The Nerve Fraying Agony of Overused Phrases

Yes, we live in a world saturated with language, where words whirl past us in coffee shops, at work, and through the endless stream of digital conversations that are now everywhere you go.  I admit it seems that certain phrases linger longer in my mind than others and at times cause my brain to feel a skip in its steady hum… They echo across boardrooms, store aisles, and any place you seem to be present—so persistent, they start to grate on the spirit.

Somewhere between polite exclamation and incredulous disbelief lies the infamous, “Are you serious?” Once a legitimate query, it is now peppered through daily exchange with such frequency that it loses all power to shock or amuse. Its cousin, “I mean, really,” arrives hot on its heels, a rhetorical flourish that signals mock exasperation or an overcooked sense of drama. I admit these phrases make my eyes twinge and my inner voice, Thankfully, whispers to  me to just go with it, smile and be nice…  Or I reverberate the phrase, “Excuse me?” in hopes of changing the way the conversation is going.

Then there’s that perennial refrain, “Are we doing this?”—less a question, more a collective sigh. Its tone hovers between resignation and disbelief, often surfacing in meetings where new ideas or rules are being laid out, or even in the scenes of our changing world currently. This one I admit is repeated inside my mind most often as I watch the news or read an article that makes my head feel as if it will blow up.

These phrases have become the humming backdrop to our interactions, the linguistic white noise of modern life. They fill the pauses, soften the blows, and sometimes—annoyingly—replace genuine reaction or thought. These phrases seem to me to be more of a say it inside my head ones than say it out loud ones.

And yet, perhaps their constant use speaks to our shared search for connection in the everyday world. A way to say, “I’m here, and I’m feeling this too.” Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time to retire a few and let silence, or entirely new expressions, take their place.

After all, isn’t there something refreshing in finding words that haven’t already worn a groove in our ears? “Like Maybe,” it’s time to let go and move on… WORD.