xkcd

by **Brooks** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:54 pm UTC

Several threads in here about words you love, pretty words, and so on. But how about annoying, ugly, and awkward words?

Me, I hate "irrespective." Ugly word. "Regardless" is pretty much always a better choice, being stronger, prettier, and more clear. Of course, that leads some cretins to "irregardless" which is even worse than "irrespective," and merits a swift kick.

by **wisnij** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:10 pm UTC

Apparently some people have trouble with "moist". I think it's a funny word.

I never really liked "epitome", mainly because I have to remind myself how it's pronounced each time I see it.

by **AKADriver** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:31 pm UTC

"Basically" and its synonyms... because I feel that I use them too much. I can correct for it when I write it, but when I speak expositorily, it seems like every other word out of my mouth is "basically" or "essentially." There are better ways to indicate that what I'm about to say is central to my argument, but they never seem to come to mind when I'm speaking.

"Online" or "on-line" is a word I personally never use, unless I'm describing an inanimate object that has been powered on. For some reason, maybe it's Internet-old-timer elitism, It sounds awkward to hear people describe themselves as being "online." It sounds just plain wrong when people use it as an adverb: "I found it online." I think current dictionaries accept both definitions, but they still bother me. "Offline" seems to be gaining use as an adverb, too, in this case meaning "when you have free time, outside of this context."

by **Number3Pencils** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:26 am UTC

"Droll" has to be the worst possible word for a synonym of "funny".

by **lowbart** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:51 am UTC

Really? Is that what it's supposed to mean? I always thought (never having looked it up or anything) that it meant dull or boring or nyurrrr.

Maybe that just makes your point even more.

by **IronyandParadox** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:18 am UTC

lowbart wrote:Really? Is that what it's supposed to mean? I always thought (never having looked it up or anything) that it meant dull or boring or nyurrrr.

Maybe that just makes your point even more.

It sounds like it should mean dull.

I've never been a fan of the word "thus." Using it makes you sound like a pompous ass.

by **Ari** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:19 am UTC

Haha, this thread is full of win, although it reminds me of how annoying my formal language is

by **stockpot** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 8:14 am UTC

I don't think "dusk" is pretty enough for the idea it represents, but I wouldn't call it ugly by any means.
Ugly words: hospital, pork, ogle

by **kerohazel** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 8:16 am UTC

I'd just like to add that I think "cellar door" is the ugliest phrase in the English language.

by **Kewangji** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 3:12 pm UTC

I don't like the words that are pronounced 'too'. I avoid them subconsciously.

by **Lumpy** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:03 pm UTC

Bling
Emo
Poot
Tween (what, that passes Firefox's spellcheck, but "undead" doesn't?)
"Snappy and responsive" (I've hated this and all variations ever since seeing it overused in a satire about upgrading from Vista to Windows)

Have you got any?

by **Jessica** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:03 pm UTC

synergize

by **Ian Ex Machina** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:11 pm UTC

Chum.

It makes me feel like I'm chewing on dog food.

by **El Senor Fruit Swing** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:14 pm UTC

I'm TL;DR this (hope I did that right) and saying the phrase I hate the most is
"K are you Sure" I hate it. the first time I get asked and the millionith

by **microwaved** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:18 pm UTC

Sheeple

Whenever used, it just permeates a certain smugness, and 9 times out of ten can be replaced with the words, "people who don't think, walk, talk, and act just like me"

by **hendusoone** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:22 pm UTC

I know a lot of people who hate "moist." I don't see what bugs them so much about it!

by **segmentation fault** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:26 pm UTC

enterprise
guesstimate
metrosexual

to name a few.

then again i have a reason for hating them. oh well

by **Solt** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:28 pm UTC

hella

by **mandalynn** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 9:34 pm UTC

"Chillax" makes me want to stab people.
I also can't stand the word "sexy," and I have no idea why.

by **Daigerus** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 7:22 am UTC

Shmexy.

Is that even a real word? It's like the seventh cousin of "sexy", 5 times removed.

by **wisnij** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 7:27 am UTC

"Sammich" as a cutesy alternative to "sandwich". Arrgh, just typing it makes me angry.

by **AKADriver** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 12:14 pm UTC

wisnij wrote:"Sammich" as a cutesy alternative to "sandwich". Arrgh, just typing it makes me angry.

That has since been replaced by the even cutesier "sammy," which is so much worse.

by **Cosmologicon** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 2:35 pm UTC

I have a problem with portmanteaux where the words involved are synonyms or close to it. Someone already said "guesstimate", so I'll add the only other one I can think of: "automagically".

by **Hephesus** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:07 pm UTC

Not so much hate for the word itself as much as its misuse: Literally.

People use literally when they, if fact, mean the opposite.

by **synaesthetist** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:17 pm UTC

i'm also female and not a fan of the word moist. i'd never really known another person who hated that word as much as i did until a friend from college mentioned that it made her want to gag. i'd love to learn more about why women hate that word so much.

i think it's interesting that i can't stand "manifest" by itself. but i'd always liked the term "manifest destiny." it changes the whole tone of the word for me.

by **Ari** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 4:26 pm UTC

metrosexual

That word should die in a fire, and the ashes should be used to choke whoever invented it.

synaesthetist wrote:i'm also female and not a fan of the word moist. i'd never really known another person who hated that word as much as i did until a friend from college mentioned that it made her want to gag. i'd love to learn more about why women hate that word so much.

