# 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:** 9
**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 15, 2023, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/161 "2023-03-15T22:08:11Z")
Veggies has been around so long and used so much I don’t even notice it anymore. It’s common use now, I don’t think you could get rid of it if you tried. Sammy, sammies etc. I have never heard a US person use other than as a joke. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it on a tv show. I’ll vote firing squad on that one. > [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Maybe it makes him testy? Probably just testis. > [@Atamasama](#): > > I vote for “bae” Yep, totally useless word. > [@Atamasama](#): > > I worked with a guy named Vijay, pronounced just like that. When I first started meeting large numbers of Indians in the US in the 70s, I think about half of them went by the name Vijay. It could be a shortening of their name or their initials, but they all wrote it out as Vijay. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > A US colleague of mine described the flat italian bread product as “za”. Again I’m going to have to say I’ve never heard this in the US other than in an attempt to be funny. I read about it, so I know people do use it, just not around me. > [@Chefguy](#): > > Probably off topic, but can we agree that anyone who says “easy peasy” may be beaten to a pulp, and that people who add “lemon squeezy” to it may be summarily executed? Sure, I’m in. > [@nelliebly](#): > > The slang term was/is vah-jay-jay. Yep, and apparently Oprah invented/popularized it. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a guy say it, but lots of women seem to be fond of it. > [@InternetLegend](#): > > Will I be veering too far off topic if I add the term “baby bump” to the list? It was bad enough when I thought it was talking about women that were early on in their pregnancies, but it apparently still applies when you are nine months pregnant with quadruplets. > [@needscoffee](#): > > Okay, then I get to add “fur baby”. Yeah, that can’t stop soon enough. ---
**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 15, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/162 "2023-03-15T22:12:57Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > Veggies has been around so long and used so much I don’t even notice it anymore. It’s common use now, I don’t think you could get rid of it if you tried. Much like “decaf”. I’d also like suggest incarceration for all who use portmanteau words for, well, every fucking thing. Didn’t that shit start with Aniston and Pitt? ---
**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 15, 2023, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/163 "2023-03-15T22:14:40Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > Probably off topic, but can we agree that anyone who says “easy peasy” may be beaten to a pulp, and that people who add “lemon squeezy” to it may be summarily executed? > > Sure, I’m in. As am I. > [@mordecaiB](#): > > > [@needscoffee](#): > > > > Okay, then I get to add “fur baby”. > > Yeah, that can’t stop soon enough Me also (I have fur babies-still hate it) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2023, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/164 "2023-03-15T22:34:19Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > The slang term was/is vah-jay-jay. > [@mordecaiB](#): > > Yep, and apparently Oprah invented/popularized it. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a guy say it, but **lots of women seem to be fond of it**. My guess is that women like to use it because there isn’t really another casual term that’s acceptable in regular conversation. ---
**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, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/165 "2023-03-16T00:21:19Z")
Some women, perhaps. And I don’t think I’ve ever heard anybody say it in casual conversation. I’ve seen it online, or heard it on TV, but while I’ve heard a whole lot of other terms in my life in casual conversation, that’s not one of them. Probably depends on where you are and who you hang out with. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/166 "2023-03-16T00:46:13Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’d also like suggest incarceration for all who use portmanteau words for, well, every fucking thing. Didn’t that shit start with Aniston and Pitt? To be fair, that trend led directly to Stephen Colbert coining the delightful “Filliam H. Muffman” for Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy, and that’s almost worth it. (I think the original might have been for Angelina Jolie and Pitt.) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/167 "2023-03-16T00:46:27Z")
I guess I should have said that _some_ women use it. I thought that would have been evident. When I’ve heard it used, it’s by younger women. ---
**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, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/168 "2023-03-16T07:10:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I’d also like suggest incarceration for all who use portmanteau words for, well, every fucking thing. Didn’t that shit start with Aniston and Pitt? Ah, yes. Bennifer is the one that sticks in my mind. > [@needscoffee](#): > > My guess is that women like to use it because there isn’t really another casual term that’s acceptable in regular conversation. Yeah, men have a ton of words that you may not use at a Night Out At The Opera, but can use casually most other places without a raised eyebrow. Wang, dick, peter, johnson, tallywacker. Probably a dozen others. What do women have? Pussy, twat, c##t, cooch etc. Not for use in general chats. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Probably depends on where you are and who you hang out with. It seems fairly often used among my black friends and relatives. However, like many of these words, it’s used to sound comedic, drawn out and getting higher in pitch, so you can use it in general conversation. It would never be used in a serious conversation, like a health situation. ---
**Author:** ![TokenRing](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokenring/32/3559_2.png) [@TokenRing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokenRing)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/169 "2023-03-16T10:51:48Z")
I am irritated by the cutsification of words like veggies and sarnie. But mostly I’m irritated by the word “Uni” for university. It’s a nails on chalkboard kind of thing as it clearly is a much more efficient word - one syllable instead of five. But still it makes me cry. ---
