| Author | Message | ||
     Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
In only just realised this morning how much I hate the word "pro-active". It just seems a bit too pop.psych. "Active" is fine on its own, surely? What's the "pro" bit got to do with it? I mean... "pro-active" as opposed to what? Anti-active? Amateur active? It's bloody annoying, is what it is. So what words do you intensely dislike today (or any other day)? | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
'Prequel' - especially since I keep hearing people use it towards earlier films in a series regardless of when they were made chronologically, i.e. 'Hellraiser' is the prequel to 'Hellraiser 2'. 'Monetise' is one that keeps coming up at work. There's something very irritating, single-minded and mercenary about it. | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
I agree with you about 'prequel' and 'monetise', John! Although it's a phrase rather than a word, I got fed up hearing about 'capacity building' at work. I can't stand the word 'dilate' because when I was younger I assumed it meant to shrink (it sounds like something that's shrinking) so the phrase 'dilate and contract' bewildered me... Shrink and shrink?! When I learned that 'dilate' actually means 'expand' I was shocked. | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 213.122.209.76 |
I can't stand made-up corporate-speak words like "incentivise" - ugh! | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.23.91.114 |
Bespoke. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.23.91.114 |
Also, I hate a lot of four-letter words: work iron wash dust | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
You've opened up a can of worms here, Rhys! I have to use a lot of these kinds of words at work - teaching my students management/business. So, "proactive", "incentivise", "downsizing", etc are the kinds of words I have to use on a regular basis. I think "downsizing" is the one that gets to me most. It kind of sanitises the whole process of making people redundant without any thought as to what that actually means for the people concerned. In the business world, downsizing is seen as a really positive thing to do, whereas it's effect on people is, in reality, very negative indeed.  | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
>>Also, I hate a lot of four-letter words: work iron wash dust<<  Couldn't agree more on that one, Gary! | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
'Rationalise', 'modernise', 'streamline', 'downsize', 'actualise', 'itemise', 'ruthless', 'efficiency' 'savings', 'corporate', 'consultant' & 'banker' are all words I've come to loathe over recent years. Strangely this has coincided with my growing compulsion to mutter the words 'bullshit' & 'wankers' through gritted teeth at the oddest of times... go figure. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
"Hopefully" used as if it means "I hope" has made me grind my teeth for years, but the fashionable usage that grates just as much (only spoken, so far as I know) is the bizarre invention of "texter" to mean a text sent from a mobile phone. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 95.131.110.102 |
Branching off a bit - I hate misuse of words too. That Mitchell and Webb Look raised a few the other night:- 'Haitch' for 'h' 'pacifically' for specifically 'expresso' for espresso ... | ||
| Joelmurr (Joelmurr) Username: Joelmurr Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 82.169.25.44 |
I detest the misuse of "pretentious" in criticism. "Sheeple" makes me see red. And I have an irrational dislike of the word "meal". | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.239.221 |
Good list, Stevie. In an international context it's worth adding 'insurgent', which means 'unarmed civilian we can kill without any further justification'. Likewise 'terrorist supporter' or 'terrorist sympathiser'. My particular least favourite expression in this context is 'hearts and minds', as in 'winning their hearts and minds' – which means threatening them with death or torture and delivering on the threat if they don't concur. Ramsey, I have to plead guilty on 'hopefully' – because I find that, despite its ungrammatical nature, it's a helpful addition to my not always fit-for-purpose vocabulary. I use it a lot more in spoken than written language, though. It's a part of parole rather than of langue. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.228.134 |
'collateral damage'. I always think it should be spelled coLateral. And the euphemistic nature of the term, of course. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.239.221 |
Hi Joelmurrr, who are you? Apologies if you've been welcomed to the board while I was asleep. Good to see another Joel here. Though I may need to change my own username, maybe to 'The real Joel'. You're so right about 'pretentious'. People use it as shorthand for 'intelligent' or 'demanding'. Ignoring the fact that most commercial cinema and TV is truly pretentious because it pretends to have a meaning or 'message' when it is actually concerned only with maximising profit. An oddity of word-use over the past decade is how many people say 'obtuse' when they mean 'oblique' or 'obscure'. 'Obtuse' actually means 'stupid'. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Ah, the haitch/aitch controversy has long been a matter of life or death in good old Norn Iron. As a child, one of the regular risks of growing up over here was being stopped by groups of bigger children from the "other side" and asked what religion you were - Catholic or Protestant. If you answered unconvincingly a further test would be to ask your name - you then had to gamble, by trying to judge what you thought they were, whether to say Patrick or William (I kid you not) or play safe by giving a neutral name like Stephen (phew!). But, if they were being really devious, you would then be asked to recite the alphabet. On getting to the letter H, if you said "haitch" you were a Taig and if you said "aitch" you were a Prod - and got the requisite kicking or shake of the hand as a result. The bizarre survival skills we learnt as children could fill a book! | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
