After last week's You Tell Me in which we discussed our favorite words, reader John Ochwat had the good sense to suggest this week's topic. And it's even better:
What's your least favorite word?
Mine is proctor.
Take it away, word gurus!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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«Oldest ‹Older 1 – 200 of 228 Newer› Newest»Moist. That word gives me the heebie-jeebies.
It's a toss up between choose/chose and loose/lose.
I'm not able to tell those words apart properly. I know one has a double letter and one doesn't, but I can't remember which is which or how each one is pronounced.
The thing that makes me dislike them is I can't avoid them. I have to use them, as they're common words. So every time, I have to look them up and make sure I've used the right one.
Uranus!
How I got through astronomy class without cracking wise over that one, I'll never know.
"You know what word I'm not comfortable with? Nuance?"
Bonus points to the person who names the movie that line is from and the actor who said it.
Nathan, you're up and blogging awfully early today.
I was thinking you were blogging pretty early, too.
Anyway, "proctological" might qualify for any number of reasons.
Utilize. People think they sound smarter when they use this word instead of the word "use," but they sound silly to me.
Between.
And yeah, no escaping that one.
Buht-ween, bee-tween, buh-tweeen...gets worse every time I say.
I hate the word Mongloid. I think it sounds terrible.
I once had a boss who hated the word caucasian. He thought all the race words should end in "oid" so they would all be the same. Consequently, he called all the white people in our unit "Cacazoids."
Strange but true!
Audit.
I'm sure this was an honorable word once, with an honorable etymology. In modern America, though, it's been commandeered by the IRS.
According to Harper's Index, 1 in 2 Americans would rather be mugged than audited. You probably tensed up just reading the word.
Any time a know-it-all wants to take control of the conversation they will make a sound, and that sound is a word, and that word is
Actually . . .
Because moist has already been claimed, I'll have to go with my second - soiled.kkyqn
eric-paul, are you quoting "Dead Like Me?"
Mine would have to be squelch.
As ugly as the word verification word was it doesn't hold a candle to soiled.
Reminder to self - word verification goes in the skinny box.
Tweeze.
I have a lot of contempt for the word "leisurely," when people use it as an adverb.
And "upon", for the same reason debby g. dislikes "utilize".
mortgage
All nonexistent words (and also real words that are ugly) created by poor back formation.
Ex: conversate, orientate (oh great, my browser thinks that's a word), etc. etc.
I actually like the word proctor, though that might be because I don't mind taking tests. It probably has more to do with John Proctor in The Crucible.
Any word that ends with "ingly"...exceedingly, lovingly, etc...
They make me gag.
hmmm it's between panties and martyr.
Ruin. As a verb (in any of its forms). "You ruined it." Everytime I hear that word, whether directed at me or not, I feel sadness and pity. That person was looking forward to something that he never got to enjoy. Sad.
Uh, the eff-word that's "trip" in German but that, in English, denotes an unpleasant physical expulsion.
(Yes, you haven't lived until somebody tells you, "Hab' ein gut Fahrt." The first time I heard it, I was practically squealing, "Have a good what?")
Stupid. Call me any profanity in the book and I won't blink. However, I have to side with Otto from A Fish Called Wanda and say don't call me stupid.
Also, I hate hearing other people called stupid. It does nothing but tear down.
"Bawl"
"Impact" used as a verb.
"Incentivize" -- say what?
"Guesstimate" --what's wrong with "estimate"?
"Branding" -- just yech.
"spiritual" -- so overused.
BRANGELINA
Moist.
Its/It's
I have to consciously remind myself every fricken time which is which and for that alone, the ubiquitous IT stands alone at the top of my FU list of words. :-D
"Nipple". Although "belly" comes a close second. It's not that I have anything against those body parts, I just hate the way they sound.
I hate to hear 'pass'. ;)
coll
Nothing good ever comes out of this word:
taxes
Polenth:
Choose and chose are the same verb, present and past tense.
Lose and loose are totally different words, lose is a verb, and loose is an adjective.
