10 most annoying words and phrases 2023

[yello]

Poetic, yes, I'd buy that though I personally don't see 'scorching hot' as being tautological. More intensifying.

Maybe one ought be more poetic when ordering one's coffee! I'd like that personally though I suspect baristas would quickly get fed up with it.

 

[matticus]

One relative newcomer is "to be across" something, meaning to be informed about it, or to have the matter in hand. "We need to leverage AI" "Don't worry, I'm across it"

It's not all that new, not 2023 vintage but it wasn't around 10 years ago.

It doesn't annoy me, but I have noticed it.

Oh, it does annoy me! I think it's becacuse it doesn't make any sense: something like "leverage" does make sense, even if it irritates some ears.
But "across"?!?

[and it IS a pre-2023 term, but is still fairly modern in widespread usage. I think it's hit peak usage, but very much still an irritant-at-large ]

I prefer "on it like a car bonnet", as you asked!

 

[teeonethousand]

‘Trust the Science’
( not that I don’t trust/believe something when someone explains it so I can understand it but when the phrase is used to mean that the point of view being expressed is stone cold fact and any further questioning (science is about questioning) ….is wrong)

 

[Red17]

Uptick instead of increase. Hate it.

 

[Dogtrousers]

An Italian friend one told me that Italians never drank cappuccino after 11am. I thought perhaps the cafes were closed.

No the cafes are open but any attempt to order a milky drink at the wrong time will be met with a combination of disapproval, incomprehension and pity.

 

[DaveReading]

An Italian friend one told me that Italians never drank cappuccino after 11am. I thought perhaps the cafes were closed.

In some places, it's after noon - it depends on the region.

And on whether summer time is in operation or not ...

 

[Chris S]

"Let's run this up the flagpole and see who salutes it!"

My American-Canadian boss was using that in the 1990s.
(If you're wondering about his nationality then he was an American who had gone to Canada to dodge the Vietnam draft).

 

[Profpointy]

"Let's run this up the flagpole and see who salutes it!"

I assume there's a bit of self-parody in that, rather than management bullshit

 

[Profpointy]

''We are where we are.'' Always seems to be used to ignore how we got into the mess in the first place. It's a way of never sorting things.

On the other hand, I'm sure we've all been in meetings where people are moaning that "we should have done x", or it's somebody else's fault rather than actually solving the immediate issue.

There's a time and place for why something happened, but when the database servers are kapoot isn't that time, so moving the discussion onto actually solving the problem is necessary, and the objected-phrase, is often all it takes to get people to focus

 

[yello]

the objected-phrase, is often all it takes to get people to focus

It's also a good example of an effective tautology (to return to an earlier conversation) The tautological effect being exactly that of a focus of being 'where we are' and the need to address it.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Uptick instead of increase. Hate it.

Those 2 have totally different meanings???

to me anyway

 

[Alex321]

Those 2 have totally different meanings???

to me anyway

That was my immediate thought as well.

 

[slowmotion]

Uptick instead of increase. Hate it.

Oh yes! Uptick!
Presumably after they have "drilled down" to "tackle the problem".

 

[tyred]

Any "Americanism", 24/7 really bugs me.

As someone who works for an American company, I had all the names like "daily stand-up," "huddle," and "town hall" that they dream up for meetings.

Am I allowed to sit down for my daily stand-up?

 

[Slick]

As someone who works for an American company, I had all the names like "daily stand-up," "huddle," and "town hall" that they dream up for meetings.

Am I allowed to sit down for my daily stand-up?

I thought that the Town Hall meeting was a UK thing derived from union meetings back in the day?