I got an e-mail yesterday from a company that sells craft supplies. The subject line read:
“Get Your Craft On.”
I deleted the e-mail with quick contempt because it reminded me of how very much I dislike the overused call to action to “get my (fill-in-the-blank) on.” Part of the problem is that there are so many activities one can “get on.”
Get your groove on
Get your freak on
Get your game on
Get your geek on
Get your praise on
Get your blaze on
Get your funk on
Get your green on
It’s everywhere, and I’m sure you could add to the list. Hey, I could ask you to “Get your list on,” or “Get your get on … on.” Hmm, maybe not.
At first I didn’t mind the expression. It was cute and a little bit funky, but driving past a store-front church one day, the message-bearing roadside marquee read, “Come in and Get your God on.” Without passing judgment, I can say that one ruined it for me.
It’s not just the getting on of things that bothers me. Über bothers me, too. In fact, it über bothers me. I stopped subscribing to Entertainment Weekly because they über-use it at least once in every issue. I grind my teeth when I hear it, but I’m not gonna go there, which is another idiom to add to the list.
My friend Keith hates the expression, “It is what it is,” and I agree with him on that. That’s the thing about Keith, he’s good people. Oh! I don’t like that one either. How can one person be good people? It just doesn’t make sense!
Seriously, though, it’s all good. Ouch, that’s another stinker.
The more I think about it, the more I come up with:
- Good to go
- Git r done
- Have a good one
- Not so much (Loved that when I first heard it, but now … not so much)
I’m giving myself a headache with all these cliches, and there’s only one thing that takes care of headaches: Retail therapy, (yep, that’s one), so, I’m going to go get my shop on, but first, I’m going to go get my shoes on.
Grammar Watch is an occasional series about grammar peeves, abuses, giggles, and rants. Email me with any topics you’d like to see included here.
Resources: The Daily Post.
* That’s another one