A lot of people like to talk.
Being outgoing or an extrovert is encouraged in popular culture as an ideal, so prattling on is seen as better than remaining silent.
But is it?
Especially when all that's said are the same tired clichés that stopped being clever a long time ago.
Redditor Medium-Grapefruit-86 asked:
"What’s a saying or phrase that people should stop using?"
Not an Excuse
"If someone is being a bully, and hurting people (mentally or physically), I hate hearing the phrase 'they are probably going through a lot'."
"That is almost definitely true, but that doesn’t make it OK to do."
‐ Jeffityfeffity
Just Unoriginal
"That's it. That's the tweet."
"LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK"
"I'll wait."
- TeaRexQueen
Echo Chamber
"'Why is no one talking about this?'
"Usually it's because OP has a very closed circle of followers/people they follow, people, in fact, are talking about 'this'."
- ReceptionExpensive
With 0 Self-awareness
"*post linking to a CNN or NYT article*"
"Top comment: 'Why isn't the media talking about this?'."
- Indercarnive
Rude
"Idk if this exactly counts, but I f*king hate that stupid tv/movie cliche where someone makes a genuine mistake tying to be helpful and they’re like 'I didn’t think that…' and the other person just cuts them off like 'That’s the problem, you didn’t think!'”
- KingOf_Anarchy
“OK—“
“NO, IT’S NOT OK!”
- BigbyWolf94
"Glad I'm not the only one. The amount of time I wasted trying to explain that 'okay' in that context is used for acknowledging what the person is saying. 🤦"
- craftjensin
Not That Deep
"Let that sink in'. Specifically as a mic drop in a poorly researched Facebook meme."
- RazrbackFawn
"People often leave their kitchen basin outside in winter... Let that sink in."
- Slanderous
Don't Get Paid Enough For This Joke
"'It must be free today' when something doesn't ring up. Even worse when something just takes an extra second to scan."
"Heard that so many times as a cashier."
- 0kokuryu0
Gotten Old
"I was today years old when…"
- niebla081
Trauma Isn't Great
"'What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger'."
"Bro when ? I’m just more traumatized."
- R_May0
Not Comforting
"When my dad died, a family friend said to 12-year-old me 'God needed him more'."
"I don't get how that's meant to be comforting."
- Complete_Entry
"People say all sorts of useless things when someone experiences loss."
"I had 'God needed more angels in heaven'—which I liked, because that made sense to me. At the time, I was 5 and understood that my mom would be a perfect angel."
"However, this same thing (my mom’s death that is) made my siblings instantly stop believing in God. As no God would do this—take away our mom."
"I’m sorry you had that negative experience—it’s so hard to know what to say or what we even want to hear."
- m37an13
"When our cat died, my mother span this yarn about how God happened to be passing by our house and saw a lovely cat that would look beautiful in his garden."
"Cue a lifelong perception of God as a jealous, opportunistic predator."
- joshii87
"God just decided to steal from us but it’s ok because hE LoVeS yOu."
- ccfenix
Words have impact, but sometimes its easiest to stick to the familiar.
But if you're just talking to have something to say, but not to say anything of value, silence works equally well if not better.
Want to "know" more?
Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.
@nyknicks/X
@RaqiThunda/X
@SLCLunk/X
@thegodshow.com/Bluesky
