Lazy Phrases

I've become more aware lately of laziness in writing and speaking - I'm certainly guilty of this, and notice it in others as well. There seem to certain phrases that we tend to spout without really thinking or without making the effort to say something original. While we can't all command the language with flair and creativity, I've recently pondered some common sayings. Here's what I've been thinking:


Can we say "in this day" without "and age"?
Can we cease without also desisting?
Can't we think outside the box to come up with a replacement for the phrase "thinking outside the box"?
Is it enough to say "each" without including "and every"?
How far away is it "to Kingdom Come"? If you don't know, why bring it up?
Can you be "sick" without being "and tired"? My mom never could.
Do we really have to go through "in order" to get to "to"?
If someone says, "to be honest," does that mean they've been lying up until now?
If we say we're "sweating like a pig", aren't we really saying we're not sweating at all?

Lake Superior State College actually has a list of overused words and phrases that they would like to ban from the English language. Read the complete list, and I'm sure you'll agree. Two of my worst verbal tics are on there, "Awesome" and "Cool". I'm working on removing them from my mental files right now.

What are your verbal pet peeves?