I refer you to the following off-color polemic, though I don't endorse grammarian rage.
http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/aus/111508160.html
"Panties," unless it's specifically referring to undergarments worn by a female under the age of six.
There's something so infantile and demeaning about that word. Ugh. I hate even TYPING it.
Moist.
Like eric-paul said -- it gives me shivers down my spine. Ick.
Wow, I don't know if I can even type it. Growing up we were NOT allowed to use the word...fart...okay, that was difficult. To this day I still cannot hear it without cringing, and I can't say it to save my life. It's a four-letter word to me.
"Glucosamine-chondroitin."
Damn. That word makes me violently angry. As angry as seeing vomit in television commercials used as a supposed comedy device.
Grrr-r-r-r!
Definitely diversity
Bosom
Ugly, stupid word.
Swollen.
In a Little House on the Praire volume I read as a child, Laura's friend kicked a hornet's nest. The hornets attacked, and the boy wound up with a red, swollen body. The boy survived - but I developed an aversion to "swollen" and a life-long bee phobia.
I refused to pick a favorite word. But there are many words I dislike, all of which are over-used in ways that have left them largely meaningless on their own.
Words like "snarky" and "wonky" definitely fit into that category. "triangulate" is another.
These words are generally used to show coolness on the part of the user rather than to communicate something. As per the distinction I made on my blog last Saturday, that's Barking, not Talking. I don't see the point of it.
Wow, most of my pet peeves have already been noted. Guesstimate, panties, and for heaven's sake, moist. The only one not mentioned so far is sexpert.
Actually that brings up a whole category of annoying combo words, many of which are internet-related: netizen, webinar, etc. Eew. And business jargon in general.
And this is an interesting article (I had never realized the extent of the "moist" hatred before):
http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/10/29/moist/index.html
occasion
I can never remember how many c's and how many s's.
It.
The word is meaningless, no matter the context. "It" clogs up sentences, fuzzes meanings, confuses people, and annoys teachers.
Be specific! Be-e specific!
p.s. word verification is qfsux. SOOO true.
"literally"
It's so often incorrectly used as an intensifier ("it's literally raining cats and dogs!") that I'm shocked when I hear it used correctly.
Also, when I hear the morpheme "lit," my brain gets prematurely excited, thinking that perhaps a discussion of books will follow. It so rarely does.
Flesh.
The word “never” because never is a long time.
Never rarely ever means never. It implies an infinite “no way will you get what you want.” For me it is usually a challenge. As soon as you put it out there you have challenged someone to prove to you that their “never” is actually finite.
I try to never use never :0)
Rubber gloves.
Well, that's two words, but still--
I hate the word "incentivize!"
It is not even a real word, just trendy jargon politicians and business morons use to "incentivize" people.
And the word I hate the most starts with a "C" and rhymes with Hunt. It actually upsets me to see it in print, let alone hear it being used at someone.
The word "it" is not meaningless. On the contrary, when used correctly, it (here referring back to its proper antecedent, "the word 'it'") is extremely useful and clear.
I defy you to write a decent book without it.
Eric-paul, you might find the Language Log post ASK LANGUAGE LOG: THE MOIST PANTIES PHENOMENON useful. Actually, almost anyone might find that useful, or at least
amusing.
As for my least favorite word, I can't pick one, but various choices related to academic jargon—epistemological, destabilize—are all excellent choices.
My least favourite word also starts with a P. That word is POIGNANT.
I honestly wince when I hear it, read it, and see it.
No.
The F word. It's crude, lazy, and vastly overused. When used literally, it reflects a profound disrespect for something that ought to be holy. When used just as an expletive, it's simply lazy and reflects a profound disrespect for the feelings of the people who might happen to hear it. I have put it in the mouth of a character--once--but only because for that character in that situation, anything else sounded inauthentic. I'd love to go back to the days when such language was never used in public, in writing, or in the presence of a lady.
Smegma.
