Abolish that word

2

Comments

  • edited January 2007
    personally i would have to say "moist"! that word has been ruined by high school kids everywhere!!!
  • edited January 2007
    "it's not cost effective"
  • edited January 2007
    "Really?"

    Geez, that gets my gripe like nothing else. It's not so bad when it's rhetorical, like:

    "Really? Well I'm worth a cool $52 million."

    But when it's the only word in a reply. That's what gets me. I mean, how often and why would somebody answer with a no? Here's a typical conversation where I'd answer, "no," to that question:

    Me: "I just bought a new mobile phone."
    Plebeian: "Really?"
    Me: "No, of course not, I just made that up! More tea?"
    Plebeian: "But we're not drinking any tea."
    Me: "Thup, thup, thup, thup. *kssh* Cleared for take off."

    Not very likely, eh? That's not how conversations work, people.

    And on the other hand, if I don't say anything, the conversation stops right there.

    Me: "I just bought a new mobile phone."
    Plebeian: "Really?"
    Me: "Yes."
    Me: "..."

    Worst of all, I sound like I'm the one with nothing to say. I had something to say! I said it. They're the ones with nothing to say about it.

    OR, I could give in, and give this annoying person the answer they're dying to hear:

    Me: "Yes. Really. In all reality, I really did buy this phone. I woke up in my own dimension (as usual) this morning, had a real shower with real hot water, did very little time travel — make that none, went to the shop and paid for the phone with my own real money. For real."

    But that's just my point. It almost always does elicit a reply of at least, "yes," and often further detail on the subject. There's little to no listening or thought input from the other person, just a subtle, "tell me more, will you? I'm lazy."

    Oneirataxia aside, it's one of the most useless phrases we like to repeat to each other.

    By the way, this is a great topic, Dave Grossman.

    And if I could second anyone else's suggestion in this list, it would be "like".
  • edited January 2007
    i vote for 'stick-to-it-iveness' we already have a functional word that avoids performing indecent acts with the language
  • edited January 2007
    I vote for "proactive".
  • DanHDanH Telltale Alumni
    edited January 2007
    Not something to abolish, but this reminds me of misunderstood phrases that people use all the time.

    My favorite is "for all intensive purposes."
  • edited January 2007
    Gurok wrote: »
    "Really?"

    ...

    But when it's the only word in a reply. That's what gets me. I mean, how often and why would somebody answer with a no? Here's a typical conversation where I'd answer, "no," to that question:

    Me: "I just bought a new mobile phone."
    Plebeian: "Really?"

    Well honestly, I think that "really" is used sort of as a placeholder for, "that's pretty different from the everyday norm, please tell me more about the circumstances."

    In your above example, "really?" basically invites you to explain why you went out and got one or what type of model you chose or where you went to get one--unlike a direct question asking why you got a new one or where you went to get it, it's open-ended and let's you choose the path in the conversation that you feel is most interesting.

    It's really just a placeholder like "oh" and heh" or "wow"--things that give you some idea about what the person is thinking or feeling when they don't have enough to formulate a complete thought, and also so that it doesn't feel like a person is talking to a person, but talking with a person. It'd be really annoying if the person you're talking to doesn't say anything at all, and you really don't want people making up fake thoughts to interject into the conversation just because they weren't allowed to use these one word interjections.
  • edited January 2007
    Literally - I hate that word, everyone misuses it. Why just the other day I heard someone misuse it and I was literally boiling with rage.
  • edited January 2007
    'random'

    Whenever someone finds it necessary to exclaim "Oh my gawd, that's so random" I go into a fit of rage and proceed to remove their head. At least in my mind, anyway.
  • edited January 2007
    ironic -- also heavily misused.
  • edited January 2007
    I love when people get upset about the use of ironic and start talking about alanis :D
  • MelMel
    edited January 2007
    Who,
    ironically
    , didn't use the word correctly in the song. :D
  • edited January 2007
    DanH wrote: »
    Not something to abolish, but this reminds me of misunderstood phrases that people use all the time.

    My favorite is "for all intensive purposes."

