From time to time, some of the idiotic sayings or phrases that make it into common lingo really irritate me. 

The last thorn that got my goat was “at this time”.  As an example, I might see a news cast that’s asking about the bird flu epidemic, and the newscaster might say “There are no known human infections at this time.”  Simplifying this sentence, you could simply omit that obnoxious phrase and say “There are no known human infections.”  It’s implied that you mean RIGHT NOW, because you didn’t explicitly state a time frame; “There were no known human infections during the 1800’s.”  That new statement would tell the user that after the 1800’s, infections started showing up.

The latest phrase to chap my nuts is “as to”.  “As to” irritates me because it’s another of those fragments of speech that doesn’t really make sense if you deconstruct it, but people use it to try and make themselves sound intelligent.

Here’s an example:

CNN.com – Dozens subpoenaed in hospital deaths – Oct 26, 2005:
“First, you have the right to decide whether or not you wish to be interviewed. You can consent or decline. The decision as to whether or not you consent to be interviewed is yours alone,” Andrews said.

Couldn’t this be simplified to “The decision to consent to be interviewed is yours alone.”, or even more directly, “The decision to be interviewed is yours alone.”?