# English Words that Nobody Should Use **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 9, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606 "2005-03-09T01:23:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/1 "2005-03-09T01:23:16Z")
Inspired by [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=304358), 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. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/2 "2005-03-09T01:27:04Z")
Utilize. ---
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/3 "2005-03-09T01:31:31Z")
No way, man. Next you’ll try to stop me from using “erstwhile.” ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/4 "2005-03-09T01:36:14Z")
I’d never do that. I utilize that word all the time. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/5 "2005-03-09T01:40:46Z")
> [@Patty O'Furniture](#): > > Utilize. Trouble is people just don’t know what word to utilize instead. ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/6 "2005-03-09T01:47:48Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/7 "2005-03-09T01:48:19Z")
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](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ironicalness) is also a legitimate word. I would love to see someone use that word in a song or in an important speech. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/8 "2005-03-09T01:49:21Z")
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. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/9 "2005-03-09T01:53:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Pretty much any type of corporate jargonspeak bothers me. Then you need to check out [Bullshit Bingo!](http://www.perkigoth.com/home/kermit/stuff/bullshitbingo/) ---
**Author:** ![ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/10 "2005-03-09T01:58:41Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > 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](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ironicalness) is also a legitimate word. I would love to see someone use that word in a song or in an important speech. Oh Oh! Irredgardless! I hate that word! It means nothing…it pisses me off. Seriously. L ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/11 "2005-03-09T02:09:24Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/12 "2005-03-09T02:12:09Z")
> [@ChoosyChipsAndCeilingWhacks](#): > > Synergy. I only ever hear that word uttered by smug consultants who pretend to know what it means. 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. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Foxtrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc29f/32.png) [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/13 "2005-03-09T02:17:53Z")
Any word with “e-” thrown at the beginning to make it Internet-related. E-nough already. Adam ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/14 "2005-03-09T02:18:02Z")
“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. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/15 "2005-03-09T02:18:45Z")
> [@](#): > > **Patty O’Furniture** said: > Then you need to check out Bullshit Bingo! 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’. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/16 "2005-03-09T02:24:42Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/17 "2005-03-09T03:00:39Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/18 "2005-03-09T03:02:49Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/19 "2005-03-09T03:18:16Z")
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!’” > [@](#): > > Synergy. I only ever hear that word uttered by smug consultants who pretend to know what it means. Heh. Try reading some of the Greek Church Fathers – it’s a well-defined concept in Eastern Christian thought. ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2005, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606/20 "2005-03-09T07:49:07Z")
Moist. The word has only one acceptable use: when describing cake. Otherwise, it should be removed from our societal vocabulary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-words-that-nobody-should-use/293606.md?page=2)