Another usage that tends to disgust me, and make my teeth itch, and fill me with loathing, is the addition of totally meaningless words like basis in such expressions as on a daily basis. This has exactly the same meaning as daily, but is inarticulate, less easy to understand, and harder to say. I think it must have been coined by some clod who had to satisfy a required word count and hadn't much to say.
Basis is a perfectly good word, and has a meaning, but in those expressions it hasn't any meaning at all. Instead of saying I go there on a weekly basis, why not just say I go there weekly? The other day I heard a man say I think we'll have to examine these things on a one-at-a-time basis. My respect for him took a considerable hit.
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-- Carl
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