{"id":2514,"date":"2017-07-20T12:15:51","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T18:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2514"},"modified":"2020-11-25T11:23:43","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:23:43","slug":"worn-out-words-and-phrases-2017-follow-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/effective-writing\/worn-out-words-and-phrases-2017-follow-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Worn-Out Words and Phrases: 2017 (Follow-up)"},"content":{"rendered":"

We enjoy helping you reinforce the way you express yourself with precise grammar and composition. We appreciate just as much when you join meaningful discussions about written language.<\/p>\n

Our recent GrammarBook article\u00a0Worn-Out Words and Phrases<\/a>\u00a0inspired some great feedback about whether certain terms have outlived their welcome.<\/p>\n

After reading and considering your thoughtful responses, we determined we could follow our previous article with further review of the subject in two parts: The first provides some starting alternatives to the hangers-on we\u2019d deemed ready for retirement. The second expands the original list with astute additions from our readers.<\/p>\n

Our aim with this topic is to keep writing fresh, distinctive, and pointed. We understand several of these words and phrases may remain popular in conversational use, where they often reinforce comfort between speakers. They also maintain the flow of speech, which doesn\u2019t always allow the pause for deeper, selective thought that writing affords (although focused and disciplined writing can often lead to more articulate speaking).<\/p>\n

I. Alternatives for the First List<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Original<\/strong><\/td>\nAlternatives<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
absolutely (interj)<\/td>\nyes; of course<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
alrighty then (idiom)<\/td>\nokay<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
amazing (adj)<\/td>\nstunning, wondrous<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
at the end of the day (prep. phrase)<\/td>\nin the end, ultimately<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
awesome (adj)<\/td>\nwonderful, impressive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
by the same token (prep. phrase)<\/td>\nsimilarly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
cutting-edge (adj)<\/td>\nleading, innovative<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
drop(ped) the ball (verb phrase)<\/td>\nbungle, botch, fail to follow up<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
high-impact (adj)<\/td>\nforceful, powerful, productive<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
holistic (adj)<\/td>\ncomprehensive, integrated<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
honestly (qualifying modifier)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
it\u2019s not rocket science (idiomatic clause)<\/td>\nit\u2019s simple, easy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
just sayin\u2019 (idiom)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
literally (qualifying modifier)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary, unless literally correct)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
low-key (adj)<\/td>\nmellow, subtle, relaxed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
on the same page (prep. phrase)<\/td>\nagree, concur (v)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
paradigm shift (noun phrase)<\/td>\nradical change, new belief<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
pretty (qualifying modifier)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
really (qualifying modifier)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
so this happened (idiom)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
synergy (n)<\/td>\nteamwork, harmony, unity<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
think outside the box (verb phrase)<\/td>\nbe creative, think differently<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
touch base (verb with particle<\/a>)<\/td>\n(re)connect<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
under one roof (prep. phrase)<\/td>\nin one place<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

II. Additions to the List<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Worn-Out Word\/Phrase<\/strong><\/td>\nAlternatives<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
24\/7 (adv)<\/td>\nalways; all of the time<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
basically (qualifying modifier)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
from the get-go (prep. phrase)<\/td>\nfrom the start, beginning<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
hate it when that happens (verb clause)<\/td>\nthat\u2019s unfortunate (or strike it)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I mean (idiom to start a sentence)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
impact(ed) (v)<\/td>\naffect(ed), influence(d)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
in the DNA (prep. phrase)<\/td>\nintegral to, part of<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
it\u2019s all good (idiom)<\/td>\ngood, fine, okay<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
like (expletive, e.g.,\u00a0it\u2019s, like, all there<\/em>)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
my bad (idiom)<\/td>\nI was wrong, mistaken<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
perfect storm (noun phrase, idiom)<\/td>\ncrisis, ordeal, quagmire<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
proactive (adj)<\/td>\ndiligent, motivated, thinking ahead<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
reach out (verb with particle)<\/td>\ncontact, connect<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
safe haven (tautological<\/a>\u00a0noun phrase)<\/td>\nhaven, refuge, sanctuary<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
seriously? (idiomatic interrogative)<\/td>\n(strike as unnecessary)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
so not (expletive, e.g., it\u2019s so not true)<\/td>\nnot (strike\u00a0so<\/em>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
sounds good\/like a plan (verb phrase)<\/td>\nokay (interj), agreed (adj)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
a lot\/too much on plate
\n(noun phrase)<\/td>\n		busy, occupied, swamped (adj)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

We can all think of even more words and phrases that belong on this list\u2014or are working their way toward it. Together, as guardians of good grammar and writing, we can lead in keeping a lush linguistic landscape free of what can sap it of its beauty and strength.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We enjoy helping you reinforce the way you express yourself with precise grammar and composition. We appreciate just as much when you join meaningful discussions about written language. Our recent GrammarBook article\u00a0Worn-Out Words and Phrases\u00a0inspired some great feedback about whether certain terms have outlived their welcome. After reading and considering your thoughtful responses, we determined […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,12,53,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives-adverbs","category-effective-writing","category-idioms","category-vocabulary"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2514\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}