I hate the current usage of the word 'pretentious' as well... In my experience it is often used by critics to mean 'non-trivial', 'non-traditional' or even 'unique'. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
What about going back to Joel Cairo?  | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
When used in criticism I despise the word 'dated'. It's especially annoying when applied to old films. For example: "Oh, I can't watch Jaws - the shark in it looks so dated." "Get fucked." | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
Stevie: this is for you... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ph8hNljOXE | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
I hate it when people say "literall" when they mean the opposite: "He was bleeding to death, literally." | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
literally. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
"He literally killed me." Oh, yeah? So you're a ghost, then? It angers me...literally. | ||
| Joelmurr (Joelmurr) Username: Joelmurr Registered: 04-2010 Posted From: 82.169.25.44 |
Hi Joel - only my fourth post here. I first shed my lurker status in the Carpenter thread. I dabble in dark pulp/experimental fiction (as Joe L Murr). John - absolutely agree about the word "dated". | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
"human resource" in a business context when they mean the people who work there. They're ruddy PEOPLE not resources. Makes me see red, that one. I have to put my hand up to using "hopefully" instead of "I hope" - sorry, Ramsey.  And thinking of misuse of words, one which particularly annoys me - and I see it written soooooo many times in student work - is "should of" instead of "should have". Grrrrr. Oh, and text-style language too - "nice 2 C U" - that kind of crap. | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 213.122.209.76 |
Me 2, Caroline! Should of/could of/would of is probably my biggest pet peeve of all. Drives me up the bloody wall. Partly because if the people saying it would just stop and THINK about it, it makes no sense at all. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
"You're so right about 'pretentious'. People use it as shorthand for 'intelligent' or 'demanding'. Ignoring the fact that most commercial cinema and TV is truly pretentious because it pretends to have a meaning or 'message' when it is actually concerned only with maximising profit..." I agree with the first two sentences but not the last. Who are you saying is concerned with that, Joel? Is it really true of most commercial cinema (I can't speak for television)? Why should it exclude meaning? Maybe we should continue this on a separate thread? | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.5.0.125 |
I hate the word "practicable" - it just is too clumsy a sounding word - it makes my skin crawl, it's so clunky. And another clunky-sounding word is "reconnoiter." | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.143.133.116 |
I don't like the fact some innocent words have become rude to hear; Cock Box Package Come (I have to write 'here' or 'over' after it when I write, it looks iffy now on it's own) Knob Trout There's more but I can't think of them right now. You'll know them. Random bugs me too, but everyone hates it now. Meaningful Moving Affecting (everything affects you, surely?) Remember Adriana? She was so nice I used to actually forgive her for using 'then' for 'than'. She did it every single time. I've now got to think 'pretentious' is a bad thing again. When kids play it's not pretentious, it's natural. When we play it's generally us pretending to play. I have a deep knowledge that pretentious is a bad thing but can't explain it, so won't go on. I think it has something to do with a thing being unhappy with itself, something forcing something out. It's like the unecessary use of italics, like i've just done. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.5.0.125 |
"Beaver" is a word that you can't use in decent company anymore. Maybe that list is U.K. dependent though. "Knob" and "trout" are fine - in fact, I have no idea what the raunchy meaning of "trout" even is...? And "package," yes, but it takes a real strong context to make it rude. Same for "box." I like "moving," Tony. To me, saying something is "moving," that's just the perfectly succinct way of putting it. Or maybe again it's in the context, and the delivery.... | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.143.133.116 |
That's the one! Yes, I keep dithering over the use of 'moving'. Maybe my quibble is that suddenly 'everything' is 'moving'. It's like we're all depressed and easily moved (eek!) these days. There was an old, old mag in the US called the Beaver. It recently had to close down because searches for the website, um, led you away to other places. | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
Flicking through a copy of the John Silence short stories brought one to light for me - 'psychical'. Partly because I read it incorrectly every single time (usually as 'physical') and partly because it just feels a bit weird on the tongue. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.232.203 |
Artichoke. "exscape" for "escape". | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.22.228.134 |
Oh, but I love the word 'reconnoiter'! | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
