# words you hate?



## Olly Buckle (Sep 12, 2019)

Ken11 has started a 'your favourite/ most useful word' thread https://www.writingforums.com/threads/184299-Your-favorite-most-useful-words , but how about words you hate? Completely useless words? Words you dislike writing even in this thread?


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## escorial (Sep 12, 2019)

I dislike swear words....I say them but I just don't like to read them


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## Phil Istine (Sep 12, 2019)

Not one word but a pairing.  Unless it's character appropriate, I intensely dislike the construction "off of".  There's something about it that pisses me off in a way that goes far beyond those mere words.


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## Aquilo (Sep 12, 2019)

Gasp.


:ChainGunSmiley:

If I could ban gasp from the English lexicon, I would. Then I'd bring it back, throw it down the stairs, trample on it, shoot it with a gun, then hire a hitman to finsh the job again. That goes for gasped, gasping, and gasps.


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## PiP (Sep 12, 2019)

I hate the word *awesome*.


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## velo (Sep 12, 2019)

Thanks, PiP, awesome choice.


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## PiP (Sep 12, 2019)

velo said:


> Thanks, PiP, awesome choice.


:ChainGunSmiley::ChainGunSmiley::ChainGunSmiley:

even worse: absolutely awesome


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## bdcharles (Sep 12, 2019)

This might sound a bit peculiar but I realised today that I'm not overly keen on the word _father_. Every time I write it, on my kids school forms for example, I get this feathery, moustachey, breathy feeling, like someone is leaning in a bit too close. I could say more but I just ... I mean, it sounds iffy enough as it is. I really have no idea where this aversion comes from. Well, actually I have some, but it's nothing to do with my actual dad. Apologies for any fellow f-, any male parents or guardians or for anyone who struggles with this word too for whatever reason.


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## velo (Sep 12, 2019)

I hate "like."  

Like, when (younger) people use it to, like, put a pause in a sentence or, like, you know, drone on and not actually say anything.  

In writing I hate the massive overuse of the word in comparative phrases and avoid it all costs.  "He looked worn and aged like an overripe prune."  'Like' and everything after it in that admittedly simplistic example are superfluous which is usually how I see this type of phrasing.


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 12, 2019)

One of my pet peeves is 'just'. It is usually unnecessary and rarely adds anything. I think it is a word from conversation that people stick in to give themselves extra thinking time, you don't need that with writing.

To illustrate

 It is usually just unnecessary and rarely adds anything. I think it is just a word from conversation that people stick in to give themselves extra thinking time, you just don't need that with writing.

Three of them, and they don't add anything to the meaning. Then, speaking of meaning, it has so many different meanings, 'He just caught the bus'; was it that he was there only in the nick of time, or was it that catching the bus was the only thing he did, or possibly he caught the bus with no secondary intentions. In speech the intonation would probably tell you which (if any) of these were meant, in the written form it conveys nothing. Perhaps my dislike is not just, but I do just hate it.


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## Amnesiac (Sep 12, 2019)

I have a 20-year old son who uses, "or whatever," in the middle of nearly every sentence. Drives me crazy to listen to him, but for the sake of communication, I don't chastise him for it. It still drives me crazy, though. I hate corporate-speak. "We will be lunching at the local restaurant, and Carl will be our guest speaker. He really thinks outside the box! He's a big brain on maximizing our profit-margins and really trimming the fat."

This shit makes my skin crawl. I ran a corporation for 17 years and never talked like that. Stupid, fat-assed, bloviating blowhard pseudo-communication. Grrrrrrrrr......


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## Umree (Sep 12, 2019)

I don't know about hate, but I find people who use the word *plethora *in conversation pretentious. Also, why can't people pronounce *granted*? Everyone always says "take for granite" --what??


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## velo (Sep 12, 2019)

Umree said:


> Everyone always says "take for granite" --what??



#murica


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## luckyscars (Sep 12, 2019)

Any word that is used superfluously or frivolously can become hateful.

 I have a special loathing for U.S corporate jargon. Using a word like 'alignment' in place of 'agreement' because it sounds fancier (and less involving of an autonomous human brain, probably not coincidentally). I despise ending requests with 'ASAP' (which in my opinion should stand for 'As Sent by A Prick') and idiotic terms like _streamlining _as a given. 

I also really hate when people talk about 'actioning' something as opposed to just doing it: "Items on my schedule are ready to be _actioned_." It's a bullshit term that makes the speaker sound like a budget Power Ranger.

Pretty much anything that serves to erode the personality and creative nuance of communication is terrible.


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## Art Man (Sep 13, 2019)

Are these words that elicit real bone grinding hate or words that annoy you so you avoid using them?

I can't think of any words that make my blood boil and when it comes down to it in the end no word is fully off limits but I can't think of a situation where it would be necessary to absolutely be required to use certain words, in fiction anyway.

