To be Frank
"We have to talk" is just the kind of inane Americanism that has sullied the English language in the last few years (sorry, Americans). I despise such empty linguistic emulations as "You do the math" or "Too much information!" or "You're funny!" or anything else from American TV sit-coms and pulp culture.

So, no, it doesn't make you sound cool or witty or intelligent when you say such things. It makes you sound like a moron who apes what they hear on TV as a monkey sniffs its own arse for novelty value. When I hear someone say "We have to talk," I know a number of things about that person:

1) They are not my friend or anyone I would like to know.
2) Their imagination does not stretch beyond what they see on TV or hear in the pub.
3) Their linguistic breadth stops at Heat magazine and anything on daytime TV.
4) Their overblown opinion of themself is such that they have to preface a conventional sentence with that nugget of pompous shite.

When you want to talk to someone, talk to them. You wouldn't go into a shop and say, "I have to buy something" before paying for it. For fuck's sake - am I alone in this?
(frankspencer, Sun 22 Apr 2007, 19:20, Reply)