'At the End of the Day' Tops Cliche List

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LONDON - At the end of the day, it's the most irritating cliche in the English language. So says the Plain English Campaign which said the abused and overused phrase was first in a poll of most annoying cliches.

Second place went to "at this moment in time," and third to the constant use of "like," as if it were a form of punctuation. "With all due respect" came fourth.

"When readers or listeners come across these tired expressions, they start tuning out and completely miss the message — assuming there is one," said Plain English Campaign spokesman John Lister.

"Using these terms in daily business is about as professional as wearing a novelty tie or having a wacky ring-tone on your phone."

Lister said people should follow the 1946 advice of writer George Orwell: "Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print."

The Plain English Campaign, which offers annual awards for good use of the language, surveyed its 5,000 supporters in more than 70 countries for the poll.

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