What Overused powerwords/talking-point words in the news (zeitgeist) have been annoying you?

Quote:

What Overused powerwords/talking-point words in the news (zeitgeist) have been annoying you?

Leftists using their favorite word: "progressive"
as if we all know & agree qua WHAT we are, or shoud be, progressing TOWARD.

Usually thay mean something that PROGRESSES away from personal freedom, i.e.,
implying that we shoud be progressing toward collectivism and away from Original American Individualism.

Progress can be toward something BAD,
as the Czar's regime progressing in time toward communist slavery,
or like the Weimar Republic 's time progressing toward the 3rd Reich.

David

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"Killer apps" as a term that has nothing to do with software applications AKA iPhone, Android, iPad apps, etc....

Heard on NPR, an author interview which uses "Six killer apps" as a lazy metaphor why western society (especially the US) has dominated the global economy for the past century in his latest book.

Quote:

America, the Superpower: The End of an Era?
:
One of the consequences of the 2007 global financial crisis has been an acceleration in the shift away from the traditional 19th and 20th century industrial powers toward a new emerging center of economic power in the world. The debt heavy and slow growth economies of Europe and the U.S. are now dependant on investments and exports from the emerging economies of the so-called BRIC nations — Brazil, Russia, India and China. That shift is reflected in the influence China and India are having at this week's G20 Summit in Cannes, France. The U.S. is no longer the grand mediator in global affairs, and the era of the single superpower ushered in at the end of the Cold War in 1989 now appears to be over.

Niall Ferguson, Laurence A. Tisch professor of history at Harvard University, William Ziegler professor at Harvard Business School, and author of "Civilization: The West and the Rest," examines global politics in the age of declining American hegemony.

http://www.thetakeaway.org/2011/nov/03/western-civilization-end-era/

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This thread has given me a fun great idea. I am now going to write down such buzz/power words/phrases that I hear at each meeting I attend and keep a log. I cringed each time I hear these so this will allow me some degree of entertainment. I thought of this in the last 5 minutes of my last meeting in which " Pen to Paper" was stated twice and " heavy lifting" once. Just imagine after an hour what gems I will have?

To report back...

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@tsarstepan,

the site you got that from has a title that is one of my most disliked phrases/terms

take-away

what is our take-away from this meeting?

x is going to talk to us about the take-away from yesterday's meeting with y

what take-away are you hoping to get from scheduling this?

what take-away are you planning to provide through that exercise?

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These two are more in the realm of entertainment than news or politics, but I am sick to death of the overuse of the word "diva" as a description of every 15 minute celebrity female who claims talent for singing, acting or dancing. Also, I think that so many things and people have been labeled as "legend" or "legendary" that the word has lost all meaning.

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@snood,

ha! you're verging on one of Set's rants on "iconic". It's definitely an overused term for performers/performances if you listen to the CBC.

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@Linkat,

I eagerly await your evidence gathering report Linkat. Very Happy

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@Linkat,

It's been done. One office had a game they called buzzword bingo. Their uh, "facilitator" had no idea what he said that generated all the excitement.

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@RileyRampant,

Now that's going too far.

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@ehBeth,

The take-away is goulash...

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@roger,

that cool - but I don't plan on getting others in on the game - just a way to pass the time.

At one time, I was keeping count of how many times this gumpy would say "what have you..." I made little tick marks and then told some co-workers. I had to stop though as every meeting I went to - if one of my co-workers looked at me, I start giggling. Seeing this what have you - is above me and one of several individuals that get to provide feedback on my raise and bonus, I figured I didn't want to piss him off.

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@roger,

I was assigned as a facilitator once. I'd no idea what that meant. Turned out to mean "keep people from not punching each other".

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@ossobuco,

We actually alternate as faciliator for these meetings - basically we pull together the agenda and tell someone when it is their turn to speak.

Unfortunately there is nothing that says we are to keep count of buzz words.

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@Linkat,

The corporate world may be different than community meetings.

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@ossobuco,

It is rare to see a fist fight at work - does happen, but it is rare.

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The one that's getting to me these days is "bespoke."

It actually means custom-made and refers to tailor-made clothing. But ultra-pretentious types are now using "bespoke" to describe custom-made ANYthing...invitations, flower arrangements, even one-of-a-kind luxury cars.

<gag>

Excuse me while I go prepare myself a bespoke grilled cheese sammich.

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Office blogger does an informal survey on the most hated buzzwords:

Quote:

1. think outside the box (16%)
circle back (15%)
synergy (14%)
it is what it is (13%)
touch base (13%)
at the end of the day (13%)
let’s take this offline (12%)
low-hanging fruit (11%)
value-added (11%)
proactive (10%)
...

http://meetingboy.com/post/5017367342/the-most-hated-buzzword

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@izzythepush,

izzythepush wrote:

'That's no problem,' as in 'Hello, I'd like to order a pizza please.' Answer, 'That's no problem.'
'I wasn't expecting there to be a problem, you are a pizza delivery company after all.'

WELL SAID, Izzy. I agree.

David

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"Law abiding citizens" thay r a myth.
Thay cannot possibly exist,
excepting children who r too young to venture out of the home
and, maybe, possibly, people who r lying in states of paralysis in hospitals.
That applies only to their very current status,
not to their lives b4.

Even huge groups of lawyers violate many laws each day,
without knowing about it; that is an empirical fact.

David

1 Reply

@OmSigDAVID,

Quote:

Even huge groups of lawyers violate many laws each day,
without knowing about it; that is an empirical fact.

That's because they get more chance and are rarely subjected to any sanctions. The legal profession looked out of control to me in the Conrad Murray case.

I had asked you to comment on that official complaint against Judge Pastor and the CMB and, in particular, its racial aspect. The subject seems to have ended what was a busy and lively thread. It's over a week now and no reaction.

1 Reply

What Overused powerwords/talking-point words in the news (zeitgeist) have been annoying you?

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