My least favorite phrase

[dement1a]

Originally published at Sara Trice. You can comment here or there.

I’ve decided on my least favorite phrase in the English language:

“Can’t you just…?”

Why is this my least favorite phrase? Because:

1. It’s always in conjunction with a task that the questioner does not understand, but assumes should not be difficult at all;
2. it is inherently second-

Comments

[tomreedtoon]

You've discovered a universal truth, Sara. It's especially American, since a lot of us tend to believe in simple solutions to complex problems. "Can't you just let me go backstage to visit Miley Cyrus, since I'm her biggest fan?" "Can't you let me out of jail, because I'm a Christian?" "Can't we just drop a nuke and get rid of those troublesome people?"

Maybe, sometimes, the simple solution works. But I think more often, it doesn't clean up the dog poop; it just spreads it in a wider swath around the kitchen. Universal solutions don't work universally well.