The Beaver was a Canadian magazine of articles with historical themes, and was published originally by the Hudson's Bay Company as a way of making tangible their place in the historical development of the Dominion, furthering the record of other aspects of the country, plus generally further giving exposure to the social geographical sciences. But, yes, recently they were increasingly confused with corn-holing and donkey porn. Word I irrationally despise: toilet. You can imagine what I go through when visiting the UK. Here, it's specific to the fixture itself, not the room in which it is found. I believe it's the sound of the word: so harsh, so tinny, so very plosive (especially the second one which hits quite hard after the "l" acting as a launching pad). Phrases I'm willing to poke people in the eye for using: "at this point in time" (as opposed to some spot in the middle of the pudding? what's wrong with "at this point" and stopping there?); "at the end of the day" (oh just shut your screech hole, you vacuous git!); and "impacted" (surely "have impact upon" or "effected" would be better? what about "affect" for that matter?). And now let's have a quick round of that age-old folk song, "The Wizard's Staff has a Knob on the End"... | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.226.237 |
"I'll be there momentarily" - to which I've been known to reply "so you're not staying then". Kate - I also hate that 'should of' thing. Oh, and along with the aforementioned 'exscape', there's also 'arx', as in "I'll go and arx him". | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.226.237 |
...or to go off on another tangent - instead of saying "oh my god", saying "Oh. My. God". F.F.S. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.152.191.55 |
'Here we are'. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.152.191.55 |
Actually that's sort of sweet in its way. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Oh yes... there's another I forgot (but thanks for putting my mind there, Mick): "Well, there you go." What in blazes does that mean, or is it merely verbal diarrhoea? What happened to "yes, you're right" or "that's often the way, isn't it?" or even "hmmm..." as one nods? EH? What's the PROBLEM WITH PEOPLE!?!? I mean... REALLY! ...sorry, I'll go have a lie down now. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.226.237 |
Oh dear - I've used "hopefully" and "well, there you go". Always ironically, of course. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.5.4.172 |
I hate the word "yes," when people use it to start a conversation. For example - I'm sitting at home, minding my own business, the phone rings, I pick it up. Me: "Hello?" Them: "Yes, is this Craig? I'm calling from Amalgamated Widgets, and...", etc. What, no "Hello" or "Hi" back? Wtf is "yes" - do you NEED to say, "yes"?! No, I will answer this question for you. You do not need to say yes, there is no reason for your yes, there was nothing that prompted your yes. Yes, go f*** yourself with your "yes." Another phrase-term to add to the others above: "mind-set." I hate the that term. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
Hubert, I also love the word 'reconnoitre' - for me it will always mean "to case the joint for girls". I've decided my most hated word of all is 'outsource', mainly because every time I hear it used without a derogatory sneer in the tone of voice I feel a homicidal red mist descending... | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
"Outsource", for me, means 'the service you provide is important enough for us to continue the position, but your wage (which is actually below the local poverty line) costs us too much to provide others with an increased bonus for doing basically bugger all, so we're going to pay some poor sod in another country to do the exact same thing (for a wage even well below the poverty line in their area) to do exactly the same thing as you were doing until the end of my next sentence. You're fired.' That's a rough approximation, you understand, your mileage may vary / void where prohibited / this offer is non-transferable / accurate 49 times out of 55, with an error factor of five points either way. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.250.247 |
Ian, many people (me too) find the word 'toilet' too clinical or crude, partly for the reasons you give and partly because it actually refers (in its original meaning) to what happens there. In the UK we often say 'Where is the gents'/ladies'?' instead. The American 'bathroom' (an obvious euphemism in places, such as bars, where there is no bath or shower) is catching on as well. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.23.91.114 |
>>>In the UK we often say 'Where is the gents'/ladies'?' instead. Not where I come from, mate. But I won't lower the tone. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.23.91.114 |
Craig, I just have to say, after years of reading your posts, that the habitual intricacies of your punctuation have the power to induce epileptic fits. They should come with a warning.  | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 213.122.209.76 |
I'm squeamish about the word "toilet" too, but I equally hate my squeamishness about it. Makes me feel like some genteel old dear who should call it "the necessary" or some other such ridiculous Victorian euphemism.  There are a lot of slangy quirks that used to bug me but I've mellowed a lot after being here a few years. Like the use of "You all right?" to mean "How are you?" And oh dear, service industry speak... Cashiers always say "If you could just check the amount." as if that's a sentence. If I could just check the amount - what? What will happen? You'll decide I don't have to pay it? Oh, and there's this bizarre nicety they use when you're paying for stuff. "Sale items are not returnable - is that OK?" Well, since you asked, no, so I expect you to make an exception for me. And when you're on a train or plane and they come down the aisle with the trolley: "Any drinks or snacks at all?" What on earth does the "at all" mean? Oh but most especially - "PIN number". PIN means "Personal Identification Number", so "PIN Number" is "Personal Identification Number Number". Silly! OK, maybe I haven't mellowed as much as I thought...  | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
