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What Words are You not a Fan of?
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Now, I hate the word "Swag." I've never seen it used in a serious book, but I have to resist the urge to smack teenagers who use it seriously :)
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Swag has been around long enough for me to start using it ironically, so I give it a pass.
Melissa wrote: "Giggle."Yes, I agree. That's a word that definitely rub me the wrong way. In Swedish there are lots of different words for 'giggle' depending on how it sounds and what kind of situation it is. 'Fnittra' (this is the one closest to 'giggle'.)'Fnissa' is sweeter than 'fnittra' and can apply to grown-ups as well. There are other words as well, but these two are the most common.
Scrape. Mostly because it's a secret onomatopoeia. For that matter, add onomatopoeia to the list for extraneous vowels and making me doubt my spelling abilities.
Swag has always been a window dressing to me because apparently I'm stuck in the last century.
Ann wrote: "My feelings on swag summed up here: https://youtu.be/iFhM1CoyP7Q"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gv0H...
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I love new words. I get a word a day calendar. Most of those words I wouldn't dream of using, but there have been a few I've really enjoyed. Last week I was on a "defenestrate" kick, simply because the word had such a random meaning I could hardly imagine ever using it conversationally. But no, I don't have a hard time with any words. I do frown very heavily on foul language, and not because I'm prudish, but because they make the user sound incredibly stupid. (C'mon, people, there's like six words in the English language that shouldn't be used ever. Is it that hard to come up with an alternative?)
I sense myself about to spark a debate. Please be kind.
Iffix wrote: "I love new words. I get a word a day calendar. Most of those words I wouldn't dream of using, but there have been a few I've really enjoyed. Last week I was on a "defenestrate" kick, simply because..."Naw. I'm not a fan of swears, either. Especially when used casually. I know people say they're just words, and they are, but they're words used more often than not negatively - either in a moment of anger or frustration or as an insult - so it can be difficult to see them as just any other word.
Ann wrote: "The word that I couldn't stand when I was growing up was catharsis. Something about it rubbed me the wrong way. Now, I hate the word "Swag." I've never seen it used in a serious book, but I have ..."
I'm the same with hella and totes, although I probably hate "totes" (or however you would spell it) a lot more than hella. Just say totally, dang it! Why is that so hard!
Wow - you guys are really straight laced :-) There are appropriate places in literature for all the swear words, and onomatopoeia doesn't have extraneous vowels - it comes from Greek. Words ARE just words. It's the hoodoos we allow into our minds that make us intolerant of certain parts of language.
Jim wrote: "Wow - you guys are really straight laced :-) There are appropriate places in literature for all the swear words, and onomatopoeia doesn't have extraneous vowels - it comes from Greek. Words ARE jus..."True. All words are just words. This thread is more about those words that for one reason or another got under our skin and not in a good way. As I mentioned before, it's not that we wish these words were dead and would stop being used. They're just those few words that bug us for one reason or another, either because they're overused, misused or... sometimes there isn't even a reason, they just bug us.
Just like there's also words we love. Like indefatigable. I love that word, and I have no idea why (well, other than it's fun to say).
Jim wrote: "Wow - you guys are really straight laced :-) There are appropriate places in literature for all the swear words, and onomatopoeia doesn't have extraneous vowels - it comes from Greek. Words ARE jus..."I will argue that the entire Greek language is a series of extraneous vowels.
I totes love adorbz and bae as well.
Most people hate the word moist and I just don't understand why.
Iffix wrote: "I love new words. I get a word a day calendar. Most of those words I wouldn't dream of using, but there have been a few I've really enjoyed. Last week I was on a "defenestrate" kick, simply because..."Ha, I got the defenestrate word of the day last week as well and laughed. It wasn't new to me but I hadn't actually thought about it in so long that I forgot it was a real word and not part of some twenty-something in-joke.
I'm very fond of defenestrate. When I was kid, my dad told me about the Defenestration of Prague (there were two or maybe three, depending) and I could've sworn he was making it up. I found out it was real, and have liked it ever since. (There's a ton of words I just love.)Orientate -- that's a word I can't stand. (And I see it's in my spellchecker for some reason. Bah.)
Edit: Thought of another one: ontological. Can't see myself ever using it.
Charles wrote: "Most people hate the word moist and I just don't understand why."I think people who don't like that word are reading Erotica. :P
Christina wrote: "I totes love adorbz and bae as well..."I'm getting this sinking feeling that "totes" here does not mean the act of carrying something?
And "swag" probably is not a style of lamp I always found rather unfortunate?
I never cared for the words: comely, homely, purposiveness, or marjoram.
Marjoram certainly does have something off about it, but it's become my go to herb for nearly every dish. And Owen, totes could totes mean the act of carrying goats...
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/...
It's not a word, it's an acronym. I am glad the trend started dying out though, but YOLO really got on my nerves.Whenever people used it, especially when they used it as a verb or a noun, I would almost loose it. Luckily I am a anti-social hermit, so I don't get myself into trouble too easily.
Christina wrote: "And Owen, totes could totes mean the act of carrying goats..."Charles wrote: "Owen you totes magotes right there."
Ouch... : P
Somehow, this is reminding me I don't like the word "wholesome" much. I do like "fulsome."
Oh, I almost forgot. I totes hate the word literally now.
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I don't hate the word as much as I hate that it's so overused and often used to describe something that is only mildly pleasant.
"I get eight crackers in my soup instead of six? Awesome!"
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Another overused word.
Fridge & veggies
Cutesy and stupid sounding. They sound like baby talk.
