I wonder if languages other than English are as susceptible to sudden passions for new usages as English is. I know French has its little fads and ever-changing new slang; I remember years ago a French tutor at ANU coming back after visiting her homeland for the first time in ages and telling us disgustedly how her young relatives would finish a discussion about arranging a social event or meeting with the word, 'D'ac', which was short for 'D'accord' - 'Okay', (or 'Okay?', in some circumstances, I suppose).
Anyway, this tendency in English seems to be ever-increasing. The only good thing about it is that, almost as quickly as the new fads appear, they vanish. But, while they're here, they are so exremely annoying. Just at the moment the ones that are really setting my teeth on edge are:
1. 'Back in the day'
2. 'What's not to like'
3. 'Smarts'
Three is the one that's completely maddening me, to be honest, as it seems to be filling what wasn't a gap. 'She has the smarts to manage the job', I presume means 'She's capable enough to manage the job', so why create this new way of saying it that vaguely suggests she's got a skin complaint?
PS In the department of why didn't I think of it, @ClintonDucas has suggested that other horror, 'no-brainer', which conjures such vivid and unpleasant images and is somehow so coarse, dismissive and impatient that I have to admit it's the worst of the current crop.
"Back in the day" is my most frequent edit to the papers my students write. Some of them think it is standard written English, now. When I tell them it is not, they are befuddled. That and 24/7.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could think of an amalgam of back in the day and 24/7 - there ought to be one, don't you think?
DeleteI must apologise profusely, Chris, I've just deleted - in error - two comments you made. The dangers of internetting while talking. Really dumb
DeleteI haven't come across 'smarts' - is it of antipodean provenance?
ReplyDeleteI agree ablout the others. 'No-brainer' almost makes me shudder as much as 'Can I pick your brains?', whilst 'Back in the day' seems to have come from nowehere. I hope that it will disappear as quickly as 'Blah-di-blah'.
Other irritations include the new tendency to begin sentences with 'So', the phrase 'Stepping up to the plate', 'I was sat' and the overuse of 'Legacy'.
A friend who works in a London office recently told me that her colleagues keep saying 'It is what it is'.
But some expressions are endearing rather than irritating. At my sons' primary school, if something's particularly easy, the children will say that it's 'Pips', as in 'Pipsqueak'. My younger son also says 'Crikey Charlie!' and 'Jolly cold'.
'Jolly' anything is lovely - very Famous Five. 'It is what it is' makes me shake with frustration. Where is Timmy the dog when you need him (surely he could be trained to maul)
DeleteChris Matarazzo wrote about 'so' here:
Deletehttp://whenfallsthecoliseum.com/2012/08/07/the-emperor-decrees-that-ye-shall-no-longer-respond-to-questions-with-so/
...the belief that critique and criticise mean the same. That irritates me. That reminds me of another – "aggravate" and "irritate". One that is correct use but simply annoys me – "tad". Just a tad.
ReplyDeleteI'm very fond of Margaret Pomeranz of David and Margaret and the Movie Show, but I do blame her for introducing me to 'tad'
Delete"Disruptive" is the word that makes me want to stab myself.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disruptive_innovation
Agreed - except I was suddenly reminded today of 'suck it up', which really is the worst of all just at the moment, I think
Delete