- "Fascinating" - It was cool when Spock said that when faced with a scientific mystery. Clearly he loved science and he loved challenges. Unfortunately, as the series went on that word was way overused. Now Star Trek writers actually *avoid* the word, forcing them to use "intriguing" (see below).
- ". . . compelling" - Not "compelling," as in "they present a compelling argument for intervention" but ". . . compelling" as in "I find her . . . compelling." Puke! Stop doing this! See more on the caesura (". . .") below.
- "intriguing" - Doesn't anyone say "interesting," "enchanting," "tempting" or even "fascinating" anymore? Oh, but why use a precise word, when a vaguer, overused one will do?
- ". . ." - The caesura. Argghh!! This started in NextGen and frankly I find it more annoying than Shatner stacatto speech.
- ". . . distasteful" - Guess what? I find this expression . . . distasteful. What, we need a euphemism for "disgusting," "repulsive" and "abhorrent" now too?
- "stimulating" for "exciting" - Just why we need a euphemism for "exciting" is beyond me. I do know it's part of the Star Trek Adolescent Boy Approach To Sex.
- "interspecies mating rituals" for "sex with aliens," or simply "mating rituals" for "courtship and sex" - What are we, antelope?
- "I cannae change the laws of physics!" - actually, I'm kind of partial to this one :^)
- "He's dead, Jim." - Heh, heh, kind of partial to this one too.
- "I'm a [blank], not a [blank]." - This in-joke has gotten totally out of hand. It was totally in character the first time McCoy said it - "I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer" in "Devil in the Dark." Some of the variations on this were funny, others lame. Taking it to other series was the real mistake, though. Bashir saying it was kind of funny in DS9 "TaT", but Holodoc on VOY? Totally out of character. This old chestnut should be retired.
- "Make it so, Number One." - Can you think of anything more pompous?
- "We'll have to out[blank] the [blank]." - (ie - "outsmart the smart bomb" - Warhead, VOY, "outthink the think tank" - Think Tank, VOY). Why do the writers give Janeway such lame-o lines? Is it a conspiracy? Nah, it's Brannon Braga, who obviously would rather be writing for Ah-nold.
- "Humanity has evolved," or something along those lines - Give me a break.
- "Earth is a paradise" - In deep space, I'll bet it seems like one, but any place where political process has atrophied and they declare martial law at the drop of a hat is no paradise in my book.
- "logical/illogical" as cliché for everything Vulcan - Originally when Spock talked about logic, he was talking about logic, mathematical or verbal (from logos, word :-). Since when is "illogical" a synonym for "silly" or "trivial"? These two words have been so overused and so poorly used that I feel self-conscious employing them in everyday speech - a loss to the entire English language.
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