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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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At the end of the day... we're fed up with clichés.
Plain English supporters around the world have voted "At the end of the day" as the most irritating phrase in the language.
Second place in the vote was shared by "At this moment in time" and the constant use of "like" as if it were a form of punctuation. "With all due respect" came fourth.
The Campaign surveyed its 5000 supporters in more than 70 countries as part of the build-up to its 25th anniversary. The independent pressure group was launched on 26 July 1979.http://www.plainenglishcampaign.com/pressrelease.html
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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diamond geezer
What does this mean? I've never heard it before and it is on the cliché list.
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veteran
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veteran
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A laudable pursuit, I guess, but one that left me oddly cold. (Just a bit too brittle.) Like "diamond geezer", which I'd never heard before, and must assume is a UIKism, and "taking another bite of the cherry" (cherry picking"), aren't clichés for me, man. (I'd never heard or read them before dipping into the list.) Anyway, I think more of a distinction must be made between vocabulary, style, and inflated periphrasis. It seems to me that most mission statements and other texts of that ilk are dreary because they were written by illiterate committees of non-writers, who had been tasked with the unpleasant and unwanted AI (i.e., agenda item) of coming up with a statement in the first place. Most of these statements can be boiled down into a simple phrase or two, but then those words stand naked in the wind, shivering, exposed, etc. I wish them luck, but they need less of a campaign to reform English, than an educational reform that teaches students how to write well. Make up your own clichés, etc.
BTW, on the etymology of cliché, it's onomatopoeic from the sound a camera makes when taking a snapshot, in the French.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Make up your own clichés, etc.
...as my dear old mum did with "rocket surgeon" (I altered it to fit the context).
I agree with you, jheem: as I delved deeper into what these guys are about, I saw that they are a commerical enterprise. Indeed, they claim supporters in more than 70 countries, but some of these expressions (like "diamond geezer") I'd never even heard before, to wit:
~blue sky
~crack troops
~singing from the same hymn sheet (though I've seen/heard variations)
And what's the problem with around; in place of about?
Please weigh in, cross-ponders and y'all's antipodeans.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I'm afraid that "blue sky" (in the context of brainstorming) and "crack troops" (in the context of assigning the best and the brightest to a problem) are fairly common on this side of the pond as well, at least in corporate settings. [crack troops once formed "tiger teams" :Þ ]
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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I hear what you're saying [sic], tsuwm, but they aren't clichés to the rest of us. Thus further helping to understand the "Plain English" people's targeted audience.
So what's a "diamond geezer," anyway?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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>>A linguist writes about the Plain English Campaign<<
What, like, fun!
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veteran
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In ding dang diddly deed!
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old hand
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old hand
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Sorry Faldo, but that website took you in. The etymology, as suggested, may have a semblance of the truth to it, but the phrase 'diamond geezer' as currently used, is the cockney version of Wodehouse's 'good egg'. It just refers to a great bloke - someone you like and trust and would recommend to anyone. It's the sort of phrase you'd hear in Lock, stock and two smoking barrels but not in Four weddings and a funeral.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
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Carpal Tunnel
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good egg
Seems to fit this from that site:
The 'diamond' part of the name not only comes from the lovely Harlequin diamond pattern on the trews it also comes from the use of the word as a part of the term 'diamond in the rough' meaning one having exceptionally good qualities or the potential for greatness but lacking polish and refinement.
But your explanation puts it all into some context that helps me understand. It's kind of like the Yiddish mensh, yes?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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A linguist writes about the Plain English Campaign:I smell something fishy *with someone who believes the phrase "get a life" was - "... immortalized in William Shatner's wonderful Saturday Night Live Trekkies sketch". Not that there's anything wrong with that! 
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addict
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addict
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immortalized in William Shatner's wonderful Saturday Night Live Trekkies sketch"Immortalized" just means we are stuck with it forever, Musick. It doesn't mean it's a godsend. 
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old hand
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old hand
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Faldo
Haven't a clue. My yiddish, despite my being a Spurs supporter, is non-existent.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
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addict
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addict
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It's kind of like the Yiddish mensh, yes?No. Not quite, Faldage. A mensh "radiates" decency as the definition below makes clear. "A person having admirable characteristics, such as fortitude and firmness of purpose: “He radiates the kind of fundamental decency that has a name in Yiddish; he's a mensch” (James Atlas)." A "diamond geezer" is only a "diamond in the rough". He lacks a mensch's polish. More importantly, a "diamond geezer" is more rare than a "mensch", and, therefore, a "diamond geezer" is more to be prized. A "diamond geezer" will sparkle when he's polished up. You seldom see a lot of sparkle in a mensch, for all his decency. It's a sad commentary on contemporary society, but common decency, however uncommon, won't pay the bills, especially if it's left to its own devices. What is more, a "diamond geezer" is a lot tougher than a "mensch". A single "diamond geezer" can cut and drill his way through a whole regiment of "mensches". A "mensch" is just so much pudding to a "diamond geezer" when the chips are down or money on the line. There's a reason why they say "Nice guys finish last", Faldage. Even so, "diamond geezers" and "menschs" are both nice guys. At least, we can agree on that. P.S. I feel like we're beginning to "bond", Faldage. Or maybe I've been sticking around this place too long. You don't have to agree with me on that 'cause it's endomusica to everyone but a "Stranger".
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