Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Phrases They Absolutely Can't Stand

People Break Down Which Phrases They Absolutely Can't Stand
Image by Augusto Ordóñez from Pixabay

There are few things more annoying than when you are seeking advice and someone responds with a boring platitude that helps no one. Believe it or not, if you choose to provide advice, it needs to be specific to the situation and shouldn't be dressed up in trite phrasing. Does saying, "Keep your head up" actually contribute anything if that's all you have to say when someone comes to you in search of a listening ear?

But this goes deeper than just advice, to be fair. Some of us are sick of greedy corporations that stress the importance of being a "family" while refusing to pay proper wages. Still more of us are tired of people using certain language when other language can suffice.

People shared their stories after Redditor goodison asked the online community,

"What phrase grinds your gears?"

"I have an uncle..."

"Only good vibes here."

I have an uncle who always says this. It used to crush me because he was the only other adult I could talk to when things were bad at home. We couldn't come to him with bad news ever.

Now when I hear it it's just toxic BS."

Nspired1

People who say that, in my experience, tend to be the most wishy-washy people in the world. Not worth it.

"Every day..."

"When my manager says "I can't control what the night shift does." Every day I walk into a mess from them and every day nothing gets done about it."

BostonStrongCQB241

"I groan..."

"I'm not mean, I'm just brutally honest."

I groan whenever I hear that statement because it's doesn't make you any less of a jerk. Usually, people know how to separate insult from criticism but they choose not to."

KnottyOption

This is probably the most telling phrase in existence. Are you brutally honest? Or are you just mean? Probably the latter.

"At any sort of conference..."

"At any sort of conference/gathering/presentation:

"How're you all doing today?!? C'mon, I know you can answer louder than that! HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING TODAY?!"

Instant resentment every time."

avokato_

And if you don't keep up that energy, then you're just not a team player!

"At my work..."

"At my work upper management has started using the word "activate" a lot. As in, "We are working on plans to activate underutilized spaces." And, "Let's activate a few other teams on this." It just sounds silly to me and like they are trying too hard to avoid using simple, perfectly adequate language."

LaeliaCatt

"The more appropriate thing to say..."

"Someone saying to a teenager, "These are the best years of your life!" I am in my mid-40s now and most people my age remember high school as horrible and awkward. The more appropriate thing to say is, "Hang in there kid! I promise life gets better. Just get through adolescence the best you can."

mkmhyk

People Share Dark Secrets From Their Profession The Public Doesn't Know | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

"That's nothing..."

​"That's nothing... " when I tell them something only for them to turn it onto a competition and say something worse that happened to them."

cantwrite

"I've heard it from people..."

"When you have your own children you'll understand."

"I've heard it from people who don't understand that I want nothing more than my own family but being pregnant will kill me, and when I bring up adoption as a valid way of having children they'll buckle down on that phrase as to say adopted kids are not the same. It's disheartening to hear as a formal foster child and has reinforced my beliefs that no one really saw me as enough. Why would you say that to someone? All kids are the same and those without kids shouldn't be dismissed."

Internet_Ugly

Some people are better off never being parents. I know I don't want to have children either and it's a choice I don't regret.

"And I had to listen to..."

""God has a plan" or "It happened for a reason."

I lost my daughter when I was 36 weeks in because of a sudden placental abruption followed by a uterine rupture, lost 2.2 litres of blood. I can't carry again without risking the child or myself. And I had to listen to a variety of phrases that made me want to hit those people. Those two were the worst. Followed by "You can try again" or "Did you get the child baptized?" (got this one only once though)."

daytimeinsomnia

"Not everyone wants kids."

"When are you going to have kids?"

Who on earth are you to not only insist I should stop and redirect my whole life for kids, but then put me on the spot and make up a timetable to change my whole life? Not everyone wants kids."

OnceAndAlwaysFloran

Now that you've learned a thing or two you could say that all of the responses here are an exceptional opportunity to improve your social skills.

Don't say these. Please don't.

Have some of your own suggestions to share? Feel free to tell us about them in the comments below!

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Humanoid robot Gabi
Associated Press/YouTube

Viral Video Of Humanoid Robot Monk Pledging Itself To Buddhism In South Korea Has The Internet Giving Some Major Side-Eye

We currently live in a society that is growing increasingly familiar with technology, not to mention the ever-increasing fear that technology and artificial intelligence (AI) will render the human race unnecessary, particularly in the workforce.

Religious organizations were arguably one of the few places where one could safely assume no one need worry about any sort of technological invasion.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Charles
@jamescharleslol/TikTok

YouTuber James Charles Sparks Backlash For Berating Former Spirit Airlines Worker Who Sent Him GoFundMe Link After Losing Her Job

The thing about being a rich influencer is that you're only a rich influencer in the first place because the fans who watch your content made you one.

Makeup content creator James Charles seems to have forgotten this simple fact and has turned himself into the internet's latest Marie Antoinette because of it.

Keep ReadingShow less
bedazzled MAGA hat
Timothy Hurst/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Threads User's Epic Rant Ripping MAGA Fans Who Now Claim They 'Always Had Doubts' About Trump Has The Internet Applauding

As prominent MAGA minions, like QAnon conspiracy peddler and former Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, have come out against MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, so too are some lesser known individuals.

Whether it's his Iran War, his continuing saga with the Epstein files, his utter failure to keep any of his campaign promises that they banked on helping them, or the abject incompetence of his hand-picked personnel, some members of MAGA are distancing themselves from the cult.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Trump Ripped For Somehow Making His 'Happy Mother's Day' Post All About Himself Without Any Mention Of Melania

President Donald Trump was criticized after he "honored" mothers on Mother's Day by attacking Democrats in a self-absorbed post on Truth Social, never mentioning his wife, First Lady Melania, who is the mother of his youngest son Barron.

Instead of acknowledging her and mothers around the country, Trump gloated about the economy and accused critics of having "Trump Derangement Syndrome," targeting Democrats and Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve Chair he's been trying to push out of his administration.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Zach Galifianakis; Donald Trump
Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend; Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Zach Galifianakis Expertly Lays Into Comedians Who Refuse To 'Challenge' Trump When He's A Guest On Their Podcasts

Actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis called out comedians who have had President Donald Trump on their podcasts and didn't "challenge" him, noting that they've effectively abdicated their role by not making jokes at Trump's expense or pushing back against things he says.

Galifianakis made that argument during a recent episode of Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, where host Conan O'Brien remarked that few, if any, people have challenged a sitting president the way Galifianakis did when he interviewed then-President Barack Obama in 2014 on his satirical series Between Two Ferns.

Keep ReadingShow less