RHYS BOWEN: I read an interesting post recently on words that we hate. I agreed with a lot of them but the one I’m thinking of particularly at the moment is WOKE. Since it’s Black History month I did some digging about the origin of this word and found that really only African Americans have the right to use the word. It originated in the nineteen thirties when speeches urged the African American population to WAKE UP and realize how and where they were being subjugated by whites.
Over the years other Black orators urged African Americans to ‘wake from their dreaming’ to acknowledge the reality of their situation. Those who did were WOKE. The rest of us can definitely agree with the sentiment and express solidarity but the word should be used by the group it applies to. It must feel rather how I feel when non Brits put on a fake accent and say “Pip pip. Cheerio, old chap.”
Apart from WOKE I have plenty of words that make me wince.
Awesome is one of them, especially when spoken ten times by my waitress as I make my order. Or Absolutely by the same waitress. "May I have a salad with that?" Oh absolutely." Or equally bad, "No problem." Of course it's no problem. It's on the menu. You are the waitress.
Of course LIKE as a filler ten times in the sentence “It was like, you know…
Literally–does not drive me literally mad. Just annoys me.
Irregardless, of course. Not even a word.
Twenty four seven…
Each and every…what’s wrong with ALL?
At this moment in time… what’s wrong with NOW?
John’s least favorite word is WHATEVER. I confess to using it at times when I’m annoyed with him.
So what are your least favorites?
LUCY BURDETTE: my least favorite word is actually three: xxx DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I hate reading this in reviews of anything–is that the best you can say? How about something more active like xxx THRILLED ME, or EXCITED ME, or even BROUGHT ME JOY? Okay, rant completed.
RHYS: That’s a put-down in disguise!
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Lucy! I SO agree. It’s…so deflating. I hate words like incentivize–what are the other ones like that?
And oh, I completely cringe at “reach out” and “circle back” and “touch base.” Or, and “loop in.” As in: I reached out to loop her in, because I had to circle back and touch base. AHHHH. Spare
me.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Can I add a phrase? I know it’s a lost cause, but every time I hear “impact” used in place of the perfectly good verbs “effect” and “affect” I tremble with rage. And don’t give me “Oh, it’s too hard to tell them apart.” Somehow, native English speakers managed for hundreds of years until the 1990s, when TV meteorologists started telling us we were going to be “impacted by the storm?”
My least favorite word based on the sound or it is “moist.” Unless you’re describing a particularly delicious cake, get that adjective out of your mouth. (P.S. The proper word for a brownie is “gooey” or “fudgy,” not moist.)
RHYS: His lips against hers? warm and moist...
And does anyone get lay and lie correct these days? I don’t think so.
HANK: There are whole facebook pages about hating moist! And many many articles about it, most entitled “Why You Hate the Word ‘Moist’.” And interestingly, “foist” does not inspire the same reaction. Moist is a total thing. (Which some people may also loathe.)
HALLIE EPHRON: Among my least favorite words: plop. As in she plopped down on the sofa (or in a chair) or wherever. It has never and will never evoke a human body falling like a suddenly stringless puppet from a standing to a seated position. It’s got another layer of meaning, a sound that is most frequently encountered in the bathroom. Moist has similar errant connotations.
RHYS: Now I can’t get that image from my head, Hallie!
So who has more annoying words to share? We're all mystery writers and fans. Can we come up with subtle and untraceable ways to rid the world of people who use them?
