I really like the Rachel Maddow show, I really do. But I think if I hear her "Talk Me Down" segment once more I'll throw the remote through the tv. She has single handedly turned that phrase into my least favorite hackneyed expression of the 21st century and I've had quite a few. Those of us who are literate in the English language are blessed to have a plethora of wonderful language for expression. Yet, inevitably, we cultivate fad expressions that "spread like wildfire": first they're cool and show how "in" one is but oh so quickly become quite banal. Here are a few of my all time favorites:
1. "Don't Go There" - this one seems to have originated as social worker speech to mean "don't discuss that" and not "don't go there down that one way street". Why is that better than saying "maybe we shouldn't discuss that".
2. "Sweeeeeet" - must be said with a deadpan intonation to indicate that something is very good, since we're oh too cool to say it's nice or good or useful and if we used another word, others might not recognize us as "masters of the universe"
3. "Rock out" - out of where? Out of the house? Out of on the street? Where did the rock go when it went out?
4. "Cheap as Dirt" - well the last time I had to buy some dirt for my yard it cost me "an arm and a leg".
5. "For what it's worth" - so what is it worth and why are we talking about worth? Is this a discussion about value?
6. "Family Values" - speaking of value, whose values, and whose family and where did they put their values?
7. "Put a fork in me, I'm Done." Okay, do you really want me to stick you with a fork?
8. "Cop a feel" - I really don't want to "go there" with that one.
9. "Tit for tat". You just know what I want to say about that . . .
10. "Play hard" Oh just stop it now and "play nice".
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I'm totally guilty of using "sweeet" to describe things that I think are cool. The one that drives me crazy is "Oh no you dinnt!" I think what drives me crazy about it is when it's annoying white women trying to act like black women!!
Gin,
You forgot "Talk to the Hand" ... like a hand talks unless of course everyone is deaf then it does, but when hearing people do it, it grates on my nerves like chalk against a chalk board.
LOL Funny Blog.
Guilty as charged. I have used a few of those terms and I have to admit I'm starting to get annoyed with most of them too.
Gin, hope your vacation is a rested one.
I respectfully disagree. :) The phrases immediately connote what the person wants to say and often give a veneer to a sticky situation. "Don't go there" is a perfect example.
And, hey, their lifetime is fairly short lived. Go with the flow, girl, and chill out. When was the last time you heard "cat's pajamas"?
Actually one that is driving me crazy lately is "You go girlfriend!" One of the ladies I work with has been picking that chesnut up & running with it big time!! Everytime anyone of the female persuasion does anything, she breaks out into a huge "Oh you GO Girlfriend!!!" & tries to high five. It's sadly laughable, as she's in her mid sixties, & it just doesn't have quite the same impact I think she intends it to have!
Post a Comment