I hate the phrase 'Head over heels'... "He was head over heels in love" -- in the normal position, in other words. Also "You can't have your cake and eat it." Yeah? Well I did. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.162.186 |
Too much information, Rhys. And strangely reminiscent of the film American Pie. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.162.186 |
Kate, I think it's reasonable to assume people don't always know or remember what acronyms stand for. I'm always in favour of things that prevent misinterpretation where money is concerned. For some reason my IQ drops to single figures when I am making any kind of financial transaction. Finance is the new sex: we all engage with it, we don't talk about it much, we have nightmares about it, we can't deal with it rationally, and we know other people are getting more of it than we are. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.23.91.114 |
And the bigger the deposit, the less you have to worry about a loss of interest. | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
I've never had any problems with the word toilet, but then I rarely use it (the word, that is, not the appliance itself). Where I'm from it's more common for people to either announce that they're off "to the bog", or to tell you what they're going there to do instead. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Tony, some of the words you list haven't acquired sexual meanings recently. The use of "come" in the sense of achieving an orgasm is recorded in the mid-seventeenth century, and "cock" as meaning the penis even earlier than that. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
John - yes, me too. I often say "I'm off for a piss". My wife shakes her head in dismay. | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
Do you shake your cock in satifaction? | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
* satisfaction Bah! I hate it when I can't spell. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.166.117.210 |
No, I shake it in the toilet. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.55 |
Overrated and underrated - surely these words just mean that you know you're in the minority but you think your opinion is more valid than the majority view. | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
The name of some musical instruments are better than others. For instance I love the sound of the clarinet but I don't like the word "clarinet". With "oboes" and "bassoons" it's the other way around. Here's a list of some annoying names for musical instruments: Guitarrón Haegeum Harmonico Hurdy gurdy Igil Jarana mosquito Jiaohu Kantele Kokyu Komungo Langeleik Lirone Lyre Billy Mando-bass Mandocello Nyckelharpa Octobass Quatro Rebab Rebec Requinto jarocho Ruan Sanxian Saz Tea chest bass Timple Tres Tsymbaly Tuhu Ukulele Vihuela Violotta Washtub bass Whamola Xalam/Khalam Yotar Zither One of them I made up myself, but only one. Can you guess which one? | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.226.237 |
I'd have a guess at "Lyre Billy"! | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.240.255 |
Gary, when I get agitated, I think I use more punctuation marks. As you can see, right now, I'm very very calm.... 1, 2, 3, 4... 9 punctuation marks above. Wait - plus another 8 - and there's one more! - and now two more! - aauugh! I'm out of control! What drives me personally bonkers too, is when people mix up "ground" and "floor" - the ground is outside, the floor is inside - so if you're standing in the kitchen and you drop something, you drop it on the fucking FLOOR, not on the goddamned GROUND. | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
I think you missed out an exclamation mark at the end of that post, Craig.  | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.236.239 |
Here's 3 - !!! Another word that's been hopelessly absconded by sexual connotationism? To men, at least?... "Facial." Women say all the time, quite naturally, that they're going to, say, go to a day spa and get facials... and, um, the average man is invariably thinking... | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.226.237 |
Here're three... | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Joel: so glad to know that I'm not alone with the awkward moment after the use of that very specific word "toilet". I once asked the expectant question "WC...?" to a lady in a Stratford-upon-Avon hotel lobby, and was directed to one with a smirk at her desk following it. Possibly she was snickering at what she thought was a silly American trying to fit-in rather than the fact I was a silly Canadian trying to fit in. We're like New Zealand: no one remembers we exist for the most part (until there's a war and we help out). Kate: another term you might use instead of "bathroom" or "the necessary" might be the euphemism "the euphemism", as I've heard it referred to euphemistically. No, honestly, I have! So you're doing fine there. Gary: stop shaking it about, you'll do me an injury again. Whoever feels like reading this far: two or so years ago I was directed to "the Gentleman's Cloak Room" and it wasn't until I had turned into the last hallway that the thought changed from "thank goodness I can get rid of this heavy raincoat" to "yes, it's probably a good idea to have a squirt right about now". And people say English is a universal language; BAH! | ||
