I don't see too many in my student papers that particularly irritate me,
but your e-mail made me think of this cnn story below from, a few weeks
ago, I believe.



http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/03/24/plain.english/index.html
LONDON, England -- At the end of the day, it's the most irritating cliche
in the English language.

That abused and overused phrase has topped a poll to find the most annoying
cliche, the Plain English Campaign said Wednesday.

Second place went to "at this moment in time," and third to the constant
use of "like," as if it were a form of punctuation. "With all due respect"
came fourth.

The UK-based Plain English Campaign said it canvassed 5,000 people in 70
countries to find the most irritating phrases of all.

"When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start
tuning out and completely miss the message -- assuming there is one," said
the campaign's John Lister.

People who busily "touch base" or talk about "ballpark figures" and "bottom
lines" are not "singing from the same hymn sheet," they are quietly driving
others to distraction.

"Using these terms in daily business is about as professional as wearing a
novelty tie or having a wacky ringtone on your phone," Lister said in a
statement.

"George Orwell's advice from 1946 is still worth following: `Never use a
metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in
print'."

Lister said they had expected geographical variations, but the same phrases
appeared to be universally annoying around the world.

"Gobbledegook jargon and cliches really are no respecter of international
boundaries," he told Sky Television.

Other terms that received multiple nominations included: 24/7; absolutely;
address the issue; around (in place of about); awesome; ballpark figure;
basically; basis ("on a weekly basis" in place of "weekly" and so on); bear
with me; between a rock and a hard place.

Also listed were: bottom line; crack troops; glass half full (or half
empty); I hear what you're saying; in terms of; it's not rocket science;
literally; move the goal-posts; ongoing; prioritize; pushing the envelope;
singing from the same hymn sheet; the fact of the matter is; thinking
outside the box; to be honest/to be honest with you/to be perfectly honest
-- and touch base.

Formed in 1979, the Plain English Campaign is an independent group that
campaigns against cliches, jargon and obfuscation, particularly in official
and public documents.
At 11:03 AM 4/20/2004 -0400, you wrote:
>This message is for faculty, especially those who teach subjects other
>than English.  As you're grading those final papers and exams with essay
>questions, most of you will cringe occasionally over some particular pet
>peeve of poor writing.  For example, I loathe phrases like "in today's
>society" and "in our modern world."  I want to compile a list of those pet
>peeves for use when I teach freshman comp.  If you have the time, please
>send me a quick email with the one or two things that most annoy you in
>student writing.  Thanks.
>
>Melissa