Words that annoy me most are words that start with *com-*, I don't like using words that remind the reader of things I despise and so I avoid using the *com-* prefix because it always makes me think of the word *communist, *and so, if another equivalent word is handy I would use it instead. That doesn't mean I won't ever use *com- *words, but reduce my usage of them to a bare minimum.



PiP said:


> I hate the word *awesome*.



I love the word awesome.



velo said:


> I hate "like."
> 
> Like, when (younger) people use it to, like, put a pause in a sentence or, like, you know, drone on and not actually say anything.
> 
> In writing I hate the massive overuse of the word in comparative phrases and avoid it all costs. "He looked worn and aged like an overripe prune." 'Like' and everything after it in that admittedly simplistic example are superfluous which is usually how I see this type of phrasing.



When I was a kid my little sister would like, say like, like all the time. And, like, it would like, totally like... drive everyone nuts. So I like don't overuse the word *like* myself now.


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## badgerjelly (Sep 13, 2019)

Just the obvious ones for me ... ‘penis’ and especially ‘vagina’!


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## Ma'am (Sep 13, 2019)

"creative juices." Ewwww.


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## luckyscars (Sep 13, 2019)

badgerjelly said:


> Just the obvious ones for me ... ‘penis’ and especially ‘vagina’!



What's so obviously 'bad' about those words? What is this, the middle school playground?


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## Umree (Sep 13, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> What's so obviously 'bad' about those words? What is this, the middle school playground?



Those are clearly no-no words, frankly I'm shocked that so many are okay with using them.


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## luckyscars (Sep 13, 2019)

Ma'am said:


> "creative juices." Ewwww.



Don't forget 'natural lubrication' :champagne:


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 13, 2019)

Some very personal choices here; I could imagine someone feeling that 'actioning' something has a creative nuance that merely 'starting doing' something misses, and personally I have no problem with words like 'penis' that accurately describe a body part, though it probably wouldn't come up in everyday conversation.

Now a mongrel word like 'Just' Arrrgh.


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## bdcharles (Sep 13, 2019)

Amnesiac said:


> I have a 20-year old son who uses, "or whatever," in the middle of nearly every sentence.



I used to work with this Israeli client who would do that, often in the most inappropriate of settings, and so much so that it became a bit of a meme between me and my friends. We'd be in a meeting with some fairly senior people, all putting our thoughts together and he'd say stuff like "Well we can do that or, you know, just like fucking whatever." I mean - he was a white collar techie, about a similar age to me - thirtyish or so at the time - and probably on the same pay grade. It just seemed so ludicrously outspoken. We worked with alot of guys from Israel and none of the others were like that. It just made me laugh. Those guys were a lot of fun actually, on a night out. Got so absolutely napled in a club in Tel Aviv with them that I missed the last flight of the week home and had to chill on the beach for two extra days because of that, which wasn't so bad. And this "like fucking whatever" guy was forever getting booted out of the various bars in London that I liked so I ... sort of ... stopped taking him anywhere. To be fair though I did actually get along with him pretty well. And others seemed to tolerate him, so who knows. I guess it worked. Great days, they were - proper jet-setting days 

I just realised I can't remember his name. I can remember what he looked like though. He had that Zuckerberg / Eisenberg gene for sure, which may explain things somewhat.


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## shyla (Sep 13, 2019)

There are some words that I hate depending on the national origin of who is pronouncing it. I have a really cross-cultural life, so... native Arabic speakers don't have the letter "p" in their language, so my Egyptian friends say "Pastor" as "Baster" and that sounds embarrassing. Especially when "the Baster is braying."

I also have Brazilian friends who have a hard time starting words with the "es" sound. There is a technical religious word for end-time events -- eschatological -- but my Brazilian friends usually end up saying "scatological." Which sounds terrible to speak of the scatological coming of Jesus Christ.


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## luckyscars (Sep 13, 2019)

Olly Buckle said:


> Some very personal choices here; I could imagine someone feeling that 'actioning' something has a creative nuance that merely 'starting doing' something misses.



Usually when I encounter it, its because the person who is 'actioning' is either to lazy or too duplicitous or too disorganized to be able to specify what they are doing. More often than not, its because they know it will be perceived as lackluster.

If I told you I had 'taken action on Peter's attendance issues' you have no idea what I am doing, and the language enables that cloud. You may know by context, but these words act as a heat-shield against the fiery reality. Am I firing Peter? Just talking to him? Don't know. I certainly don't know the exact unfolding of events and their impact, how it was handled, what was said/done. If I want to know, now I have to ask, and that has wasted my time and patience.

These words all have one thing in common and that is to dehumanize our lives. That is why they are rotten. It's not because they aren't useful, its because the uses they have are fundamentally bad for the world.


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## luckyscars (Sep 13, 2019)

shyla said:


> There is a technical religious word for end-time events -- eschatological -- but my Brazilian friends usually end up saying "scatological." Which sounds terrible to speak of the scatological coming of Jesus Christ.



Says you. That's always been my favorite part of Revelation.


