Phrase that came out of the blue

[Montecfo]

Another phrase that gets me "No worries"
So if I decline an invitation "No worries"
Or if I have a conflict and can't attend something "No worries"
What the heck? What am I worrying about or is the person making plans "not worrying" that I can't attend? Where does worrying enter the picture?

I agree this has really become overused and is annoying.

 

[TromboneAl]

Well according to my second grade teacher, all you have to do is say the phrase without the other person to know which one to use. I.e. if you're confused about whether to use "Mary and I" or "Mary and me", just say the phrase without "Mary and" and the correct usage becomes clear.

I used that excellent method, learned in elementary school, up until a few years ago. Why did I change? Because it takes a little too long. If I'm in the middle of speaking a sentence, I don't have time to rewind and hear it without the other person's name.

So, what do I do instead? I just think about whether I am the subject ("Bob and I gave him a piano.") or the object ("He gave the piano to Bob and me."). With practice, I find that a little bit faster.

But I do use that trick to explain it to others (e.g. when doing a requested critique of some writing): "You wouldn't say 'Me went to the store,' so why do you say, "Me and Bob went to the store"?

I was also taught that the "me" should come last: "He gave it to Bob and me" rather than "He gave it to me and Bob," but apparently, that's not a real rule.

Finally, when to use "myself"? When you're both the subject and the object ("I sent the email to myself").

 

[Rianne]

I feel like I just read a conversation with my DSI who was an English teacher for 30 years. This was often the topic at dinner, sometimes Christmas dinner.

 

[Gumby]

I recall saying to my nephews at Christmas dinner 20 years ago, when they were in high school, "How can you be failing English? It's your native language."

 

[pj.mask]

Ever text with a young millennial? A different language, entirely. I am learning the new language by googling the run on words and phrases that make no sense whatsoever.

As a millennial, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t text in regular English. The only abbreviation I have seen is LOL but nowadays that is usually just a laughing emoji

 

[pj.mask]

Another phrase that gets me "No worries"
So if I decline an invitation "No worries"
Or if I have a conflict and can't attend something "No worries"
What the heck? What am I worrying about or is the person making plans "not worrying" that I can't attend? Where does worrying enter the picture?

One explanation I found that gained a lot of traction online is:

‘Boomers seem to expect special treatment. If you hold door open after a thanks, the ‘your welcome’ is because they feel they did something special and deserve to be acknowledged for the good deed.

Millennials feel holding the door for someone is a standard expectation, so after a thanks - the no worries indicates that it is standard behavior and not something extraordinary that is deserving of praise’

In this case, many younger people are considerate of others. You not showing up may change their plans or outcomes. The “no worries” is probably them trying to make sure you don’t feel bad about now showing up.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

I agree this has really become overused and is annoying.

I agree with you that it is overused and annoying. I would think the intended meaning of "no worries" is something like, no big deal or no problem. I still can't help but wonder if the other person is saying I don't really care if you can come or not, or whatever it is that you didn't do, they really don't care if you can do it or not.

For that reason, I don't like using that phrase. It just sounds a little unclear even though it should be clear, the reality to me it is not. It's far better to say IMO, Oh, I'm so sorry you can't make/do it. At least the other person has the feeling you really do care.

 

[John Galt III]

OK, here's a good one. The word 'none'. Can be thought of of singular or plural, IMO. None of the girls *want* to go to the fair. None of the girls *wants* to go to the fair. Supposedly 'none' means 'no one' and is always singular, so the second sentence is right, but it sounds awkward. jmho.

 

[Nemo2]

Or, as Polyphemus might say, "Nobody".

 

[imoldernu]

bla, bla, bla

 

[Rianne]

As a millennial, I don’t know anyone who doesn’t text in regular English. The only abbreviation I have seen is LOL but nowadays that is usually just a laughing emoji

I would paste and copy text conversations with my DN who is 21, but I don't know how. My statement is not a criticism. Example words:
-Yeye - an expression of "that's dope"
-oye - listen up
-ugo - you go


to name a few. Her fingers type so fast, there are misspellings and run on sentences. It makes me smile. She graduated from the U of I CU magna cum laude. This has nothing to do with intelligence, it's simply a way of communicating. She watches Floribama Shore and Jersey Shore for mental relaxation with her friends.

