Words and Phrases that really annoy

[The Knize]

I think it was Chris Rock who talked about pharmaceutical companies always working on treatments, never cures. That there was no money in cures. They were horrified at the thought of coming up with cures.

I thought that was a pretty funny thing for CR to be riffing on. But now, probably decades later, I know of specific instances where a healthcare company has taken exactly that into consideration as a part of business decisions.

No matter how cynical you are, it is hard to keep up!

 

[The Knize]

I do not see much on line about whether this relatively new posited definition [of manifest] is actually an accepted definition these days.

I meant to say earlier that I did not have my copy of Garmer's Modern English Usage handy. But I since looked up "manifest" in it, and Garner does not seem to address this usage of manifest at all.

Interesting word. I do not think I had given any thought to what "manifest destiny" really meant.

 

[captp]

Kleenex, Xerox, Thermos, Popsicle, Taser, Zamboni, Jacuzzi, Photoshop, Velcro, Band-Aid.

Thermos lost its trademark status many years ago.

 

[fpancoe]

Thermos lost its trademark status many years ago.

Sold out

1. "Do you mind if I put you on a quick hold"?
2. "My name is (unintelligible), who do I have the pleasure of speaking with"?

 

[luvmysuper]

2. "My name is (unintelligible), who do I have the pleasure of speaking with"?

I hate when someone calls and when I say "hello" they say: "Is this xxx?"
Don't you know who you are calling?
My reply to the question "Is this xxx?" is always "What do you want?"
They then begin to tell me what they want, verifying that asking me "Is this xxx?" was completely unnecessary, and that it's a generic telemarketer not my bank or some other important person, and I get to hang up immediately.

 

[emwolf]

I hate when someone calls and when I say "hello" they say: "Is this xxx?"
Don't you know who you are calling?
My reply to the question "Is this xxx?" is always "What do you want?"
They then begin to tell me what they want, verifying that asking me "Is this xxx?" was completely unnecessary, and that it's a generic telemarketer not my bank or some other important person, and I get to hang up immediately.

My legal name is Edward, but I'm a Ted. Telemarketers routinely ask for Ed. Nobody here by that name.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

I hate when someone calls and when I say "hello" they say: "Is this xxx?"
Don't you know who you are calling?
My reply to the question "Is this xxx?" is always "What do you want?"
They then begin to tell me what they want, verifying that asking me "Is this xxx?" was completely unnecessary, and that it's a generic telemarketer not my bank or some other important person, and I get to hang up immediately.

I am so used to answering the telephone at work with the greeting "Hello, Richard speaking, how can I help?", that I often do the same thing at home out of habit. Often the first words from the caller will be "Who's that?" or "Who's speaking?". That is a rude enough question without first identifying oneself, but given that I have literally just told them my name it is intolerable; I immediately hang up

 

[Wombat ESQ]

Todays werd IS "Rare"

Look moosh, is about as rare as a pigs bottom in a ham factory!

 

[captp]

Any. Phrase. That. Is. Shatnerized.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

Today's is "Touch Base"

two people from the same company said that to me now, and whats bleedin worse now the supervisor is the one saying it, it gives me THE drips

 

[captp]

Today's is "Touch Base"

two people from the same company said that to me now, and whats bleedin worse now the supervisor is the one saying it, it gives me THE drips

I guess 'meet up" and "contact" are too long to say.
Touch my base and you're going to have some explaining to do to your proctologist.

 

[Mojo88]

Put a pin in it. I thought it meant something was on target. I was wrong, it means save it for later. We had a sales manager that used it when he didn’t want to answer a question.

 

[D19M]

Living their best life
Obviously
Like
Are you having a good day
Dropping the ing - dancin, walkin, drinkin etc.

 

[DrStrange]

"In order to better serve you ... "

... because it's usually followed by some version of :

We have eliminated your preferred way of doing things
and replaced it with several unacceptable alternatives.

 

[captp]

"In order to better serve you ... "

We have published this book.

 

[The Knize]

I guess 'meet up" and "contact" are too long to say.
Touch my base and you're going to have some explaining to do to your proctologist.

