over-use of phrases

Oh yes Eleanorre - impacting is my least favourite verb.

And have you noticed the over-use of Devastated. No one is ever shocked, disappointed, a bit worried etc. Whenever there is a crime in the next road or a natural disaster the whole community is devastated. Lazy journalists.

Don't you just love it when a contestant has had a 'fantastic journey' to the final of a reality show and then is 'over the moon'?

What about 'having a nightmare' !!!

"Give me a bell!" and "Meet at yours..."

I loathe the new trend of saying price 'hikes' instead of 'increases'. Why do we have to copy Americanisms so slavishly?

I completely agree.
Another thing I really get annoyed with is when people say "haitch" for the letter "H"!

That really annoys me too ShirlR Grrrr...

1. "like" = "as if"
2. "convince" = "persuade"
3. to stop someone from doing something
4 "Me and my mates were (or even "was")......"

Oops, I know; I said I'd lurk for a while.

Dig

I hate the word.s Awsome and Cool grrr. I loathe It's not rocket science is it? Grrr grr grr.

Ooh definitely 'leveraging', ChrisGoddard - at least the other two are interesting and it's obvious what they mean even if you've never heard them before. But 'leveraging' - I think I once knew what it meant but I now can't remember (no surprises there then - oops, is that another one?).
I consider it to be one of those business jargon phrases used (usually be men I think) to make us inferior mortals feel just that - inferior, and ignorant to boot.

'For sure' instead of 'certainly' ... it started with foreign drivers in F1 and now everyone uses it...makes me wince!

"The bigger picture,loving" basically, Im loving it,

It should read,"The bigger picture" basically and" Im loving it", I must
have had a little senior moment on 1st post,sorry!

I once wrote what was intended to be a light-hearted article in the Village newsletter about the intrusion of Americanisms into our language. to my horrified bewilderment, a reply was sent which attacked me savagely, saying I was crass and ignorant, jumping on the bandwagon of disparaging all things American. I really think he'd missed the point. I wish I'd also mentioned the hi-jacking of words like "gay" which can no longer be used with impunity to express their true meaning. I think this is sad.

seraphicDigitalis'
It is not new. I believe that in Victorian times a "gay" was one of the many terms for a prostitute (female). How it then came to mean "happy" and "cheerful" for so long before meaning - well, gay - I really don't know.

Fellow pedants will love this article from today's Independent on line:

http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2011/06/14/the-banned-list-top-100/

I like Orwell's principles quoted at the end of the feature.

Elegran gay, meaning light-hearted, dates from the Middle Ages but later came to mean especially keen on social pleasures with a hint of immorality. Hence expressions such as gay dog and gay young things. That led on to your point about it being one of many terms for a prostitute in the nineteenth century. Gay as a term for homosexuality comes from prison slang before World War II. It's a shame to lose words that once had a very precise meaning and don't really have substitutes – charisma is a classic example – but words do change their meaning and usage over time and that's what gives our language is richness. That said, there's no excuse for sloppiness and I'm impressed with the range of pedants on this thread.

I stand corrected! But I'd still like to use it in my way!

How d'you feel about "Absolutely!" What's wrong with "yes!"? and, of course, not "Yeah!"

Sorry seraphicDigitalis Pedant's Corner is clearly the place where I should have to stay – facing the wall until suitably penitent. I wasn't "correcting" you. I agree that it's rather sad to lose such a useful word when there is no alternative that means quite the same thing. However, when you think of some of the horrible expressions used to describe homosexuals, perhaps we should just give in graciously. Perhaps I shall start describing cheerful and delightful people as alacritous and see where that gets me.

Several times this weekend I have heard sports broadcasters saying that a certain golfer has his head 'in the right place'. Well, thank goodness for that! I wonder where it has been.

Annobel I have never forgotten reading that a certain football team "had found their feet". A good start, I would think.

And long ago a distinguished athletics commentator announced, to my confusion, that high jumpers were achieving 'greater height in depth'.

'Laters' instead of 'Goodbye'

" You alright?" as a greeting, instead of "Hello".

Especially when visiting a patient in hospital GoldenGran.