I was in the middle of writing this list and read an article about Lake Superior State University releasing a similar one. In any case, here's mine. Take no offense if you use these phrases, as I have been guilty of using them myself.
In 2011, I hope to never again hear or say:
Going forward - "from now on" or "In the future" will suffice
Reach out to - just say "call" "email" etc. and stop trying to pretend you have an intimate relationship with someone in the Purchasing Dept.
Granular - "detailed" will do
Having said that - whatever happened to "on the other hand"? Better yet, why not just take a stand in the first place?
Just sayin' - so do you mean or not mean what you "just said"?
Finally, let's avoid a technique a handful of writers are good at but most of us are not. I hope to never again read or write a status update or tweet where one states a well known phrase, restates it, inverting the subject and direct object, and then, in Emperor's-New-Clothes-like fashion, receives scores of "Likes" or comments claiming it is philosophically or theologically profound, e.g. "The question is not 'Do we believe in God?', but 'Does God believe in us?' or "Let's stop singing our songs and let our songs sing us".
What's next? "It's time to stop mowing our lawns and let our lawns mow us?"
Hopefully, I will avoid using these phrases in 2011. Going forward, I'll be reaching out to you, so let's celebrate the New Year! Having said that, let the New Year celebrate us!
...at the granular level.
Just sayin'.
Any you would like to add?
"On the ground" -- unless is is used to discuss the behavior of an aircraft as it taxis. In all other cases, you are not allowed to talk about the situation "on the ground"
Posted by: Michael | December 31, 2010 at 05:55 PM
I should have added that one. I did a whole sermon on that one a couple of years ago. I get tired of hearing it in news stories. It seems like a way for reporters to sound like they have some military experience. Seriously, other than the ISS, don't most news stories occur on the ground? Even airplanes are only newsworthy when they are "on the ground" unexpectedly.
Posted by: Don Heatley | December 31, 2010 at 06:15 PM
Ha, I guess it's just the personal preferences of the brilliant and the talented but most of these don't bother me.
Honestly, I kinda like "going forward" because it has a connotation of progress on the journey as opposed to this dramatic line in the sand, "From this day forth ..." - so modernistic :)
I aslo like reaching out because of all the different mediums we have. When a call, visit, text, FB wall post, FB private message, tweet mention, direct mention, and then some are all options, "reaching out" or "get a hold of" sounds better than saying, "I need to write on Don's wall this week".
Just sayin' annoys me - I feel like that it cannot be properly written without physically waving the middle finger. At least that's what I picture when I see others writing that. Just imagin'
I completely agree with the inverting subject and direct object Kennedy Ask Not wanna-be trick.
Thanks for the humor here - see you in the New Year friend.
Posted by: Tim | January 01, 2011 at 02:26 PM
I would like "troops" to disappear, as in "33 troops died today." Troops is a collective noun. Let's admit we are killing young men and women. (I would REALLY like it to disappear because we are no longer at war.)
Posted by: Bette | February 11, 2011 at 09:44 AM