Pet hate phrases

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HAVE you noticed that phrases more associated with football reporting have become the norm on daytime TV chat shows

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'At the end of the day,' is practically obligatory as an opener for anyone who has just been humiliated for the amusement of a TV audience.

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It was something that particularly grabbed my attention because, 'at the end of the day'; has to be my most hated phrase ever. Maybe it's because I'm no football fan that 'a game of two halves' and 'there's only one winner' are also pet hates of mine.

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Why do some of us find such phrases so hateful, while to others they seem to be essential for communication

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Personally, I hate those phrases which disguise the speaker's true opinions. One example, which inevitably precedes some horribly less-than-PC opinion, is, 'I'm not being funny, but...'

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Then there are those stoical types, whose houses are flooded, relatives are kidnapped in war-torn countries, or whose businesses go down the drain: they look their interviewer straight in eye and trill, 'Ye've gotta laugh, in't ya '

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A quick straw poll confirmed that I wasn't alone. One person has to be physically restrained when he hears, 'six of one and half a dozen of the other' ('It's the same thing!' he screams), or 'horses for courses' ('It makes everything seem so mundane!'). Yet another finds the phrase, 'What she doesn't know about ... isn't worth knowing' so offensive that she couldn't bring herself to write it down.

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Why do certain phrases make the hairs on the back of our neck stand up Are they associated with a hateful person or event Are they class-based prejudices Or maybe they're just plain irritating.

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What phrases drive you mad �Visit The AnswerBank message boards�here�and let us know.