you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette and other annoying sayings

How do you eat an elephant?

Obviously, cook it first.

Then pick a corner and start chewing.

lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:

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.

That guy would have been kicking his lunch pail down the sidewalk less than 30 seconds after the "dime invested" first left his lips.

As a supervisor the "it's not my job" is particularly annoying. With that said all of our job descriptions say "other duties as assigned"

"Don't be anxious/angry/sad/depressed. There are people that have it worse."

By your same E36 M3 rational, YOU shouldn't be happy, because there are people out there that are extremely happy and content.

You don't know my pain.

Keith Tanner said:

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

Nominal means "in name only" -- hopefully a phrase that never applies to any rocket with people on it! :)

"normal" may not be the right word for all of these situations, but from what I've read the use of "nominal" started out by people misusing it to mean that.

"I'm in my wheelhouse."

You are not a tugboat captain. You are an idiot.

"I wouldn't kick them out of bed for eating crackers" or whatever it is. 
kicked out for eating crackers in bed, something like that. 

too wordy, just dumb. 
 

any/all corporate B.S. phrases. Synergy, circle back, drill down, etc. 

Work smarter, not harder.  I've heard that since 1985.  

Me to my students: "That's not good enough" or "That's not what I asked for" or "That's not what the plans asked you to do."

Their response: "I like it that way."

My reply: "When you say 'I like it that way' what I hear is 'I'm too fat-butt lazy to do it correctly' in which case, I'm too fat-butt lazy to mark it. You do it the way I ask, get it marked, and then you can change it back to the way you like it."

They do it proper, and not one changes it back to the garbage they allegedly wanted.

Datsun310Guy said:

Work smarter, not harder.  I've heard that since 1985.  

I use a version of this becuase I spent 18 years in a very sales driven business where "work harder not smater" was the norm. One of the companies increased sales 60% but profit only went up 2% 

A sale for the sake of a sale is useless if you don't maintain your margins.

If you have people working 70hrs a week (even if they are on salary) you're doing something wrong.

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

Keith Tanner said:

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

Nominal means "in name only" -- hopefully a phrase that never applies to any rocket with people on it! :)

"normal" may not be the right word for all of these situations, but from what I've read the use of "nominal" started out by people misusing it to mean that.

 

In the engineering and manufacturing world nominal refers to the target value.  So, using a dimension as an example, if you consistently hit the called out dimension of 10mm without using the tolerance (+/- .01mm) that is a good thing from a quality control standpoint.

Therefore, by my training, using nominal to say normal or ideal is correct.  They're synonyms in that context.

I'll admit I hadn't considered the definition of "in name only" and now that you've mentioned it, I have a new perspective on it. 

I think they're both right.  As the great Bo Darville once said, "When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the country you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are."

Mine is a verbal tic that seems endemic to my region.   Hanging "at" on the end of questions that don't need it.

"Where did you park at?"

"where did you go to lunch at?"

Say the same sentence without the "at" and it's perfectly coherent.   Leave it off.

Appleseed said:

"I'm in my wheelhouse."

You are not a tugboat captain. You are an idiot.

I'm most certainly not an idiot.  And, given the opportunity, I'd gladly take a stab at heading up a tugboat.  But I learned the word while playing table tennis...So I'll keep using "wheelhouse" as a metaphor ;)

KyAllroad said:

Mine is a verbal tic that seems endemic to my region.   Hanging "at" on the end of questions that don't need it.

"Where did you park at?"

"where did you go to lunch at?"

Say the same sentence without the "at" and it's perfectly coherent.   Leave it off.

 

Don't come to Chicago then. 

My grandfather - "Well, that sure beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!"

You know, grandpa, that sets a very, very low bar...

codrus (Forum Supporter) said:

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

Nominal means "in name only" -- hopefully a phrase that never applies to any rocket with people on it! :)

"normal" may not be the right word for all of these situations, but from what I've read the use of "nominal" started out by people misusing it to mean that.

Like many words, nominal has multiple definitions, and the typical dictionary definitions don't sufficiently convey its actual meaning and importance in various STEM usages. Among others things, nominal can mean 'within acceptable or expected limits'. Normal also has multiple definitions, again drastically changing meaning in a STEM environment. I would go so far as to argue that nominal is the considerably more appropriate word than normal in this context, assuming they aren't actually trying to say that 'all systems are at a right angle'.

A normal trajectory is VERY different from a nominal trajectory, and not in a good way for space travel.

Mr_Asa said:

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.

I don't even understand that one.  My (seriously racist) cousin uses it constantly and I never quite figured it out.  Off to google 

I have a family member who will begin every 3rd or 4th sentence with "well let's put it this way". I keep it bottled up inside every time we're together, but I'm really not good at it. I just want to scream at the top of my lungs, "HOW ABOUT WE PUT IT ANOTHER F'N WAY"! But I digress and don't do it for the greater good........................

einy (Forum Supporter) said:

"We need to pivot"

I have a friend who likes working for tech startups. When someone says "We need to Pivot" he takes it as "time to look for a new job."

I can't think of any phrase or word that offends me or gets under my skin.

I literally could not care less. (for Keith) 

They are just sounds that convey meaning. If I understand the meaning then they did what they were supposed to.

It is what it is.

Chillax.

Can't.

Toyman sort of stole my thunder.  
 

"I could care less".   No stupid,  it's I could NOT care less.  Literally!  
 

A lot of these pet peeves we would say at work at the opportune time to show their stupidity.  We had a lot of dry, tongue in cheek humor that I miss.  

 In (some) corporate conference calls with the main office we had a white board that we would write the dumb (in our opinion) expressions some managers would come up with (what book did you read this week??). My favorite that had us all shaking our heads was, "pillow comfortable". 

 Since leaving the corporate-world, I have yet to hear it again. Thankfully.

"Need."

As in, "I NEED you to do ______"....no, you WANT me to do that. If you want me to do something for you, ask me. Don't try to assume that the things you want are somehow more important than anything else. I'll be more than happy to disappoint you, or to please you, it all depends on your attitude.

jh36 said:

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.

 I had always figured that phrase started with somebody in the French Revolution (given the French love of omelettes and just how much got broken at that time), but this is the first time I looked up its origin. Sure enough, I had the right timeframe and country, but the wrong faction. Turns out the first guy to use that as an excuse promptly got excecuted by a firing squad - and from now on, if I run across that line in the wild, I will be sure to point that out.