There’s no shortage of overused expressions in our society of overused expressions. From think outside the box and it’s a no-brainer to circling back and on the same page, we just can’t help ourselves when it comes to stating the over-obvious.
Apples to apples, when the rubber hits the road, for my money, at the end of the day is the most annoying expression I can think of; this, of course, is a rule of thumb and I don’t mean to throw anybody under the bus who says this, which, at the end of the day, really means I do, but, if I go first-person on you, Tom Marks and you will need to take this offline if you want to drill down on this matter. Yes, I admit it – I took the low-hanging fruit when it came to overused expressions, and did not push the envelope as much as I should have.
At the end of the day is spoken by politicians, professional talkers, and athletes as much as anyone. A handful of businesspeople, too. I never hear my friends who are farmers, construction workers, landscapers, or delivery people say it. My barber doesn’t either, and I don’t recall my neighbor, the funeral director, saying it. Aside from not really knowing what it means, why even give it a shout-out? What if an Australian says it? Is that tomorrow, yesterday, or next year if it’s the 31st of December? What if many of my third-shift friends, who are now on the fourth shift, which means they’re looking for third-shift work, said at the end of the day? I’d really have to think about what day part we’re talking about. Heaven forbid an insomniac lets loose with it.
I don’t like it when people are critical and offer no resolution – no suggestions about making an untoward situation more toward. So, I have a suggestion for all sayers of at the end of the day. Keep it simple and go with in the end. You’ll save valuable vocal-chord equity over the course of your lifetime, you won’t force people to figure out what the end of your day is, and you’ll get to the point much quicker. Think of it this way: “At the end of the day, when all is said and done, we’ll work together to build a stronger initiative” is pretty much an eye-roller compared to, “In the end, we’ll work together and find out if you’re a jerk or not.”
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