I can remember a boy in my high school science class that loved saying that word just to watch girls blanch. He enjoyed even more offering the definition for those unaware of its meaning.
Ew.
ADJUNCT:
I was once an adjunct at a college. It sounds like "Add-Junk" when anyone says it and who wants to be "something joined or added to another thing but not essentially a part of it."
Denist
Looks like I'm not the only one with an aversion to "moist".
decimate
It means get rid of 1/10th, not the whole enchilada. Sigh. I'll give up. The word has morphed its meaning.
Now, I do like morph, although it is a corruption of metamorphosis.
In the old days: Puce. I can't stand that word or the color it signifies. I believe there was a Puce crayola crayon in the big set.
Nowadays: Newbie. I just hate it.
Runner-up: Blurb. When I was a kid, where I came from, Blurb denoted a moist fart. The sort that has you saying "P-Uce" as you reach for a moist towelette.
Somewhat similar to a jacket blurb, but subtly different.
vulva
I always think of Volvo.
"Veggies."
It's so... so... d*mned precious. And the near-universality of it has nearly put me off the Food Network for good.
And as The Missus will tell you, the common misuse of "hone" instead of "home" -- as in "he honed in on the correct answer" -- can drive me completely nuts. NOTHING makes me lose respect for a writer faster than that. (And yes, I know dictionaries are giving up the battle. Just not the dictionary in my head. Which is the only one that counts. :)
value-added
@Natalie: I'm currently pitching a book titled "Between Clubs." There's no hope!
I've got to give a Moist Panty Award to the word "reconnoiter."
Say it. Out loud. Then tell me if you feel like reaching for the mouthwash.
delish
Gerriwriting, are you one of the Knights Who Formerly Said Nee?
"Unpack" (when not used to to mean taking clohes out of a suitcase.)
Rhythm. I always have such a hard time spelling it because it has no vowels - except "y". In fact, I had to look the word up just to type it here. ARRRGGHH!
I am soooo with regarding Polenth choose/chose and loose/lose. Such muddy words.
"Whatev" or "Whatever"
I see red when I hear teens use it in that irritating way they have.
I also hate when people mix their words up in a sentence so that it makes little sense. Why isn't there an edit post function?
"insightful"
Like Jordan, I hate words formed by poor back-formation. One of my majors was linguistics, and though I'm not a prescriptivist, it rubs me the wrong way.
So I absolutely hate the word "throughput", and like curmudgeon said, "incentivize" and all those other corporate BS words.
Vacillate. It sounds absolutely disgusting.
Money
Nothing good ever seems to follow the word money. Everyone wants money. Everyone is unhappy over money. There is never enough money.
Politics is a close second...
Graphical. Compartmentalize. Democratization.
Any word that starts out perfectly good and then gets one or more suffixes added to it so it can take the place of an existing, perfectly clear and common word. According to my dictionary, graphic and graphical are synonyms. Compartmentalize turns a noun (compartment) into an adjective (compartmental) and then into a verb. Most times, the verb "separate" will substitute nicely. If compartmentalize and democratization are acceptable, then why not "transportization" or "reflexologicalism?"
Sigh. Sometimes it bothers me so much, I go read Hemmingway.
'Treat'.
Don't know why but it makes me feel dirty.
And how could you guys not like 'moist?'
Since we're writers...In honor of a rejection I got last week, can I have a sentence instead of a word?
"I'm going to pass on this."
Thanks, have a great day. I'm passing on you too, love ya!
Diet.
Need I say more?
Waiting.
To quote Inigo in The Princess Bride, "I hate waiting."
Personally, I'm sick to death of "cellar door". People only use it prove they know its significance.
But sometimes it's a "least favorite" word that is the perfect word. So I guess I really don't have one.
I gather that martyred, moist panties would incentivize this group to lose it.
Fabricating new verbs from nouns is almost as disgusting as text bastardization of the language. I consumed too much lunch - So, please ask – r u 4real?
