Certain phrases enter common usage and remain until they become cliche. Some of these phrases I immediately dislike. I don’t really have an explanation for it either. Some just don’t sit right. The latest that I hear being used is ” forever home.” As in these puppies are waiting for their forever home. Hate that phrase. I have nothing against puppies and nothing against anyone adopting them, I just don’t like the phrase.
Another that has crept into common usage and has been around for awhile is quality time. I need to spend quality time. The implication to me is, I want to spend time doing what I want. I don’t care what others want, I want to spend time doing what I want. That’s quality time. Sounds more like selfish time.
Another that has been around forever that I really dislike is, state of the art. It is state of the art. Exactly what state is that ? I know, it is the latest state. The phrase just says little in my opinion. Cutting edge technology is another. Please, can you not be a little more imaginative in your speech ?
A word that gets used a lot is spouse. I hate the word spouse. Makes having a wife sound like some kind of illness. I have a spouse. Really,sorry to hear that, but they have medicine for that. I much prefer wife. I don’t like to hear people say, I took a wife though. I prefer to think it was a mutual agreement.
I don’t know where these phrases come from or how they get started. Why some phrases fall into the slang category and others get ingrained in our speech is somewhat of a mystery. I’ll leave that discussion to the scholars. I’ll leave that with a phrase I do like, It’s all good.