C'mon, let's be honest!

Laurence J. Peter amusingly once said, “As a matter of fact is an expression that precedes many an expression that isn't.

“Let’s be honest.”  “To be perfectly honest.”  “Honestly?”

How many times do you catch yourself using these words as prefaces to sentences that don’t necessarily need them?  Isn’t our intention to always be honest?  And if so, why do we feel the need to remind the listener of our honesty?

“It is what it is” is another one of those phrases that manage to sneak into our communication on a regular basis when it really doesn’t make all that much sense.  It is what it is?  Sometimes “it is what it is” can be true.  But often it is used accidentally by habit and/or used when it’s not really the answer.  Sometimes this is a passive or lazy way to write something off as being beyond our control, when in fact, it is very much in our control to change or modify. 

What other quirky clichés can you think of that creep into our cruise control communication without us really thinking about what we are actually saying? It’s amusing. 

Comments

[Kelly]

Here's an article that recently came out in th NY Times Magazine regarding the overuse of "It is what it is" and other phrases in our language.