Overused words and phrases that need a long rest.

[BurtWorm]

For example: "Double down."

It's getting to be that you can't even make it through a day without hearing that phrase, and more and more often (such is the nature of language), it's being used by people who don't seem to know what the hell it really means. For example, Joe Klein apparently used it today on Hardball (I think) like this: "Republicans have doubled down on the kool-aid." Nice sentiment, sort of (though drinking the Kool-Aid is another phrase that needs semi-retirement). But isn't doubling down something you do in cards? Don't you double down when you're condident in a bet? Literally, doesn't it mean put double your money down? So what is Klein actually saying, that Republicans are putting double the Kool-Aid down, or double their money down on the bet that the Kool-Aid will... will do what? Kill Democrats? Kill themselves?

I think he should have just given both of those phrases a rest and put whatever he was trying to say more intelligibly.

[Zomby Woof]

1. Epic/full of/win/fail

Especially coming from people over 30.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Full of epic win!

[RainDog]

2. whatever dimensional chess

cough

[sarge43]

3. Relationship needs to be shelved

and special relationship should never be heard or written again.

[ColesCountyDem]

4. 'prioritize'

I absolutely DETEST the fad or turning perfectly good nouns into verbs, because THAT is the proper function of a gerund.

;( :evilfrown: :mad: :puke:

[mitchum]

5. At the end of the day

[rug]

6. Historic.

[pitohui]

8. "double down" is a blackjack term and it don't mean what you seem to think it means

it doesn't mean you're "confident" in a bet, a "double down" changes the very nature of the bet

i can't be dealt ace/king (blackjack) and then "double down" -- double my bet -- no matter how confident i may be that i was just dealt the stone cold nuts -- jesus god, the money i'd make if i could -- i can only "double down" in certain specific situations, and it involves giving up something to get something else -- for instance, i am dealt a 4 and a 7, for an 11, if i "double down," i am doubling my bet IN EXCHANGE for only being able to take one more card

if i didn't double down i could take as many cards as i needed for example, if my next card was an Ace instead of being stuck with a shitty 12 which is ONLY wins if the dealer busts, i can take another card and who knows maybe it will be the 9 to give me a winning 21...

a "double down" is not just a fancy way of saying "i like my cards" -- you do take a risk in exchange for doubling your bet

not hearing what klein said on hardball i'm not going to guess if he used the phrase properly or not

far from being over-used i hardly ever hear the term since my glory days as a blackjack player, sigh....

[Kat45]

13. I recently met a bird (a cockatiel) whose name is Double Down

His former owner was a gambler. (I knew it was a gambling term, though I didn't know exactly what it meant. Other friends of mine had no idea what it meant, had never heard the term.)

[gmoney]

70. Isn't double down what you get from a very fluffy duck?

When I was a kid, I had the book of elephant jokes, and one of them was "How do you get down off an elephant?" and the answer was "You don't, you get down off a duck."

Of course, at age 7 or whatever, I didn't know that "down" meant duck feathers... so I thought it had to do with somehow getting the duck to land on top of the elephant and have it sort of shuttle you to the ground. Wasn't very funny then, either.

[BurtWorm]

18. It's a safe bet it has nothing to do with Kool-aid, though, right?

Would you double down on that?

[quickesst]

9. "phrases"

"Oh for fuck's sake" Pretentious, overused, epitome of "look how cool and above it all I am." You asked. Thanks.
quickesst

[Skittles]

10. "I just threw up in my mouth a little"

it's, well, :puke:

[madinmaryland]

15. That's what happens when you get your ass kicked!

:D

[madinmaryland]

16. dele

[BurtWorm]

17. That phrase gives me acid reflux a little.

If you know what I mean.

(Hey, this is my first DU post via phone! I literally phoned this post in!)

[Skittles]

53. scheduling BurtWorm for ass-kicking

I will phone it in; yes INDEED

[BurtWorm]

55. Ouch!

Thank you, Ma'am, may I have another?

[Skittles]

57. one of these days you WON'T be begging for it, BurtWorm

I HAVE YOUR NUMBER; YES INDEED

[BurtWorm]

58. Indeed is beginning to be one of those words I think is overused.

:P

[Skittles]

64. I WILL KICK YOUR ASS

YES INDEED

[BurtWorm]

65. Ha ha!

I can't help but wish you would!

:loveya:

PS: Indeed!

[lukasahero]

39. I have always found that phrase particularly disgusting

I really hope it dies a quick death.

[cloudbase]

11. Hey! Maybe we can have one of those posts

where Hitler hisself rants about overused words and phrases. Wouldn't that be neat?

[Haole Girl]

12. "My bad" and,

"It is what it is."

[Zomby Woof]

14. I loathe "it is what it is"

With the passionate intensity of 1,000 blue suns.

You can double down on that.

[iris27]

19. UGH...cannot STAND "it is what it is"!

Also, "that's what she said"...if ever a joke needed to die...

[Robeson]

23. I never did get that one....

...someone fucks ups and says "My Bad". Well no shit. Isn't that self-evident?

[Odin2005]

20. "Needs to be a People Person"

When it has nothing to do with the job position. It's the #1 thing getting between me and a job. :grr:

Oh, and "paradigm shift" and "synergy"

[iris27]

24. You and me both!

Even when the job could easily be done in total isolation, they want "a team player with excellent verbal communication skills". :wtf:

[Odin2005]

26. Yep. Drives me INSANE!!!

:grr:

[Dulcinea]

46. My reaction to that:

"Piss off and leave me alone." :evilgrin:

[EvolveOrConvolve]

75. I was interviewing a guy recently who seemed full of bullshit phrases like that

So I asked him to define "dynamic synergy". LOL - he was a turd, and definitely didn't get the job.