Uber-anything and anywho, so sorry I couldn't stop at just one.
diction
impaled...my breath catches every time I read it
Ulysses, you hit on another class of words used to sound cool, the "dollar word where a nickel one would suffice" category. I'm glad these were mentioned. Thanks.
The advantage of longer words is that they're easy to make fun of. Take "reconnoiter", selected by johno (thanks!). If anyone ever says, "I'm going to reconnoiter the situation," I simply reply, "Why would you do that to a perfectly good 'noiter?"
Most too-long words have enough sounds in them to lead to a bad pun like that. "Compartmentalize" has "mentalize" in it, so you can respond with "I'm always partly mentalizing things."
The beauty of puns is that people don't always know for sure that they're being made fun of, so it is not exactly a rude thing to do. But people who use these words do need to be made fun of. Desperately. Oh, yeah.
Just as with your favorite word, I can't think of one least favorite.
I'm not a big fan of sasquatch. It sounds like a description of something that bursted open after hitting your windshield.
Josephine Damian's choice of Uranus triggered some thoughts. It seems they now want us to pronounce it "urine us," whereas when I was being educated they called it "your anus". I wish they'd decide which way they want to go. Regardless, neither pronunciation adds elegance to your speech.
The planetary reference reminded me of a long-held beef of mine. In elementary school, we looked forward to each edition of the Weekly Reader. We were young and impressionable and didn't know that it was a lying rag. That publication led us to believe that we would be working a four-day work week, that we would be driving a hovercraft, and that Prince Charles would be the King of England. None of these has come to pass. To add insult to injury, we now find that, though Weekly Reader told us there were nine, there are only eight planets. Hmm. Maybe they should have gotten rid of Uranus instead of Pluto.
empower (-ed, -ing,...)
Any non-business verb, co-opted into the business world as a noun. e.g., "Leverage." "Matrix."
WordPerfect
Anything ending in "o-rama"
The word panorama is fine, but the offshoots using o-rama like "sale-o-rama" sets my teeth on edge.
Even though you haven't asked, my number one detested phrase is:
"thinking out of the box."
It has such a Dilbertesque marketing feeling to it that makes me want to hurl. My eyes roll whenever I hear someone say that phrase or if I read it in print.
I agree with many here ... and I'll add one I haven't seen: proactive.
(I love poignant!)
"Irregardless" and its consorts.
colarodo writer... we used to call our blue volvo our Blue vulva ;) Now it's a lifeless grey, lol.
I do not like the word TURGID I think it just sounds stupid, it's not a pretty word to say.
masticate
puce.
"Till" when used as a shortcut for the word until. When used in verbal language, it's almost always a lazy until, and as such should be spelled 'til. But spellcheckers freak out about that, and till passes because it's already a farming verb and banking noun.
vasectomy
circumcision
catheter
castrate
And, yes, I do have issues.
It's a tie between REALLY and VERY...
really
although zhcocf from word verification is a close second...and besides...
Shouldn't it be LETTER verification?
None of these are actually WORDS are they?
"Journal" used as a verb.
Jeff: No. Just a former college English composition teacher.
Anonymous 8:53
I've written one book with maybe one or two uses of "it". Trust me, no one missed the word. The quality of the book has nothing to do with sentence structure, and no one dinged me on awkward sentences. Currently working on another book without "it" anywhere within the prose, too.
Try writing without "it". You might just be surprised.
Vein.
I get so uncomfortable when people talk about veins.
Actually, two words used together - sea change. Overused. Just like its sister - watershed. Ugh. Peace, Linda
Rural.
Whenever I say it, it sounds wrong. Like I'm growling, or slurring. There is no good way to pronounce that word.
elizaw, you must not be a 30 Rock fan! "The Rural Juror" is the best movie title of all time. ;-)
I'm back to add to my list:
limpid
Like
When it's used as an intensifyer. As in, "it's like, moist in hear."
Nick
NickTravers.com
Hey, I AM a proctor! I just got home from my job proctoring. Rubber gloves are not involved, I swear.
