Phrases/words that set your teeth on edge.

[Serial_Apologist]

The phrase 'Not at all' is still being used regularly in The Archers and it's still bugging me. I absolutely never hear it used anywhere else. It's what I always think of as Agatha Christie language as used in 1920s-50s.

As one who tends to receive a surfeit of apologies for this, that and t'other, I use it all the time! It's surely preferable to "No problem", "no worry", or "forget it".

[jean]

I hear it a lot, and use it too. I'm surprised people find it so strange!

[ahinton]

The phrase 'Not at all' is still being used regularly in The Archers and it's still bugging me. I absolutely never hear it used anywhere else.

Whilst I'm "not at all" sure that this is it only current manifestation and I have in any case no particular problem with it, who cares about whether or not it (or indeed anything else) is used in The Archers? - the so-called "everyday" (no, apparently only 6 out of 7) story of "country folk" amongst whom the average of "local" accents could reasonably be described as "BBC Brummerset" and the remainder just ordinary Oxbridge inglish innit.

As you may guess, I'm no frequenter of this soil-strewn slurry-scripted dungheap of a soap, but it never ceases to amaze me that it's been going for about as long as the Carters, Dutilleuxs and Stevensons were each married without its mythical Worcesterwarwickherefordgloucestershire setting (blown away as even that apparently is by having a "county town" named so closely to one of Hardy's in Dorset that it ought to have been screwed for copyright breach at birth) having been concreted over decades ago by a wise international private equity property development conglomerate in order that it be absorbed into south and south east Birmingham; I discover that one of the characters (if one could call any of them such) recently announced "I'm a farmer!" - as though it actually needed 63 years to arrive at the conclusion that such a phrase was deserving of inclusion into one of its scripts.

Ye gods! Give me "not at all" any day! You'd think that, in these times of austerity and cutbacks everywhere, someone would have had the widsom of merging it with a certain TV soap and calling the result EastArchers, wouldn't you? (OK, it might require a modicum of composerly skill to merge those electronic drum figures and artificial whistling passages with the ghastly antediluvian tum-ti-upset-tums of Barwick Green, but I'd do it for the royalties pronto if asked nicely)...

[EdgeleyRob]

That was the 1st movement of....
We heard the 3rd movement of....
Here's the finale of....

Often heard on Radio 3.

[ahinton]

That was the 1st movement of....
We heard the 3rd movement of....
Here's the finale of....

Often heard on Radio 3.

All too often, to be sure; it almost reminds me of Douglas Smith's (I think) sign off to Round the Horne (back in the time of George III) that began "you might have been listening to, or have just missed..."

[jean]

"You have either been listening to, or have just missed," was how it went.

[mercia]

... the farcical escape from the Scrubs of the spy George Blake .....

off topic, did you watch that documentary about Blake the other day, in which they interviewed the married couple who helped him escape ?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05nyyd9/storyville-20142015-22-masterspy-of-moscow-george-blake

[ahinton]

"You have either been listening to, or have just missed," was how it went.

Thank you. Not far off the mark, though!...

[french frank]

The phrase 'Not at all' is still being used regularly in The Archers and it's still bugging me. I absolutely never hear it used anywhere else. It's what I always think of as Agatha Christie language as used in 1920s-50s.

One's view may depend on when and where one hears the expression now. To me, it's still the standard English formula which acknowledges someone thanking you for something (je vous en prie, prego, de nada, kein Problem(?) ). Like "bugging me" these seem to be foreign imports (like 'any time soon' ) which people fall into the habit of using because they've heard them said in films or on television. No worries, I'm good, Cool, Enjoy. Cook book.

[gurnemanz]

One's view may depend on when and where one hears the expression now. To me, it's still the standard English formula which acknowledges someone thanking you for something (je vous en prie, prego, de nada, kein Problem(?) ). Like "bugging me" these seem to be foreign imports (like 'any time soon' ) which people fall into the habit of using because they've heard them said in films or on television. No worries, I'm good, Cool, Enjoy. Cook book.

The German would most likely be "Bitte" or "Bitte schön". No exact English equivalent and I agree that "not at all" is probably preferable to "you're welcome", don't mention it", "my pleasure" etc.

[Nick Armstrong]

"Leaders prepare for election debate"

Typical of the sort of 'top news headline' which has me turning off or clicking away from the news - if the best they can offer is speculation and padding about something that's not due to happen for another 15 hours, I'm not interested.

If I want news, I want news, i.e. when something's actually happened or at least, is happening at the moment, not guesswork or - worse and common - lazy parroting of some necessarily not-independent press release from an individual or institution trying to prepare the ground for what she, it or he is planning for later today or next week or next year or sometime/never.

I knew I shouldn't have gone online this early....

[gurnemanz]

"Leaders prepare for election debate"

Typical of the sort of 'top news headline' which has me turning off or clicking away from the news - if the best they can offer is speculation and padding about something that's not due to happen for another 15 hours, I'm not interested.

If I want news, I want news, i.e. when something's actually happened or at least, is happening at the moment, not guesswork or - worse and common - lazy parroting of some necessarily not-independent press release from an individual or institution trying to prepare the ground for what she, it or he is planning for later today or next week or next year or sometime/never.

I knew I shouldn't have gone online this early....

I agree with all that. They have to resort to this sort of story: "Mr Cameron is expected to say ....." , based on a press release, because at 7 a.m. not much has actually yet happened. They should let him say it and then report it.

(Just passing the time here because I'm up at this unaccustomedly early time to pick up my son at Heathrow at 7, only to discover the flight has a 2 hour delay.)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I agree with all that.

So do I! It's very rare that a news programme needs to be more than a quarter-hour long; beyond that, it's mostly speculation and opinion of the sort that could just a validly be churned out by some poor soul who was only going for a job interview and got taken to the wrong room!

[teamsaint]

THE News

because it is some news. Chosen by somebody. Who may be under certain pressures to include some things, and exclude other things.

and those other excluded things might be very important.

like,just as an example,more or less everything that happens in Africa.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

... other excluded things might be very important.

Yes! My it's very rare that a news programme needs to be more than a quarter-hour long referred to the content that is chosen to be broadcast. Cut out all the waffle, and there would be room for much of the other stuff in an hour's programme.