# Words you Hate but have resigned yourself they are here to stay **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 2, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311 "2016-06-02T15:06:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/161 "2016-06-09T00:15:47Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > “X out of it” - People say “X out of that window” instead of “Close that window” when they are referring to closing a window on a computer screen or tablet. This one isn’t limited to kids. I’ve heard it from several adults. I’m in IT. If you tell people to close the window, odds are 10-30% they’ll next ask you how to do that. If you tell them to X out of it, they close the window. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/162 "2016-06-09T01:11:29Z")
Here’s another one I was just reminded of today, that’s in the spirit of the OP (a word I hate, though it might seem petty, but seems to be here to stay): the word “ginger” seems to have totally supplanted “redhead.” The latter was _the_ term when I was growing up, and the former unheard of. ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/163 "2016-06-09T11:24:31Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > “Hoover” when referring to a vacuum cleaner not made by the Hoover corporation. This one has been going on since before I was born though so the fight was lost even before I was aware there was something to be annoyed about. I thought that was just a British thing!? I had never heard it until I visited England for the first time in 2004. I went with a friend (who was born in Birmingham but moved to the U.S. when he was four years old) to visit his grandmother. We arrived earlier than expected and she was distraught because “the rug needed a good Hooverin” and she didn’t get around to it prior to our arrival. It’s kind of like people referring to any Soda, Cola or Soft Drink as “Coke”. ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/164 "2016-06-09T11:35:17Z")
There is a word infuriates me every time I hear it because it was used incorrectly for so long that the incorrect use is now the official definition of that word! Decimate- which meant to reduce by 10%. But you would often hear it used in comments such as “the house was totally decimated by the tornado”. Really? A tornado only destroyed 10% of the house, but it did so totally??? The official definition now is “to severely damage or destroy a large part of (something)”. The two other words are pejorative slang that I hate. I hate all racial slurs, period. But as a gay man, there are two that I despise and offend me (and it’s very difficult to do)- Faggot (or ‘Fag’)- a pejorative term for a gay man. I hate it because it emasculates gay men, or at least that is the way I see it and feel about it. Most gay men struggle for decades to accept themselves as being “real men” and words like this are one of the reasons. The other term is “Dyke” referring to a lesbian. I see it as the female version of “faggot”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/165 "2016-06-09T12:37:02Z")
> [@Beelzebubba](#): > > I thought that was just a British thing!? I had never heard it until I visited England for the first time in 2004. I went with a friend (who was born in Birmingham but moved to the U.S. when he was four years old) to visit his grandmother. We arrived earlier than expected and she was distraught because “the rug needed a good Hooverin” and she didn’t get around to it prior to our arrival. > > It’s kind of like people referring to any Soda, Cola or Soft Drink as “Coke”. Or, even more commonly, referring to any facial tissue as “Kleenex” or referring to the act of photocopying as “xeroxing.” Or referring to mobile garbage bins as “dumpsters.” [Here’s a whole list of 'em.](http://digitalsynopsis.com/advertising/generic-trademark-product-brand-names/) ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/166 "2016-06-09T12:45:44Z")
> [@Beelzebubba](#): > > There is a word infuriates me every time I hear it because it was used incorrectly for so long that the incorrect use is now the official definition of that word! You’ve been around here for 4 years, and you don’t know that a brigade of descriptivists is about to pour into this thread and haughtily lecture you about how there’s no such thing as “incorrect” when it comes to language?! > [@pulykamell](#): > > Or, even more commonly, referring to any facial tissue as “Kleenex” or referring to the act of photocopying as “xeroxing.” Or referring to mobile garbage bins as “dumpsters.” [Here’s a whole list of 'em.](http://digitalsynopsis.com/advertising/generic-trademark-product-brand-names/) Wow, I knew about the alternate terms “garbage bin” or “container,” but never knew that “dumpster” was a brand name. You learn something new every day. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/167 "2016-06-09T14:32:08Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > You’ve been around here for 4 years, and you don’t know that a brigade of descriptivists is about to pour into this thread and haughtily lecture you about how there’s no such thing as “incorrect” when it comes to language?! Man, I hate those guys. Every time I try to make myself look smart by looking up the Greek or Latin roots of a word in an etymological dictionary, they turn it around and try to make me look foolish for getting worked up about the fact that [the modern English meaning of a word isn’t precisely the same as it was thousands of years ago in a different language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymological_fallacy). But we can preempt all that by [warning people about their haughtiness and everything](http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Tone_argument). Other any as good as is words of string random any that think they, all after. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/168 "2016-06-09T22:41:32Z")
> [@Beelzebubba](#): > > I thought that was just a British thing!? I had never heard it until I visited England for the first time in 2004. I went with a friend (who was born in Birmingham but moved to the U.S. when he was four years old) to visit his grandmother. We arrived earlier than expected and she was distraught because “the rug needed a good Hooverin” and she didn’t get around to it prior to our arrival. > > It’s kind of like people referring to any Soda, Cola or Soft Drink as “Coke”. Not only is there “hoovering” but also “luxing” in other parts of the world. So we have Hoover AND Electrolux both becoming generic terms for vacuum cleaning. I dislike both terms, but I don’t go as far as hate. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/169 "2016-06-10T00:44:03Z")