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## badgerjelly (Sep 13, 2019)

They sound horrible to most people. You’ll see a variety of comedy sketches on this topic if you look a little.

I think it may also be due to the culture of innuendo surrounding sex. There is such a miasma of terms to use why present those ugly sounding abominations? Haha!

For me ‘vagina’ sound the name of some old aunt and ‘penis’ like Dick’s annoying little snot of brother ... maybe it’s just the way they feel on the tongue  (Sorry, couldn’t resist! Y’gotta let me have ONE ... er ... I’ll stop! Haha!)


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## Aquilo (Sep 13, 2019)

Olly Buckle said:


> I have no problem with words like 'penis' that accurately describe a body part, though it probably wouldn't come up in everyday conversation



In writing a sex scene, penis would read odd to me too. Quite... methodical and 'innocent'. Penis is what my 8 year old would say, whereas as my older lads, they're all "Cock and balls, luv."



badgerjelly said:


> For me ‘vagina’ sound the name of some old aunt and ‘penis’ like Dick’s annoying little snot of brother ...)


 
Nah, Fanny's your Aunt in the UK, Vagina's just something for a comedy piece, along with women being the... Clitterati..., lol:

Language: Over 18s only... the Clitterati (I love this word, btw!)

[video=youtube;AD2o1cYhQoI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD2o1cYhQoI[/video]


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## PiP (Sep 13, 2019)

> the Clitterati


 sounds like an all girl pop group. :shock:



> In writing a sex scene, penis would read odd to me too. Quite... methodical and 'innocent'. Penis is what my 8 year old would say, whereas as my older lads, they're all "Cock and balls, luv."



I pointed this out to someone recently... so I am pleased you feel the same.

 I can't recall the last time I heard the word 'penis' used in general conversation. My female friends often refer to the word 'todger' rather than cock or penis. I wonder if this a 'generation' issue?


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## luckyscars (Sep 13, 2019)

You know what's worse than "penis"?

Here it goes: _Manhood_ - "She eyed his swollen manhood with hunger". 

Not only a terrible sounding word, but a threateningly patriarchal one - one that associates the idea of being a man with physical genitalia. Gross.

Oh, and "male member" takes a close second.


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## bdcharles (Sep 13, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> You know what's worse than "penis"?
> 
> Here it goes: _Manhood_ - "She eyed his swollen manhood with hunger".
> 
> ...



ditto "tumescence"


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## Aquilo (Sep 13, 2019)

PiP said:


> sI can't recall the last time I heard the word 'penis' used in general conversation. My female friends often refer to the word 'todger' rather than cock or penis. I wonder if this a 'generation' issue?



Oh lord, yes: same here. I'll write 'cock', but, erm, I don't say it and only wince when my older kids do, although I don't stop them saying it. I was bought up on 'tuppance and tinky' lol (which really wouldn't go down well in a sex scene at all, or adult conversation, lol, so it's mostly 'dick' this end....). 



luckyscars said:


> You know what's worse than "penis"?
> 
> Here it goes: _Manhood_ - "She eyed his swollen manhood with hunger".



Oh... ughh. No. Manhood's... purple prose, way too much of it. Who the hell says manhood?


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## Ken11 (Sep 13, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> You know what's worse than "penis"?
> 
> Here it goes: _Manhood_ - "She eyed his swollen manhood with hunger".
> 
> ...



It's becoming increaisingly trendy these days for women to eat less (food, obviously) then men, so I find the example with the manhood nicely put; it in a way intertwines bits of female and male principles.


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## luckyscars (Sep 13, 2019)

Ken11 said:


> It's becoming increaisingly trendy these days for women to eat less (food, obviously) then men, so I find the example with the manhood nicely put; it in a way intertwines bits of female and male principles.



Say no more good buddy!

View attachment 24409


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## PiP (Sep 13, 2019)

> Aquilo said:
> 
> 
> > . I was bought up on 'tuppance and tinky' lol (which really wouldn't go down well in a sex scene at all, or adult conversation, lol, so it's mostly 'dick' this end....).
> ...


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## Ken11 (Sep 13, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> Say no more good buddy!
> 
> View attachment 24409



I must've been too abstract in the explanation of my opinion.

Delete the cover, luckyscars, what's the use of it?  Everyone here including you knows I make spelling errors way too rarely


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## Amnesiac (Sep 13, 2019)

She's hear for it. I wonder if it dances around and sings songs to her. "The Song of the Manhood." LMAO


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## velo (Sep 13, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> Any word that is used superfluously or frivolously can become hateful.
> 
> I have a special loathing for U.S corporate jargon. Using a word like 'alignment' in place of 'agreement' because it sounds fancier (and less involving of an autonomous human brain, probably not coincidentally). I despise ending requests with 'ASAP' (which in my opinion should stand for 'As Sent by A Prick') and idiotic terms like _streamlining _as a given.
> 
> ...






Dear God, man, I hear you.  I work in corporate hell and this jargon is everywhere...zero-meaning, zero-impact language.  


