# Words/expressions I want to be eliminated from usage RIGHT NOW TODAY ENOUGH ALREADY! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 5, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609 "2014-09-05T20:02:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/241 "2014-09-11T21:13:05Z")
> [@Dr.Woo](#): > > Here’s my latest: gamification. I see it a lot at work (in IT). > > I reluctantly concede that it is a concept with a definition and people may from time to time need to refer to that concept. I just really wish they wouldn’t. What word would you use as an alternative? ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2014, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/242 "2014-09-11T22:51:38Z")
Given the local canine situation, may I nominate “needs room to run”? Whenever I hear it, I want to introduce Mr. Clueless Dog Owner to my friend Mr. Clue by 4. ---
**Author:** ![Melvin\_Munster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@Melvin\_Munster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melvin_Munster)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/243 "2014-09-12T12:14:57Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I listen to NPR most work days. Most guests who persistently start sentences with “So…”? I hit the off button until I am sure they are gone. I hate it THAT much. > > And they are usually younger, hyper-educated academics with interesting things to say. But “So…” is right up there with “and he’s like, then she’s like, and I’m like…” in irritation factor for my 50-something year old brain. I simply refuse to tolerate it. These two examples were what I thought of immediately. It’s typically in some type of interview where more specifically, the person answers every _question_ with “so…” I can not adquately describe how much that irritates me. The “so” virus as it’s called. The “like” thing kills me too. If you try counting “likes” in a discussion where someone is recalling a conversation, it can be unbearable. I don’t have a 50-something year old brain, I’m only 28 and none of my peers have any idea what I’m talking about when I bring these two subjects up. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/244 "2014-09-12T13:54:37Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Supports \_\_\_ health. What does it mean for a food stuff to support pancreatic health? Does the food actually do anything or are we only talking about a sympathetic relationship, maybe a sort of solidarity between my yogurt and pancreas? It doesn’t do anything, it’s just marketing bullshit. But you knew that. 😃 Side note: anytime I see “supports \_\_\_\_\_\_ health” I recall that the [Quack Miranda Warning](http://whitecoatunderground.com/quack-miranda-warning-2/) is on the label in tiny print. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/245 "2014-09-12T13:56:46Z")
> [@JuliaSqueezer](#): > > "Being a new mom… " “Being…” a lot of things. There are some developers in my office that start all tickets with "Being a developer, I need … " I can see why they do it, but it just reads badly to me. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/246 "2014-09-12T14:23:48Z")
My favorite bogus medical claim is “boosts your immune system.” A hyperactive, or “boosted” immune system is what we usually call “allergies.” ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/247 "2014-09-12T14:46:08Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I listen to NPR most work days. Most guests who persistently start sentences with “So…”? I hit the off button until I am sure they are gone. I hate it THAT much. > > And they are usually younger, hyper-educated academics with interesting things to say. But “So…” is right up there with “and he’s like, then she’s like, and I’m like…” in irritation factor for my 50-something year old brain. I simply refuse to tolerate it. > [@Melvin\_Munster](#): > > These two examples were what I thought of immediately. > > It’s typically in some type of interview where more specifically, the person answers every _question_ with “so…” I can not adquately describe how much that irritates me. The “so” virus as it’s called. I heard it just this a couple of hours ago on _Morning Edition_. What kills me is that the guy who was being interviewed was obviously very intelligent and otherwise well-spoken, so this affectation really stuck out. I can see absolutely no reason to begin a sentence this way. I guess it points out how imitative some are of others’ conversation patterns. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/248 "2014-09-12T15:22:27Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Little OT, but I’d like also to ban people from asking women who just had their first baby “How do you like being a mom?” > > What is a woman supposed to answer? Is there anything acceptable other than “It’s great!” or “I like it”? I said “comme ci, comme ca,” to someone once, trying to be funny, and she looked like she was about to run off and call CPS. What if a woman’s honest answer is “I hate this, and I can’t wait until he sleeps more than three hours at a time,” or even “I’m wondering if I didn’t make a mistake”? Those women are going to be made to feel even worse by everyone’s obvious assumption that they’re all blissful. Yes, it gets better, and it actually gets better pretty quickly and steadily, but taking care of a newborn is _hard_. This is a societal meta-problem. Small talk is supposed to be small. And, frankly, dishonest. “How are you?” Social convention demands you respond positively and in absolutely no detail. “I’m great, how are you?” A response in kind and the exchange is done. “How are you?” “Well, my dog died, and I think my wife’s cheating on me, and I’ve got this weird rash on my ass (zzzzip)…you think maybe it’s cancer?” “Uh, oops, gotta go!” If you mistake a solicitation to empty social pleasantries for a call for deep and honest confession, technically, that’s your mistake. :o ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/249 "2014-09-12T16:06:25Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > This is a societal meta-problem. > > Small talk is supposed to be small. And, frankly, dishonest. > > “How are you?” > Social convention demands you respond positively and in absolutely no detail. > “I’m great, how are you?” > A response in kind and the exchange is done. To this? That requires too much thought for a woman who just gave birth, and it’s too infrequent and event in any one woman’s life to qualify as the subject of small talk. Ask the woman how she is, observe that the baby is cute, even if he isn’t, and leave it there. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/250 "2014-09-12T20:10:53Z")
