"Going forward..."

Why do people, when asked a question feel the need to repeat the question while answering it. E.g..'why did I vote for him? I'll tell you why'. I want to scream.

Teetime, I think you've spelt B***cks wrongly?

Had a phone call from an estate agent yesterday who informed me he'd 'sent an e mail to yourself' nearly dropped the phone laughing.

When ordering food in a restaurant they say "Can I get. .." and this morning I was informed my son in law is going away for a short holiday to decompress

Decompress...would that be to a decompression chamber? Maybe he's an astronaut or deep sea diver Though probably not.

Like others on this thread, I'm interested in the way our use of language changes. I heard a well informed discussion on R4 a while ago, where amongst other things, starting a sentence with 'So' was explained as an important 'heads up' to listeners. Just interesting.

Our grandparents wouldn't recognise half these phrases, would they?

At meetings with our boss we used to have fun counting his cliches- best one was " they have us in a cleft stick over a barrel"!

"So" is the one which really annoys me.

Christalbee I agree, I cringe every time I see 'bored of' written down too, it seems to be prevalent in newspapers and books these days.

Me too. I cannot bear, 'I'm stood here' or 'she was sat there'.
Remember Morecombe and Wise when Ernie mentioned 'the plays what I wrote'? My nephews put the word 'what' in a sentence where it doesn't belong and I hesitate to correct them anymore as they can't see why it's wrong.

I agree with Coco51 the thumb on the index finger - clever them making the point to stupid us. Grrrr I will decide the point myself thank you. Also what is this 'statement' they are all making about their decor plans on house buying programmes.

Any housing programmes that use the words "giving them what they crave" !!!
They want it, They don't crave it!

Coco51, 'Yeah, no', is the one that irritates me too.

I think that "incentivise" is the most horrible Americanism that has no place in the English language, although I've been known to use it ironically. What's wrong with just giving someone an incentive?

What about when people put their index fingers in the air to emphasise that something is in inverted commas? Very annoying!

Return back ??

All of the above drive me mad... 'I was sat (sitting) ' in particular. Nearly everyone interviewed on tv as an 'eye witness' trots than one out, and so-called journalists even use it in reports. What do they teach 'em on their 'meedja' courses?

As a carer, I am being 'signposted' after signing the Carers Register.

Why does a house always "boast" about all those rooms?

I really dislike being referred to as 'yourself ' on the phone. It's YOU!!!
Rant over, as you were ...... ?

'It is what it is' is one of my pet hates and why do so many people start every sentence with 'So'?

Grrrrr.... "So..." Drives me mad especially on Radio 4 when people are being interviewed which is where I notice it the most!

estate agent speak...when did a nice room become a good space ?

A pet hate in the home viewing genre of programmes is, "this is your bathroom/kitchen". It is not 'theirs', it is 'the' bathroom/kitchen!

I agree 'property' always is wrong - it's a flat, cottage, house - never 'property'.

I have a theory that the 'So' thing is used to avoid answering a direct question with either a yes or a no. I think it's the default position for people like CEOs who have had a crash course (on being appointed) in non-committal answering techniques ...like politicians. That way you don't shock the shareholders or incur the wrath of voters. I guess they don't realise how many people would prefer them to be direct.