I thought I might start a list of phrases that create a sense of caution and reserve in me. This first six I’m putting down all occurred in a brief interview on local Des Moines television, with … let’s just call him an aspiring leader. There’s nothing terribly and inherently wrong with most of them–only just that they have nearly had the meaning beaten out of them by overuse, are laid down in place of actual conversation, and are intended to serve as tokens of erudition or savvy when in fact they are vapid ejaculations being used in place of thoughts.

Red Flags

game-changer, game-changing
engage with the community
at the end of the day
it’s a great question
(I’ve probably used all of these. But I’m not proud of myself for it.)

Yellow Flags

alleviate
opportunity
(Both perfectly serviceable, but in these contexts they appear to both mean: throw some money this way, out of charity in the first instance and mutually assured greed in the second.)