Friday, November 14, 2008

Absolutely!

A group of Oxford researchers have compiled a list of the top 10 most irritating expressions in the English language. The researchers kept track of "overused buzzwords" found in current books and media outlets.  Take a look. Do you agree?

10.  It's not rocket science.
9. 24/7
8. Shouldn't of
7. It's a nightmare
6.  Absolutely
5. With all due respect
4. At this moment in time
3. I personally
2. Fairly unique
1.  At the end of the day


2 comments:

ann malaspina said...

Absolutely. But it's hard to avoid those well-worn phrases sometimes. I find they slip in (not just those, but others too) when I'm not looking and take over my writing. Maybe it's because they're part of everyday language, but as writers, we should definitely try to rise above!

Rachel Hamby said...

This is funny, Alison. We (my family) went to a restaurant recently and our waiter said "Absolutely!" after everything we said.
"Can I get cheese on that?"
"Absolutely!"
"I'll have the chicken."
"Absolutely!"
"Can I bonk you on the head?"
"Absolutely!"