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Irritating words

post #1 of 87
6/7/11 at 9:53am
Thread Starter 
Are there some words that suddenly become irritating to you and you are hearing them everywhere?

Lately the word "Arguably" (Open to argument: an arguable question, still unresolved) has irked me. Most of the time, it is used even when there isn't much contention over it (e.g. "Welcome to Tuesday, arguably the dullest day of the week."). The word seems overused to me.

What about you? What words seem overused, misused, or just plain stupid?
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post #2 of 87
6/7/11 at 9:56am
Unfortunately I can't say them here.
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post #3 of 87
6/7/11 at 10:26am
The R-word...sometimes used to refer to people with mental disabilities, but often used as a substitute to "stupid" in other contexts. I won't say it here, because I know some people find it offensive.

I don't really find it offensive, except when used to refer to people with some kind of disability. When used in the context of "that's re...", it just sounds SO unpolished and...I don't know...to me, it just makes people sound so simple and unintelligent that they can't figure out a better word to use. I think it's just habit for some people. Even when some people use it to refer to people, they don't really mean anything by it, they just don't know any better.

Regardless, it's one of those words that just sends shivers down my spine when I hear it.
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post #4 of 87
6/7/11 at 10:39am
I am pretty good with most words, but the one that really gets under my skin is the "c" word, usually used in a very negative way toward women. I can swear a blue streak, but I can't even bring myself to say that one- and if I ever hear anyone using it in my presence they're going to get snapped at. Do not like that word at all!
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post #5 of 87
6/7/11 at 10:45am
"Winning."

Most. Annoying. Phrase. Currently.
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post #6 of 87
6/7/11 at 10:45am
Irregardless.

Nothing gets on my nerves more quickly than this word, it is incorrect.

Call it nonstandard all you want, it's as grammatically incorrect as 'ain't'
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post #7 of 87
6/7/11 at 10:56am
"Awesome." So overused, and inappropriately used. When ordering a meal at a restaurant, I really don't need the wait person to substitute the word "awesome" instead of simply saying "thank you," for example.

It REALLY bugs me.
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post #8 of 87
6/7/11 at 11:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Arlyn View Post
Irregardless.

Nothing gets on my nerves more quickly than this word, it is incorrect.

Call it nonstandard all you want, it's as grammatically incorrect as 'ain't'


Another word that irritates me is "supposebly" with a "b" instead of supposedly - which is what it's supposed to be. Randall says it all the time and it really gets on my nerves.

Grammatical errors annoy me too, such as when peeps don't use the proper definition of certain words - such as, "your" vs. "you're", or the improper use of "there", "their", and "they're, or "two", "to", and "too".

But Heaven only knows I'm not perfect: I make mistakes, too - although I try really hard to use proper grammar, spelling, & punctuation, because not doing so grates on my nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard. I won't even read some peeps posts if they don't use proper punctuation and write run-on sentences. I think that annoys me most of all..

I'm ashamed to admit that I sometimes use the word "ain't" - even though I know it's not a word. I picked up that bad habit after moving to Texas, where it's used all the time (at least in this area, anyway). It kind of gets to be a bad habit when you hear everyone else say it time after time. I've been trying really hard not to say it, cuz it even grates on my nerves when I hear it come out of my own mouth.
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post #9 of 87
6/7/11 at 11:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KittKatt View Post
Another word that irritates me is "supposebly" with a "b" instead of supposedly - which is what it's supposed to be.
Yeah. "Supposably."

The phrase "of which" when used incorrectly. Examples: "The bowl of which Muffin eats her food out of." "The group of which I am a member of." Or sometimes completely out of context altogether: "The newspaper editorial of which I believe printed an incorrect opinion."

It's a prepositional phrase which serves the purpose of eliminating a preposition at the end of a sentence. (Generally considered incorrect in writing and formal speech but acceptable in informal speech.)

Yet people still tack on a preposition! It just frosts me. Like nails on a chalkboard.
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post #10 of 87
6/7/11 at 11:32am
"basically"

"actually"

"you know"

"like"

"and such"

"ab so LUTE lyâ€

In print, misuse of "there, their, and they're" and "to and too."



