What English expression do you hate the most?

[Ming the Merciless]

Keep your eyes peeled.

Just imagine peeled eyes!!! 🤮

A theory links the phrase to the British police force, which was founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829. The police officers were nicknamed "Peelers," and it is suggested that the phrase "keep your eyes peeled" comes from their instructions to be vigilant and on the lookout for crime.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Or that great old English expression, "QED".

Nuff said

 

[Profpointy]

Or that great old English expression, "QED".

I prefer QEFD

 

[cyberknight]

sorry for your loss
really irks me as i just feel its a phrase that gets used with no thought or feeling as an easy way to give bad news .

 

[rvw]

"So..." at the beginning of an answer to a question, usually from academics/talking heads in interviews etc.

 

[Electric_Andy]

"So..." at the beginning of an answer to a question, usually from academics/talking heads in interviews etc.

IME it is used far more widely than that. It seemed to start off as an Americanism which has quickly spread into everyday conversational use by many of the people I know. A bit like one of those "viral" social media memes/sayings; people copy it and it becomes standard. I even use it myself without knowing

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Or that great old English expression, "QED".

My maths teacher used to use that expression at the end of a proof / workings for an answer. I copied the style. Great bit of Latin in the right context. Should not come under English phrases you dislike. If there are Latin phrases you dislike, feel free to start a thread 😀

 

[Dogtrousers]

Quite Enough Done

 

[Dadam]

I totally agree! I said this the other week, then a certain CC member who's name escapes me, not that it bothers me as such, said in a slightly aggressive manner that he calls his son such things. I pointed out that by calling your son mate or buddy encourages them to think it's ok to address adults by such titles. I mentioned the case of one father at my daughter's junior school many years ago who called his son "dude" and "mate" which resulted in the child calling the headmaster "mate'! Tut! tut! 🧐

Haha, 'twas I!

My response was far from aggressive in any way (if you think so you've probably not been on the internet very long) but you did catch me in a slightly bad mood; exacerbated by your somewhat pompous tone. I also disputed your erroneous and simplistic conflation of cause and effect (from a dataset of one) mentioned in your second sentence. So it resulted in that? Really?? If I called him son, or my lad, or young man or whatever is deemed appropriate in Accy land, would he then go on to call a headmaster the same? Unlikely. So why would "mate" or the like have the same result?

So that's like, total cobblers, dude! No cap.

 

[matticus]

"So..." at the beginning of an answer to a question, usually from academics/talking heads in interviews etc.

Unless it's part of a scripted reply/speech, it's generally just something people do to prepare themselves. If you prefer, I could use:
- err, right ..ok, ummm ...

There are very few perfect public speakers in this world; if you are one, show some kindness to the rest of us - if you AREN'T one, probably best to keep your trap shut on this one x.

 

[Profpointy]

"So..." at the beginning of an answer to a question, usually from academics/talking heads in interviews etc.

I've mentioned this before but

"So, the Spear-Danes in days gone by
Led by their Kings who had courage and greatness"

seems a pretty good opening to me. The above was a translation by Nobel Literature Laureate Seamus Heaney who one would have thought knew a thing or two about the good ise of language"

 

[JtB]

My maths teacher used to use that expression at the end of a proof / workings for an answer. I copied the style. Great bit of Latin in the right context. Should not come under English phrases you dislike. If there are Latin phrases you dislike, feel free to start a thread 😀

One of my maths teachers used to use the expression “this is going to be fun” - it never was 😠

 

[Profpointy]

My maths teacher used to use that expression at the end of a proof / workings for an answer. I copied the style. Great bit of Latin in the right context. Should not come under English phrases you dislike. If there are Latin phrases you dislike, feel free to start a thread 😀

Maybe straying slightly off topic, but there's a lovely anecdote about renowned English mathematician Hardy giving a lecture in Cambridge. He was writing up a proof on the blackboard and after a few "therefore's" and "it follows that" (each has a symbol in maths-speak) he then said "so clearly <whatever the next bit was>" then, after a pause said to the students "hang on, is that 'clearly'? Bear with me gentlemen, let me go and check something" upon which he leaves for 40 minutes. On return he confidently announces "Yes, it is 'clearly' and carries on with the next line of the proof"

Evidently a very specific mathematical meaning for "cleary" if one of the top mathematicians of his day requires 40 minutes to confirm whether the "clearly" was justified.

For those not aware of Hardy, he "discovered" and subsequently collaborated the untutored genius Ramanujan persuading him to move to England. His book "Pure Maths" was the standard undergraduate textbook for a long time, maybe still is. My A level "pure" teacher had studied it in the late 60s or early 70s

 

[Andy in Germany]

"...your age"

As in, "You have to expect this at..." I'm not even fifty, for goodness’s sake.

And possibly worse: "You're extremely healthy for...."

And I might add, it doesn't help when the phrase is delivered by a doctor that looks like he should be in high school... mutter, grumble...




Where's me tablets?

 

[mistyoptic]

Unless it's part of a scripted reply/speech, it's generally just something people do to prepare themselves. If you prefer, I could use:
- err, right ..ok, ummm ...

There are very few perfect public speakers in this world; if you are one, show some kindness to the rest of us - if you AREN'T one, probably best to keep your trap shut on this one x.

That's a fair point. However, having said that, if you're a presenter/expert/interviewee then using it every time you start to speak is intensely irritating. There are other words which could be used, for variety

edit: presenters who repeatedly umm and err are just as bad, and that IS as part of a scripted reply/speech