My least favorite word? I used to be fanatically opposed to "ish" as an abbreviation of issue (of a magazine, I mean). I still think it's a horrible pseudo-word, but it doesn't make me want to do violence against the speaker/writer using it.
Rejection
Puce.
Don't know why, the word just bugs the crap out of me.
laved- especially in romance novels...yuck!
Raging.
Raging fires, raging rivers, raging storms.
Just once, I'd like to read about an indifferent form of nature. That's actually more frightening when you think about it.
I agree with elizaw
Rural is hellish.
supercalifragilisticexpealidocious
hate it hate it hate it
(and so did my word verification, which asked me to spell:
VOMKIZA)
Needles
Innoculation
BLOOD TEST!
Tear
They are words that scare the hell out of me.
But my biggest pet peeve is words that are made up:
possimistic
chillax
I know all words were made up at some stage and Shakespeare added a number of words to the language in his plays & sonnents but the people who use the above words are not Shakespeare
Hey, that's two for PUCE!
I also hate word verification.
There's no specific word I hate, but as a category I despise brand names. Brand names do not belong in novels, songs, or poetry. They just don't.
For instance, I heard a song the other day which included the word "Rogaine."
No, no, no, no, NO!!!!!!!
vulva and..uvula.....!
Lately my pet peeve words if pore. As in to pore over something. Because pour makes more sense to me, and yet is wrong. Pore is just a hole in your face for a pimple to form up on.
Bucolic.
It sounds like a dreaded sickness and nothing like the green fields and pastural bliss it's supposed to conjure.
amalgam.
It's so ugly. Ewwwww.
Yeah, moist is up there for me as a crap word. Also, the words pus and pustule just do me in, seriously. Make me gag instantly.
::: running off to hurl :::
Rural
That's my least favorite word. It's hard to say drunk or sober.
Please Nathan,
I live in Cincinnati, home of PROCTER and Gamble. Our economy is bad enough can you choose another word?
My least favorite word is Pittsburg.
Overdraft - for the obvious reasons. Seriously, is there anybody who likes that word?
Can't believe nobody guessed the "nuance" line!
Quite the young crowd here, I guess.
It's from DINER and Paul Rieser (sp?)said the line - he later named his TV production company "Nuance."
Red Stick Writer: I've also heard it pronounced YER - ah - nuss.
Like they're really fooling anyone?
Awesome.
Orientated. Why the extra syllable?
Slobber.
I see a trend here.
Our favorite words had more to do with how they rolled off the tongue. A large number of our least favorites seem to have something to do with their meaning.
Going along with that thought, my least favorite is 'puke'.
I hate words that are just lazy abbreviations of existing words. Examples: "whatev," "vacay," "fav," etc. Grr. The sheer laziness of it all appalls me.
Additionally, my greatest pet peeve of all time is when people speak in chatspeak—out loud. (Instead of saying "lol," why don't you just, I don't know, laugh out loud?)
Um, I can't even say it. This word is just too vulgar to me. The four-letter "C" word in crude reference to a woman. Just hurts my ears.
Hope Clark
Hey Sex Scenes - Check Anonymous 9:57 and you'll see there are 3 Puces. I puced and rallied early on.
Facility.
Words are supposed to invoke images. "Facility" makes me picture nothing but someone who can't choose the right word.
I have two. The first, is 'stupid'. When I was a kid, my father used to say my mom was stupid. My sisters and I decided when we grew up, it would be a dirty word in our houses.
The second is really a phrase. "I don't care." When someone says that to you, they're dismissing what you're saying, and in essence you. So, I don't like the phrase. I guess 'whatever' is a single word in that same vain I don't like too.
CUNT is offensive. But, I have an aversion for TAMPON. Menstrual blood creeps me out.
orientated. It just sounds wrong...
No.
Runner-up: concerns. We have concerns. We are concerned? No! We just *have* concerns. Warning: 'concerns' produce seizures.
"Menstrual blood creeps me out."
Grow up!
I agree with Hope Clark. I never even think of that word because it makes me cringe.
