Words and phrases that drive you insane...

[Ducksbehindthesofa]

Certain words (usually nonsense or pseudowords) and phrases really grate on me, sometimes to the extent I don't bother reading the rest of a narrative if I stumble across a word or phrase on my hit list, halfway through something.

There are plenty, but a few to kick off:

Holibobs. It's not even an abbreviation for goodness sake.

Chillax. Just why?

"You do you" - this seems to be the in phrase at the moment, especially with the younger generation. It always sounds vaguely condescending to me

Chrimbo. Please, no

Nom nom nom. This one is right up there with holibobs!

Your turn......

peacefulpeach · 26/01/2026 12:26 "Chillax is awful but I say it to my kids just to annoy them."

Why do you want to annoy them?

@SchnizelVonKrumm

We are definitely in agreement about sneak peak

At this moment in time 🙄What's wrong with 'now'?

Gatekeeping and bandwidth. Utter wank.

OP’s list feels like it’s come from about 8 years ago, is anyone using hollibobs anymore?!

Personally I love the way language moves on and is a reflection of the culture at any moment in time.

Having said that, any phrase with ‘girl’ in it can get in the bin. Girl Boss is the worst offender.

Rhotic speakers new to MN might not understand the purpose of the r used by non-rhotic speakers for phonetic renderings on MN. I didn't when I first joined even though I have lived in the UK.

'Through his/her/their/my lens'

I think in rural Ireland it is an example of re lexification. Irish usages mapped onto English. It's all Himself is a bollix and Herself is a dose round these parts

Definitions from Oxford Languages:
mischievous

OMG!! I'm absolutely gobsmacked (someone will probably throw their hands up at that word as well?!) and can't help but wonder how you and many other posting on this thread manage to get through the day without having some sort of melt down (sorry if that's also upsetting!) every time someone opens their mouth to utter a few words?! 🙄😊

Fair enough - that is a different usage from the one I (and PP) were referring to though (e.g. "if there is anything further we can do for yourself, just pop myself an email" or "that's why I'm voting for yourself as a traitor"). Those examples are not regional, they're just incorrect and myself will die on that hill.

Most euphemisms make me squirm. Just say what you mean FFS.

Ex-wife instead of late wife? Surely that's not a thing people say!

I'm a widow who has since remarried. If anyone ever referred to my late husband as my ex-husband I'd be fuming!

No but some say Chic-ar-go 😂

@FrostyPalms , I read it in an article about someone famous. He's been married three times. His first wife died quite young after nearly 30 years of married life leaving him a widower. He later re-married and was divorced after a few years. He has since re-married, and is still married to his third wife.
The article referred to his first wife as his ex-wife.

Imagine how hurtful that would be to her children.

I can't remember where I read it, but here's an example:
Who is name? Famous person's Ex-Wife: A Life of Love, Music, and Legacy | Celebrities InfoSeeMedia. I've anonymised the link.

That's unforgivable. I hope this is one of very few instances of someone referring to someone's late spouse as their ex-spouse. I'm glad I've never come across it, and whether that person is remarried or not is irrelevant. It would still be very hurtful to them and their children. (And, yes, as someone in that situation I can well imagine how hurtful.)

Now that I don’t do.
But apparently some do, you’re right.
I wonder how these things develop.

@FrostyPalms , sorry for your loss.
When a very close relative died, it took me months before I could say '(name) has died' or '(name)'s dead' and would say 'passed away'.

If referring to someone who died a long time ago or someone completely unconnected to me I wouldn't use an euphemism.

😂 I’ve just realised “ nibbles” is pluralised adjective as noun too
but at least it’s long been adopted as a noun.
“Empties” sounds so over-polite and is a stupid word that I hope doesn’t end up in the dictionary 😂

It’s already in the dictionary.

@Cariadm , meltdown is one word.

Empties ? Oh no 😟

A few pages before "greens"

Are you objecting to "greens" as a noun? If so, what would you call a golf green?

Conversion of adjectives is a longstanding feature of English that makes it flexible and capable of often speedy evolution. In the airline example, I think "empties" is preferable to "rubbish" (British English) or "trash" (American English).

There are many examples of this practice in English that can be traced to Shakespeare and that we don't even think about as having adjectival origins.

And as for "my bad," Shakespeare used that too, although I am fairly sure that his use was not the origin of its being a feature of African American Vernacular English.

Some of y'all have a very limited view of what is "correct" in English (oops I just used an adjective as a noun). Much of the utility and beauty of English (oops that adjective again) is that it is an essentially descriptive, rather than prescriptive, language.

@RitaIncognita , English (the language) is a noun not an adjective and I'd call a golf green a golf green.