The most irritating expression in English and Spanish

[samanasuenos]

P.S.
I forgot to add that one speaker, for 4 hours, spoke AND completely avoided normal English in favor of percolating and out of the box in the hopper and on and on.....YIKES!

 

[samanasuenos]

And another thing.

Since everything and everyone with ambition these days is Out Of The Box, can you tell me where the box is located? I would like to run from Them and crawl into the box.
Ugh.

 

[Marianopolita]

percolate- I have never heard it used...

Hola Sammy,

Your post is interesting enough to draw me back into the discussion for a moment. My list of words is just a very small sampling of a larger list of words and expressions that I would classify as irritating. The more I think of the question the more words and expressions come to mind.

I think in a general sense it is inevitable that speakers will express themselves using popular words, expressions, vocabulary etc. as many of these new terms are part of the daily speech of speakers. What is considered good speech and bad speech spreads among a speech population. However, just like you, I don't understand the over excessive usage or when these 'irritating' words and expressions supersede what is considered more traditional English. 'Out of the box' is used commonly in business which spread quickly into other English-speaking countries Canada being one of them. It is used a lot in the Canadian work milieu and in retrospect after reading your post one begins to wonder if some people don't have any other way of expressing themselves.

In my opinion, people who express themselves with these popular expressions and incorporate into their speech most of the new 'coined' phrases in whatever category- business, social, street slang etc. and become a dominate part of the way they speak may be example of how limited their vocabulary really is.

My struggle is I don?t always understand the expressions and when I ask the people who use them they can?t even explain the meaning of the word or expression either which makes me wonder why do they use them so often then. Three years ago, I bought a good resource by McGraw-Hill which has a wealth of contemporary American English slang and colloquial expressions. Now when I hear a word or expressions that I don?t understand I pull out my dictionary.

I just remembered one more that should be on my short list:

yada yada yada... -never liked it, just a nonsense expression that spread very quickly among speakers.

Regarding Spanish, I think after watching one episode of?Qui?n tiene la raz?n? and Casos de familia on Univisi?n you can get a quite a good list of 'irritating' words and expressions. These two shows can really try your patience but if you want to hear how many average Spanish speakers speak, learn some colloquialisms, slang and vulgarity, please do tune in. Since I began this thread, I have been paying attention to how often people use 'o sea' and it's incredible. Is it because maybe I am listening out for it now or do people think 'o sea' sounds prestigious when they speak? The hostess of ?Qui?n tiene la raz?n? is Nancy ?lvarez (dominicana). I guess these talk shows are all the same. Her most used word/ expression- 'es un malandro' (a Mexicanism which means a criminal or good for nothing) to the point where it's quite annoying.



-Marianopolita.

 

[senorblanco]

..."I'm going to be honest with you now...."
WTF is that ? So you are admitting that everything you have said to me up this point has been a lie? Or you lie to people if you to preempt what you are about to say with," Let me be honest..."
Por favor!

 

[suarezn]

I admit I'm sometimes guilty of the "You know..." and my wife loves the "Like" which sometimes rubs off on me.

Personally I just hate the US abbreviations of certain things such as Hubby, Veggies, tummy, etc...that annoys me so much I'm even getting annoyed just writing those words here.

The other ones are some of the Mexican ones. It doesn't seem to matter how much time I spend in Mexico, but this Padre / Padrisimo stuff just gets to me...but the worst one for me is when they say "Mande" which they use ALL the time if you call them, ask a question, etc...I sometimes couldn't hold it back and would say "Para donde quieres que te mande?".

 

[Alyonka]

I agree, it is better not to say anything than try to fill out gaps in speech by "you know," "like" or "ok" type phrases.

I don't like words "awesome," "hola" and "like" when used often for no apparent reason. Some English speakers use "hola" as "hi" or "how is it going?" although it might be the only Spanish word they know.

 

[Chirimoya]

Personally I just hate the US abbreviations of certain things such as Hubby, Veggies, tummy, etc...that annoys me so much I'm even getting annoyed just writing those words here.

Don't EVER go to Liverpool.

The other ones are some of the Mexican ones. It doesn't seem to matter how much time I spend in Mexico, but this Padre / Padrisimo stuff just gets to me...but the worst one for me is when they say "Mande" which they use ALL the time if you call them, ask a question, etc...I sometimes couldn't hold it back and would say "Para donde quieres que te mande?".

I hated 'mande'. Also 'bueno' for answering the phone.

Another supremely annoying Dominican phrase:

"Yo soy la clase de persona que..." - always a preamble to blowing their own trumpet.

 

[TOOBER_SDQ]

I cringe when people end a sentence with the word ?actually? or use the word with great frequency.

 

[El Rey de Mangu]

I always found corporate human resource speak EXTRA annoying.
It's always about "challenges and opportunities". Personally, if the house is burning down, you need to say "get out, the f------ house is on FIRE!

 

[samanasuenos]

Amen!

1. I agree with you; HR folks speak in code. A sage coworker once told me to beware HR, "They are not working for you; they work against you."

2. The impetus for me logging on today came after having heard Amy Goodman on TV use my favorite word, robust. Groan.

Could we just leave robust with the coffee advertisements? Why do we have to have robust programs, responses, plans, etc. UGH!

Ciao, Sammy

 

[samanasuenos]

yada yada yada... -never liked it, just a nonsense expression that spread very quickly among speakers.

