William H. Macy as the Car Salesman in Fargo

Whenever I hear one of the following words or phrases, I cringe. If you’re using them to try to sell me, you can see a “NO SALE!” pop up on my eyelids. They appear here in alphabetic order, together with a few comments:

1. alright – Not really a word, so stop it all ready!
2. amazeballs – Any expression invented by Perez Hilton deserves to be consigned to the nether regions, dunked in gasoline, and lit.
3. bipolar – Usually this just means moody. The earth is bipolar, but I don’t know any people who are.
4. embolden – This was a favorite Dubya term. Everything anyone did that he didn’t like would end up “emboldening” the terrorists. As if the terrorists, by their very nature, would accept anything as a setback! (They know all about spin.)
5. give 110% – I would like to make that the income tax rate for people using this phrase.
6. going forward – How about “from now on”? Is that too plain for you?
7. irregardless – Try “regardless” instead. It doesn’t make you look like an idiot.
8. let’s touch base – I don’t let salesmen touch my base or anything thereunto appertaining.
9. like – If you’re not using this in a simile as a preposition, you’ll sound like a Valley Girl. (There, I used it in a simile.)
10. LOL – Usually means you’re trying too hard. A simple smirk will usually do.
11. OMG – Again with the Valley Girls?
12. pwn – What’s this? A Welsh vowel? And the “p” is pronounced “o”? Give me a break!
13. synergy – A word used in conjunction with mergers and acquisitions which means, in short, “It makes us look good for fifteen minutes, anyway.”
14. 24/7 – You can contact us by phone at any time, but you will never get any degree of satisfaction from us! Myself, I’m an 8/5 person.

Do any of you have any terms to add to the list?