As I write this, I'm listening to CBC radio's program Question Period, a weekly program about what's happened in the past week with regard to politics, both federal and provincial. This past week there occurred two or perhaps three significant events: the election in Quebec, which saw the ouster of the Liberal party and its replacement by the Parti Quebecois, and the announcement of Liberal premier Mr. Charest of his departure; the second and third were two by-elections in Ontario, which promised or threatened to give the Ontario Liberals a majority, but only if that party won both seats, which didn't happen.
These specifics are not the point of this missive. I listened to several politicians and "experts" being interviewed, and in response to a question, three of them began their reply with "That's a good question." My question would be, "As opposed to what?" Perhaps "There are no stupid questions, just stupid people," which statement I got from The Simpsons.
To help get your creative juices or memory flowing, here are a couple more despicable phrases:
Rate of Speed, as in "The car was travelling at a high rate of speed." Idiots! Speed is a rate! It's the same as saying "a high rate of rate" or "a high speed of speed". Why not just say "travelling at high speed?" How hard is that?
I want to declare war on despised phrases, and offer "That's a good question" as my first candidate. Given the Republican and Democratic conventions that have just happened, and the upcoming fight for the presidency of the USA, I invite readers to submit despised phrases for inclusion on this list.
"May I ask you a question?" You just did, you moron!
Sadly, I've noticed increasing use of "Also, too," in both general and media discourse. Shades of the Department of Redundancy Department.
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