Me in meetings- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxG9jeZBafs


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## Ken11 (Sep 14, 2019)

Amnesiac said:


> She's hear for it. I wonder if it dances around and sings songs to her. "The Song of the Manhood." LMAO



The frivolous post of luckyscars doesn't represent me one bit in any way, but hey, have a good one  I mean it


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 14, 2019)

PiP said:


> > In my days it was halfpenny pronounced 'ape-ney'. Inflation has no boundaries.
> >
> >
> >
> ...


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## Ken11 (Sep 14, 2019)

Charlize yes, Chalice no


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## seigfried007 (Sep 14, 2019)

Amnesiac said:


> She's hear for it. I wonder if it dances around and sings songs to her. "The Song of the Manhood." LMAO





The one that gets me is "sex." As in "He put his sex in her sex, and they had sex." I'm not fond of any of the other words listed being used in sex scenes, and if I find I've used them once I'm done and getting into the serious editing/rewrites on Pinocchio, I'll prolly burninate them. Only defense I've got for using the terms is "medical" terms and settings, and if a POV is just that sheltered or closed off. Would be a neat way to set up an odd character potentially to use Kindergarten Cop's "Boys have a penis; girls have a vagina" gynecologist kid age-progressed to something legal though  

This is a nice article on vernacular in sex scenes "Keeping the Hokey Out of Your Pokey"


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## Terry D (Sep 14, 2019)

'Prolly.' Probably the ugliest word in the semi-English language.


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## seigfried007 (Sep 14, 2019)

Terry D said:


> 'Prolly.' Probably the ugliest word in the semi-English language.



Gimme a sec, an' I'ma prolly find anudder one fer ya


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## luckyscars (Sep 14, 2019)

I was listening to the radio interview the other day and there was a woman who used 'basically' almost every sentence 'Basically we think...', "Basically we're saying...'

Other people use 'Obviously...' in a similar role, as a kind of verbal tick. 

I don't know where that came from. These words have a place and we're all guilty of using them somewhat superfluously sometimes, but usually what follows is neither basic nor obvious, and it kind of insults the person who asked the question: If it was obvious or I wanted a basic response, why would I be asking it?


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 14, 2019)

Terry D said:


> 'Prolly.' Probably the ugliest word in the semi-English language.



'LOL  'The semi-English language'. Is that as spoken in semi-detacheds all over the land ?


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## Theglasshouse (Sep 14, 2019)

Words considered slang that you won't find with a dictionary.


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## Umree (Sep 14, 2019)

Terry D said:


> 'Prolly.' Probably the ugliest word in the semi-English language.



I rather like using "prolly" in dialogue, though prolly not as much as "gonna"


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## Amnesiac (Sep 14, 2019)

BAE is another one that I hate.


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## Squalid Glass (Sep 14, 2019)

"Bougie," "lit," and "bet."

Damn 'merican kids these days.


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## Umree (Sep 14, 2019)

Squalid Glass said:


> "Bougie," "lit," and "bet."
> 
> Damn 'merican kids these days.



So I bet you’re _not _down to kick it and get lit with the homies then?


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## Squalid Glass (Sep 14, 2019)

Umree said:


> So I bet you’re _not _down to kick it and get lit with the homies then?



Geez, "kick it" and "homies" is slang from my childhood! I'm the old man on the porch now, I guess.


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## seigfried007 (Sep 14, 2019)

Umree said:


> So I bet you’re _not _down to kick it and get lit with the homies then?


_*Gasp!* Boo_, I'ma just bet he prolly not fit to get lit, ma bougie bae. I take it for granite that he's prolly too busy actioning a plethora of, like, awesome somethings ASAP with his creative juices or whatever. Obviously, his manhood's basically on the line, y'know.


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## Squalid Glass (Sep 14, 2019)

seigfried007 said:


> _*Gasp!* Boo_, I'ma just bet he prolly not fit to get lit, ma bougie bae.



You should just leave.


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## seigfried007 (Sep 14, 2019)

Squalid Glass said:


> You should just leave.


And you should scroll back on up dere, y'hear, 'cause I was just editing dat dere comment when you replied to it


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## Umree (Sep 14, 2019)

seigfried007 said:


> _*Gasp!* Boo_, I'ma just bet he prolly not fit to get lit, ma bougie bae. I take it for granite that he's prolly too busy actioning a plethora of, like, awesome somethings ASAP with his creative juices or whatever. Obviously, his manhood's basically on the line, y'know.



How to successfully alienate all of WF in a single post, ladies and gentlemen! :applouse:


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## Squalid Glass (Sep 14, 2019)

seigfried007 said:


> And you should scroll back on up dere, y'hear, 'cause I was just editing dat dere comment when you replied to it



You're slowly drifting from asinine Gen Z'er to southern hick.


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## seigfried007 (Sep 14, 2019)

Umree said:


> How to successfully alienate all of WF in a single post, ladies and gentlemen! :applouse:



I try.

