I hate the usual message board pet peeve threads.
But just sometimes you have to get one off of your chest.
The one that is bothering me is the phrase "and what not."
As in, "The car wouldn't start, was cranking and sputtering, and what not."
It's related to the phrase "and so forth." A kind of verbal "et cetera."
If a person used it rarely, that would be one thing. But when I have to listen to someone say it in every other sentence, I start to twitch.
IT ADDS NO MEANING TO ANYTHING. BY SAYING "AND WHAT NOT" YOU HAVE ADDED NO MEANINGFUL CONTENT TO YOUR COMMUNICATION!!! YOU ARE EXPOSING YOURSELF AS A BLATHERING MORON WITH MORE WORDS THAN ACTUAL COGENT THOUGHTS. HAVE MERCY ON ME AND STOP THE VERBAL DIARRHEA! PLEASE!
<phew>
Please, if you use this phrase, please stop. Thank you.