Top 10 Most Irritating Phrases

Heading the list was the expression ‘at the end of the day’, which was followed in second place by the phrase ‘fairly unique’.
The tautological statement “I personally” made third place – an expression that BBC Radio 4 presenter John Humphreys has described as “the linguistic equivalent of having chips with rice.” Also making the top 10 is the grammatically incorrect “shouldn’t of”, instead of “shouldn’t have”. The phrases appear in a book called Damp Squid, named after the mistake of confusing a squid with a squib, a type of firework.
The researchers who compiled the list monitor the use of phrases in a database called the Oxford University Corpus, which comprises books, papers, magazines, broadcast, the internet and other sources.
The database alerts them to new words and phrases and can tell them which expressions are disappearing. It also shows how words are being misused.
As well as the above expressions, the book’s author Jeremy Butterfield says that many annoyingly over-used expressions actually began as office lingo, such as 24/7 and “synergy”.
Other phrases to irritate people are “literally” and “ironically”, when they are used out of context. Mr Butterfield said: “We grow tired of anything that is repeated too often – an anecdote, a joke, a mannerism – and the same seems to happen with some language.”
1 - At the end of the day
2 - Fairly unique
3 - I personally
4 - At this moment in time
5 - With all due respect
6 - Absolutely
7 - It’s a nightmare
8 - Shouldn’t of
9 - 24/7
10 - It’s not rocket science
Source:-
Telegraph.co.uk: Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases »
The above is an interesting compilation and the Asians are not exempted from making such annoying phrases too.
In an interview setting, some specific phrases are also over-used. Most of the expressions are really meaningless. They were mainly used as “fillers” or to begin a new sentence, but when every sentence starts with a particular phrase or word, it can really gets on your nerves.
I’m sure many Recruiters will agree with me that some of the most irritating phrases that an interviewee expressed during an interview can be found below:
1 - To be honest with you
2 - Frankly speaking
3 - Exactly
4 - Don’t get me wrong
5 - As a matter of fact
6 - Nothing against my company or management, but…
7 - At the end of the day
8 - Just within these four walls…
9 - Not wanting to say anything bad about…
10 - With due respect