Basically, I'm actually, absolutely not so like crabby, and such, you know?

Then again, maybe I am.

Robin
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post #11 of 87
6/7/11 at 11:42am
Issues.........hate that word, or more precisely, the improper and overuse of the word. Impacted - yes, it is a proper word but overused and frequently wrongly used....makes me think of things like impacted wisdom teeth, etc.
There are also a couple of delightful phrases such as "It is what it is"; well of course it is, what were you expecting? "It" to be something else?? The second is "At the end of the day". I listen to a sports show nearly every evening and they trot out these two little gems several times a show - makes me think that they ran out of things to say but don't know when to be quiet/
Also hate misplaced apostrophes.
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post #12 of 87
6/7/11 at 11:59am
Oh! Oh!!!!!

Utilize.

"Please utilize the printer in the far left corner."

...really? Just say use. The dictionary definition of "utilize" means to use something in a novel or inventive way that is especially profitable or practical, plus it's just pretentious.
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post #13 of 87
6/7/11 at 1:27pm
ideology.

It seems like that's the latest "buzz" word used by everyone being interviewed or during debates on TV. I don't know why, but I absolutely HATE that word!
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post #14 of 87
6/7/11 at 1:39pm
ginormous

Why not use gigantic, enormous, giant, huge or humongous? It's totally unnecessary to combine gigantic and enormous.
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post #15 of 87
6/7/11 at 1:49pm
I absolutely hate it when people say "Who would have thunk it"..Maybe I just don't get the sarcasm of it???
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post #16 of 87
6/7/11 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcat View Post
ginormous

Why not use gigantic, enormous, giant, huge or humongous? It's totally unnecessary to combine gigantic and enormous.
Same with "horrific." It was either "horrible" or "terrific." Make up your mind!
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post #17 of 87
6/7/11 at 2:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcat View Post
ginormous

Why not use gigantic, enormous, giant, huge or humongous? It's totally unnecessary to combine gigantic and enormous.
But I like that one! To each their own I suppose....

There is one I want to add....but I can't remember what it is! I was thinking the other day of starting a thread on annoying words because of it. I can tell you I was driving by the park when I heard it... LOL Maybe it'll come to me later.
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post #18 of 87
6/7/11 at 2:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by CatMom2Wires View Post
Same with "horrific." It was either "horrible" or "terrific." Make up your mind!
Unlike "ginormous," though, which is a portmanteau of gigantic and enormous, "horrific" is actually from the Latin word horrificus. It also has a nuance that "horrible" doesn't (given our overuse of the latter) and so deserves its place in our language! LOL! Don't boot it out! That would be a horrific mistake! (Or maybe a ginormous one.)
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post #19 of 87
6/7/11 at 3:16pm
A phrase that absolutely annoys me to no end is when people say, "You know what I'm sayin'?" at the end of every sentence they speak.
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post #20 of 87
6/7/11 at 3:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by katachtig View Post
Are there some words that suddenly become irritating to you and you are hearing them everywhere?

Lately the word "Arguably" (Open to argument: an arguable question, still unresolved) has irked me. Most of the time, it is used even when there isn't much contention over it (e.g. "Welcome to Tuesday, arguably the dullest day of the week."). The word seems overused to me.

What about you? What words seem overused, misused, or just plain stupid?
That's a word that irritates me as well. As in "Agruably, he's the best baseball player in the league." Well, he either is or he isn't. If we are going to argue about it, he probably isn't.
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post #21 of 87
6/7/11 at 3:26pm
Oh, another one that irks me is "going forward." Not too much chance we are going to be going backward.
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post #22 of 87
6/7/11 at 4:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by orangeishcat View Post
I am pretty good with most words, but the one that really gets under my skin is the "c" word, usually used in a very negative way toward women. I can swear a blue streak, but I can't even bring myself to say that one- and if I ever hear anyone using it in my presence they're going to get snapped at. Do not like that word at all!
My mother always cringed at the Queen Mother F-bomb and since I was pretty used to it that word never bothered me. Heaven help you if you used it around her, though! I feel the same way about that word.

