4 Phrases We Should Stop Using

The English language is constantly evolving. And that's great. We've gained words like, "Googling," "unfriend," "retweet," etc. that are quite useful. However, not all the words and phrases we've added to our vocabulary are very beneficial. That being said, here are four phrases we should all stop using.

1. No Offense, But ...

This phrase is a sad attempt to keep someone from being offended when we say something insulting. No offense, but you're an idiot if you think that's actually going to work. (See what I did there?) Yeah. Starting our sentence with, "No offense" does nothing to take away from the offense. No one likes to be called an idiot or be insulted in any other way. Period.

2. To Be Honest

Look, I gotta be honest. The phrase, "To be honest" (and all of its variants) is honestly one of the silliest phrases we say. In all seriousness, honesty is obviously a good thing. However, sometimes we can be unnecessarily honest.

Of course, if someone specifically asks us to be honest about something (E.g., "Does this dress make me look fat?"), we should be honest--tactfully. (E.g., "I don't think that dress is your best choice. This other dress would flatter you better.") But this isn't the honesty I'm talking about.

What I'm talking about is when we go out of our way to be honest about something that may make a person feel bad unnecessarily. For example, if you were to say to me, "To be honest, Rebecca, this is the worst blog post I've ever read" or, "Honestly, list articles are so dumb," that would be unnecessarily honest. I don't need you to be honest to me about that. You can keep those honest feelings to yourself.

3. Not Gonna Lie

Not gonna lie, this phrase is even sillier than "to be honest." Why do we even say it? We're expected not to lie anyway, so why bother beginning with something like, "I won't lie"? It's superfluous.

4. Just Saying

We usually tack this phrase to the end of a sentence when we want to get away with saying something rude and unnecessary--or all three. In other words, if we say something snarky but don't want the receiver(s) to take what we say too seriously, we'll add "just saying." Like, "Anyone who thinks this phrase is any different from prefacing an insult with 'no offense' is ignorant. Just saying." 

But see, the thing is that we aren't really "just saying" when we use this phrase. If we genuinely just say something, we don't need to state that we're "just saying." So no, I'm not "just saying" when I say anyone who thinks this phrase is any different from prefacing an insult with "no offense" is ignorant.

I won't lie: I'm guilty of using all of these phrases. Honestly, I don't think I will be able to stop using them, especially since I hear and see them so often. And no offense, but I doubt you will be able to stop using them either. You can try to prove me wrong, but you most likely won't. I don't think you have it in you. Just saying. ;)