Attention, Linguistic Death Squad: Your Orders Are In
Elder (and Katie) want to excise at least one idiomatic saying from the English language - or at least the version used on the blogosphere:
I think there's something that we can all agree on: the use of the term "slippery slope" has gotten completely out of hand. The overuse of the phrase has pretty much stripped it of any real meaning that it once had.
The problem is that just about anything can be described as a "slippery slope" if you stretch the definition enough. Parties of all political persuasions are guilty of pulling out this tired cliché on just about any issue that comes up. Enough is enough.
Oh, Elder (and Katie) - you are sooo just scratching the surface.
Englilsh - and the blogosphere - groan from overload with such linguistic road apples.
Let's put together our linguistic dead pool, shall we?
In calling out this list, I fully admit my culpability in having used some of them in the past. The destruction of the offending phrases is part of my penitence.
My suggestions (along with Elder's apt "Slippery Slope"):
- "Pot, Meet Kettle" - The saying, a play on the ancient "That's the pot calling the kettle black", was cute the first time it was used - during the siege of Constantinople. Enough.
- "...(Something is a) Rote Recitation of Talking Points" - Truism of human nature: your own side is always a scintillating breaking of new ground; your opposition is always dull, thuggish, unimaginative, lumpen, gray, ignoble, and sent from some (usually) evil overlord higher up in the enemy's grand conspiracy. Duly noted. You don't have to say it. No, really.
- "[Karl Rove/George Soros/Pat Robertson/whomever] yanked their leash - See above.
- "[George Bush/Bill Clinton/Mark Kennedy/Michele Bachmann] is the worst [president/congressman/representative] ever!" - All absolutes are always false. There is always someone worse than whomever is the object of your ire, even assuming you're right (which most of you are not, anyway).
- "[Pick your political campaign] was the nastiest ever!" - If there was no gunfire in the streets (it's happened), if nobody died in a brawl or a duel (Andrew Jackson's various campaigns), if nobody's family was massacred in their isolated farmhouse (The Kansas war of 1859-1860), then no - it was not the nastiest campaign in history.
Others?
Posted by Mitch at
December 22, 2005 03:39 PM
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My peeves:
Stop. Ending. Every. Word. With. A. Period. When. You. Are. Trying. To. Be. Emphatic.
It was effective at first but now it's just stupid.
And
"Bwahahahahahaha"
Red gets a pass on this 'cause she wisely drops the "Bwa" plus I like her postings.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Even you, Peanut Butter.
Posted by: Rob at December 22, 2005 05:33 PM"The problem is that just about anything can be described as a "slippery slope" if you stretch the definition enough."
So it turns out the use of the phrase "slippery slope" is in itself a slippery slope.
That is *so* like rain on your wedding day.
Posted by: angryclown at December 22, 2005 06:23 PMThat is ironic AC. In the Alanis Morissette sense of the word.
Posted by: the elder at December 22, 2005 06:29 PMI think you need to add
Buncombe (the archaic and essentially mispelled psuedo-intellectual form of bunkum).
Meme
and
Hate-speech
But, that's just me....I've started down the slippery slope.
I'm going to go get the free ride I already paid for.
Mikey
Posted by: pb at December 22, 2005 07:14 PMIrony is misspelling mispelled
M...
Posted by: pb at December 22, 2005 07:15 PM"Buncombe"
Sorry, Peeb. Buncombe is the correct spelling. Bunkum is a hillbilly corruption.
And in any case, it is *far* from overused among blogs. Two people in the world use the word; PJ O'Rourke and me.
Posted by: mitch at December 22, 2005 07:27 PMWill someone please, please kill "at the end of the day..."
thank you,
cp
Posted by: cleversponge at December 22, 2005 08:47 PMonce again, Mitch is wrong.
First, four people use it, Mitch, PJ O'Rourke, my dad, and me.
He used it first (my dad), I suspect O'Rourke was secretly raised by my dad on a slippery slope.
Second..
Bunkum is the preferred spelling according to Websters. But then again, Mitch already heard that 4 years ago, and, no facts have been used while filming this blog.
Mikey
Posted by: pb at December 22, 2005 10:24 PMI second CS's motion to eliminate "at the end of the day." It's a typical lazy TV news reporter phrase. Another word that is often used in a like manner is "nevertheless." There is nothing wrong with word itself, just the frequency and inappropriateness of the usage. Minnesota Wild color commentator, Tom Reid is one of the worst offenders.
"The Wild had twelve shots on goal in the first period, nevertheless the score is 1-1."
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