Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases
Heading the list was the expression 'at the end of the day', which was
followed in second place by the phrase 'fairly unique'.
The tautological statement "I personally" made third place – an
expression that BBC Radio 4 presenter John Humphreys has described as "the
linguistic equivalent of having chips with rice."
Also making the top 10 is the grammatically incorrect "shouldn't of",
instead of "shouldn't have".
The phrases appear in a book called Damp Squid, named after the mistake
of confusing a squid with a squib, a type of firework.
The researchers who compiled the list monitor the use of phrases in a database
called the Oxford University Corpus, which comprises books, papers,
magazines, broadcast, the internet and other sources.
The database alerts them to new words and phrases and can tell them which
expressions are disappearing. It also shows how words are being misused.
As well as the above expressions, the book's author Jeremy Butterfield says
that many annoyingly over-used expressions actually began as office lingo,
such as 24/7 and "synergy".
Other phrases to irritate people are "literally" and "ironically",
when they are used out of context.
Mr Butterfield said: "We grow tired of anything that is repeated too
often – an anecdote, a joke, a mannerism – and the same seems to happen with
some language."
The top ten most irritating phrases:
1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It's a nightmare
8 - Shouldn't of
9 - 24/7
10 - It's not rocket science
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