I'm cringing now! Susch a hateful word!
Fungible.
Hope, I'm with you. The C word is just obnoxious. So is turgid. I want to direct the poor man to the nearest ER.
I also loathe many 'new' words including prezzies and gifties. If you're over 5yrs old, you should be forbidden from saying either of those words.
I'm shocked and dismayed that no one has yet mentioned
appropriate
I loathe it beyond reason.
Perhaps I should add that I loath it only when it's used as an adjective, not a transitive verb. I'm all in favor of appropriations. But only if they aren't appropriate appropriations. Inappropriate appropriations are ok, I guess.
I need ...well clearly, something appropriately therapeutic.
Ebonics.
Either "squat" or "turd".
Anymore I hate 'Like', i.e. it's like you don't care. Either I don't care or I do, but it's not LIKE I do!
I'm with kidcuisine --- Awesome has been ruined for us all by the Valley Girls and Nikelodeon.
But here's something better --- don't you love the way that language changes by the minute. As a good example, a friend of mine points out that there is no verb that can't be nouned and no noun that can't be verbed.
Pustule
It's so gross!
Bladder. Ha, I'm snickering as I type it!
(lol, mortgage was a good one, whoever posted that)
Also, Nathan, I have a new-ish blog and I'm trying to bring it to life by posting about writing-related blogs/posts/sites that, as an aspiring writer, I've enjoyed and found useful. Kicked the series off today with, well, you. The post is here; I thought you'd like to know. Who doesn't want to know when people are talking about them?
I have two words that I despise: suck and gay. Those two words are so overused by teenagers today.
As a teacher, I can't tell you how many times I hear "you suck" or "that's gay."
It's so damn annoying!!
Re: "Wow, I don't know if I can even type it. Growing up we were NOT allowed to use the word...fart"
When I was growing up, I never saw how the word "fart" was spelled - so I thought it was spelled: "faurght." (I guess I liked a lot of letters in a word when I was a kid, what can I say.)
So many hateful words, so little time...
As someone who has done (but isn't currently, yeah!) medical transcription, I have a whole encyclopedia of words that I hate.
That is, the convoluted generic names of drugs whose brand names are one or two syllables - and some docs for some reason ALWAYS use the generic name...why do they do that?
levetiracetam (Keppra)
fluticasone and salmeterol (Advair)
Also...there is a whole class of HIV drugs whose names are...well, here is a sampling:
Isentress (raltegravir)
Invirase (saquinavir)
Kaletra (lopinavir)
Truvada (Emtricitabine + Tenofovir DF)
I'd have to go digging around in my "word expander" (makes me think of words as having unattractive elastic waistlines for some reason) to see all the THOUSANDS of drug names + obscure disease and procedure names that I hate...
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | Date: 1996
PROCTOR - agent, deputy, proxy XIV; advocate, attorney XV; university officer representative of the Masters of Arts; representative of clergy in Convocation XVI. ME. proctour, syncopated form of procketour, procutour, reduction of procuratour
PROCTO - procto- comb. form of Gr. prōktós anus, in (mainly) anat. and surg. terms. XIX.
I'm not a fan of the word: discharge. It is hands down my least favorite word.
Penis
The ones I only score 2 on, in scrabble
Nathan, there's an equally horrible verb connected with 'proctor' - from back in the days when the Senior and Junior Proctors prowled the streets of Oxford looking for wrong-doing members of the university. If a Proctor caught you, you were 'progged.'
i can't stand people using the word "chillax"
*shudder*
I hate the word "stupid," but only the way that Americans say it.
We should all convert to the British pronunciation: st yoō pid
Sorry,
I came in late on this one. I have to agree with the "C" word that rhymes with hunt, but also add the "P" word. It has two meanings, both of which are DE-meaning to women.
Least favorite word: rural. What tongue can wrap itself around two 'r's in that quick succession?
Flaccid!
I just used it to describe Tampa doctors and then ran away from the conversation to write this when I realized the word is disgusting.
