Portuguese businessman Orico Silva chose the latter route when his in-court financial dispute ended in bloodshed. Silva, who owns a 50-acre farm in the town of Figueira da Foz, was sued by a title company for holding onto a cash deposit on a land deal that had fallen through.

When Silva refused to pay off his $217,000 debt, a judge declared that part of his farm needed to be sold. That’s when Silva removed a butcher’s knife from his briefcase and cut off one of his fingers.

“My intention was to tear up all the case papers and splatter them with blood so I could prevent the expropriation order for my land,” Silva was quoted as saying. After shocking the judge and lawyers, he proceeded to cut his severed finger into three pieces to further protest the sale.

“I didn’t feel anything, I could even have cut off all my fingers,” said Silva. “It was an act of despair.”

Everyone’s got their verbal pet peeves, but odds are good you and your co-workers have more in common than you think when it comes to phrases that should never be spoken in the office.

After performing extensive research, scholars at Oxford University and author Jeremy Butterfield have devised a list of the ten most irritating phrases uttered by humans.

This top ten list appears in Butterfield’s latest book, “Damp Squid,” which was comprised from books, papers, magazines, journals, broadcast media and other sources:

1. At the end of the day
2. Fairly unique
3. I personally
4. At this moment in time
5. With all due respect
6. Absolutely
7. It’s a nightmare
8. Shouldn’t of
9. 24/7
10. It’s not rocket science

In addition to these expressions, Butterfield also came up with a runners-up list of phrases. Although it’s populated by office lingo like “think-tank” and “synergy,” the words “literally” and “ironically” nabbed honorable mention for being used incorrectly, or out of context the most often.

Does one particular word or phrase automatically send you or your co-workers off the deep end? Share your own pet peeves with others below.

In a bid to improve the number of taxpayers who choose to file their state tax returns online, Maryland’s Comptroller has turned to tickling funny bones as a manner of persuasion. In a spoof of Budweiser’s “Real Men of Genius” advertising campaign, the state office has posted it’s “Real Taxpayers of Genius” on YouTube.

“Today, we salute you, Mr. Frustrated Taxpayer,” begins the announcer. He’s then backed up by singers who repeat his falsetto phrases announcing an alternative to paper-based confusion — individuals can file their taxes electronically.

At the video’s end, Comptroller Peter Franchot reminds viewers online filing is faster and easier than mailing a return — not to mention far less expensive for the state. The state spends $1.98 processing each paper return, compared to a paltry $0.38 for those filed online.

The “Careereoki” contest, sponsored by Workforce Central Florida and the Orange County Board, is going to give one lucky singer a career training scholarship, personal and resume makeovers, and a $100 gas card.

Dreamed up by the Orlando-area establishments, the contest requires people to videotape themselves singing about their dream career, karaoke-style. Most of the entrants are from Central Florida, because the grand prize includes tuition for a certificate program at Orange County Technical School.

Judges have the competition pared down to the final five, including takes on Robert Palmer’s “Bad Case of Loving You” and “Summer Nights” from the musical Grease.

The final winner will be decided by looking at three categories. Originality earns up to 50% of a contestant’s total score, while creativity and overall humor are worth 25% each.

Businesses and residents alike on Steve Padgett’s mail route in Apex, NC, couldn’t be happier with his service. For at least seven years, he’s refused to deliver junk mail to any of the residents. He says he started hiding the mail in his garage and burying it in his yard because he was overwhelmed by the amount of direct advertising he was supposed to deliver.

But Padgett, who has diabetes and heart problems, has never received a single complaint about any missing junk mail. After a utility worker noticed bins of mail stacking up in his yard, Padgett was given probation in federal court.

His customers may be rallying to his cause and calling him a hero, but the Direct Marketing Association, representing more than 3,400 advertisers, wasn’t pleased with his actions.

What do you think? Is Padgett a hero, or just an employee who found a way to slack off on the job?

With everyone a little worried about their jobs, hearing these once-innocent phrases could put them into an all-out panic.

People are more sensitive than ever about what their bosses and co-workers say in the office. Even things that would come up in casual conversation are being placed off-limits to keep office sanity.

