# Why is "secretary" such a bad word?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-secretary-such-a-bad-word/106480>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 30, 2002, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-secretary-such-a-bad-word/106480 "2002-04-30T15:24:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2002, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-secretary-such-a-bad-word/106480/21 "2002-05-01T05:27:09Z")

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Yeah, and when the _boomers_ get a little older you won’t be allowed to call me an _old fart_ either. 😛

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**Author:** ![Mirage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Mirage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirage)\
**Post date:** [May 1, 2002, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-secretary-such-a-bad-word/106480/22 "2002-05-01T05:38:38Z")

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I don’t understand the problem that you folks have with Administrative Professionals. As a Knowledge Assimilation Technician (college student) my administrative duties extend far beyond the working environment into various aspects of my peer’s social lives including Group Support Therapy, Advantageous Recreation Resource Hunting, and Fermented Beverage Consumption.

Or maybe our goal is to turn the modern English language into an unwieldy metaphoric nightmare. Why do all PC terms require that you at least double the syllabic count?

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