{"id":4254,"date":"2005-12-04T22:34:27","date_gmt":"2005-12-05T02:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/12\/04\/lets-put-an-end-to-at-the-end"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:21","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:21","slug":"lets-put-an-end-to-at-the-end-of-the-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/12\/04\/lets-put-an-end-to-at-the-end-of-the-day\/","title":{"rendered":"let’s put an end to “at the end of the day”"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
I’m achy, fluish and grumpy enough this evening to finally\u00a0put down <\/font><\/div>\n
in pixels <\/font>just how completely annoying and agita-inducing I find the <\/font><\/div>\n
phrase “at the end of the day<\/em>.”\u00a0 <\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
As a regular viewer of Sunday morning talking-head-political shows,\u00a0 \"erasingSF\"<\/font><\/div>\n
and other interview-oriented presentations, such as, PBS News Hour <\/font><\/div>\n
and the Charlie Rose Show, I have known for at least a decade that <\/font><\/div>\n
“at the end of the day” virtually never means “before I go to bed tonight” <\/font><\/div>\n
or “when the day in question is over.”\u00a0 <\/font>Instead, the underlying meaning <\/font><\/div>\n
is more likely to be:<\/font><\/div>\n
\n
\"tiny\u00a0\u00a0“although I have absolutely no facts or evidence to <\/font><\/div>\n
back this <\/font>up . . ”\u00a0 <\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\"tiny<\/font>\u00a0 “contrary to all logic and reason, . . . “<\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\"tiny\u00a0 “assuming a timeframe in which we are all dead <\/font><\/div>\n
anyway, . . . “<\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\"tiny\u00a0 “right after hell freezes over . . . ”\u00a0 or<\/em><\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\"tiny<\/font>\u00a0“as the spokesperson for Group\/Party X, I’m <\/font>forced\/<\/font>paid to predict, . . . “<\/font><\/div>\n
Maybe I’m just out of the\u00a0main kvetsching loop these days, but I hadn’t <\/font><\/div>\n
seen or heard others raise this complaint — until<\/em>\u00a0the repeated use of the <\/font><\/div>\n
phrase on ABC This Week<\/em> by White House Security Advisor Stephen <\/font><\/div>\n
Hadley<\/a> drove me to such distraction today that\u00a0I decided to Google the <\/font><\/div>\n
cursed <\/font>cliche.\u00a0\u00a0 I have now learned that lots<\/em> of people hate the use of “at <\/font><\/div>\n
the end <\/font>of the day” by politicians (and<\/em> sports figures).<\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\"erasingS\"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For example, early last year, it was chosen the #1 Most Irritating <\/font><\/div>\n
phrase <\/font>in the English language by supporters of Britain’s <\/font>Plain English <\/font><\/a>Campaign<\/font><\/a> <\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
(“At the end of the day . . . we’re fed up with cliches,”\u00a0<\/font>News Release<\/font><\/a>, March <\/font><\/div>\n
24, 2005)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Similarly, a <\/font>history of the term<\/font><\/a> found in GramTime News<\/em> (Vaxjo [Sweden] <\/font><\/div>\n
Univ., Jan. 2001, scroll down to Usage question #2), states: <\/font><\/div>\n
\n
“It should be noted that at the end of the day <\/em>is one of those <\/font><\/div>\n
phrases that irritate many people. In particular it also seems <\/font><\/div>\n
that the phrase is used extremely frequently by British football <\/font><\/div>\n
players and managers. In fact, as early as 1995 the readers of <\/font><\/div>\n
the British football magazine When Saturday Comes (WSC 1995:<\/font><\/div>\n
100) voted at the end of the day<\/em> to be the most “overused phrase <\/font><\/div>\n
which should be punished by public flogging.” <\/font><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The phrase was apparently given its nefarious non-literal sense in Britain and\u00a0<\/font><\/div>\n
spread from there to the United States.\u00a0\u00a0 The GramTimes News<\/em>\u00a0explains that it <\/font><\/div>\n
means something like “with everything considered.'”\u00a0 And says:<\/font><\/div>\n
\n
The 1995 edition of the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English <\/em><\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
writes that it is “used to give your opinion after you have discussed all <\/font><\/div>\n
the possibilities of a situation or problem.” The Oxford English Dictionary <\/em><\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
explains the phrase as “when all’s said and done” and its earliest entry <\/font><\/div>\n
is from 1974.<\/font><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
As late as 1995, the New York Times was still using the phrase rarely, and usually <\/font><\/div>\n
with its literal meaning.\u00a0 By then, however, the literal meaning was almost never used <\/font><\/div>\n
in British publications.\u00a0 To my dismay — but not to my surprise — the article ends <\/font><\/div>\n
on\u00a0this pessimistic note:<\/font><\/div>\n
\n
“At the end of the day the phrase seems to have a bright future because <\/font><\/div>\n
highly influential public figures in both Britain and the United States have <\/font><\/div>\n
