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Original poster

Annoying buzzwords/phrases.

155 replies

WheresThatCatGoneNow · 01/08/2026 11:15

I keep hearing people say that they "reached out" to a another person or a company/ business/organisation etc.

Why don't they just say that they contacted them? Which is what they actually mean!

It really sets my teeth on edge.

Any thoughts?

OP posts:
HelpMeGetThrough · 02/08/2026 12:19

luckylavender · 02/08/2026 12:14

Doesn’t it mean discuss it with a smaller audience?

Show quote history

I always thought it meant to discuss it further outside of that specific meeting.

MasterBeth · 02/08/2026 12:18

Language evolves. Words and phrases take on new meanings

The language that you use now annoyed someone else back in the day.

You can't expect language to evolve over thousands of years and stop evolving at precisely the point you arrived on earth.

(Yes, I said "back in the day" just to annoy someone.)

luckylavender · 02/08/2026 12:18

Criminality - crime

preparedness- preparation

luckylavender · 02/08/2026 12:14

BarbarianBabs · 01/08/2026 11:22

In a zoom or teams meeting when someone says “let’s take this off line” when what they really mean is let’s talk about this later. The later conversation will also need to be online 😂

i guess it doesn’t annoy me, but I do always think in my head that it will still be online 😃

Doesn’t it mean discuss it with a smaller audience?

TulipCat · 02/08/2026 12:13

PistachioTiramisu · 02/08/2026 11:27

'Look at these pieces which M&S have dropped recently' - made me think they were discontinued items rather than new ones. Stupid expression.

'Friendship group' - what is wrong with 'my friends'?

'Curated' for a pretty ordinary selection of items.

'Cohort' instead of fellow pupils or colleagues.

Oh yes l agree, and raise you "edit" as in "the Spring edit". Bonus points if a shop has "dropped their spring edit....

MasterBeth · 02/08/2026 12:10

WheresThatCatGoneNow · 01/08/2026 11:47

I'd love to be behind the counter in a shop when a customer comes in and says, "Can I get a whatever-it-is, please?"

I would reply, "No, you can't get it, but I am happy to get it for you."

How would this add to the total of human happiness, exactly?

You'd be standing there with a smug, sour expression on your face. They would be either confused or humiliated.

What would you have achieved?

Manename · 02/08/2026 12:08

I think there is a slight difference between “give you a heads up” and “let you know”.
Id let a colleague who’s been on holiday know how the process for X has changed. I’d give a heads up that while they were away Jane had a difficult client and might like a bit of understanding if she gets another one.

HelpMeGetThrough · 02/08/2026 12:07

Signposting. Bloody stupid phrase.

Every fucker is signposting.

Manename · 02/08/2026 12:03

Making memories annoys me. You can’t make memories. Do things, enjoy them, don’t expect your family to necessarily remember them or the bit you thought was special. but think back and a lot of the stuff I remember vividly is just stuff around such as going to Disney and remember the hotel.

Neither of the terminally ill people in mid 40s used types of phrases. They did some extra things and carried on.

YoungSoak · 02/08/2026 11:55

I’m in a free cycle group where people
offer clothes, toys etc that they no longer want. Some people write “need gone” about an item they’re giving away. Drives me nuts.

Also, “I was laying in bed” instead of “lying in bed”. You don’t lay in bed unless you’re a hen. Are you a hen?

sohereforit · 02/08/2026 11:43

When something ‘lands’, be it an email, an idea, a comment, etc.

Any version of ‘that being said’, ‘that said’, having said that’, ‘all that said’.

’Myself’.

PistachioTiramisu · 02/08/2026 11:27

'Look at these pieces which M&S have dropped recently' - made me think they were discontinued items rather than new ones. Stupid expression.

'Friendship group' - what is wrong with 'my friends'?

'Curated' for a pretty ordinary selection of items.

'Cohort' instead of fellow pupils or colleagues.

Solo · 02/08/2026 11:08

I can't believe nobody's mentioned "I'm not gonna lie" or "it makes your eyes pop/it makes the colour pop" etc.
Can you get me is a work in progress for Dd, as she says that when ordering something at a counter. I hope she's not only changing it to can I please have when I'm with her.

MrsShawnHatosy · 02/08/2026 10:33

WheresThatCatGoneNow · 01/08/2026 12:24

And what about that awful upward inflection at the end of almost every sentence?

As if every sentence is actually a question, but they can't be bothered saying, "do you know what I mean?"

😤😤 Yes, I'm an unapologetic pedant!

Edited

Picked up off Australian soaps no doubt.

sohereforit · 02/08/2026 10:24

Use of ‘carry’ and ‘heavy’.

As in ‘The situation feels so heavy, and it’s so much to carry’.

People/actions being described as ‘consistent’ or ‘intentional/done with intention’.

Everything is about ‘the narrative’ these days.

Pinkflamingo10 · 02/08/2026 09:10

it is what it is

LaMarschallin · 02/08/2026 09:07

CoffeeCantata · 01/08/2026 22:36

No! If language matters to you these things will provoke strong feelings.

There’ve been threads on topics which leave me cold where I could say the same - but we’re just venting in a lighthearted way.

Show quote history

Absolutely.
It's not just vocabulary changing, language is losing nuance as well and so many things get taken to extremes.
A PP mentioned "obsessed with" for liking/enjoying something and, by the same token, if you dislike something you "hate" it. Or your dislike of that one thing/person apparently takes over your whole personality and you become a "hater".
Find something irritates you?
You're "angry".
People don't raise their voices or speak harshly (especially on MN), they "scream".

sohereforit · 01/08/2026 22:42

LumiGlow · 01/08/2026 22:40

‘Talk to’

You mean, ‘I spoke about’ or ‘I was discussing’

makes my toes curl

Yes, and ‘speaks to’. Makes absolutely no sense to me.

LumiGlow · 01/08/2026 22:40

‘Talk to’

You mean, ‘I spoke about’ or ‘I was discussing’

makes my toes curl

sohereforit · 01/08/2026 22:38

So many!

Anything that is ‘aligned’ or ‘paired’ with.

Touch base, reach out, and going forward.

From social media:

Hearts being so full
Pouring into/pouring from empty cups
giving grace
holding space

’space’ itself is totally overused, and people are ‘navigating’ left, right and bloody centre.

’Centre’ (centre yourself/child centred) is another actually.

‘Protecting my peace’, ‘speaking my truth’ and ‘regulating my nervous system’

Fucking ‘bandwith’!

CoffeeCantata · 01/08/2026 22:36

Didimum · 01/08/2026 17:54

Why is MN so obsessed with being annoyed by everything? It’s absolutely bizarre.

No! If language matters to you these things will provoke strong feelings.

There’ve been threads on topics which leave me cold where I could say the same - but we’re just venting in a lighthearted way.

TulipCat · 01/08/2026 22:18

"unpack" used in a workplace setting, as in "let's unpack this comment" or "lots to unpack there". So irritating! I have a colleague who says this at almost every meeting. I fantasise about stabbing him with a fork.....

SMDX3 · 01/08/2026 22:09

Fair enough!!! Annoying as hell and usually used when someone can’t be arsed to reply anything half decent

Ratherhaveacupofteaandabiscuit · 01/08/2026 21:53

WheresThatCatGoneNow · 01/08/2026 11:30

Another one is "can I get..."

The correct way to say it is "may I have..."

And don't get me started on "tasked with" !

😖 GRRR! 🤬

Edited

“Can I get” drives me mad

Hotafternoon · 01/08/2026 18:50

Needs gone 🙄

Saw that one today on FB