_I'm every asshole; shit's all in meeeeeeeee! Anything you want ruined, bae-bae, I do it naturally (lubricated)!

_:champagne:



Squalid Glass said:


> You're slowly drifting from asinine Gen Z'er to southern hick.



Via this thread, I've learned that dialect of every flavor pisses somebody off.


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## Megan Pearson (Sep 14, 2019)

Yah, well... (who can top that? Wait--shouldn'a of asked that!) ... moving on....

Like potato chips, I couldn't stop at just one:


*#1 - words I hate*
I hate the word "hate." (Seriously!) Pair it "love" and it's a match made with passion and overuse. 

"Oh-my-gosh, don'tcha just _hate/love_ (who cares/whatever)?"  It's *just* so shallow! (Sorry, Olly!) Used like this, it has no meaning.
"I know! I _love/hate_ that, too!" Egads. Choke me with a spoon. 

Then, turn around and tell your boy, who loves ice cream, that you love him, too. Sure, he's sweet and all, but c'mon! There is a depth of meaning that the word love, say, in Spanish, holds in that language it can never hold in English. We cheapen it. We market it. "You'll _love_ our sale!" Love is not a commodity! Neither is hate. 

Nor is your boy.

Anyway. (Another meaningless word I happen to not hate but certainly do overuse.)


*#2 - Megan's pet peeve*
I have a new phrase I absolutely despise. "No worries." Seriously? No worries? If I ask John (whoever John is), will this be ready for (for whatever we're getting ready), and John responds, "no worries," you _bet_ I'm worried! Especially if it's my head that has to answer for why we didn't meet a deadline! It's a _non-answer_. It's rude and it about sends me into orbit when I hear it! 

Sure, it communicates, but it communicates the _wrong_ message. The problem is, when a factually-based question is asked and an emotive answer given, what's happening is we're speaking two different languages. I'm convinced the people who use this think that in using it they are presenting an air of competent reassurance to the questioner. However, when I need to _know_ something, hearing a reply like this is akin to hearing "trust me" when the point is, if I had to ask then, clearly, the trust was not there to begin with! Tell me it will be done, or tell me that you need more time, but don't tell me "no worries!" Because then I have to re-ask my question, and if I _really_ need an answer (which I did, because I asked), then I'm going to have to go into confrontation mode -- and we don't want that! :-s

I've heard it twice this week. Once it was used benignly, to actually say "I agree," and the second time was to summarily dismiss something I was saying in a way that picked a fight. Look, if someone wants a fight, then arrghh, _"no worries,"_ matey ....!  Forget the petition to vote "no worries" off the ship... to the plank it is!


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## Terry D (Sep 15, 2019)

Olly Buckle said:


> 'LOL  'The semi-English language'. Is that as spoken in semi-detacheds all over the land ?



Spoken or written. It may be a regional peculiarity, but I don't hear it spoken much here in the Midwestern US. 

Another word that I try not to use is 'thing'. My high school rhetoric teacher beat into our heads that every 'thing' has a name, or representative word and we should use that instead of 'thing'.


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## KenTR (Sep 15, 2019)

It's two words, but I hate hearing "baby daddy". I mentioned that in conversation once and was accused of being racist, another word I hate. It's thrown around too easily and is sometimes followed by the speaker proclaiming that he or she "doesn't see color". This makes me vibrate with rage.

Baby daddy makes me picture a giant, adult-sized baby in flannel and work boots, drinking a beer with a rubber nipple on the mouth of the bottle.

Speaking of mouths, I hate the word "maw". I'm one of those insufferable animal lovers and it sounds so cruel to me. To put it in perspective, imagine overhearing your child's dentist say "Okay now, open your oral orifice."


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## Rojack79 (Sep 15, 2019)

seigfried007 said:


> View attachment 24425
> 
> The one that gets me is "sex." As in "He put his sex in her sex, and they had sex." I'm not fond of any of the other words listed being used in sex scenes, and if I find I've used them once I'm done and getting into the serious editing/rewrites on Pinocchio, I'll prolly burninate them. Only defense I've got for using the terms is "medical" terms and settings, and if a POV is just that sheltered or closed off. Would be a neat way to set up an odd character potentially to use Kindergarten Cop's "Boys have a penis; girls have a vagina" gynecologist kid age-progressed to something legal though
> 
> This is a nice article on vernacular in sex scenes "Keeping the Hokey Out of Your Pokey"



By the way thanks for the Hoky Poky article. It has definitely been a great help to my current and any future sensual endeavors.


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 16, 2019)

velo said:


> I hate "like."
> 
> Like, when (younger) people use it to, like, put a pause in a sentence or, like, you know, drone on and not actually say anything.
> 
> In writing I hate the massive overuse of the word in comparative phrases and avoid it all costs.  "He looked worn and aged like an overripe prune."  'Like' and everything after it in that admittedly simplistic example are superfluous which is usually how I see this type of phrasing.