| Steve Bacon (Stevebacon) Username: Stevebacon Registered: 09-2008 Posted From: 90.208.112.244 |
The phrase "a big ask" makes me want to kill the person saying it. As in, 'It's a big ask for England to come from two goals down.' Just piss off! | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.35.171 |
"Going forward" is a meaningless grace note that can be added to the end of any paragraph to make one seem optimistic. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.236.32 |
Mmm... I'm not sure that's totally correct, all the time, Mick... I was referring to handing someone a bundle of three !!! - it's more of a single thing, and it just sounds right to me... yes, it's a bit more awkward, the "here're," a bit less quick, less vital to the spirit, less energetic... yes, indeed, after careful consideration, I think I'm gonna have to go with telling you to go f*** yourself sideways with your "here're"s, Mick... don't take it personal or anything, just go ahead and go f*** yourself sideways with them.... | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
'Another word that's been hopelessly absconded by sexual connotationism? To men, at least?... "Facial." Women say all the time, quite naturally, that they're going to, say, go to a day spa and get facials... and, um, the average man is invariably thinking...' I don't think that one has crossed the ocean - it certainly hasn't reached me. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.21.235.123 |
It took me quite a while to figure out what MILF actually means. I don't know if it is in use much in the UK. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Not by me, but then none of these fleeting acronyms are. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.23.91.114 |
Everyone knows that MILF stands for Men's Imaginations Lampooned Fiercely. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.23.91.114 |
Yes, Facial. My partner says it. I resist sniggering like the juvenile moron I am. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.226.237 |
Craig, just f***ed myself sideways as instructed, but it doesn't change the fact that you said "here's 3" rather than "here's a bunch of 3"! Tosser! | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
Of the words/phrases/acronyms mentioned so far, the following have certainly passed me by: trout facial (any chance of anyone explaining the rude connotations of those words without being too obscene on this board?) and: MILF When it comes to acronyms like that, the only ones I've managed to work out so far are: LOL WTF BTW And as we've deteriorated into rude words ... "arse". I don't mind "ass" at all, but "arse" always sounds really pompous to me. | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.23.91.114 |
Er, uhm, sorry, Caroline. There really is no way of defining these words without coming across like a drooling perv. I suggest you put them in Google and choose between the several million links you're offered. | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
>>Er, uhm, sorry, Caroline. There really is no way of defining these words without coming across like a drooling perv.<< And you definitely wouldn't want to come across like one of those, would you Gary? | ||
| Carolinec (Carolinec) Username: Carolinec Registered: 06-2009 Posted From: 82.38.75.85 |
OK, I've managed to sort out "facial" and "MILF" (didn't realise that was rude too!), but I'm still struggling with "trout". The only definition I can find for that relates to freshwater fish. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 89.19.81.151 |
"arse" always sounds really pompous to me. Seriously? | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.21.235.123 |
I'm so glad I didn't have to explain what a milf is | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 89.19.81.151 |
Every word has become an innuendo. It's become the main ingredient of lazy TV panel shows. I love the irony of bemoaning the fact that schoolkids are misuing the word "gay" in a way other than its traditional meaning of "homosexual". Oh, how the wheel keeps turning. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.165.104 |
'Arse' occurs in Chaucer (the infamous Miller's Tale), as does 'fart'. Oddly enough, the two words appear quite close together. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.165.104 |
"I love the irony of bemoaning..." Bet you do. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.165.104 |
Proto, in case you're not sure, I was just coining a random innuendo to illustrate your point. As the tattoo artist said to the porn star. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.248.128 |
"Here's a bunch of 3"?!? That's even worse! What the hell's wrong with you, Mick?! Now go do it again, until you get it!  Even when I was a kid, we'd label each other or certain acts, non-sexual gay. Hey, when I was really young, we'd tell Pollack jokes. We knew it was someone from Poland, but had never in our lives known anyone from Poland, let alone had even an inkling of anything at all about Poland. "Pollack" = a drooling moron, but we didn't know why it did. We figured it had something to do with their navy putting screen windows on their submarine fleet, but that was only a guess.... | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.226.237 |
That's quite a thing in the States, I believe - due, I guess, to the amount of European, Russian etc. immigrants around. Irish jokes used to be common in England, and possibly still are, and in Spain, they used to tell jokes about stupid Italians... | ||
| Gary Fry (Gary_fry) Username: Gary_fry Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.23.91.114 |
Up north we just tell jokes about people from Surrey. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.182.226.237 |
It's grim down here! | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.21.235.123 |
