What for? Fairness clearly isn't of any importance to FOX News. What Guizot's original statement meant and what the reworded FOX News version means are quite different things. Context matters.
One phrase that I really hate is "No. Just....no". I don't know where it came from but I loathe and detest it.
According to a study done by Oxford University researchers the 10 most irritating phrases are 1 – At the end of the day 2 – Fairly unique 3 – I personally 4 – At this moment in time 5 – With all due respect 6 – Absolutely 7 – It’s a nightmare 8 – Shouldn’t of 9 – 24/7 10 – It’s not rocket science
This list omits: A. "back in the day" B. "It's all good." C. (white people saying, in affected ghetto-speak) "N'a'hm sayin'?"
I hate #2 on that list: "fairly unique." I have noticed a lot of ads lately that tout something as "totally unique." UH, it's either unique or it isn't. It can't be partially--or fairly--unique. At my work, there are instructions that use the phrase "obviously implied." But---if it's obvious, then it isn't implied!
It's not so much a phrase that's greatly common (at least I don't think it is) but it's an "in-joke" of sorts in my family, the phrase "The point and fact is..." it's something my dad says all of the time to preface his opinion on something as being the "final word" on the subject. (Regardless if it's a point or even a fact.) My sister-in-law makes fun of him all of the time for using the term but it's eroded its way into her brain as she uses it from time-to-time.
But this one is so much fun when Jack O'Neill says it! My wife says this one quite often to her students - she teaches Econ and Government. The phrase gets a bit of extra mileage in this city!
in Germany, we elect one un-word every year. Do you have something similar in your respective countries? I totally hate the word "Handy" in German. It's used as a synonym for cell phone. They wanted an anglicism at any price (because if it's not American it's not good. Ahem - what about Pershings, GWB, A-bomb, MacCarthyism, Wounded Knee, etc.?) What they meant was hand-held, some bloody idiot got it wrong and now we're stuck with an embarassingly wrong word. Ironically, that wrong expression has recently begun to turn up in the local slang of some major US cities (and apparently in GB as well, from what I'm told).
I only knew that a cell phone was called a Handy in Germany because I saw it on QI. [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WIscxut_ak[/yt]
see? Exactly my point. Everyone is making fun of that wrong word. Why couldn't they have called it something German? Wikipedia has a shockingly long list of other wrong anglicisms in German: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denglisch#Pseudo-anglicisms
Well, it's not something I'd ever heard before I heard the German definition. Might be limited to certain (parts of) countries.
And political interviewees when on the ropes. Along with 'That's a good question.../I'm glad you asked that...' and then don't answer. Unless it is Such a great show. Has it been shown in US or adapted yet?