I’ve got a few expressions (or words) that really get on my nerves (piles of other things get on my nerves, but only a few expressions).  The biggest is, as you can probably guess, “literally” when applied to something that didn’t literally, or more usually – literally couldn’t happen.  You “literally exploded with rage”?  Really?  Unless we’re going the hyperbole route, which I doubt most people do intentionally, I’m simply going to have problems believing you.  If you’re a professional communicator – then I’m really going to have to rethink things.

My number two cringe-inducer is “Well that’s just semantics.”  The phrase implies that the difference between the opinions being expressed is merely cosmetic – just a matter of words. But here’s the thing, Continue reading →