The traditional meaning of 'gay' is 'homosexual'?! I'm sorry, but I always thought the original meaning was and always has been 'jolly', 'blythe', 'happy' and so on. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.69.75 |
That was my point, Hubert. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Not that there's anything wrong with being 'jolly', 'blythe', 'happy' and so on. Who are we to judge? | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 95.131.110.102 |
Just call me Mr Jolly! | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.11.243 |
"Not that there's anything wrong with being 'jolly', 'blythe', 'happy' and so on. Who are we to judge?" It's against nature. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.5.9.147 |
Just call me Mr Jolly! That's so gay. | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
'I love the irony of bemoaning the fact that schoolkids are misuing the word "gay" in a way other than its traditional meaning of "homosexual".' Well, let's look at that in a bit more detail - this isn't just a response to your comment, I should explain. "Gay" has been used to mean "immoral" at least since 1637, and so for anyone to argue that it was unambiguous until the homosexuals got hold of it is at the very least biased. Now, can I ask when anyone here either last used the word "gay" in conversation to mean "jolly" or "happy", or heard it used that way? I don't think I ever have in my life - either used or heard. Other words that are similarly ambiguous are much more commonly used - "queer", "fag", "fairy", "fruit", "pansy", "dyke"... When did you last hear anyone object to the fact that they're ambiguous? There's one crucial difference: they're all derogatory (or were - some gay people have sought to reclaim them). Yet as soon as a word seldom used in conversation becomes a positive word for homosexuality, there's an uproar of protest. | ||
| Gcw (Gcw) Username: Gcw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.158.238.131 |
Expressions rather individual words... "Good,good" "It's a belt n'braces thing" "Just out of curiosity" (when you are asking a specific question to something you need to know - You're not curious - you need to know). And I cringe when I type this.... "Play the white man" What the fuck is that mean't to mean in todays world? gcw | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.225.173 |
Ramsey, you're dead right about 'gay'. It's a staple of bigotry, whether overt or covert, to believe that a minority are depriving the rest of 'us' of something – jobs, houses, words, oxygen. Ronald Reagan said his objection to gay rights was that the rest of 'us' don't have those rights. (Maybe in his world they didn't.) | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.119.199 |
"Now, can I ask when anyone here either last used the word "gay" in conversation to mean "jolly" or "happy", or heard it used that way? I don't think I ever have in my life - either used or heard." I have, quite recently, and also "queer", but probably in reaction to the dominance of the current widely-accepted meanings. | ||
| Rhysaurus (Rhysaurus) Username: Rhysaurus Registered: 01-2010 Posted From: 212.219.233.223 |
I do like the fact that the word 'Innuendo' is an innuendo -- in your end-o! Sort of. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.21.235.123 |
Yet as soon as a word seldom used in conversation becomes a positive word for homosexuality, there's an uproar of protest. Well, I certainly didn't mean to voice any protest other than a linguistic/semantic one! | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.0.228 |
There's an American expression that I've noticed recently "As far as this [goes]..." Dropping the word "goes" evokes an unreasonable irritation in me. | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.4.240.10 |
I also hate when people say "anyways" - it's "anyway." The same goes for "all" when it's substituted with "alls" - like "Alls I know is..." Anway, all I know is, ef allayas ("all of you") with your alls and anyways. I'm of mixed mind on "these ones" however - it sounds incorrect immediately, the "ones" being redundant, but I'm not exactly sure it's incorrect all the time.... "Which one?" "This one." Therefore, why not "Which ones?" "These ones." But it just sounds so wrong on the ear.... | ||
| John (John) Username: John Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 82.24.1.217 |
The word itself is fine, but over-use of the word 'yeah' winds me up. It's more about how it's deployed. There seems to be a habit in some people just now to insist on proving that they've understood every single word you've just said. So the conversation ends up sounding a bit like this. "I was watching the telly the other night-" "Yeah." "-and there was a programme on about Sharks-" "Yeah, yeah." "- and they had this shot of seals in the water getting-" "Yeah, yeah. Yeah yeah yeah." It just sounds impatient, like the other person wants you to get to the end of the story* so they can start talking instead. *Story above used for illustrative purposes. Actual stories may vary. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.0.228 |
It happens particularly if the sentences in between the "yeah"s are rhetorical but still end in question marks. Ghandi said we should only speak if it improves upon the silence. | ||
| Thomasb (Thomasb) Username: Thomasb Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 69.236.175.57 |
This may seem minor in comparison, but the use of "got" and gotten" cause me to wince. I always try to edit them out of any text I'm working on. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.0.228 |
I do hope this is a parody: http://www.enotalone.com/article/2333.html | ||
| Craig (Craig) Username: Craig Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 75.5.13.97 |
