People who use these words should be put through a wood chipper, have their mutilated corpses lit on fire with gasoline, and dumped in the bottom of the Mariana trench in cement-weighted 55 gallon oil drums.
I have never seen those.
I thought you were talking about floppy disks (Double-Sided, Double-Density).
Well, when the computer folks realized no one was going to buy a PC just to balance their checkbook, they had to do something to sell the things–hence the birth of “cool stuff”: That is, interfaces that children could figure out, games, media, and ultimately, social networking. Along the way, they told us to buy their computers simply because they “come in colors” (Apple), and had very very very special icons just for you with names like “My Computer” and “My Documents” (“It’s MY computer. YOU can’t use, it BILLY!!!”)
Of course not. Over there the correct, adult word for “cat” is “pussy.”
I have never seen those, either, but heard about them. Didn’t the Beatles use those to make their CDs?
Two more non-infantilized yet personally irksome words:
Troops
Folks
It really bugs me when Obama says “folks”.
You’re lucky! But now that you have been made aware of them, they will probably show up everywhere from now on. I hope not though. The DDDSDH morons can take a hike–and also take om nom nom with them.
.
Also, if you really want to find examples, look at any parenting thread, or any thread in MSIPS (I can never get that acronym right).
So true. And the next thing you know, one’s oldest daughter is referred to as ODD, and the hubby who is on the shit-list is referred to not as DH, but as DuH. It makes me want to reach through the monitor and slap someone.
I once saw someone refer to her STBXSGMIL. It would have taken her less time to type it out than to explain it to all the puzzled people who couldn’t decipher it.
I will happily be imprecise or use a long phrase rather than use the creepy term ‘panties’ for an adult’s undergarments.
Is that “Soon To Be eX GrandMother In Law”?
Almost. Soon-to-be-ex-step-grandmother-in-law.
Oh, I actually meant to put “step” in there! I’d say that I rock, but who the hell would use that acronym and apparently think it’s obvious??
That’s awful! I thought of another one I hate…“honey do list.” What the fuck? Just another link in the “nagging wife, haggard husband” chain. Because naturally, all women take glee in writing up a lengthy list of tasks for her husband to do all weekend. I shudder to think that there are people out there who really do resemble the stupid stereotypical marriages on commercials and sitcoms, only much less funny.
“I’m missing a pair of… undergarment worn on the lower part of the body. Have you seen them?”
“You mean pantyhose?”
“No! And don’t say that word you creep!”
“You mean… an undergarment that isn’t a thong, but is worn on the part of the body a thong would be worn?”
“Yes, have you seen them?”
Also, you seem to be implying “panties” is okay to use for a kid’s underwear, which is totally baffling to me.
I actually would be a little creeped out by someone doing that. Kids just wear “underwear”. Adult women wear “panties” (sometimes). Kids don’t wear bras/pantyhose/etc, so extra precision is not necessary for them.
Well, then…stuck up-ish, couldn’t quite find the word I was looking for, hence the ellipses, and the word almost (and…obviously I STILL can’t quite get the word I’m looking for :D). FWIW, most of these words, like veggies, are words I have primarily heard from grown-ups, not as a child, or from children. So it doesn’t make me think of them as childish or baby-talk.
There’s nothing wrong with nickname type words. And most people are intelligent enough to figure out if the speaker is truly too uneducated to know the “real” word, or is merely using slang, or being goofy.
And there are some words that just aren’t attractive sounding (LIKE vegetables) that frankly, it’s a good thing there’s a diminutive of it.
I’m with you, fellow Aussie. “veg” is kinda old hat and reminds me of those English (not saying the P word) celebrity chefs saying “meat & 3 veg.”(Jamie Oliver springs to mind). Veges is AUSSIE. We have “steak & veges”!!! 
NOW I know what that means!
That’s one of the most annoying examples of iconicity in English!
itty
bitty
teeny
weeny
boobie
pinky
binkie
bikini
itsy
bitsy
are all things that indicate something small or juvenile. I hate it when people add that -i to a word, but already existing words in the English language aren’t that horrible…though I can’t imagine saying “itsy bitsy” to anyone over the age of five. :o
Seriously, though, when people just go all “ee” baby-talk : yuck.
“Is that your blankie?”
“Do you have an owwie?”
“Wipe your pee-pee!”
“Tickle your little toesies!”
barfage.
Logistics.
Logistics makes me want to kick somebody’s teeth in.
I admit to using a lot of nonstandard words in talking with the 4 year olds in my class. For example, “Is that your icky-picky tissue? Please throw it away.” Because not only do they need to PICK it up, but it’s full of their icky PICKINGS. I also ask them to pass out nippy-napkins, claim that something is not easy-peasy but difficult-pifficult, etc. etc. Kids this age love word play and they are busy learning prereading building blocks such as: some words rhyme, some words start with the same sound, some words have more than one meaning. It’s empowering to them to explore language freely as if it were a bin of Legos.
Even in the case of the grandma tickling the baby’s toesie-woesies, it’s two people sharing a warm moment of bonding that includes the enjoyment of language-play. Of course kids need to know actual vocabulary too, but for the youngest ones “toesie-woesies” produces delight. Isn’t that good enough? Also, I think it’s a human trait to appreciate song and poetry and want to contribute. “Toesie-woesies” is probably the extent of a 2 year old’s contribution in that direction. Should she have to wait until she can compose sonnets?
But yes, I generally use actual words when speaking with adults.
I wonder if I failed to enhance my son’s language development because I talked to him in a normal voice. 