I'm not a grammatical nazi, but you shouldn't use the word "proverbial" unless you're refering to an actual proverb. I know I know, that's pretty pretentious, and it is. I didn't make the rules though. Although if you wanna walk on the wild side and break the rules like me, use something edgy and offensive, like "the turd in the proverbial punch bowl".
You see? I betcha i'll get banned for that one.
