I had to offer writers another utterly author-intrusive, mildly-bitchy view of overused platitudes I have plucked from English over the last few weeks.  The list of over-used words has lengthened since writing the first in this series. This tome takes a quirky spy at today’s English with phrases best avoided when writing.

The Bottom Line

Applied at the end of financial pronouncements with Po faced commentators decrying how bad, “the companies’ bottom-line has been this year.” Funny though, the only, “Bottom Line,” Down under is what you see when a workman bends over on a building site revealing the top of his posterior crack.  That’s the Aussie version.

The Credit Crunch

Another financial horror oft repeated. I get the two mixed up with my morning muesli. Can’t you just feel the crunch in the credit card bill? Ouch. I wonder if debit interest, bank fees and overdraft fees on my credit card bill are the crunchy bits. Sort of like a Swiss Muesli Credit Cereal. “Crunch!”

We’re Not out of the Woods Yet

How the hell did we get in a forest? I love forests; I’ve done naughty things in them – I don’t mind being in there at all! We probably have the choice of several versions of woods – Sequoia Woods, Montane Woods or Scrubby Woods. This hackneyed phrase is yet another recession-term best avoided. A solution? “It’s not over yet.”

Transparency / Transparent

The only transparency I loved was transparent jeans back in ‘79. Weren’t they fun? All politicians bleat is how they would love more, “transparency.” Why don’t they mind their own business? Isn’t transparency just a way for those in power to grab more money from constituents? A possible replacement for, “transparency,” could be, “evident,” or, “clear.”

Consolidating

This on really gets me.  Everyone is, “Consolidating,” such as, “I’m consolidating my finances,” or, “We’re consolidating our position.” Bah! I actually prefer to, “console-my-date,” but we won’t go there.

Conclusion

I hope you found this guide some help in getting rid of tired words. It’s interesting how we often follow each other, with popular phrases running the risk of sounding over-used. If you have any platitudes then, please, write them in the comments section to help others avoid tired English.

Also From Author

Hackneyed Phrases, Platitudes and Over: Used Words in the 21st Century