The most annoying expressions...

I've never ever heard 'lady portions' ... but it does sound vaguely rude! 

It does! 

I quite like manageress. It's really no different from waitress, actress or hostess.

I'd thought about that the other day, it really is no different from waitress, etc.  Still....it just sounds old-fashioned to me.

not insanely annoying but I cringe when I hear an 8 year old say it...

Tramp! In my head it conjures up whole other can of worms then what it means

I quite like manageress. It's really no different from waitress, actress or hostess.

But who uses those terms anymore? All you hear now is "server", "actor" or "host" for either gender. I even saw in an article Helen Mirren referred to as one of the best "female actors". And I think "manageress" is a clumsy construction ("waiteress"? or "actoress"?) but then "managress" doesn't sound right either! 

But who uses those terms anymore? All you hear now is "server", "actor" or "host" for either gender. I even saw in an article Helen Mirren referred to as one of the best "female actors". And I think "manageress" is a clumsy construction ("waiteress"? or "actoress"?) but then "managress" doesn't sound right either! 

I hear those terms all the time, but I suppose it all depends on the people you know and how they speak. "Female actor" sounds more clumsy to my ears, to be honest. I mean, why use four syllables when you can use two?

what about  'lady portions'  when eating out?  Do they still have that option? 

I cringe when I hear "lady" in conjunction with almost any other word.  "Lady wife" "Lady bits" and so on.  I only tolerate "lady lumps" because I like the song.

I may or may not have mentioned it, but I don't like "hotting up".  I know it's a British thing, but it even sets my husband off (as does a lot of British pronunciations/vernacular, surprisingly).

"Female actor" sounds more clumsy to my ears, to be honest. I mean, why use four syllables when you can use two?

Indeed.

I also resent it when "servers" address me as "young lady" (I'm not young and I'm no lady!)

(I'm not young and I'm no lady!)

I cringe when I hear "lady" in conjunction with almost any other word.  "Lady wife" "Lady bits" and so on.

I don't mind those when used in a jokey way. But my MIL has recently hired a woman to come and do some pruning, weeding, clearing, etc. in her garden, and she insists on referring to the poor woman as "my lady gardener." We all cringe. And giggle. (She defintely does not mean it in a jokey way, btw.)

I think there is a huge difference between using it jokingly and using it in the cringe-worthy sincere way.

I hate the overuse of "literally". I get it as an over-emphasis thing, but it's dumb. I read a blog post detailing a recipe the other day where the author said "I literally put the chicken in and cook it for 30 seconds". How, exactly, would you figuratively do this?

I hate the overuse of "literally". I get it as an over-emphasis thing, but it's dumb. I read a blog post detailing a recipe the other day where the author said "I literally put the chicken in and cook it for 30 seconds". How, exactly, would you figuratively do this?

At least she actually did put the chicken in. My old boss in the US used to use 'literally' all the time; as in, "I literally bent over backwards to accommodate them". Um ... no, you literally didn't. 

That's not overuse of literally, that's misuse of literally. Literally means actually doing something. If the author only put the chicken in for 30 seconds, it will be raw, so s/he did not literally put it in for 30 seconds. It's giving literally its exact opposite meaning, and it drives me bonkers!

'lady portions'  

That sounds rude.

Actress seems less condescending than lady actor, to me. "Lady Actor" or when they refer to, say the boys' basketball team as "the bulldogs" and the girls' basketball team as "the lady bulldogs", it seems extra sexist. "Even though they're doing a man's job, they're still Ladies with perfect manners, manicures, and coiffed hair." And saying Helen Mirren is one of the "best lady actors" sounds to me like what they're really saying is she's not bad at this whole acting thing, you know, for a woman.

oh, hello soapbox. I didn't see you there.

Actress seems less condescending than lady actor, to me. "Lady Actor" or when they refer to, say the boys' basketball team as "the bulldogs" and the girls' basketball team as "the lady bulldogs", it seems extra sexist. "Even though they're doing a man's job, they're still Ladies with perfect manners, manicures, and coiffed hair." And saying Helen Mirren is one of the "best lady actors" sounds to me like what they're really saying is she's not bad at this whole acting thing, you know, for a woman.

I agree.

My old boss in the US used to use 'literally' all the time; as in, "I literally bent over backwards to accommodate them". Um ... no, you literally didn't. 

A colleague "literally froze to death" while waiting for a bus the other day, she told me. I refrained from crossing myself, but only just.

One that annoys me a bit is when they use "obviously" in front of just about every sentence.