"Say when." - Phrases that bother you.

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I'm always bothered by some people's use of the word "next" in reference to days of the week.

So today is Tuesday October the 11th. Question: When somebody says "next Thursday", what day are they referring to?

To me, it's Thursday October 13th. Apparently (in some alti-verse) the 13th is not referred to as "next Thursday", but instead it's "this coming Thursday". Next Thursday is actually Thursday October 20th.

How would that logic hold up in other daily activities? Say I'm "next in line"...I'm not really 9th in line am I? I'm next...the most proximate person to the service counter of all the customers. I'm not "this coming in line" or "this coming customer".

I agree, except in the case of bus drivers; when they call boys 'lads' and girls 'lasses' i do not object or get annoyed...

Quoted for complete agreement and sympathy!

Occasionally I have been told an event willl occur,'At the back of x', where x is the hour. I do not like it, because it is difficult for me to discern whether the event will occur before or after x hours, and the implied difference in time. Confused feeling makes brain to not work good, clarification difficult.

I've never heard that before and and I'm not sure what it means.

Unless you're an Iron Chef.

This is used incorrectly by the majority of people that I see use it. If you want to know what it actually means, you have to break it down. I share this annoyance, but only because I can't tell what people mean: the proper use of it, or the opposite of it.

You have "all but" finished your work. = You have "done everything except" finish your work. So, it basically means you're not finished with your work, when used it correctly. It wouldn't mean you actually did everything except for finishing the work. It would just be emphasis on how not finished the work is.

All would be everything, except would be but, and done comes in to make it a proper sentence.

The problem with this phrase is not understanding it, since the words are pretty direct. It is the fact that people use it wrong. I don't want to be a dick, but... people are just too illiterate, and also don't care enough to understand what something means. They just pick up on it and use it however they please. Like the idea of "reiterate". Iterate means "repeat", so "reiterate" is actually pretty redundant, but most people use "reiterate" when no iteration has been done to begin with.

In short, when people use the "all but x" as I call it, they frequently mean the opposite of what it literally means. As an example, they have "all but forgotten" how to understand their own language. That means they haven't forgotten, but since it is an example of how they'd use it, I meant to say they have forgotten!

One saying that always baffles me even though I know what it is supposed to mean is "you have your work cut out for you".

"To be or not to be..."

What the hell is that supposed to mean? To be or not to be what?

It is actually "Kah-Rah-Oh-Keh"

Their e is pronounced like e in net, but it sounds similar to a as in hay. In fact, most of my memories of hearing japanese come across as the latter, but I've read a bit on the pronunciation so I know what it is supposed to sound like. Their vowels are typically pronounced a bit quicker than our own too, so the e would be dropped off faster in japanese than it would in english.

I pride myself as a realistic person so when I hear the phrase "there's someone for everyone" it drives me up the wall. The terms "hermit" and "cat lady" were coined for a reason!

This same thing turned into a standing joke in my house- if you didn't say "when", but said "stop", then whoever it was kept pouring until you did actually say "when". A bit like the "I'll put the kettle on" "it won't fit" joke.

I'm not big on literature, but I grew up learning that this was from Hamlet. After having one semester on literature, I learned more precisely that it was Hamlet himself deciding if he should kill himself or not. "To be" would be to live and "not to be" would be to die. When most people use it, it is in reference to whether or not to do something, in a comical manner, since their choices would likely not have as big an impact as Hamlet's decision.

Anybody that says "End of." is a prime candidate for a lynching as far as I'm concerned.
I despise the laziness of it, it's not a complete sentence.
I despise the arrogance of it, what they are trying to say is "I have categorically had the last word on the subject. Nothing you say can possibly add to the conversation, and if you try I certainly won't be listening".

"To be or not to be" is only part of the phrase. You need the entire sentence for it to make sense.

To be, or not to be--that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them.

It is about killing one's self. The question is, to "be" or not to "be". Quite literally, to exist, or not to exist. To stay alive, or to commit suicide - "that is the question" means "that is what I am deciding between."

I've never actually heard anyone use this phrase outside of the play Hamlet, though.

"The truth will set you free."

Incomplete. "Trust in God and the truth will set you free." Or smething along those lines. I haven't read a bible in 3423546754 days.

Even though I don't go to church anymore it still annoys me when people throw the incomplete phrase around.

Anyone that uses 'x' and 'y' as an example will feel my boot up their pants bottom. Even when they say 'boy1' or 'boy2'. I prefer to be given names. It's just confusing.

Oh, and 'boys will be boys.' From a young age I was against the division of boys and girls.

"It comes with the territory."

"It's unAustralian." That's not even in the dictionary...how unAustralian.
Most times people just makes jokes about it because it's such an annoying word to hear people say.