"Does that make sense?" After saying something simple like, “I don’t like dog shit.” What you’re saying is, are you clever enough to understand what I am saying to you, or should I speak re e e e a l l y slowly? (I have a PhD in writing. I understand English quite well, thank you.)
“At the end of the day.” I always say back, “At the end of the day, it’s the end of the day.”
My boss is a lovely, lovely man who worked in corporate something or other for a long time. I can barely stand to listen to him sometimes:
“I’ve had some dialogue with them regarding...” You mean have spoken to/emailed them about… He has realised from my wincing that I cannot stand this. He does use “Reach out” as well.
“Blue sky thinking.” If I'm staring at the sky, I'm usually daydreaming, not giving a shit about your think-out-of-the-box requirement.
Asking me, “Are you able to..?” Yes, I am able to do that, which is why I was hired. Do you want me to do it?
“Can I lend that book off of you?” No. You could BORROW it, but I don’t lend them any more anyway. Especially to people who say “Off of”.
“Well, well, well.” Patronising. The reply to that one is, “Three holes in the ground.” And walk away before the irritating fucker has worked it out.
“Is there more of them?” and similar. What the fuck did you do in school?
Solder – instead of saying ‘solder’ Americans say ‘sodder’. I hate it (I make jewellery, by the way). I know this isn’t a phrase but…
"This one." You are reducing a he/she/they to an it. How is that complimentary?
When customer services people call me “Ma’am” – I’m not the frigging Queen. If I was I’d make someone else have this soul-sucking conversation with you.
I LOVE regional or dialect sayings like here in Wales “In a minute now”, but there’s a line. Don’t fuck with grammar and syntax until you first understand it.
Gosh, I am bloody pedantic…it’s that English Literature degree!