The 10 Most Hated English Phrases

[acecrystal]

Oxford University has chosen the 10 most-hated sloppy idiomatic expressions. The Telegraph reports the most hated phrase was "at the end of the day," while "fairly unique" came in a close second.

Oxford researchers explained that the phrase "at the end of the day" was chosen because it could be summed up in one word: "finally," while "fairly unique" is an oxymoron.

In third place was "I personally," which was tautological, while coming in at eighth was "shouldn't of," an illiterate rendering of "shouldn't have."

Writer Jeremy Butterfield said the ninth most-hated phrase "24/7" was repeated too often and became office jargon. He pointed out that people were growing increasingly tired of repetitive anecdotes, jokes and involuntary linguistic tics.

Although they did not make the Top 10, "literally" and "ironically" were also chosen as expressions that irritated people.

The Top 10 were:

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 (twenty-four seven)
10. It's not rocket science

Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases - Telegraph

[buggles]

Originally Posted by acecrystal

Oxford University has chosen the 10 most-hated sloppy idiomatic expressions. The Telegraph reports the most hated phrase was "at the end of the day," while "fairly unique" came in a close second.

Oxford researchers explained that the phrase "at the end of the day" was chosen because it could be summed up in one word: "finally," while "fairly unique" is an oxymoron.

In third place was "I personally," which was tautological, while coming in at eighth was "shouldn't of," an illiterate rendering of "shouldn't have."

Writer Jeremy Butterfield said the ninth most-hated phrase "24/7" was repeated too often and became office jargon. He pointed out that people were growing increasingly tired of repetitive anecdotes, jokes and involuntary linguistic tics.

Although they did not make the Top 10, "literally" and "ironically" were also chosen as expressions that irritated people.

The Top 10 were:

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 (twenty-four seven)
10. It's not rocket science

Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases - Telegraph

What's really annoying is when people demonstrate they've no idea what #9 means by saying, for example....

"I've been working on this 24/7 every day."

What do other people find really annoying, I wonder?

[AP_English]

How interesting! Personally, I do not think some of those idiomatic expressions are more annoying than "ironically" or "literally."

Just thinking about the use of "ironically" makes me furious, because 98% (ninety-eight percent) of people use that phrase incorrectly.

They also do not know what irony means; however there are different kinds of irony.

[acecrystal]

Originally Posted by buggles

What's really annoying is when people demonstrate they've no idea what #9 means by saying, for example....

"I've been working on this 24/7 every day."

What do other people find really annoying, I wonder?

that's one of the common mistakes,usage of these expressions

same here,I also wonder......

[RonBee]

I hate it when anybody starts a sentence with personally. Is the writer saying he is stating his opinion? Well, of course it's his opinion. Just say what you think.

[RonBee]

Originally Posted by AP_English

How interesting! Personally, I do not think some of those idiomatic expressions are more annoying than "ironically" or "literally."

[hanky]

I personally think that those phrases are really cool, I use it 24/7 per day :|

[Ouisch]

Personally, I hate to be told to "think outside of the box" 24/7 every day. We're always getting a heads up to be proactive and push the envelope lest we be left out of the loop.


(It's fun to watch RonBee's head spin around like Linda Blair's in The Exorcist. )

[abaka]

If this keeps going, watch for "enduring struggle" to make the list. "War on terror" is definitely there, but it has been impolite or frankly terrifying in more than one country to say it out loud.

[bhaisahab]

Originally Posted by Ouisch

Personally, I hate to be told to "think outside of the box" 24/7 every day. We're always getting a heads up to be proactive and push the envelope lest we be left out of the loop.


(It's fun to watch RonBee's head spin around like Linda Blair's in The Exorcist. )

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