Which words......

stickywicket

….do you most dislike hearing? For me, it's the phrase 'There's nothing worse than....' Invariably there are over 10,000,000 things worse than whatever comes next :roll:

The one that always sticks in my mind, only because it's such a typically inane example, is when the enthusiastic young salesman was demonstrating the ease of removing the doors on his kitchen units. “There's nothing worse than getting a bit of food stuck on the inside of the door” he explained. By then my legs were giving way, having held me up for so much of his patter, and I wanted to scream, like a kid at a pantomime, “Oh yes there is! There's arthritis for a start. Also cancer, other major diseases, having your family wiped out in some catastrophe. Even trapping one's finger in your wonderful door would be worse than having a smudge of food stuck on it.” I didn't, of course.

So, which phrase or sentence or adage rattles your cage?

villier

There is probably a few Sticky I shall go and ponder if the brain fog allows xx

Boomer13

Well, these days it's "oh, but you look really healthy"
:x :x :x :x

Susiesoo

Oh Sticky, it is the awful, inane "enjoy" when someone has delivered food to the table. There is steam coming out of my ears before they have finished voicing it in the usual high-pitched, pathetic and patronising way. "Enjoy your meal" is one thing, but "enjoy" is something else. Aaahhhhhh. Now, where are my blood pressure tablets?!

Susie

Numptydumpty

For me, it's when someone says "how are you? you're looking well". Making it nigh on impossible for me to say "actually I'm feeling blooming awful", because they obviously wouldn't believe me anyway, and that's not what they want to hear. OK, so they probably mean well, but if they really want to know how I am, why don't they let me answer for myself?! :roll:

barbara12

I'm echoing Susie..well more or less..when you are having a meal and you are just going to put the first fork full in your mouth....and they sneak up behind you....EVERYTHING OK WITH YOUR MEAL...

mamasmurf

Rheumatoid Arthritis ? I , my aunt , husband , neighbour , postman , dog , cat , goldfish ( delete as necessary ) had that ; but it's better now .
Drives me loopy every time !
mamasmurf

stickywicket

Boomer and Numpty - my Mum always said that, with her healthy-looking complexion, no-one ever believed she was ill.

mamasmurf - yup. Arthritis Lite strikes again

Barbara - I don't think I've ever been asked so early in the meal but, yes, it would be extremely annoying.

SusieSoo - Yes. Oh yes! Unlike the kindly French 'Bon appetit!' or Spanish 'Que aproveche', this comes as a kind of command, doesn't it? A sort of 'We've done our bit, now you do yours.' I'm strongly reminded of Peter Ustinov's irritation at continually being told to 'have a nice day' when in the USA. He finally snapped 'I've made other plans.'

bubbadog

When people say 'at the end of the day' at the end of a sentence, it just makes me cringe!! Also what Numpty added, If one more person says to me 'your looking well' I might just get violent!!! :x Joke! I will be a proper lady and bite my tongue and wheel my chair into the back of their ankles.

tkachev

I feel awful when well meaning friends say I DON'T look well. They might as well say I look rough/ ugly/ minging or put a bag over your head.

'if you say so' is another.I'm guilty of saying this myself when angry as it is quite a put down.

elizabeth

ichabod6

Hello sw,

If by word you mean a sentence or a phrase the one I most
dislike is "can you just?"
The word I LIKE to hear most is "Hello. " I also like to see
it written.

stickywicket

bubbadog - 'at the end of the day'. Oh yes. Another phrase that could be eradicated from the language and never be missed.

Elizabeth - I don't really mind people saying I look ill if I am. A bit disconcerting when you feel OK though 'If you say so' - yes a real put-down.

ichabod - I think 'hello' can sometimes, though not always, be a term of affection. It's very close, in sound, to 'I love you'. The way people say 'hello' when answering the phone can be a real indication of how much fun the call is going to be. 'Can you just'? I once knew a lady whose every remark to her friend began 'Margaret, would you just....' My sister and I renamed her Margaret Wouldyoujust.

dreamdaisy

'It does my head in.' What are you trying to tell me? Are you confused? Cross? Angry? Grieving? Dismayed? Struggling to cope? Peeved? Miffed? Vexed? Puzzled? Bewildered?

My head is 'done in' by the sad fact that the speaker lacks the basic vocabulary to explain their feelings, we have one of the richest languages in the world but its usage amongst far too many is steadily reducing, year-on-year, due to sloppy education, sloppy broadcasting and generally lazy attitudes to speech and language. There are not 'fir'y free fevvered birds si''in' on a fatched roof ea'in' shtring' because there are thirty three feathered birds sitting on a thatched roof eating string. Eshtery English, the scourge of modern life.

I remember reading (many moons ago) that the average telephone call in America used words drawn from a 650 word vocabulary. I bet there are many in this country who use less. This saddens me. DD

mig

When him indoors says can you just do this for me. Mig

villier

I think my worse one is when people say 'I didn't realise how bad you were' :shock: I feel like saying, sorry, people living with chronic pain don't tend to wear a badge on their lapel :roll: xx

dreamdaisy

The cheery greeting when he and me are out an about of 'Hi guys!'

He is a guy - I most definitely AM NOT. :x DD

stickywicket

Don't ever go to the USA Or church

If we're doing language, another thing that really gets my goat is the fact that the BBC of all institutions doesn't bother teaching its announcers how to pronounce foreign names. I don't ask for perfect french 'r's or spanish 'j's but could we, out of sheer courtesy, at least get the emphasis on the right syllable?

numptynora

When some one starts a sentance with 'SO'

and ........ 'at the end of the day'

stickywicket

Oh dear, Numps! Guilty as charged, on the first count anyway. I even head emails 'So....'. I think I spend too much time in USA. I noticed this year that my son's latest way of starting an explanation is 'Here's the thing'. I'm hoping I don't assimilate it.

barbara12

have a good day...when said in the couldn't care less voice.. :roll:
Summer is here ...its blinking freezing today..
When people nearly knock me off the crutches and say sorry...has they speed past...