# Words you hate and why **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 15, 2005, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709 "2005-12-15T09:49:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/41 "2005-12-15T20:19:40Z")
tinkle in reference to urination. I would rather you said piss or pee if you must tell me just why you are leaving me to enter a toilet. Along with that–my mother, who is 73, still says “potty”–I guess having 5 kids in short succession branded it on her brain. I hate the word potty. And irregardless–just what does that mean? ---
**Author:** ![Rhinocerous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@Rhinocerous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhinocerous)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/42 "2005-12-15T20:31:18Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > tinkle in reference to urination. I would rather you said piss or pee if you must tell me just why you are leaving me to enter a toilet. > Along with that–my mother, who is 73, still says “potty”–I guess having 5 kids in short succession branded it on her brain. > > I hate the word potty. > > And irregardless–just what does that mean? What are your thoughts on the phrase “wee wee” meaning urination? ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/43 "2005-12-15T20:35:55Z")
> [@Rhinocerous](#): > > I am going to pre-object to anyone who does not like the word “panties.” I know it’s going to come up, and I rigorously defend what I consider the best word ever invented. Another anti-panty here. I’m getting a real kick out of this because a friend(a guy)and I were just discussing this. I have a list of “phrases and words which we do not use”. It’s mostly a joke, but "panties’ is at the top of the list. There’s something vaguely creepy about it that makes me think of child molesters(not that I think you’re one, **Rhinocerous** ) Also on that list are “nut”(as in ejaculate), pork (as in to have sex) and any seafood / vagina comparison type terms, ala “bearded clam”. Blerrrg. ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/44 "2005-12-15T20:51:04Z")
“liaise with”, “proactive” and “strive”. Anyone who uses these words is generally a Holden Caulfield-certified phoney. mm ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/45 "2005-12-15T20:55:27Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > People, people: the verb is “give”, not “gift”. The act is “giving”, not “gifting”. The thing which is given is a “gift” or a “present” or a “donation”. “To gift” is a good 400-500 years old, according to the OED. It has a specific meaning, still useful today. It suggests giving free of any obligation on the part of the person to whom the goods / services are given. I use it quite often in a legal context - a piece of property might be “gifted” by one person to another, which is quite a different legal situation to something given in exchange for something else. ---
**Author:** ![Gainey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@Gainey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gainey)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/46 "2005-12-15T20:57:57Z")
Genre 1. Since its French in origin, people think they seem really clever when using it. 2. I cringe when I hear or see it and its overused to the extent that I am exposed to it multiple times every day. 3. Americanized pronunciation. If you have to use the word at least attempt to pronounce it correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Pietro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@Pietro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pietro)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/47 "2005-12-15T21:05:11Z")
> [@Translucent Daydream](#): > > I just hate ebonics in general. > > We be… > I be… > > AM IS ARE WAS WERE BE BEING BEEN… People, please learn them all, and when to use them… > > ☹ > > And no I am not racist in any capacity at all. So don’t start that… I’ll try to stay away from racism accusations and just stick to the specific example you give. While there are many English verbs which are “irregular” in that the past tenses are conjugated abnormally, the verb “to be” is the only verb I can think of which is conjugated irregularly in the present tense. Is there a good reason for this? Well, I’m not a linguist or an anthropologist or anything like that; maybe there is a good reason. But ask yourself: is it any harder to understand when someone says “I be hungry” than when they say “I am hungry?” Black Standard English or BSE (which is what linguists were calling “ebonics” the last time I checked, although there seem to be a lot of other terms in the running) makes the simplifying move of “regularizing” the verb “to be” in the present tense. It is conjugated the same as every other English verb (including, in BSE, the dropping of _-s_ from the third person singular, e.g. “he write,” “he be.”) Is there a problem here? I recognize that not every black person speaks BSE, not all BSE speakers have precisely the same dialect, few BSE speakers do not also speak “standard” English, and not all BSE speakers are black. I also recognize that there are reasonable people both black and white who think that speakers of BSE sound “uneducated” and “should” endeavor to use more “proper” grammar, syntax, etc. I happen to disagree. I say, talk how you want to talk. If the person you’re trying to talk to understands you, you done good. If he doesn’t, figure out a better way to communicate with that person. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/48 "2005-12-15T21:12:18Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > I hate “gift” as a verb, along with its derivatives, such as “gifting”. “Gifted” sometimes falls in this category as well. > > People, people: the verb is “give”, not “gift”. The act is “giving”, not “gifting”. The thing which is given is a “gift” or a “present” or a “donation”. And “loan” is not a verb. “Loan” is a noun. “Lend” is a verb. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/49 "2005-12-15T21:14:07Z")