This was used on Seinfeld so much that I suspect a Jewish origin or relationship. I took it to mean something like "and so on" or "yeah, yeah, yeah" when someone does not agree with you. Not so nonsensical.

And how would we translate YADA YADA YADA into Spanish?

 

[Chirimoya]

In Spanish you just say blablabl? - pretty much universal.

 

[Marianopolita]

Clarification of possible origin...

yada yada yada... -never liked it, just a nonsense expression that spread very quickly among speakers.

This was used on Seinfeld so much that I suspect Jewish origin or relationship. I took it to mean something like "and so on" or "yeah, yeah, yeah" when someone does not agree with you. Not so nonsensical.

To clarify: nonsensical meaning that some people started to use it after every phrase to the point where it DOES lose its meaning at least whenever I heard it. I had a co-worker who used the phrase after every sentence. It did not matter what the topic was... and yada, yada, yada.


Dictionary definition (Merriam Webster):

Etymology: alteration of earlier yatata idle chatter, probably ultimately from British dial. and argot yatter-yatter to chatter, of imitative origin
Date: 1980
: boring or empty talk <listening to a lot of yada yada about the economy> ?often used interjectionally especially in recounting words regarded as too dull or predictable to be worth repeating.

-Marianopolita.

 

[minerva_feliz]

ta' pre?a'

It's "bajaymama"..... get it right!!

Wow, thanks for your expertise on that lovely word :laugh:...not that I ever plan on using it if I can avoid it!!

Just thought of another one that bothers me...the common use of the word "pre?ar" or "pre?ada" (as in, fulana 'ta pre?a') in the DR to describe pregnant women and goats alike. Isn't this considered offensive in other Latin American countries...using that word use to describe humans and when it is only supposed to be used for animals? Would this be similar to saying "knocked up" in English, or is it worse than that?

 

[Bayx-**]

Here's an english saying that drives me up the wall, and no one has been able to tell me what it means-

Not for nothing, but...

:angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:

I hate this one also. It's irritating!!!!

 

[dulce]

"We will re-visit that issue"
In the 90's this was a popular phrase used by politicians and business executives in the US. It irrated me because what it meant was that they got caught making a huge mistake. When the mistake became public knowledge they would use the phrase. We will re-visit that issue. ummm In the end they would never tell what the re-visiting the issue accomplished or changed.
I am surprised that the DR politians did not pick up that phrase.
I also hate the phrase "Git er' done"!

 

[todobien]

drives me crazy

the worst one for me, among others is: "with all due respect". because you know as soon as you hear that, they have no respect.

 

[drloca]

Here's an english saying that drives me up the wall, and no one has been able to tell me what it means-

Not for nothing, but...

:angry::angry::angry::angry::angry:

That is considered English??? Interesting to say the least!

 

[Marianopolita]

Two posts with good linguistic examples-

... Personally I just hate the US abbreviations of certain things such as Hubby, Veggies, tummy, etc...that annoys me so much I'm even getting annoyed just writing those words here.

The other ones are some of the Mexican ones. It doesn't seem to matter how much time I spend in Mexico, but this Padre / Padrisimo stuff just gets to me...but the worst one for me is when they say "Mande" which they use ALL the time if you call them, ask a question, etc...I sometimes couldn't hold it back and would say "Para donde quieres que te mande?".

Actually your examples are diminutives not abbreviations which are not used much as compared to Spanish, which is considered rich in usage even compared to its sister romance languages. Think of the amount of speakers that use the various popular diminutive forms in Spanish such as chiquito, casita, muchachito, carrito etc. That's how Costa Ricans got their nickname of ticos because of the incessant usage of the diminutive form- ico, by its speakers.

English in comparison is not considered a language rich in diminutive forms but since you listed your examples, I think once again a regional difference has been brought to light. In (my) Canadian vernacular you don't hear it as much and specific to your examples, I would said 'hubby' is the most common. 'Veggies' and 'tummy' are quite limited.

Regarding the Mexicanisms, I agree with you and I mentioned an example with the usage of 'padre' in my post #28. Without even going to Mexico, you will be surrounded by plenty of their regionalisms because they are the largest Latino group in the USA and proof of that is Spanish television in country has a large Mexican presence.


Good post suarezn from a linguistic perspective.

...

Just thought of another one that bothers me...the common use of the word "pre?ar" or "pre?ada" (as in, fulana 'ta pre?a') in the DR to describe pregnant women and goats alike. Isn't this considered offensive in other Latin American countries...using that word use to describe humans and when it is only supposed to be used for animals? Would this be similar to saying "knocked up" in English, or is it worse than that?

I agree with your post 100%.

The usage of "pre?ada" to refer to a pregnant woman is definitely on the lower end of the colloquial scale. Once again its usage (IMO) is a reflection of the choice of speech of the speaker(s) in general. It can be heard all over the Spanish-speaking world and yes, some women are offended by its usage. I put "pre?ada" on the same level as macho y hembra when referring to human beings especially 'hembra' which many women feel is not appropriate either.

1/ The most common and standard word is embarazada
2/ Less common but still used is encinta which comes from Latin and similarities are in the other romance languages as well specifically French.

IMO, it's best to use the words acceptable for human beings even though on a colloquial level you may hear "pre?ada" a lot since you never know which woman or women will be offended.


-Marianopolita.

 

[dv8]

for me the most irritating expression of all times is "how are you" and "como estas". person who asks never gives a f**k so why even bother?
and of course there is "fine" and "bien" that one has to say regardless of how they feel.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagggrhhhhhhh!!!
:tired: