Cliches you should avoid like the plague

[pokerfan]

Using a data analysis tool that monitors new books, research papers, broadcast transcripts and news sources, Oxford University came up with a list of the top 10 most irritating phrases. Headed by "At the end of the day" and capped with "It's not rocket science," it's both an eye-rolling exercise in familiarity and a good lesson in phrases to avoid in your own presentations and writing. The readers of the BBC's online magazine, however, add to the list with their own 20 most hated cliches, and while a few are British peculiarities, the majority make for good additions to add to your personal spelling checker or text replacement tool. What meaningless (or management-friendly) words drive you up the wall? Share your distaste in the comments.

http://lifehacker.com/5091810/30-cliches-you-should-basically-avoid-going-forward">30 Cliches You Should Basically Avoid

[KamaAina]

1. "Avoiding something like the plague"

:evilgrin:

[skygazer]

2. I used to share an apartment with a guy who worked for NASA

One of those brilliant scientific types who had no common sense whatsoever. I would find myself explaining some simple concept and telling him, "You don't have to be a rocket scientist.... oh, yeah - you ARE a rocket scientist..." :rofl:

He never failed to get a kick out of it. :P

[Lil Missy]

3. "paradigm" "thinking outside the box" UGH!!

[Kali]

4. branding

and I'm not talking about part of my job or your kinky body art. I'm talking about corporate-speak. As in "product image". It started creeping into discussions at our local community radio station. You know, that cool hippie station that has no structure? They are into branding now. :puke:

[Tom Kitten]

5. "Let's run it up the flagpole ...

and see if anybody salutes"...dated but I hear it from time to time...profoundly irritating

Also "don't count your eggs before you can hatch them"...ugh

[CTyankee]

6. I love the last one "actually." When I had an ESOL class for Chinese women I could always tell the

ones from Hong Kong. They habitually said "actually" when they began a sentence. They had, of course, learned their English from the British. The others, from mainland China, had learned American English and never started their sentences with "Actually."

They ALL watched "Sex in the City. "They always had LOTS of questions about American idioms on that show...

[TrogL]

7. Any computer explanation that cites "it's not rocket science" - sorry, it is

The first computers were used to plot missile trajectories.