# Words you hate people using **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 28, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990 "2012-01-28T14:29:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![CheeseDonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@CheeseDonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheeseDonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/81 "2012-01-29T19:24:49Z")
“Them,” as in “them is,” “them are” and “them ones.” ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/82 "2012-01-29T19:28:41Z")
“at this time” is that some other time than “now”? ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/83 "2012-01-29T19:39:33Z")
Another one that I hear at work: “How can I help you on today?” ON today? Just “today” will do. ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/84 "2012-01-29T19:48:52Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I can’t abide the word “panties”’ it makes me twitch even to have to write it. Ick! Agreed. It just sounds oddly juvenile. “Tummy” and any variation on the word “yum” really bother me for the same reason. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/85 "2012-01-29T19:49:44Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I dislike **orientated** instead of **oriented**. Yes. > [@saje](#): > > I can’t abide the word “panties”’ it makes me twitch even to have to write it. Ick! Same here! A friend of mine (female) also cringes at the word. > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Moist. Never OK. Never. Yes. I hate the sound of the word, the same way I can’t stand the word “toilet.” > [@Brynda](#): > > So I guess the using the phrase “moist panties” is right out, then? **Stop that!** . ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/86 "2012-01-29T20:06:39Z")
> [@Cosmic Relief](#): > > “at this time” is that some other time than “now”? I actually heard someone say “at the present moment in time” in a TV news report. Here’s another one that you hear when Cops are being interviewed on TV: “proceeded to.” As in: “I saw the burning house, so I proceeded to enter it.” You also hear it when civilian witnesses to a crime/tragedy are being interviewed by local TV reporters, and instead of just speaking in their normal voice, they try to talk like a cop. “I witnessed the altercation and proceeded to call 911.” Which reminds me of the time our local news talent referred to “the alleged suspect.” . ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/87 "2012-01-29T20:09:34Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > The rule I learned was that “due to” can only be used to mean “attributable to,” so that you can say “the loss was due to enemy action” but not “Due to circumstances beyond our control…” > > However, it’s a rather fine distinction (“because of,” for example, works in both contexts) and I think the battle over this one may have been lost. I’m not seeing the distinction at all. “Attributable to circumstances beyond our control, we are announcing a 2% price increase to all products, effective immediately.” It’s clunky, to be sure, but is it grammatically incorrect? Are you saying it’s improper because the circumstances haven’t been identified? That is a pretty fine distinction, and not one that I agree with. My personal opinion is that “due to” wins on brevity and aesthetic points, but we all have our own style. Unless I were a professional writer, I wouldn’t think too highly of a manager who returned work to me for “correction” because she didn’t share my stylistic preferences. At the top of my own personal list of hated “words” is “automagically.” It’s not magic and your cute little made-up word doesn’t add any information to the conversation, except for the fact that there’s a very high likelihood that I’m not going to like you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/88 "2012-01-29T20:25:17Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Here’s another one that you hear when Cops are being interviewed on TV: “proceeded to.” > > As in: “I saw the burning house, so I proceeded to enter it.” Cops also love to say “indicate” instead of just “said”. I learned in a police report writing class not to do that because it’s ambiguous. You can indicate something other ways than saying it. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/89 "2012-01-29T21:38:39Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I can’t abide the word “panties”’ it makes me twitch even to have to write it. Ick! Have some pity for the British, we feel the same each-and-every time you say “pants”😃 ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/90 "2012-01-29T21:50:51Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Moist. > > Never OK. Never. I could really use a moist towelette right now, actually, after eating these BBQ chicken wings. (no joke, and I refuse to call them wetnaps, that sounds gross to me). ---
**Author:** ![Catfood\_Purrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Catfood\_Purrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catfood_Purrito)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/91 "2012-01-29T23:33:44Z")
“Chagrin.” The sound of it just annoys me. Same with “schmear” referring to cream cheese on a bagel. Also, I had to stop reading Anne Rice when I noticed how often she used “preternatural.” I’ve also ruined Anne Rice for at least two other people by pointing it out. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/92 "2012-01-29T23:48:49Z")
I just heard another one- “price point.” Just when would “price” not work? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/93 "2012-01-30T00:18:22Z")
Prolly, as in, "My head is prolly going to explode if you don’t stop saying ‘prolly’ " Sounds like something a Brit carries in case it rains. Hella, as in “that was a hella good movie” ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/94 "2012-01-30T01:15:02Z")
> [@CheeseDonkey](#): > > “Them,” as in “them is,” “them are” and “them ones.” The same people who use, misuse, and abuse the above also tend to say “pitcher” instead of “picture”. “I like them pitchers of yer kids!!!” ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/95 "2012-01-30T01:36:26Z")
> [@Trick\_Rider](#): > > “Tummy” and any variation on the word “yum” really bother me for the same reason. To a degree, me also. There should be a separate thread for “Words that are perfectly legitimate, but I hate the sound of.” ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/96 "2012-01-30T02:18:04Z")
> [@ptr2void](#): > > I am very annoyed by people using the word _utilize_ instead of _use_. Simply unnecessary. Right you are! Another word in the same category is additionally which completely drove “also” from the field of business language where I worked for ~20years. Wikipedia editors are also fond of the goddam thing. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/97 "2012-01-30T02:21:26Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I just heard another one- “price point.” > > Just when would “price” not work? The specific price range where someone is willing to buy a produt/a company can make a reasonable profit. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/98 "2012-01-30T02:23:08Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > There’s a place for this, really. I **use** a coffee cup to drink coffee. But I **utilize** it to hold (unshelled) eggs whilst awaiting the pan to heat. > > The normal use isn’t to hold unshelled eggs. It’s probable and likely that both use and utilize are listed as synonyms in these modern times, but (ir)regardless of that, modern usage/utilization has kind of made them synonyms. Note: I’m against that; I prefer to distinguish as in my example, because specificity is just as important as understanding. Baloney. Or to be less nice about it, bullshit. “Use” works just as well in both senses above, and the distinction is so small that employing a different word adds nothing and clarifies nothing. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/99 "2012-01-30T03:26:35Z")
etv78- What? Lost you after buy- Also, how can a point be a range? ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2012, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990/100 "2012-01-30T03:53:35Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > The specific price range… ‘Specific range’ seems like an oxymoron to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-hate-people-using/610990.md?page=6)