> [@Personal](#): > > I’m thrilled to learn that cromulent is a new word. I can continue to hate it, but now without thinking that I am doing so irrationally. That’s embiggened of you. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/170 "2016-06-10T00:46:21Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > Just so you know, **twitterary** is a word for an underling who does the tweeting for somebody who is too rich/famous/lazy to tweet for himself. I wrote that one for [urbandictionary.com](http://urbandictionary.com) . Funny, I would have expected _atwituensis_, or summat li’ tha’… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/171 "2016-06-10T00:59:43Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > Here’s another one I was just reminded of today, that’s in the spirit of the OP (a word I hate, though it might seem petty, but seems to be here to stay): the word “ginger” seems to have totally supplanted “redhead.” The latter was _the_ term when I was growing up, and the former unheard of. Good point. I wonder how long it will be before everyone gets confused when they find out Ginger Rogers was a blonde… ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/172 "2016-06-10T15:14:19Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > “Hoover” when referring to a vacuum cleaner not made by the Hoover corporation. This one has been going on since before I was born though so the fight was lost even before I was aware there was something to be annoyed about. Hey, be happy you aren’t British. There it is a verb. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/173 "2016-06-10T15:16:03Z")
> [@Oglomott](#): > > disrespected And its mutant offspring dis and dissed. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/174 "2016-06-10T15:25:08Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > Hey, be happy you aren’t British. There it is a verb. And it’s a verb that’s so well established that it’s often used figuratively. _The dog hoovered up its food so quickly that it was sick afterwards._ ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/175 "2016-06-10T15:40:12Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > And its mutant offspring dis and dissed. There a similar informal British usage, to _suss out_, meaning to figure out. It was presumably a shortening of _suspect_. But it’s interesting that the meaning has broadened. **He sussed me out** = he uncovered my subterfuge This would map closely to the narrow sense of suspect - he suspected I was up to no good, but figured it out. but also **Have you sussed out the third problem in yesterday’s maths homework?** No suspicion involved here, just straightroward figuring out. There is also the shorter _sus_ that predates this usage in the [Sus Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sus_law). I don’t know if there’s an etymological relationship. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/176 "2016-06-10T15:51:47Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > There a similar informal British usage, to _suss out_, meaning to figure out. It was presumably a shortening of _suspect_. But it’s interesting that the meaning has broadened. > > **He sussed me out** = he uncovered my subterfuge > This would map closely to the narrow sense of suspect - he suspected I was up to no good, but figured it out. > > but also > **Have you sussed out the third problem in yesterday’s maths homework?** > No suspicion involved here, just straightroward figuring out. > > There is also the shorter _sus_ that predates this usage in the [Sus Law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sus_law). I don’t know if there’s an etymological relationship. Interestingly it seems to have progressed from “suspect” to “investigate” too. As in: **Have you been to that new bar down Queenstown Road?** No. Shall we go there Friday night and sus it out? Also see: > **[Spurs Sus out Bosnia ace Tino](https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/football/98843/spurs-sus-out-tino/)** > > Spurs Sus out Bosnia ace Tino Yes. Yes I did just link to The Sun. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/177 "2016-06-10T16:28:53Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > Yes. Yes I did just link to The Sun. That’s nothing to be ashamed of in a linguistic discussion. Crass journalism to be sure, but they produce some superbly imaginative wordplay in their headlines. They are the downmarket peers of _The Economist_ in that respect. Up Yours Delors (re Jacques Delors, expressing anti-EU sentiment) The Illegals Have Landed Elton Takes David Up The Aisle Bin Bagged (death of Osama Bin Laden; a _bin bag_ is a plastic bag for a trash can in British English) Scumbag Millionaires (banking crisis) GOTCHA …upon the sinking of the _General Belgrano_ in the Falklands War. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/178 "2016-06-10T18:12:05Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > … Crass journalism to be sure, but they produce some superbly imaginative wordplay in their headlines… Oh, absolutely. In fact there’s even a bit of wordplay in the headline I linked to, as it regards Tino-Sven **Sus** ic. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/179 "2016-06-10T22:12:36Z")
Webinar. I was also going to say incent but was beaten to it. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311/180 "2016-06-10T23:14:30Z")
“Best Practice” - I use it myself and hate myself for it every single time. The idea behind the phrase is good. The phrase itself, though, grates (is it really the best practice or is it just a really good idea?). And the way it’s used - [ul] [li]“Is that a _best practice_?” - meaning: “I have no idea what’s going on, but I want to seem like I have something worth saying in this meeting, so I’ll throw out that phrase and other people will think I have deep, business-y thoughts.”[/li][li]“This method is a _best practice_.” - meaning: “I want to use this method. It’s my favorite. I don’t want to bother listening to other ideas and the magic phrase ‘best practice’ is my trump card.”[/li][/ul] and other variants on those themes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-but-have-resigned-yourself-they-are-here-to-stay/756311.md?page=10)