Irked

Irksome phrases


"The reality is...."
Corollaries: "The reality will be...", "The reality of today..."

Often followed by a prediction, presumption and occasionally a fact.

"The reality is that with so many people looking for healthier options, this isn’t just going to be a fad." - Michelle Obama, March 16, 2010, Remarks by the First Lady at a Grocery Manufacturers Association Conference

"The reality is that the embargo has been there long before we were even born, and yet things have not changed all that much in Cuba." - President Calderón, April 16, 2009, Joint press conference with President Barack Obama and President Felipe Calderón of Mexico

"But be not afraid, the reality will likely be duller." - John Oates, July 19, 2009, "Swine flu will [enter scare words here]..." (www.theregister.co.ok)



"Social justice"
Corollaries: "social injustice".

I have no idea what these terms really mean.  I think it might mean "take from the rich, give to the poor".  From the list of policy initiatives at the Centre for Social Justice, the term could mean any number of things, including personal debt as the "most serious social problem facing the UK today."  Could be worse.



Tax cuts/breaks as spending

Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I don't think you can spend money you don't have. Not collecting on a particular tax is not the same as spending the uncollected proceeds.

"They’ve got no problem spending money on tax breaks for folks at the top who don’t need them..." - President Barack Obama, July 17, 2010, Weekly Address.



"Deadliest month"
Corollaries: "deadliest day", etc.

Can a particular time frame be deadly? No. "Deadly" does not mean includes a lot of death, but means capable of causing or caused death such as a deadly weapon or deadly accident.

"Total U.S. casualties for December are 111, making it the third deadliest month of the year and the most deadly in over two years." - September 12, 2007, Office of the Majority Leader, "THE WAR IN IRAQ" 



"Please use this [email] as a tool to cascade information about this initiative through your respective functional zones."

Got this in an email at work. "Cascade" reminded me of the old joke about shit rolling down hill.  My "functional zones" are just fine without this information, thank you very much.  Actually, it was pretty much a lack of information.