> [@Atticus Finch](#): > > “To gift” is a good 400-500 years old, according to the OED. > > It has a specific meaning, still useful today. It suggests giving free of any obligation on the part of the person to whom the goods / services are given. I use it quite often in a legal context - a piece of property might be “gifted” by one person to another, which is quite a different legal situation to something given in exchange for something else. Hmm. The rot is older than I thought. 🙂 I never heard “gifting” until the last few years, around the same time I started to hear about scrapbooking. But doesn’t “to give” by itself imply no obligation in return? After all, **Atticus Finch** , you had to specify a return obligation against a gift, in order to differentiate that use of give from the one without obligation. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/50 "2005-12-15T21:14:50Z")
Masturbate. It’s my favorite hobby, so I hate that it’s called such a squicky name. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/51 "2005-12-15T21:15:48Z")
> [@Larry Borgia](#): > > Masturbate. It’s my favorite hobby, so I hate that it’s called such a squicky name. Go with “wank”! A nice Anglo-Saxon four-letter monosyllable, and it can lend itself to so many puns! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rhinocerous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@Rhinocerous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhinocerous)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/52 "2005-12-15T21:19:35Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Another anti-panty here. I’m getting a real kick out of this because a friend(a guy)and I were just discussing this. I have a list of “phrases and words which we do not use”. It’s mostly a joke, but "panties’ is at the top of the list. There’s something vaguely creepy about it that makes me think of child molesters(not that I think you’re one, **Rhinocerous** ) Also on that list are “nut”(as in ejaculate), pork (as in to have sex) and any seafood / vagina comparison type terms, ala “bearded clam”. Blerrrg. 😃 Ahh, your post had me laughing out loud. Panty is a highly controversial word in terms of it’s likability . . . you’re either a fan like myself, or you’re against its use. My sister hates the word, and then she went on to say that she also hates the word “moist.” Obviously she was correlating the two. That’s the beauty of the word. It brings alot of imagery along with it! “Nut” is pretty vile, food/vagina comparisons are amusing yet disturbing (pink taco) and I have to admit that I’m a big fan of “pork” as in to have sex. ---
**Author:** ![Rhinocerous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f14d63/32.png) [@Rhinocerous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhinocerous)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/53 "2005-12-15T21:21:28Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Go with “wank”! A nice Anglo-Saxon four-letter monosyllable, and it can lend itself to so many puns! 🙂 Too British for me. I prefer the tried and true “whack-off.” ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/54 "2005-12-15T21:27:30Z")
How about _fap_? As in _fap-fap-fap-fap-fap-fap-fap_. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/55 "2005-12-15T21:37:07Z")
Note to self…add **“pink taco”** to the list of “words and phrases we do not use”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/56 "2005-12-15T22:28:58Z")
**Agreeance**. What’s wrong with “agreement”? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/57 "2005-12-15T22:29:48Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > I have to agree with friend Liberal here about the word utilize. It is one of those words that, while it technically may have a use and meaning, has been so hijacked by incompetent middle manages that is has become irrevocably tainted. As a matter of fact I pretty much despise that whole sub set of the language. So do I. I appreciate Elret’s citation from [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). It’s a source that I use myself, and I have great respect for it. But the problem with the example they gave… _the sentence The teachers were unable to use the new computers might mean only that the teachers were unable to operate the computers, whereas The teachers were unable to utilize the new computers suggests that the teachers could not find ways to employ the computers in instruction_ …is that “use” as a noun (e.g., put to use) fills the role splendidly. So, “the teachers were unable to put the computers to use.” In fact, the word they used themselves, “employ”, works just fine. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/58 "2005-12-15T23:02:34Z")
> [@Rhinocerous](#): > > What are your thoughts on the phrase “wee wee” meaning urination? Ugh. tinkle, wee-wee…who says these words with a straight face that is over the age of 4? I third pink taco–I can’t even bear thinking of it. ---
**Author:** ![Tevildo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Tevildo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tevildo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/59 "2005-12-15T23:13:26Z")
On the corporate-speak side, “empower” and “enable”, which generally are used to mean the opposite of what they appear to, and “move to the right” meaning “delay”. On words in general, “inchoate” is far and away the worst for me, mainly because of over-use by Stephen Donaldson, and also because it’s ugly, Romance, and doesn’t mean anything that isn’t expressed by “formless” or “chaotic”. ---
**Author:** ![TonyF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@TonyF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonyF)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2005, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/60 "2005-12-15T23:24:55Z")
It bugs the hell out of me when I see a corporate type talking about their “product”, especially when they’re talking about food. I see this alot on Unwrapped and it irritates the hell out of me - especially because they’ll include buzzwords and lingo that are really unnecessary. They’ll take something like “People like our cookies!” to “our product delivers the flavor and mouthfeel that our customers desire.” :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709.md?page=4)