighton, Ma and on the way to work I would see all these signs that said "Arnold Arboretum" That's all they said. There were quite a few. Finally one day I asked my girlfriend at the time "Who is this guy Arnold Arboretum?" Gave her a good laugh.

I guess if I didn't know what an arboretum was I could easily believe in words that don't exist.

I often say "I couldn't give a fat rat's ass." Maybe it's a sign of the rat's prosperity. I won't be giving up well fed, well maintained rats' asses.

You know I never thought about that. I certainly wouldn’t want to hurt their little rat feelings. However there is no injury because “I couldn’t give a fat rat’s ass” means they get to keep their chubby little derrieres.

damm I dont have rats will mice do??? i promise not to get the 1 ccb threw out last month

You could say "that is all"
because that's not overused.

Walmarts and Kmarts. Those words are like nails on a chalkboard.... (oh, and yeah, I guess that is one to get rid of too).

I used to get a lot of 'idears' from people in TX.

No.

:blink:

I grew up with it being 'for all intents and purposes'. I've never heard it as 'intensive purposes'. That makes no sense. The former makes sense, but it's not a frequently used phrase anymore, is it?

For the record, you are very, very strange. But it's a likeable strange, not a serial killer kind of strange.

Well, yes, the correct terminology is indeed for all intents and purposes. However, I have heard some people over the years say for all intensive purposes. I would like that phrase to die.

And if for all intents and purposes is not frequently used anymore, I guess I'm behind the times because i do use it a bit.

Also from the same post I understand the correct terminology is not suppository of information but is instead repository of information. I only know one person who says that and he also says self defecating humor. So maybe it's an anal kind of fixation. But I still wish he would stop.

Oh. Two verys. Very, very. That's can't be good.

Likable though. That's good.

Thanks. I guess. :|

Thought this was interesting-hope you do too...
 

Origin

When researching the development of a phrase it is usually the origin that is difficult to determine; the spelling and the meaning are generally pretty well established. With 'for (or to) all intents and purposes' it is the other way about. The origin is unambiguous, as the first recorded use was in an Act of Parliament under Henry VIII, in 1546:

"to all intents, constructions, and purposes"

Henry didn't shilly-shally when it came to the law of England. In 1539, he had Parliament pass the Statute of Proclamations, which gave him power to legislate by proclamation. In effect, from that date, the law was 'to all intents and purposes' whatever Henry VIII said it was. He made good use of this freedom; as well as executing a brace of wives, many others with whom Henry didn't see eye to eye were hanged, beheaded, burned or boiled, often for quite minor offences.

The meaning of 'to all intents and purposes' is less clear. 'Intents' and 'purposes' are words that we aren't likely to come across very often in the 21st century, outside of legal documents. The phrase, like many a legal phrase before and since, is rather obtuse and difficult to decipher. What is meant when a thing is said to be true 'for all intents and purposes' is 'it isn't actually true but it it so close to being so that we may proceed as though it is'. An example may help:

Isaac Newton's Laws of Motion aren't 100% precise in describing the motion of objects that approach the speed of light. However, for a man on a horse who measures time by a pocket watch, they are, for all intents and purposes, accurate.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/a...-purposes.html

I do not like the word suck or sucks. It needs to die.

Okay, I've heard of dilly dallying but not shilly-shally. Noting the similarities between the phrases, I assumed it had a similar if not the same definition.

I was right! Yay. I like that feeling when it's not something bad.

Thanks for exposing something new to me today, Anya.

shilly-shally

"vacillate," 1703, earlier shill I, shall I (1700), fanciful reduplication of shall I? (cf. wishy-washy, dilly-dally, etc.). Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

"Heighth" - It's not a word. Okay, maybe it is a dialect variant of a word but to me, it's not a word. Stop it!

"6 Foot" to describe someone who is X feet tall. "Oh yeah, he's 6 foot". No, he's 6 feet! Again, probably grammatically correct but annoying.

"Move Forward" For me, it depends on the context this is used. I don't like it when I hear it from sales people because it sounds fake to me. "Can we move forward with this project? Should I move forward with the design?" It's one of those polite-nice ways of saying, "I want to start on the project/sell you this widget so I can make money from you." Just say proceed or get started. It's more honest.

It's not a word. But the good news is if enough people use it and get all of their friends to use it over time it could become a word. Supposedly language evolves. Although evolve is generally thought to mean to change or develop slowly often into a better, more complex, or more advanced state.

I guess better is a relative term. Or perhaps often is the operative word in that sentence.

Seemingly Not Rational
 

But, for some reason…I just loathe the use of:

'puter.
birfday.


Just say no. As in, no more.

Very rational.

They are not actual words but someone's invention/creation.

I wish they would stop it.

:computer:

I hate what sounds like adult baby talk. Like birfday. Or sammiches, sammies and the particularly loathsome num nums. I wish it would stop.

"Man Up"