# Is anyone else annoyed by the word "veggies"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 6, 2023, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796 "2023-03-06T18:44:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/181 "2023-03-16T18:25:38Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Next someone will breed a bull dog/shi tzu mix called a “bullshitz”. I like it! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/182 "2023-03-16T18:27:14Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > … > “Bennifer” was reportedly the first “official” celebrity couple portmanteau in Hollywood. That was sorta-beaten by about 80 years by > **[Pickfair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickfair)** > > Pickfair is a mansion and estate in the city of Beverly Hills, California with legendary history. The original Pickfair was an 18 acre (7.3 ha) estate designed by architect Horatio Cogswell for attorney Lee Allen Phillips of Berkeley Square as a country home. Phillips sold the property to actor Douglas Fairbanks in 1918. Coined "Pickfair" by the press, it became one of the most celebrated houses in the world. Life Magazine described Pickfair as "a gathering place only slightly less impor Locate... Which mansion / estate was first unofficially named around 1920 by the gossip columnists then more officially by the celebrity owners: Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Not that they personally went by that portmanteau, but their home sure did. I don’t have the gumption nor ready resources to check, but it’s not inconceivable the hosting-with-the-mosting couple was referred to by that name at least once back in the day. Speaking of stupid coinages, I find my self struggling not to write “celebs” as I’m assembling my last couple of posts on topic. Uggh! > [@Scougs](#): > > … > Then we started getting Cockapoo for a cocker spaniel/poodle cross … Those are properly “spankerpoops”. You must incorporate parts of all three words. Either that or call them as Dobermans pronounce it: “lunch”. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/183 "2023-03-16T19:22:29Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Next someone will breed a bull dog/shi tzu mix called a “bullshitz”. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/oKi34_9yT5E/hqdefault.jpg "Dumb & Dumber: Bulldog + Shitsu = Bullshit") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKi34_9yT5E) ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/184 "2023-03-16T19:23:14Z")
I think my subconscious remembered that line. I haven’t seen that film in forever. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/185 "2023-03-16T20:34:02Z")
> [@Scougs](#): > > Don’t start me on portmanteau dog breeds. It all started with Labradoodle for a labrador/poodle cross. Then we started getting Cockapoo for a cocker spaniel/poodle cross, which isn’t even consistent. Choose which half of which name you’re using and stick to it! Of course if you cross a labradoodle with a cockapoo and cross the result with another labradoodle you get a wait for it … Cock-a-doodle-doo!!! 🐓 🐓 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/186 "2023-03-16T21:12:50Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > That crap is all about making the rubes reading _People_ feel like insiders in the know on the latest celebrity glurge. Only cool insiders know the codewords. They spread like wildfire too. Even someone like me, who often doesn’t even know the names of the actors in a show I’ve been watching for five years, hear these portmanteaus so often I just learn them by osmosis. > [@Acsenray](#): > > “Vijay” is an actual name, not an initialism nor a diminutive. While some were actual names, over time I slowly learned that a lot were initials also. I’d meet someone who called himself Vijay for half a year. Then I’d get a glimpse of a credit card or check with the full name on it and have a “Whoa, that’s not your name moment.” Fast forward to today and Indian names are much more varied. Much better than always having to use an identifier along with the name. Like Vijay the work guy or Vijay the guy I shoot hoops with or Vijay with the beard. Just like when you know a bunch of Jims or Bobs. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/187 "2023-03-16T21:43:08Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > As am I. Well I’m fucked. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/188 "2023-03-16T21:53:33Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I’ve come across _sando_ for sandwich recently and I dislike it. > > “Rate my fried jerk chicken, cheddar, and raisin bread sando!” I’ve only seen it from a local Japanese sandwich shop. I assumed it was Japanese or Japanese-American slang. > [@Dr.Drake](#): > > I think you’re right. We didn’t cover syllabification at Uni. > > (I have never heard the word used except as a derogatory nickname for a private high school in San Diego… Francis Parker?) There’s a high school in west L.A. called University High School (it’s not too far from Westwood). Everybody I knew called it Uni (just like Santa Monica High School was Samohi, and Alexander Hamilton High School was Hami). I felt cheated because my high school didn’t have a cool nickname. > [@Atamasama](#): > > The one dog breed mashup name I like is “schnoodle” (for a schnauzer/poodle mix). My current dog is a chiweenie. I like the name. > [@mordecaiB](#): > > While some were actual names, over time I slowly learned that a lot were initials also. I’d meet someone who called himself Vijay for half a year. Then I’d get a glimpse of a credit card or check with the full name on it and have a “Whoa, that’s not your name moment.” Most Indian nicknames I know usually end with ‘u.’ Like a previous boss named Ragu. His actual first name is Boverianda. Ragu is a lot easier. ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/189 "2023-03-16T21:53:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Of course if you cross a labradoodle with a cockapoo and cross the result with another labradoodle you get a > > wait for it … > > Cock-a-doodle-doo!!! 🐓 🐓 🙂 LSLGuy, go lay by your dish. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/190 "2023-03-16T22:08:27Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > it was Japanese It is, in fact, the legitimate Japanese borrowing for the word “sandwich”. Very often those borrowings (_garaigo_) from English are shortened to flow better in conversation or be merged into expressions. So a _katsu sando_ is a pork cutlet (_tonkatsu_, shortened) sandwich (_sandouichi_, also shortened). It’s about brevity and flow, since some loanwords turn out to be a mouthful because of Japanese’s syllabic structure. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/191 "2023-03-16T22:44:33Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well I’m fucked. Pretty sure we got you surrounded. Put those words on the ground and step away from them. And no funny lip movements until we have this cleared up. @BippityBoppityBoo is notorious for her quick trigger finger. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/192 "2023-03-16T23:12:23Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > What do women have? Pussy, twat, c##t, cooch etc. Not for use in general chats. I’ve heard all of those (except “cooch”, which I don’t think I’ve run into) in casual chats. The one you didn’t spell out isn’t always used as an insult, or in a denigrating fashion; it can be a casual descriptive. – it occurs to me that said casual chats were probably in all-female groups. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/193 "2023-03-16T23:15:22Z")
I’ve heard them all in male-only groups. And depending on the era, none of them at that moment were used pejoratively. Though darn near all can be pejorative, some much more so than others. Hell, with the right intonation, both “man” and “woman” can be pejorative. Which is not to say any of them are appropriate for mixed company or high-brow situations. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/194 "2023-03-16T23:29:48Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > it occurs to me that said casual chats were probably in all-female groups Yes, I was referring to a group of females. If it’s a group of guys using the same terms, it just seems off to me. Depending on how well you know your audience, there’s always the chance of an undertone lurking in the back of my mind when guys overuse the terms. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/195 "2023-03-17T00:07:20Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > And no funny lip movements until we have this cleared up. @BippityBoppityBoo is notorious for her quick trigger finger. You got a real live snort laugh out of me with this. Thank you, it brightened up a snowy gray day for me. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/196 "2023-03-17T00:11:12Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > I was referring to a group of females. If it’s a group of guys using the same terms, it just seems off to me. Depending on how well you know your audience, there’s always the chance of an undertone lurking in the back of my mind when guys overuse the terms. I agree that while it does depend on the group I’d also suspect an undertone (and sometimes quite an overt tone) when used by men. It occurs to me that I’ve heard “crotch” used both by female groups and in mixed company for either male or female anatomy; with context making it clear what’s meant by the term. (It may also be in such use in male groups; but I’m not usually in a position to hear what all-male groups are saying.) – for “high-brow” or medical contexts, and in recent years probably in some casual contexts, I’d just say “vulva” or “vagina”. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/197 "2023-03-17T00:20:27Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > The one you didn’t spell out isn’t always used as an insult, or in a denigrating fashion; it can be a casual descriptive. The one you referred to is always received as an insult or denigration when I hear/read it. At best it is received as a micro aggression. If I never heard or read it again it would be too soon. And yes, I know that it is considered differently in British culture. Be prepared to show your passport to get a one time pass. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/198 "2023-03-17T00:31:22Z")
I’m not in the UK, and I’ve heard it used in the USA as a casual descriptor, applied to one’s own or close friends’ anatomy – in fact that’s how I first heard it, way back in my early teens. Some people are also trying to reclaim what used to be an ordinary, and very old, English word. I agree that it very definitely requires knowing one’s audience, and you’ll note that I didn’t spell it out here. If I’m not absolutely sure of the context, it always makes me flinch. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/199 "2023-03-17T00:34:50Z")
We’re good. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/200 "2023-03-17T00:46:59Z")
The emotional / moral neutrality of that unspelt word, a bit like “niggardly”, has long since sailed in the USA, never to return. 50 years ago when I was a teen it was heard differently. I think. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796.md?page=11)