"Are you kidding me?" is coming forward with a hard push to challenge ATEOFTD.
Sports play-by-play guys are the most guilty of the bunch: after a really great play, the Are you kidding me is a continental favorite.
No kidding.
Are you kidding me? is not only lazy and sophomoric; trite and one-dimensional; silly and lackadaisical, it's so dumb, dumb, dumber. It sounds insulting and catty. Speaking of dumb, it dumbs down the listener. Are you kidding me? No, moron, we're not. Grow the hell up and learn some nouns, will you? Craft a better slogan. It is what it is.
I'm serious.
*Follow me on Twitter
"as of late..."
ReplyDeleteI mean what I don't understand is why so many people are now starting their sentences with "I mean" before they have even said anything to clarify or explain. I can understand illiterate college athletes doing this, but now you even hear the media (i.e. professional communicators) doing it as well.
ReplyDeleteMy recollection of ATEOFTD use is by Terry McCauliff (sp?) many years ago on the Sunday political shows. I quickly became aware of a huge increase to the point of revulsion. Everyone was saying it. I think usage, at some point, gradually decreased due to the popularity of internet speak (i.e. OMG, IMO, IMHO, etc). I don't listen to sports on radio, but consume a lot of NFL on TV and haven't picked up on your observation. I hope it doesn't now become an earwig!
ReplyDeleteYou read my frikkin mind. I heard Ray Fosse on the A's broadcast say..." When all is said and done"...And I wanted to stand and applaud Ray!...he didn't use the 21st century version already beaten to death.
ReplyDeleteDennis Allen- he of no imagination or originality, drops "at the end of the day" constantly. What people who have no sense of logic or rational fall back on as actually meaning something.
Dull,boring people love that saying.
Bring back "They are who we thought they are!"...
Maybe not.
There are so many overused and unoriginal expressions now employed in sports. I for one, really tire of hearing ones like:
ReplyDelete"That was ridiculous!" to describe a great play.
Or how about "Taking it to the House!" when someone scores a TD.
You're right Rich. The overuse of some of these phrases shows not only an absence of imagination but also a lack of originality on the part of some sportscasters.
How about when people say "I could care less" when they really should be saying "I couldn't care less".
ReplyDeleteThe conversational trend that baffles me is the use of the word "so," at the beginning of an answer to a direct question. (??)
ReplyDelete"So," is a conjunction. It should be used to juxtapose two thoughts. A "hanging 'so,'" at the beginning of a sentence makes no sense.
What makes me SCREAM every time I hear/watch a sports event is when the announcer--if the score is 0-0...says "Top of the third inning/four minutes into the 1st quarters, there's no score."
ReplyDeleteARRGH! HELL YES THERE'S A SCORE! IT'S ZERO TO ZERO!!!
Personally, the announcer I hate is the one for some team who yells "Put it on the Board" when ever the team hits a home run. Good Grief!
ReplyDelete