I don't think I'm too comfortable with penis either. Let me rephrase that. I don't like the word penis very much. It sounds too cute for what it is, in most cases anyway.
My least favorite word: Reality. I must hear it, see it, or read it at least once a week, usually more.
Sometimes it can mean something nice, but usually it's associated with something bad, sad, or just plain annoying.
There are a couple that drive me nuts.
Fornicate (what an ugly word)
Copulate (ditto)
The phrase 'Needless to say...'
Racially demeaning names (the n word being the most predominant)
And I detest the current useage of whatever and fine as disrespectful shut-offs to conversation.
it's a phrase, but I don't care.
"Take it to a higher level". NEVER fails to make me curl up in a ball twitching.
*twitch*
Mustard
and
Mayonnaise
Both words make me shudder...
I thought of another one that I can't stand to read or say. It's "poetry." Something about the o-e combination makes me feel mealy-mouthed.
Victim. I hate it when someone is called a victim. That word says the person is powerless. He/she has been stripped of his/her humanity and choices, and is at the mercy of someone or something.
That.
It's overused and yet hard to get around using.
Nice job with the word, "that". My second least favourite word is pillow. It is just weak, unimaginative and oddly hard to pronounce for some . . . myself included.
Mine is the "F" word.
I thought of something that makes me even twitchier.
"Emotional affair".
*twitchies*
The word "journey" used metaphorically makes me crazy...also When someone wants to "share" something with me that is not a thing
Any made-up words used by pharmaceutical companies to sell their products. And the made-up names of pharmaceutical companies themselves.
Emotional affair
Ha! That one came up in our novel-writing support group (which is desperately similar to Bob Newhart's group therapy sessions). I let it go, but then spent the next 20 minutes running it through my head. What the Hell does that mean?
Demur and coy are one thing, but I think that one is just deceptive. Self-deceptive, even.
I'm amused by how many of you hate the "C" word. It's very useful, even if it's the one swear word you still have to use carefully. It describes a dangerously self-centered woman in a unique way, one that can't be replaced without losing the impact. I only use it about once a year, but I enjoy it when I do.
Besides, as the late George Carlin said, it stands alone ... it's a word with real power to it. I could see fearing it, but hating it? Naw.
Oh well, enough of the pale male perspective for one day.
How 'bout a list of the FUNNIEST words?
I vote for hosepump.
And anything the word verification comes up with for commenting on blogger... I just got prunepocket.
Kristi said "discharge."
I agree. When I started work at a library, the patrons did not check in books. They discharged books. That is just gross, and probably a little unhealthy.
Put together with my other least favorite word you get the phrase my wife used to shut me up... "moist discharge."
adhesive...
my boyfriend always chastises me for saying it incorrectly...
First, I love most words folks find obscene. Blame my ODD! The C-word, the F-word . . . all of them are very expressive. Though, I have to admit to using them much more orally than in writing.
As a copyeditor for a Fantasy genre magazine, I run into 'st' words all too often. I think I'm developing an allergy to "amongst"! That's my least favorite word. Also hate anything with that stupid 'st' stuck onto it. Like "amidst" for amid. It's nearly as bad as the use of superfluous "al" suffixes on words like "scientific" into "scientifical".
Bugs the bejeesus out of me.
I'm also in the camp that despises "intellectualized" gargage like 'utilize' to mean 'use'. That's more of a speech thing, though, as certain insecure folks tend to think that three-syllable words sound more edumacatedal than a one-syllable word.
I'm also in the camp with those who find it disgusting when people twist language to make it "cutsie". I loathe baby talk (except, of course, from the mouths of babes).
I'm intrigued though that most of the responses here are more centered on concept than word. {shrugging, a thought bubble appears above the writer: "do I mention here my loathing for expressive metadiscourse in electronic mediums (that's "media", dumb butt!)?}
David
"flustrated."
An old friend used to tell me I "flustrated" him when he meant to say frustrated. He honestly thought the word was flustrated and it drove me crazy.