**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, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/170 "2023-03-16T11:39:32Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > I’d also like suggest incarceration for all who use portmanteau words for, well, every fucking thing. Didn’t that shit start with Aniston and Pitt? > > Ah, yes. Bennifer is the one that sticks in my mind. 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. There’s long been a whiff of that in fancy finance too. Who or what is “Fannie Mae?”. Etc. > [@TokenRing](#): > > … > But mostly I’m irritated by the word “Uni” for university. It’s a nails on chalkboard kind of thing as it clearly is a much more efficient word - one syllable instead of five. But still it makes me cry. The _one_ place you might hope for some semblance of literacy. Ah, no, I guess not, or at least not anymore. I weep for the future. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/171 "2023-03-16T14:28:10Z")
Un-i: two ---
**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, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/172 "2023-03-16T14:33:34Z")
Or is that U-nee? Still two syllables, but I put the break between the u-sound and the n-sound. Not that I’m claiming any sort of expertise at this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/173 "2023-03-16T15:11:33Z")
The way I’ve heard it is definitely two syllables, with the empasis rather on the first. It still sets my teeth on edge though. We damn well didn’t call it that back in my university days. But I think I have just recalled a contender for most cringeworthy: the phrase “I’m 70 years young” (whatever number). Shudder… ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/174 "2023-03-16T15:19:37Z")
At the risk of being taken for a _People_-reading rube, I’ll just point out that “Bennifer” does not refer to Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. It’s Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Pitt and Jolie were “Brangelina.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/175 "2023-03-16T15:33:30Z")
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?) ---
**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, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/176 "2023-03-16T15:34:43Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > At the risk of being taken for a _People_-reading rube, I’ll just point out that “Bennifer” does not refer to Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. It’s Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. To make things confusing, there was an overlap between Ben/Jennifer L and Brad/Jennifer A. (Brad and Jennifer A were married 2000-2005, Ben and Jennifer L dated and got engaged but not married in 2002-2004, though they actually got back together years later and were finally married last year.) Oh, and let’s not forget Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, who were married between 2005-2015. 😖 “Bennifer” was reportedly the first “official” celebrity couple portmanteau in Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/177 "2023-03-16T15:41:29Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > When I first started meeting large numbers of Indians in the US in the 70s, I think about half of them went by the name Vijay. It could be a shortening of their name or their initials, but they all wrote it out as Vijay. “Vijay” is an actual name, not an initialism nor a diminutive. It is derived from Sanskrit विजय “victory.” Similarly “Jay” is also an actual name, not an attempt to anglicize. It is from Sanskrit जय, also meaning “victory.” ---
**Author:** ![TokenRing](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokenring/32/3559_2.png) [@TokenRing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokenRing)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/178 "2023-03-16T15:49:22Z")
See, it is such a hateful word it even prevents me from counting beyond one. Two. yes, it has two syllables but the word also means one in Latin or Greek or somesuch so I was nearly rite. ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/179 "2023-03-16T16:38:13Z")
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! Or better still, just call them what they are - mongrels. ---
**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, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796/180 "2023-03-16T17:00:31Z")
I bought a house once from some people who were breeding dogs. They were a cocker spaniel/pomeranian mix, and they called them “pomcocks”. Just awful. Next someone will breed a bull dog/shi tzu mix called a “bullshitz”. The one dog breed mashup name I like is “schnoodle” (for a schnauzer/poodle mix). And I had a schnoodle dog as a teenager that I loved so I am partial to the mix. A very loving, playful, and loyal dog. (It broke his heart when I got older and moved out and didn’t get to see him anymore.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-anyone-else-annoyed-by-the-word-veggies/980796.md?page=10)