To be so terribly, terribly cross?

[musicforsmorks]

In reality, I am asking is it being remotely unreasonable to suspect that hardly anyone uses this phrase in 'real life'?
It's all very well when one is perusing their Enid Blyton collection but I have honestly rarely come across it as a common element of social/familial dialogue (and I've been around a bit ).

Another one is 'Oh my goodness!', which, whilst having stood the test of time (unlike the poor, neglected cross), still doesn't crop up with regularity in my social circles or professional life very often.

Also interested in hearing other people's thoughts on certain phrases, and whether they are particular to MN, the written word, or just off with the fairies or whatnot.

My favourite MN regular is the did you mean to be so ruuuude?
Although, whilst frequently tempted, I have not yet had the pleasure of uttering it with any true gravitas in real life :(

My kids are a little older so I've started saying "bum" when I really mean "for fucking, fuckity, fuck sake". Was quite funny hearing the 8 yo mutter "bum" while shaking his head and rubbing out a wrong sum on his homework .

I can't stand the word horrid. It is the most hideously namby pamby, twee awfulness I can imagine.

I rolled my eyes when I saw the word ‘cross’ in your title! Nobody uses it in real life. On my MN you hear ‘AIBU to be cross about my DH banging his Secretary and losing our house in a gambling bet?’ It’s such an ineffectual word.

@BoredZelda

Oh my goodness!

Frequently used in my house. We substituted it because MIl kept saying “oh my god” which I didn’t like my 2 year old parroting. MIL now uses goodness instead too.

It really makes sense around children, and due to not having kids I feel like a silly doofus now, as if it ought to have been obvious.

I am now, officially, proclaiming myself totally unreasonable

Oh I sound as common as muck and swear like a trooper. However I do tell the children and the dog that I'm terribly, terribly cross with them.

I say cross quite often. I'd rather be cross than disappointed, the most ridiculous passive aggressive 'nanny' phrase people use with children.
I don't think I've ever said terribly, terribly cross. But I feel it every time I see someone write 'due to' on MN instead of 'because of'.

Gotta admit I do like 'astonishing', it rarely comes out but when it does i feel rather accomplished and smug!

I like saying cross. I wouldn't say terribly cross, but "really cross" would be more like it. I also love the way in Ireland we use "bold" to mean "naughty" rather than brave.

I'm never terribly cross.

However I will admit to saying I'm awfully cross, on occasion.

Oh my goodness comes out a fair bit, as do Gosh, blimey and crikey. The latter two seem, to me, to eloquently describe being surprised or taken aback at something that might be outside my usual experiences.

I also get vexed, miffed and poorly, although not usually at the same time...

However I'm also fond of saying fucking wankers when the situation warrants it. And telling really annoying people to fuck off.

I like to use the whole spectrum.

I use "good grief" a lot 🤷‍♀️

@Emmelina

I use “oh gosh”, or “oh my goodness” a lot. And usually it’s because I’m thinking “really?” and it goes right over their head.

Ditto

If I say " oh my goodness" it means I'm trying not to say one of two things

1. dude, shut UP
2. have you lost your fucking mind?

i feel the same with the very annoying D in front of describing family members

ive never heard anyone talk like that in real life

it irritates the shit out of me every bloody time i read it on here

but going on you im terrible cross to me its mostly replaced with im well fucked off or to be nicer im well pissed off

I say ‘Oh my goodness’ and ‘gosh’ all the time. V religious dad so trained myself out of saying ‘oh my god’ as a child to avoid censure!

Grown adults that say ‘ewww gross’ only seen on mumsnet. Whatever made them feel like that often has them shaking with rage whilst being very cross.

Yes! But my youngest thinks OMG stands for oh my goodness, and the F word is Fun!

I say 'oh my goodness' a lot, and also, which I think is straight out of Blyton 'beastly'. I used to know someone who found this very quaint of me.

YABU

It's pronounced teddibly, teddibly cross!

'Oh my goodness' instead of 'fuck me sideways with a banana' when talking to customers keeps me in a job 😄😄

Nobody uses it in real life

I love your certainty! 'Cross' is a word used all the time where I live.

You've created connotations with the word that wouldn't be true here, at least.

I tell my DS I'm cross with him, rather than angry.
I also say "oh for goodness sake" rather than "for God's sake".

Most of my workplaces have either had DC in them or been formal offices so I'm just default twee/overly polite now.

(DH hears me swear occasionally)

I like 'miffed' and 'irked'.

@emmetgirl

I use "good grief" a lot 🤷‍♀️

That's very urbane I don't hear that so often any more but used to. We ought to bring back vanishing phrases!

I always say "oh my goodness", I do work in a school though and have young children so that's why I've now just got used to saying it all the time instead of oh my god.

Glad to see part of my user name being quoted here! I'm often vexed, or terribly cross. I also use "goodness" quite a lot. My absolute favourite is " Oh my giddy aunt" which I pinched from my posh sister in law.
All of these sayings are supposed to prevent me swearing like a trooper....they don't!

I thought poorly was fairly standard! And I've often heard London kids who usually use urban slang use "oh my goodness", so presumably it's not that quaint! Gosh and golly are great words. Any Scots here? Jings crivvens help ma' boab!

Terribly, terribly sounds rather upper class, but don’t all mothers say ‘I am very cross’?