Overused words and phrases

[Flick James]

"Awesome."  

"Literally," especially since it's almost always used to convey the exact opposite meaning.  Why do people run around saying things like "I literally died when I heard that?"

Well, then, Rev, you will love this:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/literally

I (almost) literally p**sed myself laughing.

[Dr. Frank N. Furter]

"Nazi", "Hitler" and "Socialism" have been overused to death lately....

[The Gravekeeper]

"Nazi", "Hitler" and "Socialism" have been overused to death lately....

My favorite is "communist Nazi." It may seem reasonable to the person slinging that term, but it's a hilarious oxymoron to anyone with at least a decent grasp of both philosophies.

[10,000 Volt Ghost]

Getting raped.

I read some news story about a person complaining about a banks charges on his account and he says "I'm literally getting raped by my bank with overdraft charges."

I feel like this would not be a case that would make it to the Special Victims Unit.

[AndyC]

"Nazi", "Hitler" and "Socialism" have been overused to death lately....

My favorite is "communist Nazi." It may seem reasonable to the person slinging that term, but it's a hilarious oxymoron to anyone with at least a decent grasp of both philosophies.

I always groan when somebody throws the Hitler insult at people with conservative values I would consider very much in line with the generation that fought the Nazis.

Might as well call somebody a poopie head as use historical analogies that don't work.

[Flick James]

Getting raped.

I read some news story about a person complaining about a banks charges on his account and he says "I'm literally getting raped by my bank with overdraft charges."

I feel like this would not be a case that would make it to the Special Victims Unit.

Well, if the person is "literally" getting raped, then perhaps it is newsworthy. Is it the entire bank staff raping this person, or just the branch manager?

[Flick James]

In the business world, you hear the word "incentivize" a lot these days. It's not so much the making up of a new word that bugs me, this is actually a reasonable new word for the always mutable English language. No, it's the buzzword status of it. It's like "value-added." I watched the only episode of The Apprentice that I've ever watched recently and that phrase was used over and over. I'm currently pursuing an MBA, and I hear all of these words and phrases all the time. "Management phrases" I call them, used by unimaginative, uninspired, hack managers to make people think they are such together managers. What a joke.

[Dr. Frank N. Furter]

I always groan when somebody throws the Hitler insult at people with conservative values I would consider very much in line with the generation that fought the Nazis.

Might as well call somebody a poopie head as use historical analogies that don't work.

Just out of curiosity, how do you feel when people use the N word to describe liberals?

[AndyC]

I always groan when somebody throws the Hitler insult at people with conservative values I would consider very much in line with the generation that fought the Nazis.

Might as well call somebody a poopie head as use historical analogies that don't work.

Just out of curiosity, how do you feel when people use the N word to describe liberals?

You mean "Nazi?" Can't say I've heard it applied as much to Liberals as labels like "communist" or "socialist" or even "totalitarian" but none of those are usually applicable to the people they're hurled at.

My issue is not with people of any political inclination. Just with people who make comparisons based on a very superficial understanding of history.

[Flick James]

"Nazi", "Hitler" and "Socialism" have been overused to death lately....

My favorite is "communist Nazi." It may seem reasonable to the person slinging that term, but it's a hilarious oxymoron to anyone with at least a decent grasp of both philosophies.

I always groan when somebody throws the Hitler insult at people with conservative values I would consider very much in line with the generation that fought the Nazis.

Might as well call somebody a poopie head as use historical analogies that don't work.

Is there a significant difference between communism and the National Socialist Party? Hmmm. Both very patriotic and into central control. Both very coercive.

I don't know, "communist Nazi" doesn't seem like much of an oxymoron to me.

They're both poopie heads.

[The Gravekeeper]

"Nazi", "Hitler" and "Socialism" have been overused to death lately....

My favorite is "communist Nazi." It may seem reasonable to the person slinging that term, but it's a hilarious oxymoron to anyone with at least a decent grasp of both philosophies.

I always groan when somebody throws the Hitler insult at people with conservative values I would consider very much in line with the generation that fought the Nazis.

Might as well call somebody a poopie head as use historical analogies that don't work.

Is there a significant difference between communism and the National Socialist Party? Hmmm. Both very patriotic and into central control. Both very coercive.

I don't know, "communist Nazi" doesn't seem like much of an oxymoron to me.

They're both poopie heads.

Except that they're literally at the opposite ends of the political spectrum. To quote wikipedia: "Communism is a sociopolitical movement that aims for a classless society structured upon communal ownership of the means of production and the end of wage labour and private property."

"Fascism is a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to organize a nation according to corporatist perspectives, values, and systems, including the political system and the economy."

Mind you, the methods used to bring about both systems have been similar. It's the mindset and goals that are quite different.

[Flick James]

"Nazi", "Hitler" and "Socialism" have been overused to death lately....

My favorite is "communist Nazi." It may seem reasonable to the person slinging that term, but it's a hilarious oxymoron to anyone with at least a decent grasp of both philosophies.

I always groan when somebody throws the Hitler insult at people with conservative values I would consider very much in line with the generation that fought the Nazis.

Might as well call somebody a poopie head as use historical analogies that don't work.

Is there a significant difference between communism and the National Socialist Party? Hmmm. Both very patriotic and into central control. Both very coercive.

I don't know, "communist Nazi" doesn't seem like much of an oxymoron to me.

They're both poopie heads.

Except that they're literally at the opposite ends of the political spectrum. To quote wikipedia: "Communism is a sociopolitical movement that aims for a classless society structured upon communal ownership of the means of production and the end of wage labour and private property."

"Fascism is a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to organize a nation according to corporatist perspectives, values, and systems, including the political system and the economy."

Mind you, the methods used to bring about both systems have been similar. It's the mindset and goals that are quite different.

That's only if you look at the political spectrum as a straight horizontal line with this on one end and that on the other. They're just two sides of the same damn coin. If you define the political spectrum in terms of statism vs non statism, and some do, then the political spectrum becomes a bit more 3 dimensional. The left to right horizontal line is simply how the "great unwashed" digests political thought. Statism is statism. Communism and fascism are just two sides of the same statist coin. If the methods or means are similar, then how different are they? I understand there are shades of gray here, but ultimately, statism sacrifices the individual for the collective. If one is in favor of that, then fine. I can accept that, just like I can accept that socialism works on a small scale. But on a larger scale, communism and fascism typically end up with roughly the same result.

[3mnkids]

Godwin's law in action.

[Flick James]

Godwin's law in action.

In-f**king-deed. Well spotted.

In fact, I think the post that led to it was about that very thing. So, in this case, it was appropriate.

[Paquita]

In the business world, you hear the word "incentivize" a lot these days. It's not so much the making up of a new word that bugs me, this is actually a reasonable new word for the always mutable English language. No, it's the buzzword status of it. It's like "value-added." I watched the only episode of The Apprentice that I've ever watched recently and that phrase was used over and over. I'm currently pursuing an MBA, and I hear all of these words and phrases all the time. "Management phrases" I call them, used by unimaginative, uninspired, hack managers to make people think they are such together managers. What a joke.

Ha!  I'm so glad you said that so I don't feel like an office nerd bringing it up!  I had to fight not to use "incentivize" in revising one of our policies.. one of the execs wanted it, but I just refused and offered a solution using real words.