Ah, that four letter word of Germanic origin with a k in it. There is a story about the newscaster who refused to read the Malbro advertisement because it said it tasted 'like' a cigarette should. Never mind they kill you 

Megan, never go to Australia. 'No worries' is about as common as 'She'll be apples', at least with the Aussies I know.


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## Gentleman Rat (Sep 16, 2019)

PiP said:


> I hate the word *awesome*.



I was just going to make my own reply saying the same thing, but you beat me to it. I recently finished a book where the MC's only personality traits in dialogue ranged from "Cool!" to "Awesome!"

Needless to say, I'm awesomely over it.


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## seigfried007 (Sep 16, 2019)

Aquilo said:


> Gasp.
> 
> 
> :ChainGunSmiley:
> ...



_GAAAWWWDDAMMIT, woman!_ Why'd you have to pick such a_ specific_ word to hate? Now, I'm combing through the dang thesaurus and picking my brain to find other words for this oddly _specific_ noise. Dreading going through all 40-some sex scenes to prune out those *gasps* (and I know I don't use it terribly often, but just knowing how much you hate that word makes me really want to excise it completely). Glad Word's got a find & replace function... 'cause I'm gonna need it eventually.  

I mean, if you'd hated some vague word like "nice," it'd be easy to find alternative routes to get where I needed to go, but *gasp*? Yikes.


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## Annoying kid (Sep 16, 2019)

"Heroine". Dividing heroism by gender seems like an attempt to establish an informal social hierarchy.


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## luckyscars (Sep 17, 2019)

'Hero' is what was traditionally used in place of 'protagonist' in traditional literary/theater criticism rather than necessarily indicating heroic deeds, so I can understand the use of 'heroine' to identify that role as belonging to a female character. Gender-language in job roles seems old-fashioned and pointless now, but to me doesn't seem suggesting of a gender hierarchy (are 'sorcerers' considered superior to 'sorceresses'?) so much as a gender clarification that may or may not be useful.

'Awesome' is a problem, but I don't think it's really an issue with the word but how it is incorrectly used? Awesome is supposed to mean the thing in question inspires awe, so something like the Grand Canyon could be appropriately described as 'awesome' - I think that would be fine. In modern colloquial speech it's simply used as a value judgment for things the speaker likes - 'that ice cream was awesome, man!' 

Lots of words like that. 'Extraordinary', is another one - supposed to mean something unusual or supernatural not something necessarily good. 'Great' was never about something necessarily being better-than-good, it was about something being larger or more powerful. 

'Great Britain' isn't called such because it's The Best Britain (though try telling that to Nigel Farage) but because the island to which it pertains is the 'larger Britain' (the Not-So-Great Britain is the much-smaller island of Ireland). Alexander The Great wasn't called Great because he was a really nice guy but because he was powerful - of significant stature and legacy.

Ditto 'remarkable', 'fantastic', 'fabulous', 'outstanding', 'phenomenal' - these aren't words that originally were just meant as positive magnifications, they had meanings that were specific and useful. Used correctly I think they're fine.


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## Ma'am (Sep 17, 2019)

Turgid. But fortunately, I've never heard anyone say it.


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## luckyscars (Sep 17, 2019)

I really hate 'gasp' too, for something that actually occurs so rarely in real life (how many times do people actually 'gasp'?) its used a crazy amount in writing. I always think it's lazy.

Added to that a zillion other weird epithets that are either basically fictitious or far rarer than given credit for. "His heart stopped" (in that case he's dead), "her stomach turned" (a sensation that does make some sense, but it's way too commonly used in writing), "I shuddered at the thought of" (very few things make healthy, grown adults actually 'shudder' and it's so loosely thrown around you'd think these people are machines), and the one I hate most "his heart sang". 

What the hell does that even mean? A _singing _heart? In a Bing Crosby song that sort of line might have been okay, but Jesus Christ, get some better imagery or don't use imagery at all. Generally speaking whenever writers start to treat body parts as autonomous centers of emotion, hearts especially.

_He felt his penis vomit._


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## seigfried007 (Sep 17, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> I really hate 'gasp' too, for something that actually occurs so rarely in real life (how many times do people actually 'gasp'?) its used a crazy amount in writing. I always think it's lazy.
> 
> Added to that a zillion other weird epithets that are either basically fictitious or far rarer than given credit for. "His heart stopped" (in that case he's dead), "her stomach turned" (a sensation that does make some sense, but it's way too commonly used in writing), "I shuddered at the thought of" (very few things make healthy, grown adults actually 'shudder' and it's so loosely thrown around you'd think these people are machines), and the one I hate most "his heart sang".
> 
> ...


I, too, hate the singing hearts that "skip a beat." Makes 'em sound like kids playing hopscotch. 

Blargh. I do understand why said words are hated--but "gasp" is a hard word to replace. I know it's overused, but sometimes it's true anyway. 