    Have you actually heard someone say "intensive" purposes? :eek:

    Maybe they meant "intensive porpoises." At least that makes sense.
  • edited January 2007
    Narwaffle wrote: »
    'random'

    Whenever someone finds it necessary to exclaim "Oh my gawd, that's so random" I go into a fit of rage and proceed to remove their head. At least in my mind, anyway.

    I totally agree, that irritates me.

    One that (I think) is predominantly Aussie is when someone says something is "<adjective> as!", pronounced as the longer, emphasised 'as' (ie 'azzzzz', not 'uhz' like "cheap as chips"). That sh1ts me to tears.

    e.g. (in excitement) "Wow, that's sweet as!"

    I used to hate a lot of 'ch-' words, like 'chocolate' (though I love what it denotes), 'cherub', and 'children', but I seem to be over that now :-)

    Others I hate more the context than the word itself, such as, when used regarding relationships, 'courting' and 'wooing' (though the last one is kinda irritating in and of itself).

    I'm sure there's at least one other that irks me more than all of the above, but it escapes me at the moment

    /racks brain...
  • edited January 2007
    thylacine wrote: »
    I totally agree, that irritates me.

    One that (I think) is predominantly Aussie is when someone says something is "<adjective> as!", pronounced as the longer, emphasised 'as' (ie 'azzzzz', not 'uhz' like "cheap as chips"). That sh1ts me to tears.

    e.g. (in excitement) "Wow, that's sweet as!"

    I used to hate a lot of 'ch-' words, like 'chocolate' (though I love what it denotes), 'cherub', and 'children', but I seem to be over that now :-)

    Others I hate more the context than the word itself, such as, when used regarding relationships, 'courting' and 'wooing' (though the last one is kinda irritating in and of itself).

    I'm sure there's at least one other that irks me more than all of the above, but it escapes me at the moment

    /racks brain...

    It seems very Un-Australian of me, but really any Australia phrase ticks me off.
  • edited January 2007
    Narwaffle wrote: »
    It seems very Un-Australian of me, but really any Australia phrase ticks me off.

    That's fully sick, mate :D
  • edited January 2007
    Antidisestablishmentarianism
  • BasBas
    edited January 2007
    "Zany wacky Funster."

    For runners up, I'd nominate ur, rite (when used as 'right'), thru and other such words. There's also a word that many 15 year old's use in YouTube comments and on their LiveJournals. I can't quite recall what it is, but it's a word that -sounds- the same as another word, but means something completely different. Of course, they always mean one word when they use the other.

    In fact... let's get rid of the word "LiveJournal".
  • BasBas
    edited January 2007
    tabacco wrote: »
    ironic -- also heavily misused.

    Like ray-hee-ain on your wedding day.
  • edited January 2007
    jp-30 wrote: »
    "I could care less"


    Ha ha - just started Situation: Comedy, and Sam's rant on that very phrase brought me tears of joy!
  • edited January 2007
    Quuux wrote: »
    That's fully sick, mate :D

    Yeah, dead set!
  • edited January 2007
    jp-30 wrote: »
    Ha ha - just started Situation: Comedy, and Sam's rant on that very phrase brought me tears of joy!

    Where is this? I've gotta check to see if the Gametap version has this.
  • edited January 2007
    Entering the studio for the first time, talking with the director and asking her a about why she dislikes Myra (maybe asking her a couple of times on that line of questioning).
  • edited January 2007
    Ah, just went and checked--I remember that it was there from before--so you just had really good psychic powers.
  • edited January 2007
    I would abolish the word no, then ask people for stuff.
  • edited January 2007
    DanH wrote: »
    Not something to abolish, but this reminds me of misunderstood phrases that people use all the time.

    My favorite is "for all intensive purposes."

    That reminds me of the other day, I saw someone on a forum call a video game "fast paste."
  • edited January 2007
    I would just like to say that I considered taking every word and phrase mentioned in this post, then use them all in my reply. But then I realized that it'd be too predictable, and therefore not hip enough for me. Either that, or I couldn't figure out a way to use antidisestablishmentarianism in a sentence.

    But seriously, you people are mentioning words that are all sorts of awesome. As a writer, I love flexibility in language I can use. The exception is profanity, which grates on my nerves because of its casual grammatical misuse, lack of respect and inane arrogance. I'd have words that qualify as profanity eliminated from the English language, if I could.

