Plain Speaking
24 April 2004
The Plain English Campaign cites the top four overworked cliches and phrases. They are:
- At the end of the day
- At this moment in time
- Use of ”like” (as if it were a form of punctuation)
- With all due respect
Overworked phrases also making the list include:
- 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
- blue sky (thinking)
- boggles the mind
- bottom line
- crack troops
- diamond geezer
- epicentre (used incorrectly)
- glass half full (or half empty)
- going forward
- I hear what you’re saying..
- in terms of…
- it’s not rocket science
- literally
- move the goal-posts
- ongoing
- prioritise
- 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
- touch base
- up to (in place of ”about”)
- value-added (in general use)
Filed under: Writing