Berserker phrases to put to pasture ...

On an idle Friday night, I offer some idle thoughts about some of the hackneyed, lazy or generally annoying turn of phrases that occasionally turn up on the board. Once again, take these in the spirit offered – just having some fun. I’m sure I’ve uttered one or two of these once or twice.

I’ll play The replier adopts an air of casual indifference, as if he or she has nothing better to do than actually reply to your goofy query. After carefully weighing the value of participating, the poster has blessed us by deciding to join the conversation. Lucky us!

Baby killing aka infanticide We all know what you are trying to convey, but geez this is an ugly thought.

Cali Note to the rest of the world: No normal person from the Golden State EVER refers to their home as Cali. Sounds like middle-aged rich white dudes trying to sound street.

Champs How can something so sublime and beautiful be reduced to such an inelegant turn of phrase? Sounds like a strip club in mid Manhattan.

Iron fist in velvet glove Haven’t encountered too many of these objects in my lifetime. Sounds like something painful from “Game of Thrones” or something.

Punches above its weight As a student of the sweet science, I can actually appreciate the concept here. But the phrase has lost its originality.

Peacock’s tail Have you ever spent time with these animals? Many love them, but they can be a bit dirty and annoying. How about an LSD-drenched, rainbow-colored, Garcia-driven supernova instead?

Feel free to offer your pet peeves as you see fit …

FdizL4on-Rc

I agree on most of these but I’d say Champers is infinitely worse.

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Fun post for a Friday evening! And I personally dislike the word “Champers.” It is not as if you are shortening the word to save typing strokes. I don’t get it.

I’ll play

On deck and in my wheelhouse. Certainly makes this imbibing hobby seem rather more active and gritty by virtue of association (one thinks of some wizened old salt persevering against the wind and waves)… or alternatively, I suppose, makes it seem more glamorous (Ralph Lauren and designer yachts). (I guess it depends whether it’s champers you’re getting ready to open or something else).

I’ll bite…now is that as bad as “I’ll play?”

I think your first three are on point, especially the baby killing. Not sure why people are so keen to use the term…well we know why, some influential wino’s started saying it, so others follow suit.

I’ll play (I’ve actually used it exactly as you describe, it has its place lol). I use Cali a lot, because typing out California a bunch of times in a post is just too painful. Agree with the rest, though I can’t remembering seeing “peacock’s tail” much (not even sure what it means).

Shhh and its variants are the worst. As though you’re a super insider with such special knowledge, and you and the other cool kids are going to keep it private.

Even as you post “shhh” on a thread about it on an internet message board.

Next worst is “just drink beer” in every “what wine to pair with X” thread, where X is anything other than core canon wine country or continental cuisine. Someone comes on Wine Bersekers, asking what wine to have with something, beer isn’t an answer.

Plus it’s hilarious that people so ultra picky about pairings are content that “beer” of any sort works perfectly. Feel free to have Coors Light, Guinness or Red Hook with that Bulgogi, but no wine of any sort could possibly work.

“Shhh” is merely a sign of a giddy wine geek. It’s not the smartest thing to say, but sometimes feelings can’t be helped, and so it’s put in writing. Mostly used by relative newbs I’d think. Let em’ roll…

Plus it’s hilarious that people so ultra picky about pairings are content that “beer” of any sort works perfectly. Feel free to have Coors Light, Guinness or Red Hook with that Bulgogi, but no wine of any sort could possibly work.

Same with “rose”.

Like there’s only one?

First time I went out with a bunch of rosarians, I asked about the vintage of a wine at a restaurant. They all looked at me and smiled - so cute that someone actually cared about such details. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that wine people used the expression “rose” as if it were a singular thing.

Oh yeah, “perform” is another one.

A glass can “perform”?

It’s alive!

I’m just thankful we have an arbiter of what normal people from California say. Can we add people who don’t live in Los Angeles but say they’re from LA?

Biggie and LL are from NY, so they don’t count, but what about Power 106’s Cali Christmas? Is Ice Cube not a normal Californian to you? What are you, racist? I’m guessing you’re a self hating middle-aged rich white dude. Me, I still got love for the streets, yo. CaliCab just has a nice ring to it. CaliPinot however, that sounds like something you might find in Burbank. No one using Cali is trying to sound hard. Get off your high horse.

Lol, tough crowd! I’m sure in this bunch, pretty much every word used on this site will annoy someone. “Minerality” alone causes people to go apoplectic. I just used “wheelhouse” in a note and say Cali all the time because I’m generally too lazy to type the word out.

I cannot think of any terms that totally annoy me or I want “put to pasture”; though, I do chuckle when I see the word “hedonism”. I also chuckled when I used that descriptor myself just yesterday!

I like and use some of these. I used Champers the other day and it does set people off for some reason. Kind of makes me want to use it more. Wheelhouse and punching above its weight are great and useful terms for me when used in right context.

It’s all context. You get home from a long week at work, you know there are two gorgeous rosés sitting on ice. Your wife has texted you already letting you know she, …“is ready for some Champers.” You walk into the door of the house and your wife is wearing a “Champagne loves me sweater”, and your daughter is wearing a “Champagne superstar” sweater… Obviously, this is all hypothetical, but in this context, I’m gladly using Champers.

The term juice used for wine. And it’s always used when the wine is good or great. It’s never bad or awful juice!

Iron fist in a velvet glove is a descriptor with a great deal of history. It’s not in any way a Berserker phrase.

If “performance” of inanimate objects is your peeve, car enthusiast publications must make you apoplectic.

What a letdown, this had the beginnings of a great penthouse forum letter…

“Put to pasture”