[sakabatou]

21. "Irregardless"

[meeshrox]

76. +1

[rkennedy_68]

22. "epic fail"

[Robeson]

25. +1, or +100, or +100,000, or, or , or....

...can't we collectively put those to rest.

[BurtWorm]

27. add one

to that.

[Robeson]

29. Eloquently done.

[JanMichael]

28. "Brass tacks"...

I say it now only to piss off one person that I work with. That person hates it but that person is OK so I only do it for fun.

[gimama]

30. "the truth of the matter is.."

usually prior to lying!

[driver8]

31. "Having said that..."

That phrase drives me up the fucking wall!

[begin_within]

33. You would hate Rick Roberts

a Limbaugh clone (though not as high-strung) who has a daily radio show in San Diego. He uses "having said that" about every 5 minutes. Not that I listen to him myself, just couldn't avoid it a few times.

[elias49]

35. Oh, me too

it's a sophisticated "but"
Can't stand it!:grr:

[begin_within]

32. "hating on" and "speaks to"

As in, "why y'all hating on (insert vapid pop star)?"

And, as in, "Her tragic story speaks to the issues of race and class in America."

So sick of that.

[abq e streeter]

34. Groovy...far out...ooh, the colors , the colors

The really cool kids still say these don't they?

[UrbScotty]

36. "We have a lot of work to do," "We have our work cut out for us," "We need all the help we can get"

[Altoid_Cyclist]

37. I'm sorry if my statement offended anyone etc........

If you're going to apologize, then try to actually apologize.

[grace0418]

41. Even worse: "I'm sorry you were offended." I call that a Republican apology and

it's worse than not apologizing at all because now the offender is implying the victim is an idiot for being offended in the first place.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

47. Maybe we can make up a new word for a repuke apology.

Something like; repukology.

Of course there is already a word for a republican apology... Insincere!

[Lavender Brown]

38. "Ratcheting up"

The media is ratcheting up usage of this and it gets on my nerves for some reason.

[orion007]

40. "Good Job" n/t

[BarbaRosa]

42. Actually.

I actually think the actual word actually is actually used way too much. Actually.

[BurtWorm]

44. I actually agree with you, even though, actually, I use 'actually' a lot.

I'm actually ashamed of myself.

:cry:

[darkstar3]

69. That's because it's a self-actualizing word.

:evilgrin:

[Mad_Dem_X]

43. Extreme (or Xtreme) anything

[BurtWorm]

45. As a title of a blog post: 'We are all (fill in the blank)s now'

I first noticed this cliche on a Usenet subject line from a fascist Clinton-hater: "We are all Clintonistas now." It repulsed me then, even though I didn't get the reference.

I've actually never bothered to look up the reference--is it Orwell? All right I'll go look it up sometime. But now I've seen it used in all sorts of similar formulations: We are all Bushists now; we are all health care reformers now; we are all tea baggers now; we are all computer geeks now; we are all jihadists now. What the hell does it mean? Why does it have this stink of pseudo-profundity about it?

[Iggo]

48. "spot on" and "ilk"

hate 'em.

[velvet]

49. "ahead of"

As in "The PM arrived in Kuala Lumpur today ahead of talks with the Malaysian Foreign Minister" and "Next on Nine, Disparate Housemaids ahead of News at Ten". Sets my teeth on edge and messes with my sense of tense. What's wrong with "for", "before" and "followed by"?

[Captain Hilts]

50. "Virtual." nt

[gmoney]

71. "Literally" when they mean "figuratively" or perhaps "virtually"

[Captain Hilts]

72. Literally, figuratively and virtual all need to be shelved for ten years. nt

[eyepaddle]

51. Optics. As in "the optics of the presidnet's actions"

Generally I don't really get too worried/bothered by the catch phrase of the moment, but when something really catches the natioanl media's fancy it is usually indicative of some hackneyed bullshit they are about to trowel out.

[BurtWorm]

54. Isn't that a perversion of 'the metrics?'

I haven't heard that yet. Now I bet I begin to hear it all the time. :eyes:

[eyepaddle]

59. I think it is pretty much pointless media jargon for "it looks bad"

I'd imagine you'll hear before the weekend is out--especially if you watch the Sunday news shows.

[BurtWorm]

60. Yeeech!

That's the kind of nonce word I really, really hate.

[bif]

52. "At the end of the day" "anytime soon" "game changer"

Just to mention a few.

[NV Whino]

56. Gift (used as a verb)

[SKKY]

61. Anything refered to as a "solution"...

Roto-Rooter. Providing your plumbing solutions since yada, yada, yada.

7-11. Providing late-night hunger solutions since yada, yada, yada.

[dana_b]

62. "with all due respect"

what people really mean is "I'm right.. you're full of shit".

[Iggo]

63. I was guilty of this one today: "reference" as an imperative verb.

I kept typing "Reference Order #S130421XDR" instead of "Refer to Order #S130421XDR".

I don't like it. Not one bit.

[meeshrox]

66. Deja vu all over again

Not only is is redundant, but it's annoying!

[azmouse]

67. The overuse of the word "basically".

It is being used just a bit less but it still gets on my nerves.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

68. "tasked with", "helmed" (said of directors)

Nouns turning into verbs. "To parent".

People who don't know when you use "a" or "an". Even Obama makes this mistake.

"prioritize" "think outside the box"

Calling actresses actors -- I hate that.

And I say that as a female. When my mother died, I was the executrix of the estate, not the executor.

[Recovered Repug]

73. Not tonight, honey. I have a headache.

[bluesbassman]

74. Thread's done. We have a winner.

:rofl:

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

77. don't retreat, reload.

and anything else sarah says.

[REP]

78. "I'm sorry but..." to begin a discussion where one is not sorry about one's oh so daring opinion