Precisely because gasping isn't something people often do, the times when people do it are often worthy of writing. Not all characters gasp, and not all of the ones who do will do it for the same reasons. People gasp when they're in severe, sharp pain; when they're afraid, when they're surfacing after being submerged a long time, when they're shocked speechless, and sometimes during the usual "gasping" scenes.   

Of course, I haven't gotten around in the romance/erotic genre, so I'm not as sensitive to it as a more practiced reader would be. I don't read a lot of "gasping" fiction, and the only incidence of the word I remember reading was in Michael Crichton's _Rising Sun_, where it referred to a "gasper" (lady who was into erotic asphyxiation). I'm sure I'd be pissed reading it, too, if I was as inundated with it as Aquilo probably is. 

Guilty of some "shudders," too, but they're often associated with panic attacks, seizures, and some more horrific/hallucinatory/supernatural horror elements. Probably a turning stomach or five, too, but again, it's always when someone's seriously about to throw up (and I'm not sure if I used the specific "turn" verb necessarily). Current WIP has a lot of frightening and/or gross stuff in it, and characters get sick for other reasons, too. 

I do view this thread as a bar of sorts--a freebie critique, if you will. Given me a lot to think about.


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## Amnesiac (Sep 17, 2019)

Pet peeve, and it tops the list, no matter WHERE I see it: The apostrophe is NEVER used to pluralize.

I see it all the time. "Look at my photo's." "All of the sign's were in English." etcetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseum.


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## luckyscars (Sep 17, 2019)

Amnesiac said:


> The apostrophe is NEVER used to pluralize.



Not technically true. Apostrophes are used to pluralize irregular nouns and numbers.

_I’m tired of all his maybe’s._
_
This reminds me of something from the '90's._


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## Aquilo (Sep 17, 2019)

seigfried007 said:


> _GAAAWWWDDAMMIT, woman!_ Why'd you have to pick such a_ specific_ word to hate? Now, I'm combing through the dang thesaurus and picking my brain to find other words for this oddly _specific_ noise. Dreading going through all 40-some sex scenes to prune out those *gasps* (and I know I don't use it terribly often, but just knowing how much you hate that word makes me really want to excise it completely). Glad Word's got a find 7 replace function... 'cause I'm gonna need it eventually.
> 
> I mean, if you'd hated some vague word like "nice," it'd be easy to find alternative routes to get where I needed to go, but *gasp*? Yikes.



Oh lol!!! Sorry. I just see it sooooooo many, many, many -- _many_ times. It can become an escape from really pushing the scene, where 'gasp' pushes the reader out of the moment. E.g.,

Jessie traced the soft curve of her throat, and Sue gasped, having missed his touch. 

v

Jessie traced the soft curve of her throat, and Sue jolted before naturally brushing her cheek against the back of his hand. Neither spoke, their 'yeah, missed you too there, baby' a shared silent conspiracy between his slow, drawn-out smile and her long, now-calmer exhale.

I just think 'gasp' can be given a lot more context and feeling, by... keeping with the action. It's a personal pet peeve, though!!! I'd only be right to recommend a rewrite in edits if it was used too often. Although I don't use it myself, lol. 




luckyscars said:


> I really hate 'gasp' too, for something that actually occurs so rarely in real life (how many times do people actually 'gasp'?) its used a crazy amount in writing. I always think it's lazy.



Ditto!



> _He felt his penis vomit._



:rofl:


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## SueC (Sep 17, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> I really hate 'gasp' too, for something that actually occurs so rarely in real life (how many times do people actually 'gasp'?) its used a crazy amount in writing. I always think it's lazy.



Driving the car, my children used to tell me they could hear me gasp every time they turned a corner, approached a red light, stopped for a pedestrian, or turned up the radio. Actually, I think they turned up the radio to drown out my gasping, which apparently I am still doing. If they were to write about their experiences driving with mom in the passenger seat, I'm pretty sure the word "gasp," or "gasping," would appear aplenty. I am in denial. LOL.


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## Arrakis (Sep 17, 2019)

The s-word. Not "shit", the extremely clichéd 5-letter word that begins with "s" and ends with "r". It just makes me cringe. Seriously, be creative.


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## luckyscars (Sep 17, 2019)

Aquilo said:


> Jessie traced the soft curve of her throat



Mm yeah, I forgot about the Famous Soft Curves...

Bit weird, isn't it? What is a _soft curve,_ exactly? Is it it reference to the skin of the curve being soft? The shape of it being soft - as in, not a _sharp _curve? Some kind of appeal to femininity? Or are we calling her a bit flabby?

Who knows. Buggered if I do. And yet every Jezebel in literature apparently has these _soft curves. _


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 18, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> Mm yeah, I forgot about the Famous Soft Curves...
> 
> Bit weird, isn't it? What is a _soft curve,_ exactly? Is it it reference to the skin of the curve being soft? The shape of it being soft - as in, not a _sharp _curve? Some kind of appeal to femininity? Or are we calling her a bit flabby?
> 
> Who knows. Buggered if I do. And yet every Jezebel in literature apparently has these _soft curves. _


 
Look up 'Rubens' mate; no sharp curves, all soft, as in 'voluptuous'. Take your point though.


