10 most hated phrases

woodcutter · Post by **woodcutter** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:29 pm

At the end of the day boss, I'm a hard worker innit, give us a job! I'd be over the moon like!

Macavity · Post by **Macavity** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:49 am

It's a big ask.

I hate this phrase. Football managers and players use it all the time -enough said.

MrPedantic · Post by **MrPedantic** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:13 pm

Macavity wrote:Football managers and players use it all the time -enough said.

But pundits and commentators are the happy home of conditional variety:

1. If he had done XYZ, that was in.
2. Were he to do XYZ right now, it's in.
3. Had he only have done XYZ...

etc.

MrP

mesmark · Post by **mesmark** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 3:51 pm

I personally feel that woodcutter shouldn't of posted this. With all due respect, at the end of the day, what does it really matter? We're here to teach what's said 24/7, not say what should be taught. At this moment in time, whether a phrase is fairly unique or it's a nightmare, it's up to us to get that across. It's not rocket science, right?

Answers his own question: Absolutely!

Macavity · Post by **Macavity** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 8:22 pm

Very true Mr P, however, when considering the probability of my team being promoted to the premiership this season, I have to say, given that they really have to win their last 3 games and hope that the team currently 1 place above them don't get more than 5 points from their remaining 3 games to even be in with a chance of making the playoffs, and then, of course, they also need to win the play offs, which is anyway a bit of a lottery, I would say IT'S A LOT TO ASK!

woodcutter · Post by **woodcutter** » Sun Apr 19, 2009 2:04 pm

I think Mesmark is on to something there - perhaps the point is that these phrases have strong images and are used very often, so that the problem is that when people throw tons of them together the effect is horrible, something like a sentence with a quadruple mixed-metaphor. And yet some people seem to strive for this effect, which helps them play the humble philosopher.

There was a bit of chat about "with all due respect" at the Language Log. The Log writer felt the phrase is essentially neutral, but I see it as a way to position yourself to judge someone harshly in spite of their status, so it always lacks resepct, in fact. That's why it sucks.

strictly_nicky · Post by **strictly_nicky** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 9:40 am

You have to admit that as a teacher, if you heard your typical lower-intermediate to intermediate students use phrases such as these consistently (with the exception of should of, which is really just a spelling mistake), you would probably be quite pleased.

These are nothing more than conversational gambits and / or crutches which native speakers rely on (perhaps too much) in a pinch.

But if a language student takes something that a native overuses and uses it, it's not annoying--if anything it helps create the illusion of "fluency".

You could probably make a great lesson for a conversation class with this list...hmm...

JuanTwoThree · Post by **JuanTwoThree** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:07 am

We are at pains to teach frequent collocations but at what point do they become tired clichés or even hated expressions? And if they do, how to unteach them?

mesmark · Post by **mesmark** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 1:59 pm

woodcutter wrote:I think Mesmark is on to something there ...

lol, well I did try to get them all in there ...

I guess my point was just that. Like, if the students, like, want to, like, immitate, like, some popular movie. Then let them (if they're 13 in this case.)

But I will say these phrases generally sound really forced, ya kno' wha' 'm sayin'. They totally stand out, ya kno' wha' 'm sayin'. The EFL speakers intonation and pace is generally way off, ya kno' wha' 'm sayin'.

So I teach my students what they mean and let them know it's Ok to use them, because people obviously do. However, I advise them to keep those as passive language, ya kno' wha' 'm sayin'.

BTW, I'd like to add "ya know wha' 'm sayin'." to the list.

I watched an interview a few years back and the guy added that to the end of every sentence/stop. I wanted to scream back at the TV "NO, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE SAYING!"

woodcutter · Post by **woodcutter** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:24 pm

That's another issue. Those are basically useless inserts added for conformist effect, which certainly annoy unless you belong to the target group. The things in your previous post carry meaning.

Shnukumz · Post by **Shnukumz** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:43 am

Silly thread really!

Linguistics is not here to judge, it's here to analyse and understand. You want judgement, remove the Linguistics title & change it to 'Phrases you hate' or something

woodcutter · Post by **woodcutter** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 1:34 am

That's kind of why I posted it. I sometimes think that the same "descriptivist" people who are scared of strictly ruling what is and isn't standard English (since that works to destroy diversity), which to my mind is unavoidable, seem pretty happy to talk about what they happen to hate!

mesomorph · Post by **mesomorph** » Fri May 15, 2009 7:54 pm

mesmark wrote:I personally feel that woodcutter shouldn't of posted this. With all due respect, at the end of the day, what does it really matter? We're here to teach what's said 24/7, not say what should be taught. At this moment in time, whether a phrase is fairly unique or it's a nightmare, it's up to us to get that across. It's not rocket science, right?

Answers his own question: Absolutely!

Totally.

100%

Thanks for flagging that one up.

woodcutter · Post by **woodcutter** » Sat May 16, 2009 1:27 pm

Yes. Those are three more things that Jane Eyre would certainly never have said, vicar.

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10 most hated phrases

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