Tag I’m just saying

OK, so I’m like getting tired of certain popular phrases. Not only are they overused but I find them a cheap way to use the English language.

We seem to be using fewer and fewer words (and more pictures, I might add) to describe complex situations. We’ve become a culture of lazy communicators. Here’s a list of some of the phrases I dislike the most followed by a discussion of the importance of using accurate words.

“It’s so dated”. First of all, why does it matter? In a world where everything changes in a nano-second, anything you do today is going to be “dated” tomorrow, anyway. Fashion, hair styles, color, food. Besides, who do you think coined that phrase?

Duh. it’s retailers. If they can convince you it’s  (whatever “it” is) is outdated, you’ll have to spend money to get it up-to-date, right? And that means money out of your pocket and into theirs.

I’m all for sprucing up and changing things around. I’m all for making our homes as lovely as we can. But there’s a point of diminishing returns.

“A pop of color”
What does that mean anyway? Well, of course, we know it means we need to add color. Couldn’t we just say that? Colors don’t “pop”. It’s not even possible.

“it’s all good.” N o o-o-o, it isn’t. It might be good for us right now but it won’t stay that way. And it certainly isn’t that way for everyone everywhere. Even Jesus didn’t say it was all good. In fact His message was more about what wasn’t good and what we should be doing to make it better.

“What happens in ______stays in _______”.  Just posted about this the other day here. Hate, hate, hate this phrase.

I’m so “flustrated”. It’s not even a word. The word is “frustrated”.

“Walking it back”. A cheap cop-out for a real apology. Apologies have become as common as pajamas worn in public and with about the same effect.

“Oh, my God”!  Is He? If He isn’t, then it’s not “my”, is it?

MANI’S AND PEDI’S  I understand this one but can we please just quit abbreviating everything?

“_____is the new____”. Especially in regards to age. I’m expected to look, act and dress a good twenty years younger than I am. What do grandchildren do when their grandmothers looks as young as their mothers? Doesn’t it change the whole concept of a grandparent?

If we’re busy working hard at looking young, are we still baking cookies, cuddling, and spending time just enjoying our grandchildren?  Who are we trying to kid anyway? Aging can’t be put off. It’s eventually going to catch us. And if we’re looking a lot younger than we really are, when it does catch up with us, it may be a bigger shock than it would have been otherwise. 🙂

“Sorry about that”.  Slow service, bad food, etc. Usually said in a retail situation. And no they’re not really sorry because if they were, they’d be doing something more than offering a flippant “Sorry, about that.” Being”sorry” should result in changed behavior.

“My bad”. (Similar to above) Your “bad” what? How about just saying, “That was my mistake.” Probably because then we’d be responsible for our actions.

“it is what it is”. I’ve addressed this one many times in the past so you should know by know how much I hate that phrase. Briefly, it may be what it is (for now), but it may not be what it should be or what it can be.

“He/she is not that in to you”. How is somebody “in” to anybody anyway? Again, not possible. He or she doesn’t like you. Period. Enough said.

“I’m just sayin’. Saying what, exactly? (I’m afraid I’ve used this one myself now and then.) Well, what is it you are saying? Either you’re saying something or you’re not.

You might say, what’s the big deal with any of this? They’re all just words. Innocent words.  Because:

• Words are important.

• Expressing ourselves accurately is important.

• Saying what we mean and meaning what we say is important.

Too may people casually throw out phrases and words like a great big blanket to cover all kinds of things.

It’s a lazy way to use the English language.

There is a huge list (over one hundred) of human emotions that we are capable of experiencing. Here are a few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But we usually use just the same few words to express them,  like happy, sad, mad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is not that we don’t experience a wide array of emotions, but that we limit the words we use to describe them.

Take “mad”,  for example.

 

 

 

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There is angry, irritated, “miffed”, unsettled, livid, “peeved”, furious, outraged. When we limit our description, we limit our ability to stay in touch with how we’re feeling and we lose our ability to manage our emotions.

If you change the way you label your emotions,  for example using stronger words to describe positive feelings and milder words to describe negative feelings, you can literally change your mood.

When dealing with depression, it’s crucial to label your emotions accurately. If you say, “I’m depressed”, and you’re really experiencing just a common low-mood, can you see how you would approach the situation differently?

So let’s all do a better job of using the English language. It’s a beautiful language with many nuances and can be used to say exactly what we mean.

God bless and have a good and multi- expressions 🙂 day.