adopted it in their speech.” <\/font><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
It has always seemed to me that Republicans began using the dread phrase first\u00a0<\/font><\/div>\n
in America\u00a0— possibly due to the Reagan-Thatcher connection.\u00a0\u00a0 Because so much <\/font><\/div>\n
Republican and conservative politics is based on ideology, rather than facts or logic, <\/font><\/div>\n
the phrase “at the end of the day” [like “at the end of days’] becomes a prophecy that <\/font><\/div>\n
they expect to be taken on faith.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/font><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
GramTime News<\/em>\u00a0notes a “huge increase” in usage in American English from 1993 –\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
1997 — suggesting that the Administration of President Bush #41 may indeed be the <\/font><\/div>\n
culprit.\u00a0 The influential figures given as examples as using the phrase by GTN<\/em>, however, <\/font><\/div>\n
are Tony Blair and Al Gore.\u00a0 Nonetheless, it has been Republicans who have triggered my <\/font><\/div>\n
gag response over the past few years with repetition of “at the end of the day.”\u00a0\u00a0 Of <\/font><\/div>\n
course, my b.s. meter goes off when politicians of every stripe use the phrase.\u00a0 (Happily, <\/font><\/div>\n
I don’t watch sport shows and therefore minimize sports-related exposure.)<\/font><\/div>\n
\n
\"tiny\u00a0\u00a0 Could it be that “at the end of the day,” being a prediction, was <\/font><\/div>\n
considered to be less deceptive than old standbys like\u00a0“at this <\/font><\/div>\n
moment in time,” which usually signalled a falsehood or <\/font><\/div>\n
convenient lapse of memory?<\/font><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
After hearing it so often, many Americans now use the phrase “at the end of the day,” <\/font><\/div>\n
without knowing that it creates great suspicion and irritation.\u00a0 Please join me in using the <\/font><\/div>\n
power of weblogs to spread the message.\u00a0 Perhaps, there will someday be a day, at the <\/font><\/div>\n
end of which, the phrase will be given back\u00a0its literal meaning.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We can then go back to<\/font><\/div>\n
\u00a0loathing “at this moment in time” and “my present recollection.”<\/font><\/div>\n
\n
\"tiny\u00a0 Dec. 13, 2005, is Plain English Day<\/em>, and the Plain English <\/font><\/div>\n
Campaign will be announcing its <\/font>annual awards<\/font><\/a>\u00a0– for both clear <\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
and baffling use of English.\u00a0 There are categories for <\/font><\/font>government<\/font><\/a> <\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
and <\/font>media<\/font><\/a>, along with the <\/font>Golden Bulls<\/font><\/a> (for gobbledygook) and <\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
Foot in Mouth<\/font><\/a> (for a baffling quote by a public figure).\u00a0 The\u00a0\u00a0<\/font><\/p>\n
Plain English Web Award<\/font><\/a>\u00a0is actually an<\/font> honor.<\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\"tiny\u00a0 The\u00a0latest <\/font>News Update<\/font><\/a> from Plain English (04 Nov. 2005), tells of <\/font><\/div>\n
a study out of Princeton that I had missed.\u00a0 According to its author, <\/font><\/div>\n
Dr. Daniel Oppenheimer, “writers who use long words needlessly <\/font><\/div>\n
and choose complicated font styles are seen as less intelligent <\/font><\/div>\n
than those who stick with basic vocabulary and plain text.” Hmm.<\/font><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
dad’s armchair<\/font><\/div>\n
hindsight is<\/font><\/div>\n
20\/40<\/font><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/font><\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 by\u00a0<\/font><\/em>dagosan<\/em><\/strong><\/font><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/font><\/font><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

p.s.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 My irritation over this phrase spilled over into my personal senryu\u00a0<\/font>weblog this morning — see simply senryu<\/a><\/em>. <\/font><\/p>\n

\n
<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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<\/font><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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<\/font><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/font><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m achy, fluish and grumpy enough this evening to finally\u00a0put down in pixels just how completely annoying and agita-inducing I find the phrase “at the end of the day.”\u00a0 As a regular viewer of Sunday morning talking-head-political shows,\u00a0 and other interview-oriented presentations, such as, PBS News Hour and the Charlie Rose Show, I have known […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-16C","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4254","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4254"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12889,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4254\/revisions\/12889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4254"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}