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## Umree (Sep 18, 2019)

Arrakis said:


> The s-word. Not "shit", the extremely clichéd 5-letter word that begins with "s" and ends with "r". It just makes me cringe. Seriously, be creative.



Right? Pfft... "sugar" --like is it fructose or sucrose? Be _specific_​, you guys.


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## seigfried007 (Sep 18, 2019)

Olly Buckle said:


> Look up 'Rubens' mate; no sharp curves, all soft, as in 'voluptuous'. Take your point though.


"Rubenesque" will get him the images he's looking for. "Reubens" might just get him sandwiches. Spelling's everything


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## Aquilo (Sep 18, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> Mm yeah, I forgot about the Famous Soft Curves...
> 
> Bit weird, isn't it? What is a _soft curve,_ exactly? Is it it reference to the skin of the curve being soft? The shape of it being soft - as in, not a _sharp _curve? Some kind of appeal to femininity? Or are we calling her a bit flabby?
> 
> Who knows. Buggered if I do. And yet every Jezebel in literature apparently has these _soft curves. _



In the end, it's all referential material, dear Sherlock.  :  what readers are most familiar with in their day-to-day lives. I see it as soft skin, because hard/rigid angles of a curve wouldn't really register as first choice (meh, maths... never was a strong point, okay I failed miserably), nor would it being flabby register before skin either. E.g., Say he kicked the chair, most will think he kicked what you sit on, then they'd probably opt for him kicking someone in charge of a meeting. But ambiguity... it's there with soft curves, most definitely....


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## luckyscars (Sep 18, 2019)

seigfried007 said:


> "Rubenesque" will get him the images he's looking for. "Reubens" might just get him sandwiches. Spelling's everything
> 
> View attachment 24489


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## Annoying kid (Sep 18, 2019)

> (are 'sorcerers' considered superior to 'sorceresses'?)



There's no moral virtue or empowerment inherent to the word "sorceror", so creating a hierarchy there wouldn't matter anyway.


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## luckyscars (Sep 18, 2019)

Annoying kid said:


> There's no moral virtue or empowerment inherent to the word "sorceror", so creating a hierarchy there wouldn't matter anyway.



Sorcerers aren't inherently powerful? Gee what a waste of magic.


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## velo (Sep 18, 2019)

Ma'am said:


> Turgid. But fortunately, I've never heard anyone say it.




hah!  I have, but only ironically.


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## Arrakis (Sep 23, 2019)

Umree said:


> Right? Pfft... "sugar" --like is it fructose or sucrose? Be _specific_​, you guys.



Point taken.

The word I was referring to was..."s-u-p-e-r". Only saying the letters, not the word. Honestly, I hear that word everywhere, everyday. It drives me insane.


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 24, 2019)

Overuse does not make me hate a word, but it does devalue it Watched a bit of 'Britain's got talent, the champions' and the word 'Awesome' got used so much that when someone came on whose abilities actually inspired awe there was nothing left to say but 'I am lost for words'. They weren't of course, but they were empty words.


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## luckyscars (Sep 24, 2019)

Olly Buckle said:


> Overuse does not make me hate a word, but it does devalue it Watched a bit of 'Britain's got talent, the champions' and the word 'Awesome' got used so much that when someone came on whose abilities actually inspired awe there was nothing left to say but 'I am lost for words'. They weren't of course, but they were empty words.



Those shows are like an exhibition of superlatives and bad hyperbole.

"Passion" drives me nuts. It's everywhere, all the time, people going into job interviews at Burger King and talking about their 'passion' and you aren't allowed to question it without being made to look the asshole.

 'Emotional', another one, when used to refer to one's state of being - 'it made me feel emotional'. Is there even a way you can _feel _something without it being an emotion? So how can you _feel emotional_? That's like saying 'it makes me feel feeling'. What emotion specifically is it? 'Emotional' is not a state, just say it makes you feel unstable. When people say they 'feel emotional' they are employing lazy language so they don't have to be specific about what they are feeling. I also dislike that it's generally painted as being undesirable, like human beings are robots and their emotions are their failings as opposed to their strengths.

Last but not least, my least favorite slice of bollocks is when people speak of 'feeling alive' - "I just felt so _alive _when I was with her." What in the name of pretentious arseholery is _that_ supposed to mean? Nothing, it means nothing, it's filler.


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 24, 2019)

Ah-ha, you're alive with a passion of emotional feelings about this then, Lucky?


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## luckyscars (Sep 24, 2019)

Olly Buckle said:


> Ah-ha, you're alive with a passion of emotional feelings about this then, Lucky?



Olly, I’ve never felt so alive.


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## Olly Buckle (Sep 24, 2019)

luckyscars said:


> Olly, I’ve never felt so alive.



But do you feel passionately emotional, or emotionally passionate? They are very different things, as the Mad Hatter might think and then say.


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