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jh36
jh36 Dork
11/23/21 5:48 p.m.

There are a couple of phrases that drive me up a wall.

"You have to break a few eggs to make an omelet" is one.  I honestly fired a guy for this one once...after he destroyed products over the first week of his employment.  I went up to him to try and coach him through his blunders and he looked me in the eye and gave me that quote.  Fired him on the spot.  Guys at work know that rings my bell so they throw it out occasionally.

Another one that gets me is "Can't see it from my house!".  I first heard this as part of a construction crew when I was in school.  Our foreman laid that on me when I asked how the job I had just done looked.  Probably the most poignant way to show off complete apathy. 

Unfortunately, my kids know that one gets to me so they throw it out every now and then..like when doing a string alignment.  "How's it looking over on your side Ed?"..."Fine...Can't see it from my house!"  Sometimes it's funny.

What do you have to add to this list?

 

 

bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter)
bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand UltraDork
11/23/21 5:52 p.m.

"Close enough"

"That will get you by"

Along the same lines as your examples they pick me as it is not close enough for me and I asked you to do a good job, not limp it along.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/23/21 5:52 p.m.

"Does that make sense?"

"You got this!"

"Going forward."

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
11/23/21 5:59 p.m.

"Needless to say." If it's needless to say, don't say it. 

einy (Forum Supporter)
einy (Forum Supporter) Dork
11/23/21 6:03 p.m.

"We need to pivot"

Ending a sentence with " ...., right?"  Even the local newspeople do that on a regular basis these days.

Marketing people at work saying "We needs to loop."  What ?!?

Mr_Asa
Mr_Asa GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
11/23/21 6:06 p.m.

Sayings don't really get me, its the intention behind them that does.

Over half a decade back I did have to tell a cousin that no one needed to hear the phrase "thats mighty white of you" ever again.  I'm sure he still says it, but he doesn't talk to me anymore and I'm ok with that.

JoeTR6
JoeTR6 Dork
11/23/21 6:10 p.m.

"That's the way we've always done it".  Well maybe you've always done it wrong.  Admiral Grace Hopper hated this one as well.

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/23/21 6:17 p.m.

"thinking outside the box". Using a cliche like that is the exact opposite.

Marjorie Suddard
Marjorie Suddard General Manager
11/23/21 6:19 p.m.

"May I be honest?" Uhh, son, that's assumed. What you'll need to ask permission for is to lie. So which is it now?

"You know." Basic filler. Nope.

"I don't have to tell you." Thank God. I thought we were going  to waste time here... what? You still told me? Fail.

"So you're the better half." Sure. Though I prefer Your Personal Nightmare.

Margie

Tom1200
Tom1200 UltraDork
11/23/21 6:20 p.m.

"You got this" is near the top. Before my recent promotion people in the office were doing the "you got this".......mmm no I don't got this, that's why I studied for the test and practiced for the interview.

Functionality.................. a BS marketing word made up by some software marketing minions. If the software stops functioning is it a Mal-Functionality?  PS - GRM CMS I've seen you using this word in articles..........please stop.

I have some race broadcast and car ad sayings I really hate:

Bob, is looking might racy...........................did he put on bright read lipstick and a low cut dress at the last pit stop?

They're so close you could throw a blanket over them..................why and wouldn't they crash?

"I know what it's worth"....................yet you insist on asking three times what it's worth.

"Rare and Collectable"...................rarely is that car collectable.

rob_lewis
rob_lewis UltraDork
11/23/21 6:21 p.m.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

"Does that make sense?"

Dang.  I use that one a lot.  Like so much, it takes seeing it typed out to make me realize how much. 

Personal pet peeve, "Same difference".

-Rob

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter)
Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
11/23/21 6:21 p.m.
JoeTR6 said:

"That's the way we've always done it".  Well maybe you've always done it wrong.  Admiral Grace Hopper hated this one as well.

That's the one that sets me off. 

