Thursday, November 04, 2004
Let's... move on...!?!
Yep - as Sammy Davis Jr. used to say so well, when things were somehow less than conclusive (or... rational?).
Let's instead investigate (for no apparent reason now...) the wondrous world of... the most irritating phrases of all.
"When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message -- assuming there is one," they say...
People who busily "touch base" or talk about "ballpark figures" and "bottom lines" are not "singing from the same hymn sheet," they are quietly driving others to distraction. Sounds like anybody YOU know...?
“Using these terms in daily business is about as professional as wearing a novelty tie or having a wacky ringtone on your phone,” AND YET...
A particular bugbear is the constant use of “like” as a form of punctuation.
Something as widely -recognized as a pain-you-know-where had to be affixed an irksome label... and here it is: Gobbledegook!
Experts said that they had expected geographical variations, but the same phrases appeared to be universally annoying around the world.
Gobbledegook jargon and clichés really are no respecter of international boundaries; that may mean that the internet is doing its job and that we are truly becoming a global village... of messed-up and mediocre English.
Other named-and-shamed clichés include:
-- "blue-sky thinking" (but not a very sunny day anyway...)
-- "it’s not rocket science" (it couldn't be...)
-- "crack troops" (yes... they ARE that well-organized...)
-- "between a rock and a hard place" (made for a very annoying song too once...)
-- "I hear what you’re saying" (...) (DUH!)
-- "touch base" (of course Mr. Burns - baseball is an allegory for Life... WE ALL KNOW THAT!)
-- "bear with me" (... while I'm dogging ya?)
-- "to be honest with you" (...)
Hopefully, this next one will never make it to the list...
Because it is my sign-off signature word...
Blessings! ;)
Let's instead investigate (for no apparent reason now...) the wondrous world of... the most irritating phrases of all.
"When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message -- assuming there is one," they say...
People who busily "touch base" or talk about "ballpark figures" and "bottom lines" are not "singing from the same hymn sheet," they are quietly driving others to distraction. Sounds like anybody YOU know...?
“Using these terms in daily business is about as professional as wearing a novelty tie or having a wacky ringtone on your phone,” AND YET...
A particular bugbear is the constant use of “like” as a form of punctuation.
Something as widely -recognized as a pain-you-know-where had to be affixed an irksome label... and here it is: Gobbledegook!
Experts said that they had expected geographical variations, but the same phrases appeared to be universally annoying around the world.
Gobbledegook jargon and clichés really are no respecter of international boundaries; that may mean that the internet is doing its job and that we are truly becoming a global village... of messed-up and mediocre English.
Other named-and-shamed clichés include:
-- "blue-sky thinking" (but not a very sunny day anyway...)
-- "it’s not rocket science" (it couldn't be...)
-- "crack troops" (yes... they ARE that well-organized...)
-- "between a rock and a hard place" (made for a very annoying song too once...)
-- "I hear what you’re saying" (...) (DUH!)
-- "touch base" (of course Mr. Burns - baseball is an allegory for Life... WE ALL KNOW THAT!)
-- "bear with me" (... while I'm dogging ya?)
-- "to be honest with you" (...)
Hopefully, this next one will never make it to the list...
Because it is my sign-off signature word...
Blessings! ;)