I've only actually used that word myself a handful of times, and only to describe (or defile) the most awful, horrible, disgusting woman that I simply cannot find another word that reflects how horrid she really is. (i.e. a really bad animal or child abuser) Because if I could think of another word that fit I would use it - it still makes me cringe.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sk_pacer View Post
There are also a couple of delightful phrases such as "It is what it is"; well of course it is, what were you expecting? "It" to be something else??
Guilty! I use that one more than I should. I use it a lot with my husband who is usually complaining that it isn't something different, whatever "something" he wanted or expected to happen that didn't. :tongue: In that context I think I'm justified.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bastetservant
"ab so LUTE lyâ€
Oh my gosh that one drive me to distraction! It seems that the people who use it most are wait-staff. And my sister who does hair. Seriously, can't you find another way to say "yes" or "I agree"? Perhaps "yes or "I agree"?
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post #23 of 87
6/7/11 at 5:03pm
Irregardless always gets me, and my mother uses it with such enthusiasm when she's heated up about something. *facepalm*

My family also says warsh instead of wash. Last I checked, there's no R in wash. :/

Overusing the word like is no longer something 80s valley girls overuse in daily speech either. So I'm like, 'Did you really, like, just say that?'
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post #24 of 87
6/7/11 at 5:31pm
Any words that the new generation take and use to mean something entirely different.

I'm having an Alzheimer moment and can only think of one, but there are several such words that bug the heck out of me. The one off the top of my head is:

"Bad" used to mean "Good!"

Oh, and the word "Like" used ever other word, and the phrase "Oh my God!" Both are typically used in Valley Girl Speech!!!
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post #25 of 87
6/7/11 at 5:34pm
I hate to hear y'all used when addressing only one person. This mistake is only made in movies, as far as I know, but it grates on my nerves.

And I don't like terms like senioritis which would mean inflammation of the seniors.
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post #26 of 87
6/7/11 at 5:44pm
Oh, in a restaurant last night a waitress said, "No problem," meaning, "Yes, I will." When she walked away my friend commented on how irritating that expression is. It is.


Robin
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post #27 of 87
6/7/11 at 5:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by parsleysage View Post
It just frosts me.
Love that phrase, don't think I've ever heard anyone say it!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Misty8723 View Post
Oh, another one that irks me is "going forward." Not too much chance we are going to be going backward.
I was going to say this one. It seems these catchwords or phrases suddenly pop into existence and everyone jumps on the bandwagon and has to use them every other sentence. I find it very irritating and suspect people are just trying to sound current regardless of what that phrase is even supposed to mean.
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post #28 of 87
6/7/11 at 6:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Natalie_ca View Post
Any words that the new generation take and use to mean something entirely different.

I'm having an Alzheimer moment and can only think of one, but there are several such words that bug the heck out of me. The one off the top of my head is:

"Bad" used to mean "Good!"
"Sick," "Ill," "Wicked," "Crucial," "Dank," "Dope," "Tight," etc.????

All of the above mean "awesome," "sweet," or "cool." Hee hee!
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post #29 of 87
6/7/11 at 6:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nurseangel View Post
I hate to hear y'all used when addressing only one person. This mistake is only made in movies, as far as I know, but it grates on my nerves.
Yeah... somewhere in an email chain about how nice it is to be Southern, some person got the idea that "y'all" means one person and "ya'all" or "all y'all" means multiple people. Uhhhh.... ??? How many Southerners did you talk to to verify that? My family is from the mountains of Southwest Virginia for five generations, and none of them has ever used "y'all" to refer to one person.
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post #30 of 87
6/7/11 at 8:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by parsleysage View Post
Yeah... somewhere in an email chain about how nice it is to be Southern, some person got the idea that "y'all" means one person and "ya'all" or "all y'all" means multiple people. Uhhhh.... ??? How many Southerners did you talk to to verify that? My family is from the mountains of Southwest Virginia for five generations, and none of them has ever used "y'all" to refer to one person.

My roommate does that "all y'all" thing all the time (he's from the south). He also says, "I'll be dogged" all the time. What the heck is that supposed to mean?
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