Mmm, I've definitely heard of men who don't like the word, too. I've also heard of people who love it, but that's probably because they feel it's about the dirtiest word in the English language.

by **Hephesus** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:14 pm UTC

segmentation fault wrote:guesstimate

Guesstimate bothers me to no end and on many levels... I wish I could stab people who say. Unfortunately that would be 80% of the work force.

by **Ari** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 5:32 pm UTC

Hephesus wrote:
segmentation fault wrote:guesstimate

Guesstimate bothers me to no end and on many levels... I wish I could stab people who say. Unfortunately that would be 80% of the work force.

Except estimation has a very distinct connotation from guessing, even though their essential meaning is the same. Estimation usually refers to an informed guess, perhaps from a subject expert. Guessing is usually an uninformed estimation from a layperson. Thus, guesstimating is a useful between-word to imply a quick estimation, or more studied guess, possibly from a generalist in an area, or from an expert who hasn't yet had time to properly research relevant factors or calculate as much as is necessary.

Guesstimate is to estimate and guess as "common knowledge" is to science and idiocy

by **mandalynn** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:57 pm UTC

synaesthetist wrote:i think it's interesting that i can't stand "manifest" by itself. but i'd always liked the term "manifest destiny." it changes the whole tone of the word for me.

*gasp* Me too!!!!

by **Owehn** » Fri Dec 21, 2007 11:03 pm UTC

mandalynn wrote:
synaesthetist wrote:i think it's interesting that i can't stand "manifest" by itself. but i'd always liked the term "manifest destiny." it changes the whole tone of the word for me.

*gasp* Me too!!!!

I'm sort of the opposite: I like the word "manifold", but I don't care for differential geometry.

by **Jobo** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 4:08 am UTC

I don't like chocolate. I like the candy well enough, but the word itself sounds like something you would say if your mouth were full of chocolate and you tried to talk anyway. And that's gross, I hate when people talk with their mouths full.

by **stockpot** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 7:43 am UTC

Ari wrote:Guesstimate is to estimate and guess as "common knowledge" is to science and idiocy

The word guesstimate is like BBC science reporting?

I'm no fan of it's usage, but I think "metrosexual" sounds quite nice phonetically.

by **thecommabandit** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 8:50 pm UTC

Kiss.

I hate it and all its derivatives. It's an awful word, I hate saying it, I hate writing it, I hate how it's spelt, I hate the way the mouth moves when you say it, I REALLY hate this word. I don't hate the action it describes but the word is absolutely awful. It's an evil word and we should burn it with fire from all dictionaries and replace with a better word like kella. You can give someone a kella. They can kella you. He kella'd her. It's better than that word. ANYTHING is better than that word.

On a different note, I quite like the word moist. It makes me think of cake =)

by **Julie** » Sat Dec 22, 2007 10:06 pm UTC

Number3Pencils wrote:"Droll" has to be the worst possible word for a synonym of "funny".

Droll comes from drôle, which is French for funny.

I hate the word ignorant, just because people don't seem to be able to use it properly in a sentence. Mostly, I hear ghetto girls using it and it drives me insane. I am not ignorant of your (slutty) lifestyle, I don't approve of it!

I also hate the following words/phrases...
-bling
-Heighth (it's just... awkward! Say height.)
-Adults over 21
-Weapons of mass destruction
-Almost all "...Hold on, I think I swallowed a gerbil. Okay. What was I saying?" terms
-The phrase "mental math"

by **Brooks** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 8:05 am UTC

microwaved wrote:Sheeple

Whenever used, it just permeates a certain smugness, and 9 times out of ten can be replaced with the words, "people who don't think, walk, talk, and act just like me"

Argh, yeah, that one drives me insane. It manages to be condescending, sophomoric, arrogant, ad hominem, cute-in-the-worst-way, and aesthetically unpleasing. Ouch.

You know what else I hate? Fatuous. First, because it should mean "fat", and second because of that awkward uou. It looks like an anagram more than a word. And even though it is a word, people either misuse it (to mean fat) or pull that annoying "look at me and my masterful command of language" face every time they use it. It's like they don't realize that by using the word they are describing themselves.

by **Number3Pencils** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 8:37 am UTC

Has anyone else encountered and loathed the word "beast" as an adjective to mean "cool"?

by **stockpot** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 9:08 am UTC

I've never heard it, but maybe it's a shortening of "beastly?" The noun "beast" in its slang form means "someone very strong or pain-tolerant in a very awesome way" but it's adjectivized form isn't quite as specific, and could easily be reinterpreted to mean just "awesome."

I don't like how the word slang sounds (when pronounced with a west coast american accent).

by **Nimz** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 2:43 pm UTC

Brooks wrote:
microwaved wrote:Sheeple

Whenever used, it just permeates a certain smugness, and 9 times out of ten can be replaced with the words, "people who don't think, walk, talk, and act just like me"

Argh, yeah, that one drives me insane. It manages to be condescending, sophomoric, arrogant, ad hominem, cute-in-the-worst-way, and aesthetically unpleasing. Ouch.

The other one time out of ten it can probably be replaced with the words, "people who don't think, walk, talk, or act, just like me." The main difference, of course, is the extra comma.

I don't really care for anything 'lolcat-ese' (for lack of a better word) with the rare exception of some lolcat satire. Even the word lolcat doesn't feel right. Errm, I mean, get off my lawn, you young whippersnappers! [/obligatory]

by **Kabann** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 3:09 pm UTC

Corporate buzzwords make me twitch, and not in the good way. When did people start throwing the word 'metrics' around like it was on sale?

Don't get me started on 'blogsphere.' As if 'blog' wasn't bad enough.

by **Ari** » Sun Dec 23, 2007 6:25 pm UTC

How are either metrics or blogosphere corporate buzzwords?

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