The Death of the English Language: Proverbials

Greetings friends - just a brief note today concerning something that has bothered me for quite sometime.

The unnecessary usage of the word proverbial bothers me to no end. When somebody utters a sentence that is inherently proverbial, it does not require a statement intimating that it is.

You just hit the proverbial nail on the head.

Or even worse; a true abortion of the English language;

You just hit the proverbial nail on the proverbial head.

Jesus H. Christ; you have given me no other option but to eat your first born progeny before regurgitating it on a bed of mixed greens before lightly covering it with a drizzle of a bitter vinaigrette.

All that requires being said is; You just hit the nail on the head.

Unless the person you are addressing is actually framing a home by driving a nail into a 2X4, it is commonly understood that it is proverbial.

The only exception to this is when the sentence actually refers to a proverb, the difference being that a proverb is a fixed expression, whereas a proverbial expression allows room for alteration.

Since I don't feel obligated to search for an actual proverb, I'll assume that if your read this site you are inherently brilliant and require no further explanation of the difference between the two.

I will now leave you to enjoy the second half of the Mavs game. But, before I go, remember that proverbial statements differ slightly from idiomatic expressions. Should you require a brief refresher on what Idioms are; search the column on the right for Idioms, certain that I've already covered that.