# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/121 "2005-12-19T19:39:22Z")
> [@Dominic Mulligan](#): > > Trivial. For a computer scientist/mathematician/phycisist etc. everything is trivial. The word is overused. Easy, simple and a thousand other words get the same meaning across, yet trivial is the word that is used most often. You’re presumably aware of this, but in case others aren’t, I’ll point out that _trivial_ does have a very specific proper usage in computer science, and means the simplest possible example of something, or a program that demonstrates a technique or principal without approaching the solution to a real world problem. I suspect that it’s overuse is an extension of that principle. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/122 "2005-12-19T19:40:43Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > a technique or principal . gaahhh, **principle**. I know this. You all know that I know this, right? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/123 "2005-12-19T23:08:17Z")
Snowperson? … _Snowperson?!_ Dear lord. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/124 "2005-12-19T23:50:14Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Note to self…add **“pink taco”** to the list of “words and phrases we do not use”. 🙂 You would probably not find [this place](http://www.vegas.com/searchagent/restaurant/ViewRestaurant.do?restaurantId=2831) appetizing, then… ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/125 "2005-12-20T00:33:08Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That would, like, rule out entire languages. Yeah, what’s your point? It’s an irritating sound, like they’re coughing up a lung. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/126 "2005-12-20T01:44:36Z")
> [@cthiax](#): > > Yeah, cuz you totally can’t understand that low-class heathen babble. It’s like they’re from another planet. Right? > > :rolleyes: View must be nice from up on that high horse. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/127 "2005-12-20T03:07:53Z")
“just” as in "i was just saying… are you justified in saying? are you merely saying? are you recently saying? sigh… ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/128 "2005-12-20T03:25:01Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > “just” as in "i was just saying… > > are you justified in saying? > are you merely saying? > are you recently saying? > > sigh… The last one. No one uses it to mean anything but that. ---
**Author:** ![soulmurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b782af/32.png) [@soulmurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/soulmurk)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/129 "2005-12-20T04:58:36Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > The last one. No one uses it to mean anything but that. I think alternate uses are more common than you suggest: “I’m just saying… could you please just shut up?” “There’s no problem, it’s just that…” “The plan was just crazy enough to work…” “Just be yourself.” ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/130 "2005-12-20T18:09:06Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Snowperson? … > > _Snowperson?!_ > > Dear lord. Yes, actually. My gym puts up weekly broadsides of tips for healthy living, and one of the items of a list of physical activities was “make a snowperson with the children.” ---
**Author:** ![DEFIANT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea5d25/32.png) [@DEFIANT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DEFIANT_1)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/131 "2005-12-21T02:02:14Z")
> [@quadruple\_u](#): > > nonplussed > > Everytime I see it, I have to go look it up again. Honestly, have any of you ever heard ‘nonplussed’ used in a face-to-face conversation? > > untracked > > Not when its used properly, as in ‘untracked wilderness’, but when a sportscaster says “So-and-so has to get himself untracked”, its like my own personal Vogon poetry. Don’t you mean “on track”, there, genius? Webster’s defines untracked as: performing in a manner regarded as normal or characteristic, as after having been in a slump ---
**Author:** ![DEFIANT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea5d25/32.png) [@DEFIANT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DEFIANT_1)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/132 "2005-12-21T02:02:57Z")
> [@quadruple\_u](#): > > nonplussed > > Everytime I see it, I have to go look it up again. Honestly, have any of you ever heard ‘nonplussed’ used in a face-to-face conversation? > > untracked > > Not when its used properly, as in ‘untracked wilderness’, but when a sportscaster says “So-and-so has to get himself untracked”, its like my own personal Vogon poetry. Don’t you mean “on track”, there, genius? Webster’s defines untracked as: performing in a manner regarded as normal or characteristic, as after having been in a slump ---
**Author:** ![DEFIANT\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea5d25/32.png) [@DEFIANT\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DEFIANT_1)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/133 "2005-12-21T02:31:34Z")
> [@quadruple\_u](#): > > nonplussed > > Everytime I see it, I have to go look it up again. Honestly, have any of you ever heard ‘nonplussed’ used in a face-to-face conversation? > > untracked > > Not when its used properly, as in ‘untracked wilderness’, but when a sportscaster says “So-and-so has to get himself untracked”, its like my own personal Vogon poetry. Don’t you mean “on track”, there, genius? I don’t know about sportcasters being geniuses, but webster’s defines untracked as: performing in a manner regarded as normal or characteristic, as after having been a slump Seems to be in proper context to me. Perhaps you meant untrodden wilderness. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/134 "2005-12-21T13:03:52Z")
> [@soulmurk](#): > > I think alternate uses are more common than you suggest: > > “I’m just saying… could you please just shut up?” > > “There’s no problem, it’s just that…” > > “The plan was just crazy enough to work…” > > “Just be yourself.” say something, see the effect of resultant facial expression then couch it with “no, I was just saying that (repeat original phrase)” ---
**Author:** ![sniperfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@sniperfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sniperfang)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/135 "2005-12-21T13:10:47Z")
> [@Rhinocerous](#): > > Because it belittles the feminine. 😃 Confuscious say panties not best thing in world, but next to it. ducks and runs, trying to avoid the ubiquitous gunfire coming rapidly at him. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/136 "2005-12-21T19:15:58Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > Why, O Why did whatever idiot decide to make internet addresses “WWW” whatever? In order to say “www.” you have to say ten syllables! That is so dumb!! I hate W. For a while I tried saying “hextupilue” which only lead to confusion. Saying “world wide web-dot-whatever” seems to work and cuts the syllable count to a third. Words I hate: “irregardless” is annoying as hell. Hearing input and output when used as verbs makes me want to upthrow. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/137 "2005-12-21T21:45:06Z")
I have a new one, which I’ve been annoyed by for awhile but which I only recently realized it irritated me: meme. Don’t get me wrong: like paradigm, it’s a perfectly good word. But people who have read one too many _Wired_ articles end up overusing it and using it to refer to arguments, ideas, concepts, talking points, theories, cliches, and pretty much anything abstract. In most cases, there’s a more specific word that could be used, but folks seem to think that someone who has or repeats memes is contemptible; so they say “meme” as a way of belittling others. It bugs me. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/138 "2005-12-21T22:35:02Z")
Amen and amen. I think “meme” bothered me so much that I had blocked it from my memory. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/139 "2005-12-22T01:43:20Z")
I know I’m late to the party, but I had to weigh in on “utilize.” Generally I think you’re right, but strange to say, there’s a place in this world for “utilization.” In the medical business, “utilization” is commonly understood to mean “use or demand for hospital or medical services,” which makes it actually a shorthand. Someone might say, for example, “We expect the aging of the population to increase utilization,” which would be understood in a way that “We expect the aging of the population to increase use” would not. I wouldn’t be surprised if other types of business used the word in an analagous way. I don’t know if this redeems “utilize” or not, except that without “utilize,” there would be no “utilization.” Anyway, words I hate, words I hate… All right, here’s one that I see a lot on these boards: “m’kay,” and its variants, for “okay.” If you’re an offender, I beg you to stop. It’s undermining my sanity. ---
**Author:** ![Cockatiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cockatiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cockatiel)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709/140 "2005-12-22T03:46:20Z")
I get really annoyed when people use the expression “same difference.” To me, it just doesn’t make sense. Even if you could give me a reasonable explanation I’ll still hate it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-and-why/335709.md?page=8)