Main Stream Media/ P.C. speak

*Cue Peter Griffin voice*
"You know what really grinds my gears?"

Buzzwords and catch phrases that I hear ad nauseam in the media. Words that are used to inflate the user and soften impact. Spineless, mealy mouthed, corporate feel good fluff. Allow me to illustrate and offer a fix:

• Empower - Authorize or warrant
• Embolden - foster boldness or courage
• Enable - qualify, allow, permit
• Purport - Imply or intention of
• Vitriol - Abusive or caustic
• "Take ownership of..." - "I" as in "I did/said"
• Dialog - when used as a verb. What's wrong with "talk"?
• "Speak truth to power" - What the hell does that mean? It's pretentious. About as annoying as "Stand up and be counted."
• "Move on"/ "Get over it" - Just say "Both you and your premise bore me."

When you find one, you'll probably find the others. It's precisely this that makes me roll my eyes at the speaker. Just say what you mean and mean what you say. Brevity is key.