# Please stop using this word **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043 "2023-08-24T16:30:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/1 "2023-08-24T16:30:42Z")
**Existential.** I see this word in writing and in speech a couple of dozen times a day, sometime twice in the same paragraph. It is an adjective that usually adds nothing to the statement being made. It has become a crutch, a cliche as overused as describing any random event as “surreal.” Please stop using it. Thank you. This has been today’s rant. Copies available on written request. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/2 "2023-08-24T16:38:41Z")
Hey, that was in my crossword puzzle this morning. I kept trying to misspell it. Took a minute. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/3 "2023-08-24T16:39:20Z")
I’d like to see the meaning of the word trump changed from override to swindle. In the meantime, I kinda wish people would stop using it. ---
**Author:** ![motu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/motu/32/259_2.png) [@motu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/motu)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/4 "2023-08-24T16:48:10Z")
**Prodigal.** The son is prodigal because he spent all the money his Dad gave him not because he returned. Being prodigal has nothing to do with returning. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/5 "2023-08-24T16:51:00Z")
(My) ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/6 "2023-08-24T16:53:05Z")
OP, you seem to be experiencing a crisis of some type. An important, formative one. Not sure what you call that… ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/7 "2023-08-24T16:54:03Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I kept trying to misspell it. Took a minute. You need more practice; I could misspell it in far less time than a minute. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/8 "2023-08-24T16:56:11Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > OP, you seem to be experiencing a crisis of some type. An important, formative one. Not sure what you call that… “It’s like I’m…aware…but…of myself.”- Barbie, having an existential crisis Existential is a fine word, when used properly. Unlike penultimate, or literally, which have become the epi-tome of improper usages. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/9 "2023-08-24T17:00:01Z")
I’ll nominate **Amazing**. Not everything is amazing. Not everyone is amazed by the same thing. In fact, when someone says **Amazing** , my first reaction is to not be amazed. As you go thru your day, listen to how many times this word appears. The word is overused. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/10 "2023-08-24T18:19:46Z")
Even in bridge? ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/11 "2023-08-24T18:20:33Z")
Well, I’ve never played or even understood bridge, but I’d hate hearing the word there, too. 😀 ---
**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:** [August 24, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/12 "2023-08-24T18:21:24Z")
I ask everyone to stop using the word **farfegnugen**. …Okay, thank you everyone, I didn’t expect that to work so quickly. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/13 "2023-08-24T18:21:49Z")
It’s quiet in here all of the sudden. And I’m cold. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/14 "2023-08-24T18:29:02Z")
This New Yorker cartoon is relevant: > **[People Playing Cards by JC Duffy](https://fineartamerica.com/featured/people-playing-cards-jc-duffy.html)** > > People Playing Cards Drawing by JC Duffy ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/15 "2023-08-24T18:37:46Z")
Here’s another: > **[Too Much Trump, Trump art caricature, satire - Art of Mark Bryan](https://www.artofmarkbryan.com/too-much-trump-trump-art-caricature-satire-art-of-mark-bryan/)** > > Too Much Trump, Trump art caricature, satire, painting, cartoon - Art of Mark Bryan, Trump exhaustion, the nightmare, trump-o-matic, twitter ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/16 "2023-08-24T18:42:51Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > **Existential.** > > I see this word in writing and in speech a couple of dozen times a day, sometime twice in the same paragraph. It is an adjective that usually adds nothing to the statement being made. It has become a crutch, a cliche as overused as describing any random event as “surreal.” > > Please stop using it. Thank you. Another casualty of applied metaphysics. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/17 "2023-08-24T18:47:51Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Not everything is amazing. [Everything is awesome.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everything_Is_Awesome) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/18 "2023-08-24T18:54:47Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > It’s quiet in here all of the sudden. > > And I’m cold. And there are wolves after me. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/19 "2023-08-24T19:07:10Z")
The “people playing cards” and the “too much…” links give me pictures of kittens. I have a Chrome Extension called Make America Kittens Again. It changes pictures of a certain person to pictures of kittens. Much better to look at. And at a recent card game, I corrected others… I told them that the term is Biden now. ---
**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:** [August 24, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043/20 "2023-08-24T19:12:10Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > I have a Chrome Extension called Make America Kittens Again. It changes pictures of a certain person to pictures of kittens. Much better to look at. It’s not working, because the People Playing Cards does not have his picture at all. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-stop-using-this-word/989043.md?page=2)