I do hope this is a parody: http://www.enotalone.com/article/2333.html The tea party people here in America should all get together, and group-do this to Obama. Or, the government. Or, taxes. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.122.107.152 |
'Ronald Reagan said his objection to gay rights was that the rest of 'us' don't have those rights.' This is odd, I walked past a gay march the other day and felt a pang of jealousy that there wasn't a 'straight' march. I also felt sort of puzzled that they had to do it these days - I hope they don't, at least in the UK. But then in Burger King this young chap I've been served by and who always gives me a kind of look said to me 'Isn't that great out there,' to which I said 'I hadn't known what it was at first.' He looked so crestfallen at this it made me think he'd actually been trying to open up to me, even make a kind of pass. I was sure, but can't be exactly sure. Made me feel sad, either way. (I have to say though, it's quite flattering to be chatted up by someone young of the same sex - it happened once in a club we went to. Is that a common thing for young gay guys to go for blokes a bit older?) | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 213.122.209.76 |
This is more a punctuation issue than a specific word peeve, but the southern US slang "y'all" is almost ALWAYS incorrectly punctuated as "ya'll". It means "you all", so the proper place to put an apostrophe should be obvious. But then the greengrocer's apostrophe always drives me nuts. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.151.91 |
"Is that a common thing for young gay guys to go for blokes a bit older?" Yes. But not if they are clearly on the scrounge for action. An attitude of friendly neutrality is reassuring and a challenge at the same time. I seem to remember. | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.151.91 |
And 'a bit' is the operative phrase. Being a lot older gets you nowhere. Which actually is perfectly reasonable. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.122.107.152 |
Ha! It is. I'm married but found these experiences quite nice, and reassuring in a way. 'Not in the crinkle zone yet' was the feeling taken from them. People keep thinking I'm gay, I've found; it came as a shock. Fact is, I'm open-minded, an 80-ish%er I think. Maybe even that 20% shows. Do others have such a scale? People do, don't they, these days. Saw an awful short film recently that had an old gay guy recounting this horrible experience when he was a kid. He got more or less raped by this older bloke who gave him an STD. The poor guy was saying how he couldn't go to the police because back then being gay was up there with being a paedophile. It was awful - he was crying over it, still hurt after all these years. Horrible to hear, it was. | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.122.107.152 |
Ha - sorry this has nothing to do with favourite words. | ||
| Hubert (Hubert) Username: Hubert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 78.21.235.123 |
Apart from the sex thing there's something that will attract us to certain people, while we may find others repellent. A stern look on a person's face, for example, will almost certainly make you steer clear of him or her. On the other hand when you see something or someone you like your own expression changes and your pupils dilate, sending out the message "It's ok to be in my presence, I'll protect you." I have it all the time - people opening up to me. Perhaps it's because I look like a teddybear | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.122.107.152 |
I think I have a cheery face, and people generally like cheery faces even if they aren't technically good-looking. I used to fancy this absolutely stunning girl at college. I never even spoke to her because she was so beautiful. Only on the last day did these 'mates' of mine tell me she really fancied me, called me 'Teddybear' too. Horrible fucking day, that was. (a boyish lad called Jamie Thraves who everyone laughed at he was so puppyish has just directed a film with Paddy Considine in it, a horror based on a Highsmith story. Clever sod..). | ||
| Tony (Tony) Username: Tony Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.122.107.152 |
(er, he was three years down from me at that college. Sounded random, that, without that info...) | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.179.61.177 |
...and I hate "deteriate" instead of "deteriorate"... | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.135.8 |
Why, because the word has detiated? If we keep on using it, it might d completely. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.179.61.177 |
It'd have to diate first! | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
MORE WORDS: 'community', as in whatever disenfranchised community is being invoked today; 'disenfranchised' as in whatever disenfranchised community is being given an enabling opportunity today; 'enabling', as in whatever disenfranchised community is being given an enabling opportunity through technology today; 'blog' / 'video blog' / 'post our videos on our blog', as if anyone gives a rat's ass about your little chunk of video explaining about how you think that everyone should hug a kitten today; 'social networking opportunity', as if the notion of getting together with friends over dinner and having a conversation with several bottles of wine is no longer possible. ...sorry, bit of a rough day with tendencies leaning towards becoming my father. | ||
| Kate (Kathleen) Username: Kathleen Registered: 09-2009 Posted From: 213.122.209.76 |
Ian, you need to get out more. | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
The note of mine above was written after returning from having dinner with friends in a park watching the sunset and drinking a bottle of wine. This goes to show what me getting out leads to: ranting. None of us needs more of that, do we? | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