Humor site BuzzWhack has compiled a list of the top ten words and phrases your co-workers absolutely cannot hear right now. What’s being said might mean one thing, but what people will actually understand it to mean is something entirely different:

1. “Because of the turmoil in the capital markets …” — Anything with “turmoil” and “capital” just makes people think about what used to be in their 401(k)s.
2. “We’re not planning layoffs — but there will be massive restructuring.” — It sounds so much better when you put it like that.
3. “Can we talk?” — Even things like “Let’s chat for a second” sound just as bad. Even worse: Starting it off with an impersonal tap on the shoulder.
4. “Don’t view this as a problem — see it as an opportunity.” — One that you can take all the time in the world to work on since you’ll be leaving us.
5. “They’re cramming everyone together in the conference room for a 4 p.m. meeting.” — There’s no better way to ring in the weekend than nervously sitting with all your co-workers.
6. “I’ve always thought of us as family around here.” — But if it comes down between firing you or my mother/brother/daughter, you’d better start packing up your desk.
7. “You’re a great team-player, but …” — Any compliment followed by a “but” means something bad will follow it. See also: “With all due respect …”
8. “Maintaining the status quo isn’t an option anymore.” — When your boss has to use a dead language to explain something, you can bet it’s going to be devastating news.
9. “Your performance review is coming up, isn’t it?” — Nothing puts co-workers on the defensive like having to justify how well (or poorly) they’re doing their jobs.
10. “We need to refocus and concentrate on our core business.” — That usually means the company’s going back to the way it was before an employee was hired.

Are there any phrases in your workplace that have recently become off-limits? Do you have even more things that should be kept mum? Share them in the comments section below.

According to Anthony Ricci, president and chief instructor of Advanced Driving and Security, Inc., nothing’s more important in a recession than learning how to handle yourself behind the wheel.

Because crime rates go up in bad economic times, Ricci claims many companies and executives feel vulnerable to attack. Plus, as people are let go from their jobs and retirement savings go down the drain, corporate titans are worried that customers — and especially former workers — might try to do them physical harm.

During ADS’s training course, executives can learn how to master high-stakes skills in dire situations. The company also offers practice scenarios to help navigate through carjackings, high-speed pursuits and crime-ridden city streets.

That’s the thinking of officials in Halmstad, a small town in western Sweden. After a recent environmental review of the local crematorium, cemetery administrator Lennart Andersson was informed the facility would need new ovens to reach certain “green” benchmarks.

“After all the talk about the environment, we realized we should take advantage of the heat created during cremation,” said Andersson.

Instead of releasing the heat used during the cremation process into the atmosphere, the thermal energy will instead be directed into the heating system of the crematorium. Once the system is tested and approved, it’ll then be hooked up to the town’s entire heating network.

Andersson insists the action is being taken purely for its environmental benefits, and that “there won’t be anything different about the ashes.”

The city-wide heat system is planned to be up and running by 2010.

Police in Vineland, NJ, have arrested Daniel Tyce for posing as a female veterinarian. Tyce, who worked under the name of “Dr. Danielle Smith,” ran a business called South Jersey Small Animal Rescue which inoculated animals and set up homeless animals with people looking to adopt.

His Web site claims that Danielle Smith was a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania and possesses a doctorate in veterinary medicine. (Tyce has no such degrees.)

Along with his assistant, Tyce would drive around in his Jeep Cherokee with “Animal Cruelty Investigations” written on its side. The two also wore police-style uniforms with mock badges that led numerous residents to believe they were properly certified animal control officers.

Police began investigating the company after a resident informed them of suspicious activity by the group, which operated primarily out of Tyce’s apartment.

Although he’s been charged with unlicensed practice of medicine, Tyce may also face a charge of theft by deception because he solicited and accepted donations, claiming his agency was a non-profit.

Kelly Kinney, a former marketing manager for Rexarc International, is in dire need of a job. She’s only been unemployed for a few months, but a lack of jobs in the Los Angeles area has forced her to take a unique approached to getting noticed: She’s printed her resume on a t-shirt.

Kinney says the idea came to her after she was in line at the American Music Awards: “People pay attention to things they read on t-shirts,” said Kinney. She wears the experience-detailing apparel to the supermarket, mall, on job interviews — anywhere she might receive a job tip.

She claims that putting her resume on a shirt is a “pretty slick marketing ploy,” but doesn’t expect her stunt to land her the job of her dreams. “I just want to work,” said Kinney. “I don’t care about the money.”