Tuesday, April 10, 2007

WHHSH Violations: Let's Circle Back

An astute reader and podcast listener, Brian in Ventura, Calif., caught a WHHSH Violation during this week's episode of NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," a news-comedy quiz show that we love especially when Paula Poundstone is on.

One of the folks on the show, responding to a set up about why Mitt Romney wouldn't comment on what he did recently with Orrin Hatch, answered: "What Happens in Disneyland, Stays in Disneyland." What Brian didn't know was that someone on the show the week before also made a WHHSH punchline, but I can't remember anymore what it was.

Meanwhile, another listener/reader, Gregory Zephyr of San Francisco, deliberately tweaked me this week on his weekly podcast, "AnythingSF." He titled the show "What Happens in Frisco Stays in Frisco," gently mocked my "tear" against the use of this phrase, and then deliberately sprinkled bad usages of the WHHSH motif throughout his show, which centers on news and tourist activities in the Bay Area. If I didn't know better, I'd think he did this on purpose to get me to write the preceding paragraph.

On a different front, twice this morning I received email from PR people who suggested we "circle back" in a few days on something. Ick. I know what it means, but it's such a stupid phrase. Like "outside the box," which might have been, uh, outside the box of cliches once upon a time, but no longer.

Any others that stick in your craw? You know, like "stick in your craw"?

5 comments:

Amy said...

What drives me up the wall? I'll be happy if I can just stop my coworker from saying any or all of the following.

- "I'm going to put the kebab on that." (Kibosh! The word is kibosh!!!!)
- Mispronouncing coworker Ali's name as "Alley." (Wonder what she thinks of boxer Muhammad Alley?)
- "Supposably" is not synonymous with "supposedly". (Supposably, she grew up speaking English.)
- Way too precious for the office:
  - Have a chit chat (never "talk")
  - Okey-dokey (never "OK")
  - Touché (as praise?)
  - Urp gurp (meaning error)
  - Faux pas (meaning software bug, not social gaffe)
- I could go on, but I might snap.

Every single one of these is like fingernails on a blackboard to me. And here I've shared my pet peeves with you in a public forum. I guess what happens in my office doesn't stay in my office.

Anonymous said...

I don't get the touche thing as praise. Huh?

Amy said...

Touché as praise:

Person A: Hey, I got that faux pas out of Alley's code!
Person B: Good going! Touché! That thing was causing a lot of urp gurps.

My reaction is also "Huh?"

Anonymous said...

Well, I guess what I say on my podcast doesn't stay on my podcast.

Anonymous said...

i just noticed Steve and Miles are being beaten up on a post from March 16 where some asshole is attacking them for being gay and talking about it. I just posted my own defense of them. Check it out.

-Dan