I love a good rant, so carry on... | ||
| Seanmcd (Seanmcd) Username: Seanmcd Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 86.139.117.139 |
In our office we can't just have a 'meeting' we have to 'Touch Base' when we are encouraged to indulge in some 'Blue Sky' thinking. I could go on...for hours. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 82.17.252.126 |
They actually pay people to come up with these corporate speak catchphrases. Personally, I'd have them all lined up and shot. Come the revolution... | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
I've just heard "impacted" on CBC Radio1 again. What in blazes [pardon me] is wrong with using "affected" in that instance? Is using "impacted" an easy way to avoid the question of 'is it affected or effected?' Please someone find whoever is responsible and have them f*@^ed sideways with their "impacted", please. I do not wish to have to say this again, or I shall hold all of you responsible for your lack of attention in this matter! ...hmmph! so THERE! | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.178.86.142 |
"We need to transition this"... | ||
| Skip (Wolfnoma) Username: Wolfnoma Registered: 07-2010 Posted From: 216.54.20.98 |
"We just have to do More with Less." WTH? You can't do more with less, you can only do less with less. Flipping, idiotic supervisors. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 147.252.230.148 |
The weather will be "unsettled", rather than raining. This implies that sunny weather is somehow "normal". | ||
| Ramsey Campbell (Ramsey) Username: Ramsey Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 195.93.21.74 |
Well, no - unsettled means changeable. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.55 |
"Impacted" I would take to have a negative connotation whereas "affected" could go either way. It could be good or bad, but Impacted, is a word that has more impact. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.55 |
And going back to the start of the thread - pro-active is the opposite of Reactive so it's use is valid to describe people who take things into their own hands and take action before situations arise as opposed to waiting for situations to occur before reacting | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 217.37.199.45 |
Can I take this opportunity to recommend Bullshit Bingo by Graham Edmonds – endlessly ripped off on the internet but still a satirical classic that will empower you to become a different team in the second half. | ||
| Stevie Walsh (Stephenw) Username: Stephenw Registered: 03-2009 Posted From: 194.32.31.1 |
The funniest bit of corporate advice I ever heard was when we were asked on a motivational course what we would do if we had just fallen off a cliff and were plummeting toward our doom? After much talk of screaming like a lunatic, instant coronary arrest and uncontrollable airborne diarrhea, the correct answer turned out to be: "sometimes we need to grow our wings on the way down..." It was at this point I gave up all hope for the human race. | ||
| Weber (Weber_gregston) Username: Weber_gregston Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 194.176.105.55 |
Does anyone remember Drop The Dead Donkey, with the boss character who'd walk in and say things like "Let's drop that idea in the percolator and see if it froths..."? | ||
| Skip (Wolfnoma) Username: Wolfnoma Registered: 07-2010 Posted From: 216.54.20.98 |
Does anyone remember Drop The Dead Donkey, with the boss character who'd walk in and say things like "Let's drop that idea in the percolator and see if it froths..."? Ok, that just makes me laugh...And if someone in my office says it to me I am going to take that opportunity to punch them in the groin. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.12.4 |
>> The weather will be "unsettled", rather than raining. This implies that sunny weather is somehow "normal". > "Well, no - unsettled means changeable. But weather forecasters routinely use it when its been pouring constantly for days. | ||
| Protodroid (Protodroid) Username: Protodroid Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 109.79.12.4 |
At a meeting my former boss once asked someone to "action that item". | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
That was a regular thing at one Admin location for my wife's work. "Let's action that", they'd say. I wasn't aware that "action" was an action word... perhaps I'd better re-phrase that. The same office talked about how they were trying to encourage departments to talk to each other, rather than solely passing information up and down the hierarchical chain of command within that department. These were referred to as "information silos" and they were being told to shift things back and forth, causing one wag to suggest that they were to "turn the silos on their sides instead". Not sure how that's an improvement, really; and most secretaries / office assistants / managers all talk to one another anyway, no matter what the department, so how's that much of a change in the first place? [sigh] I still love the description of leaping off a cliff, however. Growing wings, while a wonderful solution, doesn't seem as possible as loosening bowels, though. | ||
| Mick Curtis (Mick) Username: Mick Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 86.177.115.49 |
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8umNgqeoeE&feature=player_embedded | ||
| Ian Alexander Martin (Iam) Username: Iam Registered: 10-2009 Posted From: 64.180.64.74 |
Mick, you are a fine man for providing that example of "how things ought to be done". I shall vote for you in your campaign to take over the world, should you declare that video an example of your intended policy. Thank you. |