As I mentioned in my post, The Unparalleled World-Class Mission-Critical Hero: Words Sucked Dry In Business, some terms just get under your skin and start gnawing their way toward your brain. Obviously, this has resulted in mass hysteria in some business circles.

But the people are not taking this lying down! They’re fighting back by…… responding to surveys.

According to a story on business jargon in the London Telegraph, “Thinking outside the box” tops the list of terms that most irritate the British:

1. Thinking outside of the box
2. Touch base
3. At the end of the day
4. Going forward
5. All of it
6. Blue sky thinking
7. Out of the box
8. Credit crunch
9. Heads up
10. Singing from the same hymn sheet
11. Pro-active
12. Downsizing
13. Ducks in a row
14. Brainstorming
15. Thought shower
16. 360º thinking
17. Flag it up
18. Pushing the envelope
19. At this moment in time
20. In the loop

Since many of these terms are used and abused on this side of the Atlantic, I predict that Americans will also revolt against this tyranny of terminology. That is, as soon as we can come to agreement on the best-of-breed turnkey solutions for maximizing returns on this mission critical issue.

Related Article: Soccer Moms Voted Off The Island For Jumping The Shark: 10 Odd American Expressions You Should Know

photo by bschmove via Creative Commons