The other day I called my doctor’s office to reschedule an appointment I was supposed to have at the end of the month. The receptionist responded to my request by saying, “May I ask why you’re changing it?”
I had two immediate reactions to this, neither of which i voiced.
First, it was none of the receptionist’s business why I wanted to make the change.
Second, prefacing her inquiry with, “May I ask…” didn’t negate the fact that she wanted my reason for changing the appointment. It merely cloaked it in false courtesy.
I’ve been irritated a lot lately by absurdities and misuses of language that have become commonplace. It doesn’t take much. Someone saying, “He arrived TO work,” rather than, “AT work,” or “She won’t STEP foot into the building,” rather than, “SET foot into the building,” or using “I” as an object pronoun instead of a subject pronoun,” or uttering “Centered around” instead of “Centered on,” or “Revolving around,” are enough to set my nerves on edge. And ending every remark with a rise in pitch makes me want to howl, “Are you asking me or telling me?”
I haven’t even begun to mention the expressions, “Nothing-burger,” “No there, there,” and “Existential threat.” And don’t get me started on using, “Sort of,” to qualify every statement.
I’d really like to complain, but…oh, wait, I just did….
Peace.
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