I Personally...

ex-expat
By ex-expat

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/debates/3394545/Oxford-compil...

Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases
A top ten of the most irritating expressions has been compiled by researchers at Oxford University.

By Charlotte Bailey
Last Updated: 2:05AM GMT 07 Nov 2008

Heading the list was the expression 'at the end of the day', which was followed in second place by the phrase 'fairly unique'.

The tautological statement "I personally" made third place - an expression that Radio 4 presenter John Humphreys has described as "the linguistic equivalent of having chips with rice."

Also making the top ten is the grammatically incorrect "shouldn't of", instead of "shouldn't have".

The phrases appear in a book called Damp Squid, named after the mistake of confusing a squid with a squib, a type of firework.

The researchers who compiled the list monitor the use of phrases in a database called the Oxford University Corpus, which comprises books, papers, magazines, broadcast, the internet and other sources.

The database alerts them to new words and phrases and can tell them which expressions are disappearing. It also shows how words are being misused.

As well as the above expressions, the book's author Jeremy Butterfield says that many annoyingly over-used expressions actually began as office lingo, such as 24/7 and "synergy".

Other phrases to irritate people are "literally" and "ironically", when they are used out of context.

Mr Butterfield said: "We grow tired of anything that is repeated too often - an anecdote, a joke, a mannerism - and the same seems to happen with some language."

The top ten most irritating phrases:

1 - At the end of the day

2 - Fairly unique

3 - I personally

4 - At this moment in time

5 - With all due respect

6 - Absolutely

7 - It's a nightmare

8 - Shouldn't of

9 - 24/7

10 - It's not rocket science

By heero_yuy2• 7 Nov 2008 18:29
heero_yuy2

They just answer yes even if they really don't know what to do.

"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

By ex-expat• 7 Nov 2008 18:26
ex-expat

I agree with you 110%.

By qatarisun• 7 Nov 2008 18:25
qatarisun

good that it's only 110%, and not 200% or even 1000%...

this is another nonsense that is driving me crazy.,. and you know, i am pretty sure that ppl who say that truely believe that 110% and 200% are really existing..

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By britexpat• 7 Nov 2008 18:22
britexpat

I just realised that "they gave 110%" is irritating

By qatarisun• 7 Nov 2008 18:20
qatarisun

oh.. look who is here.. Mr. P!!!

"got my point?"

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By t_coffee_or_me• 7 Nov 2008 18:14
t_coffee_or_me

QS your are right

"You know what I mean" should have been # 1

So sad its not even in the top 10

\

 

 

 

[img_assist|nid=50852|title=hmm|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=|height=0]

By SPEED• 7 Nov 2008 18:11
SPEED

Dra .... Where are you from ?

brutus ... hmmmm ... what to do yani .... should i say heeheheh or hmmm ?

Mr. Paul ..... 24/7 you are on QL ?

heero ... Good Evening and 'Good Morning in advance' to you ;-)

notfromhere: what about - what ??

Potrait : Ya you are right and you should know these statements are irritaaaaaaaaaating :-)

QS ..... after reading all now you got my point ?

:-)

[img_assist|nid=53652|title=|desc=|link=none|align=center|width=|height=0]

By britexpat• 7 Nov 2008 17:59
britexpat

I hate "thinking out of the box".., but my pet hate is "when all is said and done"..because it always is followed by something else..

By ex-expat• 7 Nov 2008 17:56
ex-expat

On balance, and at this moment in time, I personally believe that you are largely correct in your statements.

I am in the process of purchasing a fairly unique piece of software which will enable me to protect myself from this type of double non-speak on a 24/7 basis.

By anonymous• 7 Nov 2008 17:13
anonymous

I personally think, With all due respect, that At this moment in time, It's a nightmare that people would use these Fairly unique sayings.

and i Absolutely believe anyone who uses these sayings 24/7 should be shot.

after all, It's not rocket science

[img_assist|nid=103941|title=.|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=|height=0]

NIL ILLEGITIMI CARBORUNDUM

By ex-expat• 7 Nov 2008 16:30
ex-expat

A while back I worked in a SE Asian country and I had to use taxis to get around for the first couple of weeks.

The first thing I was asked by each and every taxi driver almost as soon as I got in the cab was: 'Where are you from sir?' or 'Where is sir from'?

One time I took a taxi from the airport and the driver was so interested in talking to me that he almost rammed into the back end of the car of in front us, not once but three times!

I understand that these guys are curious and mean no harm, but when you get the same question at least twice a day it does become more than a little irritating!

By Dracula• 7 Nov 2008 14:40
Dracula

By brutus_ceasar• 7 Nov 2008 14:35
brutus_ceasar

QS, Drac.. you two are right.. like if they found out that your from Timbuktu.. they cannot talked to you or something.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heard your wife left you,

How upset you must be.

But don't fret about it...

She moved in with me.

By heero_yuy2• 7 Nov 2008 14:34
heero_yuy2

"Everything in this book may be wrong." Illusions: The Adventures of The Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach

By qatarisun• 7 Nov 2008 14:30
qatarisun

YES! Drac! you got it!

where are you from?

before saying Hello, before asking your name, before any warm-up talk.. straight to the point: where r u from?

hate it!

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By Dracula• 7 Nov 2008 14:28
Dracula

"WHERE ARE YOU FROM?"

hate that one!!!

By qatarisun• 7 Nov 2008 14:25
qatarisun

noooo.. the firts place goes to:

-you know what i mean?

and

-got my point?

it is so irritating.. sounds like only idiots around, and noone is able to understannd what you mean or to get your point

*********************

“You become responsible forever for what you have tamed”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

By brutus_ceasar• 7 Nov 2008 14:21
brutus_ceasar

HHhmmm..... most irritating phrase I have learned here in Qatar is.

What to do yani.. hehehehe..(hhmmm... but I love this phrase)

Cheers

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heard your wife left you,

How upset you must be.

But don't fret about it...

She moved in with me.

By Potrait• 7 Nov 2008 14:09
Potrait

Some more irritating sentences I ve heard,

Ya but

You should know this

an awful "aaaaaa' sound between words

Its like this /that

In my opinion

By anonymous• 7 Nov 2008 11:29
Rating: 3/5
anonymous

What about-

Think outside the box

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