How about let's kill off "thinking outside the box"? It was hot in the 80's and that nonsense is still being bandied about.

"Jumping the shark." It's cool and all, but overused.

There's now a new one you can use: "Nuking the fridge"
(It's a reference to the most recent Indiana Jones movie)

Funny, I have never heard of "jumping the shark". When is this phrase used? What does it mean?

The TV show of the '70's Happy Days was a hit, but the writers had run out of ideas. So they had an episode where one of the main characters jumped over a/some shark/s. (Boat? Water skiing? I don't remember, nor do I want to.) It was a really really lame plot. Thus a "jump the shark" moment, is the moment/episode that is so unforgivably bad that even the most dedicated fan knows the series should be over.

"Friend," when used as a verb. As in "I friended her on [insert your favorite social network here]."

Stimulus. It took just a few weeks for this one to be "pop" and overused, instead of more precise language.
Send this one back to science, where it belongs.

LIKE as in "I was, like, well, hello?" The problem is, I don't want to lose the word completely. It'd be terrible not to be able to say, "I really like you!"

Also, maybe we could retire 'awesome' for awhile. Not many of us burst upon a Rocky Mtn vista on a regular basis. The awesome item can be anywhere from a friend's getting tickets to an upcoming concert to Hersey's newest candy offering. Where it could & should be being used is relative to the am'ts of the bail-outs, but unfortunately it carries a positive connotation.

"Drink the Koolaid", as a way of saying that someone or some group is blindly following a leader / trend. I'm sure that by now most folks using this don't even know where it came from (Jim Jones' People's Temple)

Then there's the business jargon of the day, like "burning platform". This one is being used in all sorts of improper ways.

Two pieces. First, let's kill this new and insidious one before it spreads. "The Take-Home Message". Second, let's ban the use of the analogy in any form. For once in my career, I want the bosses to consider that four years of college and 25 years of business experience may indeed qualify me to understand a simple business concept without the use of best-selling storybooks containing cheese and mice or a stupid references to any subject other than the concept itself.

Some of these "best-selling [business] storybooks" are truly unbelievable both for their inane content and unfathomable popularity! I remember a former employer asking us to read one titled, "Who Are THEY, Anyway?" (Answer: Something about about "ME" -- which morphed into "WE" when "I" looked in the mirror. LOL!)

"Killer App". "Killer" anything, for that matter. But Killer App actually gives me cause to vomit.

I still cringe when I remember Norris on All Things Considered referring to a woman's 'killer shoes', both sexist and misplaced.

"At the end of the day" has got to go ! It is a overused, vacuous expression.

I so agree with you. When I hear someone use that phrase, I immediately think much less of him or her. Sheesh. Now it makes me cringe when I really mean the phrase and I have to use it.

Whenever someone uses an over-used phrase the listener's eyes glaze over. The attention slows to a stop. As a listener I think the person who uses the phrase that has been used ad nauseum doesn't have an original way of speaking, an original thought in his head. When someone uses a word or phrase in a NEW way, even if it isn't 'proper' this can be fresh, and evoke someone's attention -- and memory for what they heard.

yes yes yes! it's said so much now it means absolutely nothing.

"Absolutely!"
(Another hyperbolic word I am getting sick of hearing.)

Goes well with "That being said..."

OMG, i HATE the term "going forward"!!