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What cliches do you dislike the most?
Thread poster: jyuan_us
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:56
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Italian to English
And how could we forget.... Dec 27, 2022

"like".

This is particularly bad from the mouths of new English speakers, especially children, who have somehow learned to interject the word "like" at every opportunity.

Or as one of them might put it:

This is like particularly bad from the mouths of like new English speakers, especially children, who have somehow like learned to interject the word "like" at like every opportunity.

Also:

"To be like" as a colloquial quotative. A
... See more
"like".

This is particularly bad from the mouths of new English speakers, especially children, who have somehow learned to interject the word "like" at every opportunity.

Or as one of them might put it:

This is like particularly bad from the mouths of like new English speakers, especially children, who have somehow like learned to interject the word "like" at like every opportunity.

Also:

"To be like" as a colloquial quotative. As Wikipedia puts it:

"Like" (always unstressed) is used to indicate that what follows is not necessarily an exact quotation of what was said, but captures the meaning and intention of the quoted speech. As an example, in "And I was like, 'don't ever speak to my boyfriend again'", the speaker is indicating that they may or may not have literally said those words, but they conveyed that idea. "Be like" can introduce both a monologue or direct speech, allowing a speaker to express an attitude, reaction, or thought, or to use the phrase to signal quotation.




[Edited at 2022-12-27 13:22 GMT]
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expressisverbis
expressisverbis
Portugal
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Nothing wrong for me, but Dec 27, 2022

Baran Keki wrote:

What's wrong with "have a nice day"?


Apparently, it sounds fake or even offensive for some:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_a_nice_day

But instead of saying "Have a nice day!", we can start to say "Have the day you deserve!" (which is clearly rude).

Honestly, I don't mind, it's the thought that counts.

[Edited at 2022-12-27 14:21 GMT]


Christine Andersen
 
Metin Demirel
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Türkiye
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I can't get it Dec 27, 2022

expressisverbis wrote:

Apparently, it sounds fake or even offensive for some:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Have_a_nice_day



Now I just took a glance at the Wikipedia article, yet I cannot understand how this expression could connote impersonality, lack of interest, passive–aggressive behavior, or sarcasm.

from Wikipedia:
Since it is often uttered by service employees to customers at the end of a transaction, particularly in Israel and the United States, its repetitious and dutiful usage has resulted in the phrase developing, according to some journalists and scholars, especially outside of these two countries, a cultural connotation of impersonality, lack of interest, passive–aggressive behavior, or sarcasm.


The article does not cite any resource regarding such interpretations, so I can only speculate. With that mindset (which I speculate that they have), any word in the English language can be found impersonal, lacking interest, passive–aggressive, or sarcastic. Some people are just too touchy or maybe they enjoy being touchy.


MollyRose
 
Robert Rietvelt
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Also .... Dec 27, 2022

Hi guys OR Hi team. I have a name!

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
expressisverbis
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Tom in London
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expressisverbis
expressisverbis
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There is a funny story behind it Dec 27, 2022

Metin Demirel wrote:

I can't get it



https://www.proz.com/forum/off_topic/346976-completely_frivolous_thread-page4.html

I hope you can get it now

In fact, I used "have a nice evening".


Metin Demirel
 
Kevin Fulton
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United States
Local time: 08:56
German to English
Have a good one! Dec 27, 2022

This may be an Americanism, a variant on "Have a nice day!", but I have to resist the temptation to ask "A good what?"

expressisverbis
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
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Isabelle Rodriguez
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Curated - Humbled Dec 27, 2022

I wouldn't say that I dislike any words or expressions, as long as they are not prejudicial, but I am a bit tired of "curated" that we see in all kinds of contexts nowadays. I also find it funny and a bit annoying to read, often on LinkedIn, that someone is "humbled to have been selected... / to have received this or that award": you are not humbled, you are PROUD, which is the exact opposite Right?

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Joakim Braun
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Reach out Dec 27, 2022

Ten years ago we used to write "contact".

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Tom in London
expressisverbis
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Maria G. Grassi, MA AITI
 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
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Italian to English
Proud Dec 27, 2022

Isabelle Rodriguez wrote:

..... you are not humbled, you are PROUD, which is the exact opposite Right?


That's definitely an intolerable cliche.

Pride is one of the seven deadly sins and comes before a fall.

So whenever I read something along the lines of "we are proud of (blah blah blah)" I'm always puzzled as to what they're boasting about. Don't they know they're heading straight for disaster?

[Edited at 2022-12-27 23:12 GMT]


 
expressisverbis
expressisverbis
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Another one Dec 27, 2022

It's on my radar.

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jyuan_us
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TOPIC STARTER
Dish/cup of tea Dec 28, 2022

Not my dish; Not my cup of tea.

Maria G. Grassi, MA AITI
 
jyuan_us
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More Dec 28, 2022

Drop me a line when you have a sec.

 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 15:56
Greek to English
Bored on board Dec 28, 2022

expressisverbis wrote:

"Here are the best tips to improve the employee onboarding experience!"



What's even worse is when they talk about "onboarding" somebody who isn't even an employee. Agencies sometimes use this term to describe the process of getting a freelance translator to sign an NDA and so on. If they're so careless about their use of language, it doesn't bode well for any future collaboration.

Another one that goes with it is the misuse of "team" to describe a number of independent contractors who normally aren't even aware of each other's existence.

Neither of these are really clichés, though.


Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
expressisverbis
Maria G. Grassi, MA AITI
 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Greece
Local time: 15:56
Greek to English
Advance notice Dec 28, 2022

One I really hate is "going forward", in the sense of "in future", or "from now on".

But again I don't know if this really counts as a cliché, or whether it should just be considered as a particularly smelly part of the morass that is modern business-speak.


Tom in London
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
expressisverbis
 
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What cliches do you dislike the most?






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