— Musings —01.10.2013 11:08 PM
Here’s the thing
Are you like me, and are you now completely and totally fed up when writers write “here’s the thing” in their prose?
What does it mean, really? “Pay attention to what comes next”? “This next part is what I think is important”? “I’m clearing my throat, in writing”? “Yes, I’m just as pretentious and faddish as everyone else”?
I do it, too, so don’t think that I’m with the angels, on this. But, here’s the thing: I, er, hereby pledge not to do it anymore.
“Full disclosure” is another one… Why say it? Just disclose it. We all tend to fill our writing with extraneous words. I suspect it came from trying to make high school english papers actually fill up two full pages when all you had was one page of material at best…
I’d consider a job as a political pundit, but I can’t be compelled to start every sentence with, “Look…”
Ha!
Here’s the thing. I’m trying, like, to be seen as a H.O.A.G. Just sayin’.
In other news, could Idle No More become a new version of Occupy?
Here’s the thing.
“Now teachers understand from the Ontario Labour Relations Board that what they were being asked to do by their union was to break the law,” she said.
http://www.globaltoronto.com/labour+relations+board+rules+planned+etfo+protest+unlawful/6442786388/story.html
It’s as bad as using “Just sayin” in normal conversation.
Look, let me be very clear, the fact of the matter, and I’ll be frank… here’s the thing is awful.
Yeah, I hate “let me be frank” also. Its so over used, I think some of the politicians / journos don’t even remember what it means. Your on TV, being frank is your default.
I’ve always thought that anyone who uses “world class”, and especially “world class city”, should be flogged. The douchebag alarm goes off.
Tip: Just because someone starts a sentence with “The fact is…” doesn’t mean what follows is actually true.
Another ‘tip’: Just because someone starts a sentence with “Tip..”doesn’t mean what follows is actually a tip. An observation maybe, but not necessarily a ‘tip’. To be honest. Actually. But I hear ya. Just sayin’. 😉
Thank you! Drives me nuts. It’s the laziest catch-phrase out there. Paul Wells has been over-using it for years, now.
And, as you know, I am a huge fan of His Eminence.
Also fed up with that awkward moment when one journalist – anchor – is interviewing the other and loads up the segment with preambles before the other journalist even talks. Just shut the heck up and get to the story already!
I think these are linguistic tics, as people start off a conversation / statement under pressure. It’s like they are trying to find their footing on a stage before performing a dance, by getting into a safe position. In this way, we start our statement with something we know is safe and well worn, before we get into the more complicated steps.
Heck
Why does it appear in so many Sun Media columns? Is the use of that word mandated in their style book or something?
Makes me shudder.
Make no mistake: It’s lazy writing.
A very very irritating former stepmother used to say, ‘Here’s the thing’. so it was close to impossible to find me uttering it. Then I started watching re-runs of the TV show, Monk. ‘Here’s the thing’ always preceeded a demurral in the TV show, ( Monk apparently could not say ‘No’ or ‘I disagree’) so it passed into our family lexicon as a polite way to disagree completely with one another. I doubt I will ever be able to use the damned phrase again now that you have taken the shine off it.