Deep-six these phrases

ONE PHRASE that really irritates me is "Sounds like a plan."

To begin with, it either is a plan or it isn't. If it merely sounds like a plan (but it's not actually one) why bother pursuing it?

But my real problem is I just don't like plans. I resist plans and planning. I don't make "to-do" lists. I like to be spontaneous. I like to be surprised.

And, like a lot of overworked words and phrases, "Sounds like a plan" isn't spontaneous anymore. It's trite, cliched and tired.

In fact, too many words and phrases are used so often that they're sounding the death knell for simple, original, concise and creative thought and expression. Here are a few of the worst offenders:

Disingenuous. I don't know how disingenuous became the Word of the Moment, but it's time to get this straight: To use "disingenuous" is to be disingenuous. This is a snob word.

To be disingenuous means you're evasive. Two-faced or devious or sneaky or downright dishonest. You may even be a flat-out liar. Which makes disingenuous a $20 word for something that isn't worth more than a few cents. So let's call this what it is and stop wasting five syllables on it.

Green shoots. For months, we've been hearing that the economy is sprouting green shoots. I haven't seen them, have you?

Now, I remember when I used to try to grow a lawn and how excited I'd get when those first, fresh green shoots came up. You definitely know when they're there - you can see them. And you can also see them disappear later when the sun burns them off or the rain drowns them out or the squirrels and the birds or the wind flatten them. Even when they do appear, green shoots usually don't amount to anything. So, it's time to stop looking for them and stop using this stupid phrase.

Just sayin'... OK, but if you're "just sayin', " should I just ignore it?

Or, does it really mean I should lend it added importance? In other words, what are you tryin' to say when you're "just sayin' "?

Yes, I understand that when you're just sayin', you're sort of trying to defuse any hard feelings I might have about what it is you're saying. Well, not for nothing, but this sounds just plain dumb. No offense, but ya know what I mean? Ditch it.

Shout out. Hey, do me a favor. If you want to greet me or recognize me in some way, please don't give me a "shout out." To begin with, I don't like people shouting - out, at or to me.

Still, this phrase persists.

It's gotten so bad that on the day of the tragic Fort Hood massacre, the president of the United States incorporated this way-too-informal and inappropriate lingo into his remarks.

Yes, the president was forced to react quickly as he segued from one topic to another. But the casual use of this too-common phrase robbed his remarks of some dignity on what should have been a very serious and somber occasion.

Bottom line. Hey, guess what? If almost everything can be the bottom line, then there really is no bottom line after all. This phrase has lost all the meaning it might have once had.

Just when I think

you've come to the bottom line, you have more to show me or there are added costs or you have more to say or there are more conditions and caveats. Yesterday's bottom line has become today's starting point. And, in the middle of an economic crisis, do we really want to know the bottom line anyway? Avert your eyes.

Underwater. You owe more than it's worth. You're in debt. Your biggest investment went kaput.

But when I think of all the snow and rain and floods we've had, I don't want to hear about being "underwater." The phrase makes me gasp for breath. It's all too overwhelming.

So it's time to get our heads above the muck of this colloquial swamp and try thinking and talking and writing clearly.

Let's not just think outside the box, let's destroy the box altogether and start saying what we mean and meaning what we say.

How's that for a plan?

Daniel A. Cirucci is a lecturer in corporate communications at Penn State Abington. You can follow all his words and phrases at dancirucci.blogspot.com.