 

[MichaelB]

Makes one nostalgic for the '60s, when everyone communicated with proper grammar, words had one meaning, correct English was the standard and slang hadn't been invented. One more evil brought on by millennials.

 

[Rianne]

Makes one nostalgic for the '60s, when everyone communicated with proper grammar, words had one meaning, correct English was the standard and slang hadn't been invented. One more evil brought on my millennials.

Ahhh, yes. Just like Rock and Roll calmed my parents and Woodstock expressed the vision of the future. Where have all the flowers gone?

 

[Sojourner]

Wow, nine whole pages of discussion about this and no one has mentioned one I've been hearing a lot lately: legit. Seems like people started using it out of the blue about 6-8 months ago, and I'm hearing it more and more from people of all stripes recently. Probably the most annoying new slang trend I've noticed over the past year.

Joe: "How was the party at Jim's last night?"
Jane: "Oh, it was great, but so crowded! I'd say there were legit 100 people there!"
Joe: "That's too many for Jim's small place. Did he have enough food for everyone?"
Jane: "Actually, he did, and it was delicious! He must have had, I'd say—legit—20 different trays of appetizers there."

According to urbandictionary.com: "Legit: Something idiot hipsters say when they mean 'seriously'".

 

[Montecfo]

I feel you.

 

[kgtest]

Brah or Bro.

Flossing

Straight Up

Make America...wait nevermind.

My all time favorite. Fughettaboutit . All Set.

 

[calmloki]

bla, bla, bla

yada yada

 

[blueskyk]

For people in customer service, "Perfect!" has become a verbal tic. It bothers me slightly because I was taught to use "perfect" sparingly - as in, something that is the very best it can be. Getting a string of "Perfect!s" as I answer yes/no questions is somewhat jarring.

This.

I’m loosing my veneer on this one...checked in for annual physical and after about 20 “puurrfect” (it seemed to have 3 syllables) between two receptionists as they check through all my info confirming it is still all the same, I declare, out loud, “I don’t think I’ve ever had such a perfect morning!”

Then I realized, oh sh*t...I’m becoming a crotchety old person [emoji4]

 

[braumeister]

I remember about ten years ago when I was in London, just about the only adjective I heard was "brilliant" and after a while it lost all meaning. Perfect will fade away and be replaced by something else.

 

[Nemo2]

I’m loosing my veneer on this one..

'Loosing'...now there's one you don't hear too often.

 

[statsman]

The one I hear a lot is "what evs", which appears to have replaced "whatever". The fact that my Medicare-age DW is saying it doesn't help.

 

[ponyboy]

Cra-cra - crazy...a term older people use and think is hip

Probably the one I hate the most is when people will simply say "REALLY" and use it as a single word full sentence, as a statement and a question...all at the same time. The phrase was almost exclusively adopted by small children and women. Thankfully, it was a flash in the pan and you rarely hear it anymore...used in the context above.

also "you dont know what you dont know."

 

[Chuckanut]

How about 'credible'. If you want something to be true, but don't have facts to back up your desire, you say it is 'credible'.

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow, nine whole pages of discussion about this and no one has mentioned one I've been hearing a lot lately: legit. Seems like people started using it out of the blue about 6-8 months ago, and I'm hearing it more and more from people of all stripes recently. Probably the most annoying new slang trend I've noticed over the past year...

Nah. That term has been in circulation for 20 years.

 

[Major Tom]

This has nothing to do with intelligence, it's simply a way of communicating. She watches Floribama Shore and Jersey Shore for mental relaxation with her friends.

I'm going to have to reluctantly agree with you on this one. Try as I may, I can't help but judge people based on their use of the written form of the language. Trouble is, I encounter so many intelligent and successful young people who just don't seem to think that proper grammar is important. The complete lack of uppercase letters in a piece of prose is close to a cardinal sin in my book, but if everyone is doing it, what am I supposed to do?

Yours truly,

An Anachronism.