Dirty Little Lines

[CHWolf]

I know I saw a thread like this a while back, but I'm not sure it was here and frankly I don't care.



As a writer, what recurring phrases DRIVE YOU UP THE WALL?

For example, Harlan Ellison hates the commonly used exchange where one character says, "Just like that?" to which the other replies, "Just like that."

I think he threatened violence against anyone he caught using it.


So what's yours?

Mine is "got".


Got Milk? Got the life. America's Got Talent! He's got the whole world in his hands. Don't be jealous of the rocks that I got - I'm still I'm still Jenny from the block.


Gaahh!

Do you HAVE Milk? I HAVE the life. America HAS Talent! (Arguably.)

He HAS the whole world in his hands, (also arguably) and I'm most assuredly not jealous of the rocks Jenny HAS.


D:<


A close second is people saying "on sale" when they mean "for sale". If it's "on sale", the price has been reduced. If it's simply available, it's "for sale".



Go. Bitch with me.

[jedipencil]

Fewer/less.

"I have less things to do today..."

"There have been less accidents this year than any other year..."

"We have less chances to..."

...drive me up the wall with the misuse of countables and non-countables. It is something akin to ripping skin off a sick cat - it should be punishable by something awful.

[CHWolf]

Yeah, that's a bad one. I hope it pops up to bother you less times in the future.

[Bishop]

I hate any sentences that include "irregardless". I hate that word.

[jedipencil]

Originally Posted by CHWolf

Yeah, that's a bad one. I hope it pops up to bother you less times in the future.

Got it.

[Nathan Hall]

The phrase I wish would die completely out includes the words "that" and "said". "That being said", "having said that", "That said", etc. It's one of the most annoying and unnecessary transitional phrases on the 'net and in conversation I personally have ever come across, and its use doesn't make one sound more clever or highly literate any more than that person probably already is. For instance;

"Director so-and-so's last film was his weakest effort in a career that has so far spanned twenty years. That said, I'm still looking forward to his adaptation of the best-selling novel..."

First of all, why is "that said" being used in the first place? You don't need to use "that said" or any of its permutations, I JUST SAW/HEARD WHAT YOU WROTE/SAID. Second, whatever happened to the words "but" or "however"? They still do the trick of getting one's point across to the listener/reader and eliminates the pretentious crutch offered by pairing "that" and "said" together.

Oh, and in some circles, I see people using "this", or "a thousand times this", "omg THIS" when they're in agreement with a previous poster's message/point on message boards. And "interwebz" or "interwebs". A year ago these were terms that were examples of overused and stupid internet lingo, and I see they're making comebacks. I really hope they don't.