I have written several articles how I do not like business cliches. I was so glad to see this piece in the local newspaper about the Plain English Campaign that voted this year on the worst english cliches.
Top on the list of 3 that I hate:
1. “At the end of the day”
2. “At this moment in time”
3. “With all due respect”
I especially don’t like the last one. Typically when someone begins a sentence with this phrase, what follows shows a total lack of respect!
Some other favorites of mine they list:
24/7
absolutely
ballpark figure
basically
between a rock and a hard place
blue sky
bottom line
going forward
I hear what you’re saying..
it’s not rocket science
move the goal-posts
pushing the envelope
singing from the same hymn sheet
the fact of the matter is
thinking outside the box
to be honest/to be honest with you/to be perfectly honest
touch base
Do you have some favorites?
No problems, can’t complain.
target (used as a verb or adjective)
straw man
level playing field
slogo/logan
non-issue
zero tolerance
thumbs up (the gesture)
green light
the sign lanugage telephone gesture (unless you’re actually communicating with a person who is hearing impaired)
meta message
exceed expectations
outperform
ramp up
carry water for
working hard or hardly working