"I cutted up some veggies. They in the fridge wiff the juice boxes an' the animal crackers."
Fun topic. I'm sure I will come up with many more.
G.G. wrote: "Charles wrote: "Most people hate the word moist and I just don't understand why."I think people who don't like that word are reading Erotica. :P"
I feel like I should be blushing. :\
Nice. It's so bland - a nothing kind of word. I also don't like "egregious" - it's used too often, generally out of context. I'm not a fan of "sexy" either; surely that boils down to personal preference? There are lots of people I find attractive but hardly anyone you'd want to get horizontal with.
Ha ha, he he, ho ho and onwards. If you have to spell out a laugh, you're writing it wrong. Example, taken from New Moon: Aro started to laugh. “Ha, ha,ha,” he chuckled. . . . o_O Need I say more?
Kay wrote: "Ha ha, he he, ho ho and onwards. If you have to spell out a laugh, you're writing it wrong. Example, taken from New Moon: Aro started to laugh. “Ha, ha,ha,” he chuckled. . . . o_O Need I say more?"
Yep, that's kind of redundant.
I am guilty of using it though when laughing in a derisive way. "Ha ha, good try."
G.G. wrote: "Kay wrote: "Ha ha, he he, ho ho and onwards. If you have to spell out a laugh, you're writing it wrong. Example, taken from New Moon: Aro started to laugh. “Ha, ha,ha,” he chuckled. . . . o_O Need..."
I don't have a problem with it if you're actually speaking the words instead of spelling out the action, like in your example.
I honestly can't think of any words in my writing or when I read (which hasn't been much lately) that bother me. I do notice I don't like....whatever...because my 5 year old suddenly started saying that to me. Huh? Since when are we getting an attitude like that. I distinctly remember my mom telling me to not say whatever when I was younger and I would look at her with that exact word on the tip of my tongue. Now I understand. Don't like it. I wonder where she gets it from....then I realize...me! As I'm doing something and it pops out of my mouth. Well, dang, didn't see that coming.
I'm with you on the word "belly" I can't stand reading or saying it O.o not sure why, it just always makes me cringe
I can't think of specific words that bother me, but alternative spellings do. Specifically, spelling "acknowledgement", "judgement" and the like without the "e" after "dg". It started out as an American English thing but I see British publishers using it, too. It just drives me nuts--the E is there for a reason!
How about ingenuous? Would naive/innocent/unworldly be better?I love new words and meanings and the wing spread of vocabulary that lifts me across the page☺
puzzling over the use of dialect in my middle book in the Druid trilogy - is it dated now? Bain't be current usage?
"Solipsist" and "palimpsest" I dislike. There's another word I've run into frequently (mostly in UK SF books) but I can't quite think of what it is now...Hmm. Never mind. I dislike these because I always forget what they mean and have to look them up. Authors who use them are just showing off. ];DI have no problem with swear words when used appropriately, but "Wankel rotary engine" is pretty rude sounding.
OTOH "antidisestablishmentarianism" doesn't get enough air time. I think it's a fine and exemplary word, one which should be used in everyday speech as often as possible.
While we're on the subject of "belly", I've never liked "tummy", which sounds infantile. I'm not crazy about "poorly" either - what's wrong with sick or ill?
I just can't think of any word, but there's an expression I've seen that I dislike. It just sounds wrong and yet I've seen it in so many books: 'rub at'.For example: I rub at my eyes. I rub at my face. I mean, I rub my eyes or I rub my face, but rub at?
I rub at my eyes sounds like a failed attempt to rub my eyes that ends with me accidentally punching myself in the face......never mind, that must be correct then because that has happened on more mornings than I care to admit. ;)
Paige wrote: "I'm with you on the word "belly" I can't stand reading or saying it O.o not sure why, it just always makes me cringe"Belly always reminds me of this Kilban cartoon: http://www.gocomics.com/kliban/2012/1...
Christina wrote: "I rub at my eyes sounds like a failed attempt to rub my eyes that ends with me accidentally punching myself in the face......never mind, that must be correct then because that has happened on mor..."
ROFL! Seen that way...maybe you're on to something. So that's what I'll picture in my mind the next time I read that. :P
Naughty. Pervs ruined it as a way to describe bad children and it is even a cheesy way of saying "bad in a sexy way" for pervs.
Micah wrote: ""Solipsist" and "palimpsest" I dislike. There's another word I've run into frequently (mostly in UK SF books) but I can't quite think of what it is now...Hmm. Never mind. I dislike these because I ..."I dislike "Solipsist" because it a pain to pronounce. I love "palimpsest" -- it describes some things perfectly.
Dwayne wrote: "Fridge & veggiesCutesy and stupid sounding. They sound like baby talk.
!..."
Now I'm curious: what do they call a fridge where you're located? I can't recall the last time I heard anyone said anything else out here, even when shopping for one.
(Is this a bucket/pail thing?)
Giggle. I think my problem with the word giggle is that it makes me think of children up to no good, someone out-of-their-head high as a kite, or insane villains a la The Joker. But I would see authors use this word in place of laugh or chuckle for the sake of variety for a character who was an adult not currently high nor insane nor even child-like, and it would weird me out. And after a time of reading grown, sane, non-child-like, sober adults giggle, it kind of soured me toward the word.
Belly. I've read too many authors who would get slap-happy with the word belly. One author would use it so much that half-way through the book I was mentally begging him to, please, use something else - stomach, guts, abdomen, anything! So when I see the word belly I became a little wary about the author and how often they plan to use that word.
I do use these words on occasion myself, they're just not my favorite words.