This thread indicates we have a tough crowd here at B&B! "Touch base" seems like a nuanced phrase to me and I cannot think of another way of conveying its meaning without using a longer phrase. To me it moist often means that the speaker is going to follow-up on the particular matter being addressed with the listener after sometime to check on either progress or, say, the ability to undertake some action after the listener has some time to ponder the matter or research the possibilities or whatever. "Meet up" or "contact" do not inherently convey those meetings. "Reconnect" might be closer in meaning. If I am someone's supervisor saying that, I am essentially giving that person an assignment that I expect to be completed by the time I "touch base"/contact them to follow-up. I suppose it could also mean that I intend to briefly and or casually contact a person or persons in passing. Such as "I intend to touch base with some relatives. or, say, the regional office, when I am in St. Louis next week." Again, "contact" or "meet up" does not necessarily have a nuance of brevity or informality of the contact.

One could complain that touch base is a phrase that originated in baseball, but its use does in general speech has little to do with the way the term is used in baseball. See What It Means to ‘Touch Base’ - https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/touch-base-idiom-meaning-usage . That seems like a fair criticism to me.

I guess I am not even sure what "touch base" is supposed to refer to in baseball. Certainly, a runner needs to "touch" every base for that base to count, say, count toward a run. And, I suppose a fielder attempting to get a runner out at a base needs to actually touch the base (or the runner) before the runner touches the base. But that does not seem to have anything to do with following up with someone or contacting them briefly. I suppose one could stretch it into a reference to a runner tagging up on a base waiting for a fly ball to be caught, but that does not seem to have much to do with anything either and I do not know that "touch base" was/is ever used that way in baseball!

 

[Herrenberg]

This thread indicates we have a tough crowd here at B&B! "Touch base" seems like a nuanced phrase to me and I cannot think of another way of conveying its meaning without using a longer phrase. To me it moist often means that the speaker is going to follow-up on the particular matter being addressed with the listener after sometime to check on either progress or, say, the ability to undertake some action after the listener has some time to ponder the matter or research the possibilities or whatever. "Meet up" or "contact" do not inherently convey those meetings. "Reconnect" might be closer in meaning. If I am someone's supervisor saying that, I am essentially giving that person an assignment that I expect to be completed by the time I "touch base"/contact them to follow-up. I suppose it could also mean that I intend to briefly and or casually contact a person or persons in passing. Such as "I intend to touch base with some relatives. or, say, the regional office, when I am in St. Louis next week." Again, "contact" or "meet up" does not necessarily have a nuance of brevity or informality of the contact.

One could complain that touch base is a phrase that originated in baseball, but its use does in general speech has little to do with the way the term is used in baseball. See What It Means to ‘Touch Base’ - https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/touch-base-idiom-meaning-usage . That seems like a fair criticism to me.

I guess I am not even sure what "touch base" is supposed to refer to in baseball. Certainly, a runner needs to "touch" every base for that base to count, say, count toward a run. And, I suppose a fielder attempting to get a runner out at a base needs to actually touch the base (or the runner) before the runner touches the base. But that does not seem to have anything to do with following up with someone or contacting them briefly. I suppose one could stretch it into a reference to a runner tagging up on a base waiting for a fly base to be caught, but that does not seem to have much to do with anything either and I do not know that "touch base" was/is ever used that way in baseball!

I don't understand how the people who wrote that link missed the more obviously suitable reference, which is that when a fly ball is caught, you have to return to the base briefly before you can proceed.

I didn't mind "touch base" until I heard someone say "touch bases," as in "let's touch bases about that later." Now the phrase is forever tainted in my mind.

 

[The Knize]

how the people who wrote that link missed the more obviously suitable reference, which is that when a fly ball is caught, you have to return to the base briefly before you can proceed.

Yes, that is what I much less articulately than you meant when I said "I suppose one could stretch it into a reference to a runner tagging up on a base waiting for a fly ball to be caught." [I had to fix a typo in that quote!] I just was not sure that folks in baseball actually refer to "tagging up" as "touching base." Do they?

There is material on-line from others complaining about a plural touch "bases" form. I guess I had never even noticed that. I am not sure it bothers me. Whatever the form it seems remote from any actual baseball analogy, but has a clear enough meaning, so what the heck as far as I am concerned!

 

[luvmysuper]

When I've heard it used, it is usually in the context of a very brief get together or conversation, rather than a meeting or drawn out get together.
In that way, touch base makes sense as opposed to standing on base, in that to "touch base" is a brief encounter to fulfill a necessary obligation before proceeding.

 

[The Knize]

When I've heard it used, it is usually in the context of a very brief get together or conversation, rather than a meeting or drawn out get together.
In that way, touch base makes sense as opposed to standing on base, in that to "touch base" is a brief encounter to fulfill a necessary obligation before proceeding.

I like that analysis! Like I said earlier, I think the phrase carries some useful nuance.