    Otherwise, I like words. And even the most misused or horribly associated of words likely has a clever use somewhere.
  • edited January 2007
    "Really?"

    But only when used in the sense of

    'I just saw a cow jump over the moon'

    "Really?"

    Its just stupid its not a valid rhetorical response. Its not a question. It doesnt mean anything. It gives absolutely no information about what the speaker is thinking. Do they care? Are they fascinated by what you just said or did they not hear it and they are trying to pretend they did by giving such a basic answer? Whatever the intonation you cannot tell. It is the epitomy of non-sequitur but is devoid of any sarcasm or irony. It is a pointless utterance and it would be better to say nothing. I cannot further describe how much I detest the word.
  • edited January 2007
    ...

    Really.
  • edited January 2007
    :D I didnt expect that so quickly... but I expected it
  • edited January 2007
    The discussion of the word "really" was already done earlier in the thread.

    (And it would be perfectly valid for you to reply "Really?" in response to my post.)
  • edited January 2007
    :D I didnt expect that so quickly... but I expected it

    Someone had to say it. :p

    Sometimes, a lack of message is exactly the message you want to get across. With something like "really?", it's almost like an accusation that your claim might be false, so you have to validate your claim with further details. It's effective because it does prompt further details, and quickly too (doesn't take long to pronounce two syllables), but it's not good if you're looking for specific information.

    The lovely thing about English is that even the most seemingly useless words and phrases can serve purposes that no other words or phrases can.
  • edited January 2007
    Really?

    sorry numble I couldnt be bothered to check.

    I didnt realise it bothered anyone else!
  • edited January 2007
    Really?

    sorry numble I couldnt be bothered to check.

    I didnt realise it bothered anyone else!

    Eh, maybe it's a non-American thing (other person that said it was from Australia). I feel like a lot of American shows and stuff seem to use that "really?" response as a setup to a lot of conversations/jokes, so maybe it's just ingrained in us to accept the use of the word-as-reply "really?"
  • edited January 2007
    Like people saying 'like' like all the time like, like really gets on my nerves like as well like. So I think you may have a point there but we are bombarded with your TV etc. so it gets ingrained in us as well maybe we notice it more though. Like.
  • edited January 2007
    Like people saying 'like' like all the time like, like really gets on my nerves like as well like. So I think you may have a point there but we are bombarded with your TV etc. so it gets ingrained in us as well maybe we notice it more though. Like.

    Has that like, really reached your shores? Since I'm from, like, Southern California, which is, like, the birthplace of like, "like," I hear people using it, like all the time. But I feel like it would be, like, very weird to hear somebody with a British accent like, talking like that.
  • edited January 2007
    If we're talking about grammatical errors in speech, that's a whole different ballgame. I find a lot of grammatical errors extremely grating; I just don't have any grudges against specific words or phrases in particular. Except those dastardly expletives.
  • edited January 2007
    Bas wrote: »
    I can't quite recall what it is, but it's a word that -sounds- the same as another word, but means something completely different. Of course, they always mean one word when they use the other.

    I believe the words you're looking for may be 'affect' and 'effect'. The first is a verb meaning 'to act on something, or to produce a change'. The second is a noun meaning 'result or consequence of something'. So if A affects B, it will produce an effect. Unfortunately, most people think that these terms can be used interchangeably.

    I don't know if anyone here watches Foamy, but there was a rant a few episodes ago about this exact topic. I agree with his views on made up hip hop words like 'bling' and anything ending with '-izzle'. The fact that 'bling' has been entered into the Oxford Dictionary makes me sad.
  • BasBas
    edited January 2007
    octochan wrote: »
    I believe the words you're looking for may be 'affect' and 'effect'. The first is a verb meaning 'to act on something, or to produce a change'. The second is a noun meaning 'result or consequence of something'. So if A affects B, it will produce an effect. Unfortunately, most people think that these terms can be used interchangeably.

    That's not it, but that's indeed an example of words used interchangeably. And probably even more annoying because it's used more often.

    I'll do some searching to see if I can find the word I was looking fizzle, 'cause it's driving me c to the razy-cizzle.
  • edited January 2007
    I would abolish the whole english language except is spoken the redneck way.
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