ENGLISH MISHAPS

I don't know about you, but there are some terms and phrases in the English language that seriously bother me. In fact, some of them are extremely disturbing, and highly questionable. Yet, people use these terms and phrases daily without even really thinking about what it is they're actually saying to people. Here are just a few examples:

1. "I have to catch the bus" (Personally, I'd rather ride in the bus, instead of trying to catch the bus)

2. "Got his/her walking papers" (I have never once been 'fired' from a job via a set of papers that instructs me on how or where to walk anyplace, at any given time)

3. "It's a piece of cake" (unless you're talking about an actual piece of cake, this phrase applies to absolutely nothing else)

4. "Ah, it was a cake walk" (again with the cake. And why are people walking their cakes? Worse yet, why are people not taking pie walks... or maybe cookie walks?)

5. "A potentially fatal illness" (Does this term not apply to an illness of some sort that the general public is not aware of? EVERYTHING can be potentially fatal)

6. "Have a nice day" (You mean there are business people that really tell you to have a totally crappy day?)

7. "God bless you" (what happens if you ask God to bless someone who turns out to be an atheist?)

8. "He/she got the pink slip" (Again, I have never been given any pink going away gifts, especially female undergarments)

9. "Partly cloudy" (this means that it will also then be partly sunny? Why be so negative when forecasting the weather?)

10. "rain showers" (as opposed to.......? I mean, when it rains, isn't it always a 'shower'?)

11. "emergency situation" (Isn't everything some type of 'situation'?)

12. "Soap operas" (I have yet to hear anyone sing any type of opera during any portion of a daytime drama program, and why is it soap? Why not say... Styrofoam?)

13. "Pull up to the next drive through window please" (This means that people are being asked to get out of their vehicles, and pull them upwards, to the next window, and then get back in their vehicles and proceed to drive through the window? Please?)

14. "In your own words" (Who else's words would you be using? What if you need an interpreter?)

15. "rare, but not uncommon" (right there, I want a second opinion)

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