“Discombobulate / discombobulated”. I know that this one has been around for ever; and that very many people like it, and joyfully use it; but personally, it makes me want to vomit, and always has done. I feel that it’s just so whimsy / arch / cutesy / twee; and unnecessary. There are perfectly good standard words to express what the D-word supposedly does. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/251 "2014-09-12T20:47:25Z")
> [@JuliaSqueezer](#): > > "Being a new mom… " While we’re at it, can we kill ‘Speaking as a mother’? I don’t mind it when it’s actually relevant (‘Speaking as a mother, I spend more time pureeing squash than I thought was humanly possible’) but it makes me want to start shin-kicking when it’s just thrown in for lazy knee-jerk emotive appeal (‘Speaking as a mother, I’m horrified at what President Obama has done to this country!!!’). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2014, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/252 "2014-09-12T21:43:24Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > What word would you use as an alternative? I don’t know. “Pretending stuff that isn’t a game is a game”? Clumsy, but easier to pronounce. Oh, and along the same lines of “pop of color”, which I also hate, is “wow factor”. Sometimes the wow factor is a pop of color. That’s really bad. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/253 "2014-09-13T02:01:20Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > My favorite bogus medical claim is “boosts your immune system.” A hyperactive, or “boosted” immune system is what we usually call “allergies.” Oh, yes. It’s September, and I want my immune system stunned and stuporous. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/254 "2014-09-13T02:22:15Z")
“Makes your eyes pop”? Yike. Sounds like the aftermath of a GWAR concert. ---
**Author:** ![wombattver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b77776/32.png) [@wombattver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wombattver)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/255 "2014-09-13T15:24:05Z")
Fashion magazines - making all plurals singular, as in, “Pair a sleek, tan pant with a modern boot” and of course, “a bold, red lip!” Ugh, I picture a one-legged model wearing one boot. With one red lip. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/256 "2014-09-13T20:19:13Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > To this? That requires too much thought for a woman who just gave birth, and it’s too infrequent and event in any one woman’s life to qualify as the subject of small talk. Ask the woman how she is, observe that the baby is cute, even if he isn’t, and leave it there. So you are saying new mothers would prefer to be socially ostracized, are you? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2014, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/257 "2014-09-13T22:35:32Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > So you are saying new mothers would prefer to be socially ostracized, are you? :dubious: I would have preferred it to being asked how I liked being a mother, because there were lots of moments when I had a newborn that I honestly hated it. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/258 "2014-09-14T01:43:30Z")
I just watched _Project Runway_. I hate: edgy, “my aesthetic”, pop, edgy, “fierce”, and edgy. I also hate the abbreviation “DH”, “DS”, “DD”, etc. to refer to a member of your family. I even saw a post with a person calling her ex-husband her “DXH”. Her “darling” ex-husband, who cheated on her, stole her money, etc. StG ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/259 "2014-09-14T02:07:52Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I just watched _Project Runway_. I hate: edgy, “my aesthetic”, pop, edgy, “fierce”, and edgy. > > I also hate the abbreviation “DH”, “DS”, “DD”, etc. to refer to a member of your family. I even saw a post with a person calling her ex-husband her “DXH”. Her “darling” ex-husband, who cheated on her, stole her money, etc. > > StG Yes, yes and yes - I also loathe the cutesy DH, DD, DS - I have never seen a man refer to his wife as DW; does that ever happen? Or is it a woman thing? (And I am a woman BTW, but would never use those abbreviations.) I’m a painting contractor and often advise clients on colors. I sometimes use the word “pop” to refer to bright or punchy accent paint colors and for me, it works in that context. I see that several people hate that word. What words would convey the same meaning? ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2014, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609/260 "2014-09-14T02:11:56Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > I’m a painting contractor and often advise clients on colors. I sometimes use the word “pop” to refer to bright or punchy accent paint colors and for me, it works in that context. I see that several people hate that word. What words would convey the same meaning? Stand out or accentuate? Accent color? Complimentary? StG [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-expressions-i-want-to-be-eliminated-from-usage-right-now-today-enough-already/697609.md?page=14)