The 10 Most Hated English Phrases

[abaka]

Originally Posted by bhaisahab

I agree absolutely with what you have said, all these expressions come from AmE.

Right, those of us who speak AmE cringe, literally, every time we see whilst. Oxford: would you really expect them not to fill their list with Americanisms?

[mykwyner]

Here's the one that's gotten to me lately: actually. One of my kids will say, "I'm actually coming home for dinner tonight." To which I reply, "I will actually see you then." For some reason they don't get the joke.

[bhaisahab]

Originally Posted by abaka

Right, those of us who speak AmE cringe, literally, every time we see whilst. Oxford: would you really expect them not to fill their list with Americanisms?

I was referring to the expressions noted by Ouish, not the original list from Oxford on which you will find these:
1. At the end of the day
2. Fairly unique
3. I personally
5. With all due respect
6. Absolutely
7. It's a nightmare

Which, to the best of my knowledge, are BrE in origin.

[abaka]

Originally Posted by bhaisahab

I was referring to the expressions noted by Ouish, not the original list from Oxford on which you will find these:
1. At the end of the day
2. Fairly unique
3. I personally
5. With all due respect
6. Absolutely
7. It's a nightmare

Which, to the best of my knowledge, are BrE in origin.

Oh!

These are far better candidates for odium than Oxford's list, being perennial rather than transient. They're all just plain E now -- like most of the language.

[Tdol]

I'm surprised like didn't make it.

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by Tdol

I'm surprised like didn't make it.

Like, you know, that's just a word, not a phrase, you know. Like, you know?

[RonBee]

Grating redundancies:

past history
physical violence
previous experience
future plans

And for all those who like to use the phrase "drugs and alcohol", guess what--alcohol is a drug.

[Tdol]

And 'This is me' when reporting a past conversation at great length in case we couldn't work it out.

[Ouisch]

Originally Posted by Tdol

I'm surprised like didn't make it.

So I'm like "what words can I use to annoy RonBee and Tdol?" and they're all like "at the end of the day anything you say pushes our buttons." So I'm like "whatEVER."

[Tdol]

I'm like talk to the hand.