Inspired by this, what words really piss you off, especially for irrational reasons? “Irrational reasons”? Well, you know what I mean.
I’ll start the ball rolling with “feckless”, which a friend of mine uses in almost every darn paper he writes. Like smilies, I will never ever use it except in piss-takes.
Utilize.
No way, man. Next you’ll try to stop me from using “erstwhile.”
I’d never do that. I utilize that word all the time.
Trouble is people just don’t know what word to utilize instead.
Synergy. I only ever hear that word uttered by smug consultants who pretend to know what it means.
Synergy…ha! Likewise synergism, which calls to mind…well, it calls things to mind.
This is inspired by a recent GQ thread. We talked about how “ironical” is a tecnically correct but horrible sounding synonym for “ironic”. When I looked that up I found that ironicalness is also a legitimate word. I would love to see someone use that word in a song or in an important speech.
Pretty much any type of corporate jargonspeak bothers me. Nobody should say ‘think outside the box’ or ‘shift paradigms’ or any of those other idiotic buzzwords including buzzword.
Then you need to check out Bullshit Bingo!
Oh Oh! Irredgardless! I hate that word! It means nothing…it pisses me off. Seriously.
L
Niggardly. Yes, we all know that it doesn’t mean that. If you need a word that means miserly, or parsimonious, or frugal, or just plain cheap, I’m sure you can think of a few. Don’t look so proud of yourself.
Did “ergonomics” start this whole “erg-” business off? And to think, ergon means work in Greek, the one things the wankers who use these words never make their brains do.
Gee! That was cathartic.
Any word with “e-” thrown at the beginning to make it Internet-related. E-nough already.
Adam
“the”
You think you could get some relief. It’s “the this” and “the that” and “the, the, the” – newspapers, movies, TV, radio, everybody you meet, even kids, it’s absolutely nuts.
I’ll be glad when this whole “the” kick just blows over.
Sometimes I swear I’m gonna scream.
I love it. I wonder if there’s some way to devise a game where words get double points if they’re used completely out of their applicable context, like ‘bandwidth’.
The word “parameters” (when used as a synonym for “boundaries” or “elements” or “guidelines”) bugs me, partly because people who throw this word around are often fluent in Psychobabble and/or Governmentese. When I hear certain words, my BS-anticipating detectors are set off, and “parameters” is one of those words.
Some people suffer from parameter syndrome.
“Quality” and “excellence” have virtually been ruined for me since I started working in PR. And yes I utilize them too, whore that I am.
Not a word, but a phrase: “Not for nothing.”
I have never, ever heard or seen the phrase used where it added any meaning to the sentence whatsoever. Completely superfluous.
I’ll ditto “quality” and “excellence” and throw in “innovation” as well. Holy crap I hate PR speak.
“Buttfuck Industries, a wholly owned subsidiary of WorldWideSodomy, is expected to reveal a prototype of its new innovation in automated buggery at AnalCon later this week. One commentator was reported to say upon seeing the prototype, ‘This device is a quantum leap in the quality of excellence in teledildonics!’”
Heh. Try reading some of the Greek Church Fathers – it’s a well-defined concept in Eastern Christian thought.
Moist. The word has only one acceptable use: when describing cake. Otherwise, it should be removed from our societal vocabulary.