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Oh, Lord, it seems there is a new irritating/overused one every few months. It used to be "paradigm shift", then it was "throw under the bus", now recently, if another person says "circular firing squad" I'm going to lose it.
Why do people say "it goes without saying. . . . .", and then proceed to say it?
And when did "and" become a substitute for "to", such as in "try AND fix it" instead of "try TO fix it?" This one has been driving me crazy for years. It was bad enough when people said it, but now I see it in print.
Try being a medical transcriptionist for one hour and listen to what we have to listen to every day--all of the above and then some!
And now "healthcare management" throughout America think that voice recognition technology will take the place of transcriptionists (who by the way are tremendously underpaid); they are in for a very rude awakening.
Sorry, I digressed. Thank you all for your comments; I certainly understand your frustration...
It is important in the understanding of word definitions to know the root words too. It is also important to understand the original meaning of phrases. I hear phrases being misused by mostly younger people who probably never heard them before. Not that their use is wrong since it is usually the young that give them meaning in the first place in the form of slang.
For example, "hot and bothered" is a phrase from the 1950s, and was more acceptable than saying horny. Horny was in use then but not in "polite company", which of course is another out of date phrase.
"Hurry up and wait" is Army slang that goes back at least to WW II if not to the Roman Legions. Soldiers are forever being given orders too early by superiors, then forced by lessor superiors to rush to line up, ready for whatever, and end up standing in line waiting because "whatever" isn't ready for them...running out of the barracks to line up for chow before the cook is ready to feed them is an example.
Can't defend "same difference" except they mean "it's the same thing", and are trying to be cute. One of those errors that people know is wrongbut do it anyway, such as saying "I couldn't care less". Lot of folks say "same ol, same ol", or SOS DD, too. I see nothing wrong with an author using those as long as it is in keeping with the way his charactor talks; does anyone disagree?
"I couldn't care less" is the correct usage; "I could care less" is the incorrect usage.
Buzzwords and catch-phrases...I hate 'em. The one I detest lately is from those new Bud Light ads: drinkability. When will it end? (No...don't put an answer in writing. I don't want to know!)
"If you get my drift..." Usually applied when one is dancing around the subject instead of just coming the heck out and saying what needs to be said.
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