Offense alert.
Don't read if you are easily offended.
You go the C-word and the p-word for women's anatomy.
I worked with guys who called it
Snatch.
Used to drive me nuts.
It's my new least favorite word: UNEMPLOYMENT.
-Nikki
Hmmmm.... the word that gets me every time is guardian. It took me years to stop spelling it as "gaurdian". I've always wanted to put the "a" before the "u". Even when I look at it now it looks right. Yep. That's my vote for least favorite word.
Rick
No contest: webinar. OK, maybe it is a contest with a couple other corporate constructs, the much-hated l10n (localization) and its partner, i18n (internationalization). I h2e those w3s!
Whatever
That is my least favorite word; it's so dismissive and rude.
newbie
Two of my mom's favorite words are "irregardless" and "ironical." No matter how many times I correct her by saying "regardless" and "ironic," she still manages to use both words at least once during every conversation. It makes me want to cry.
I also hate the word "fart." It just sounds so crass.
Any word that starts with e-
e-commerce, e-book, e-everything.
Also, I agree with the poster who dislikes the word orientated - oriented will suffice.
Putting on my phrasemaker's hat for a moment:
Rilke: "You must give birth to your images. They are the future waiting to be born."
As cunt, pussy and snatch refer (at least nominally, anybody out there hate the word nominal? But it's so delightful to juxtapose with anatomical) to the anatomical location of birth...I just wonder, as a female writer myself...giving birth to images ala Rilke...and picking up on Erik's definition of a cunt as a "dangerously self-centered woman" - I don't know - as a female writer-artist-poet type...a dangerously self-centered woman giving birth to the future via images...is kind of a compliment, isn't it? At least it feels that way to me...
Well, I don't want to say I love the words cunt-pussy-snatch, 'cause I really don't (vulva and/or external genitalia and/or vagina and/or internal genitalia are just fine to this sometimes medical transcriptionist), but, in the immortal words (phrase) of wannabe grrl gangsta Margaret Seltzer..."I'm just sayin'"
While we're on the subject of going off topic:
I wonder if there was a poll asking "Do you live in a culture that affirms your creativity?" How would people answer? Yes, No, Sometimes, Never...Always, and Hell No could be the answers to choose from...
I myself would probably choose...Hell No...but I do happen to be one of those cuntastic and contrary American female artists, what can I say for myself...
Word I hate: lachrymal
Seriously, there are so many lovely poetic ways you can talk about weeping, but this one is icky and clinical. : P
Slacks
Slacks and Moist
And together... that's torture!
just
that's the word I hate.
oh and: word verification
Chagrin. It sounds phoney and removed. I dislike it so much, this is the first time I’ve typed it!
Now for the ritual cleansing. ;)
my least favorite word is:
NO!
Nathan
i read your blog. there is a book here. can you help me bring it out?
http://pcillu101.blogspot.com
danny bloom
Tufts 1971
http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/climate-hideout
ANYWAYS
And fringemonkey, I'm definitely going to start saying "edumacatedal."
PORN.
It's even worse when used in conjunction with something non-sexual, like "FOOD PORN." Ick.
Horrific.
It's overused, silly. blech.
Well, who would have thought so many people would hate the word 'moist'?
Moist
Moist
Moist
Actually, I really rather like the word moist. Moist moist moist moist moist moist...
Really, I could east a nice moist cookie right now. Or some moist cake... Mmmmmm.... Moist!
Damn, that's a good word. I think I'm gonna start using it as a general superlative.
"Hey, how's that book?"
"Moist!"
"Yeah? Can I borrow it?"
"Sure. And check out the new Jonathan Lethem as well. It's totally moist."
So versatile and powerful...
Moist. I'm outta here.
IMO and IMHO
I know it's your opinion. You typed it, remember?
Squee and wOOt
I still don't know what those mean and don't care.
Newbie
I'm glad other people mentioned this one. I'd never heard it until someone called me a "newbie" on a forum last year. I was offended. I thought it had something to do with a goat.
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