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Phrases to Retire

Dear political media: Can we please retire “Thrown under the bus”? Seriously. You’re writers. You’re paid to write interestingly about the news. Write something original now, please. Thank you.

Comments (21)

1

I'm one heartbeat away from throwing up a little in my mouth if someone throws me under the bus....

Posted by Dominic Holden | September 18, 2008 12:03 PM
2

I prefer,"Drop a safe", as in, "Yeah we really got a safe dropped on us on that issue."

It is from cartoons when they really wanted to punish the bad guy. They would have them walking down the street, and by chance, a safe was being craned into an office/apartment. They Jerry/Bugs would cut then line and splat them below.

Posted by MyTwoCents | September 18, 2008 12:05 PM
3

"Tossed to the pit-bulls"? The Stranger would love that.

Posted by Obama or Canada | September 18, 2008 12:07 PM
4

I vote for tossed into the wood chipper. That should please the Coen brothers fans in the crowd.

Posted by Gitai | September 18, 2008 12:12 PM
5

I say put lipstick on that fuckin' bus.

Posted by Karlheinz Arschbomber | September 18, 2008 12:18 PM
6

It is what it is.

Let's hit it* out of the park.

* = a pig/pit bull hybrid bred with really really red lips.

Posted by westendgirl29 | September 18, 2008 12:29 PM
7

I hope the press will thoroughly vet the replacement phrase.

Posted by LDP in Cincinnati | September 18, 2008 12:31 PM
8

No suggestions for the replacement of "thrown under a bus," but what about one for "You're call is important to us?"

Posted by CommonKnowledge | September 18, 2008 12:33 PM
9

You just hate idioms. Why? They're a form of metaphor. We all know what it means, that's why it works, and why people use it. Why don't you make up new ones? Because then, later, someone else will find it tiresome and bitch about it.


Also, props to #1 at the top.

Posted by Matt Fuckin' Hickey | September 18, 2008 12:38 PM
10

Word on that. "Thrown under the bus" is now a phrase for reality show contestants only. After all, they're not there to make friends.

Posted by Scott Faulkner | September 18, 2008 12:42 PM
11

Sorry, you're just picking the low hanging fruit when you throw under the bus under the bus.

Posted by Bob | September 18, 2008 12:49 PM
12

Please get rid of these, its been driving me nuts for SEVEN FUCKING YEARS NOW!

"those who would seek to destroy america" - Destroy America? You do know what "Destroy" means, right? Even if you killed every single living thing within our borders, "America" would still be here. Oh, I'm sorry they must mean actually pulverizing all the land and turning it to ocean or something. Yeah, like some "evildoers" in a fucking cave can pull that off. Unless they have some secret plan to lob a comet at us or something, shut the hell up!

"testing our resolve" - Nobody used the word resolve in this context in a sentence before 9/11, ever, then Bush put it in a speech and now I hear it every fucking day. Thou shalt never quote Bush, ever!

"we must not blink" - Having the guts to not flinch is not the same as having the brains to respond quickly and effectively, please don't conflate the two. BTW, hasn't the last eight year shown us that blind conviction and quick retaliation is in no way a virtue?

Posted by Super Jesse | September 18, 2008 12:58 PM
13

While you're on your rant, could you also suggest that journalists abandon the term "retire" in the context of phrases?

Posted by mb | September 18, 2008 1:08 PM
14

I'd nuke "going forward" as an introductory phrase in any story vaguely related to commerce. Time's arrow points in one direction only.

Posted by rob | September 18, 2008 1:09 PM
15

I suggest everyone stop using any variation of the term douchbag.

Posted by Medina | September 18, 2008 1:22 PM
16

Also, any mention of Kool-aid, which has in recent months been applied to more than just Obama supporters, where it had already long lost its cleverness.

Posted by Chris in Tampa | September 18, 2008 1:38 PM
17

How about we pledge to stop the "bus" phrase if with it goes any variation "Why do you hate America?" or "Does __________ love America as much as you do?" and all other faux-patriotic/quasi-McCarthy bullshit?

Posted by Obama or Canada | September 18, 2008 1:57 PM
18

"Tossed over the shark"?

Posted by NapoleonXIV | September 18, 2008 2:01 PM
19

verkauft mit Haut und Haar

Posted by LMSW | September 18, 2008 2:13 PM
20

"That being said" needs to go.

That sentence construction Dan Savage uses every 10 days? It needs to go too.

And (gasp!) can someone tell ECB that her tired (horrors!) attempts at sarcasm need to be retired?

Posted by Cagaloglu Hamami | September 18, 2008 2:30 PM
21

@13: I like 'retire,' especially in the sense of 'retiring' replicants.

Posted by Greg | September 18, 2008 2:56 PM

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