Tom1200
Tom1200 UltraDork
11/23/21 6:22 p.m.
Marjorie Suddard said:

"So you're the better half." Sure. Though I prefer Your Personal Nightmare.

Margie

Mmmm we all know you keep things on the rails................so you can't fault them for that.

Marjorie Suddard
Marjorie Suddard General Manager
11/23/21 6:24 p.m.

But tell me that like you just bought me a lolly? Nah. It's a team. We both do our thing and it works.

Margie 

bgkast
bgkast GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
11/23/21 6:31 p.m.

Guestimate. Is it a guess or do you have any idea what you are talking about?

jh36
jh36 Dork
11/23/21 6:52 p.m.

In reply to einy (Forum Supporter) :

YES ON THESE....YES.  RIGHT?

AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter)
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
11/23/21 6:54 p.m.

"Not my job"

and "it is what it is"

Both are lazy excuses to justify doing nothing.
 

And "they said," which I always follow up with, "what are their names?" 

ClemSparks
ClemSparks UltimaDork
11/23/21 7:00 p.m.

Anything said because they heard it somewhere and think it's cool or funny.  If you don't know what it actually means, don't say it.  

I love a good saying or tongue-in-cheek comment.  I don't love hearing it from someone who lacks the wit to come up with it his or her self.  

The one that springs to mind to me as a personal pet peeve is the thing 1/2 of the people at a family gathering say to the new guy/gal during introductions:  "There's going to be a quiz later!"  Sure there will.  In the meantime... I need to lie down and let my blood pressure settle.

The one specific to automotive forums is advice on setting up the throttle valve cable on a GM 700R4 transmission.  I swear when I was a kid it was "Be sure to set that right.  You can damage your transmission in pretty short order...less than 30 miles."  Over the years it has escalated to "OMG...don't consider a 700R4 transmission because if you don't set the cable right you can destroy your transmission in 38' of driving!  Before it even has a chance to shift.  And your house will be on fire too!  And herpes!"

There's a lot of "get off my lawn" in this thread, lol.

Olemiss540
Olemiss540 HalfDork
11/23/21 7:00 p.m.

Any sentence with the word synergy in it.

Anytime my wife uses the word "we" when describing something clearly "I" will be in charge of doing. Such as, "We really need to demo the concrete out there around the pool".

Why not just say "I would appreciate it if you demo that berkeleying concrete out soon".

ClemSparks
ClemSparks UltimaDork
11/23/21 7:02 p.m.
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:

and "it is what it is"

I find myself using this one (...sparingly. Because I know it's the pet peeve of a lot of folks).  But when I use it, I know exactly what I'm saying.  "It's something beyond our control and we have to acknowledge that."

New York Nick
New York Nick GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
11/23/21 7:06 p.m.

"That dog don't hunt"

Meaning that isn't going to work. I don't hate the phrase as much as I loath the person that I first heard it from. Always makes me think of that shiny happy person. 

codrus (Forum Supporter)
codrus (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
11/23/21 7:13 p.m.

Using "literally" to mean "not literally".

Using "nominal" to mean "normal".  Looking at you, NASA.

 

wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L)
wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
11/23/21 7:16 p.m.

"My welds are ugly, but they're strong"

"That ain't going nowhere" (note, it's not the grammar that irks me here.)

 

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/23/21 7:17 p.m.

The misuse of literally is really annoying. 

I'll defend NASA, though. Nominal may be what you want to be normal, but it's not :) Ideal might be better. 

lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter)
lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) HalfDork
11/23/21 7:26 p.m.

I had a parts manager at our old motorcycle dealership that I ended up firing after a BIG screw-up. While trying to talk to him about the scope($$$) of his mistakes, he looked at me and said, "No big deal for me, I don't have a dime invested". I ex-pained that he gets a paycheck every week, a bonus every year before the holidays, parts at cost, etc.... I tried to tell him that having a good job does mean that he has a "dime invested". He didn't get it, so after trying to explain it, he had to go.

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