Words I hate
I must be really be scraping the bottom of the barrel if I’m writing about words I hate. Just kidding (nervous laughter)! Actually, this can be an interesting topic because the English language is very much a living one, and is always evolving. Words that are slang today, might find their way into the dictionary tomorrow. Thus it’s no surprise that the Oxford English Dictionary adds about 1000 new words each year (source).
- Ginormous: Smashing together two words that pretty much have the same definition does not drive home the point any further, it just sounds ridiculous.
- Jonesing: I have no idea where this expression came from, but I don’t like it. The only time I ever laughed when hearing the word "jonesing" was when it was said on an episode of Scrubs.
- Yesteryear: I have hated this word ever since I can remember. I cringe whenever I hear it or read it.
- Props: Again, no idea where someone got the idea to use the word "props" when telling someone they did a good job. Even worse is when they say "mad props."
- Thing/thingy: I have really nothing against the word "thing," rather, my objection is in how the word is often used: "Can you hand me that thing off the table?" Let’s try being a little more specific.
- Anytime two words are thrown together that don’t belong together: This is pretty self-explanatory. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of words that are just a combination of two words thrown together. I don’t like any of them. I don’t have anything against all compound words, just the ones that sound stupid.
The above list is a short one. There are many more words I’d like to add, I just can’t think of them at the moment. However, it’s interesting to note that the words we cringe at today, will be so solidified in the English Language a few decades from now that we will think nothing of them. This goes back to the point I made in the very beginning of this post, English is a living language that is constantly evolving.
What words do you despise? Don’t be shy, leave a comment below and share with the world!
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- The evolving English Language
- Words are the way to your reader’s heart
- The power of 100 words – The Drabble!
- Books may contain more than just words
- Are you a bad speller?
Oh, no! I actually say a couple of those… Am I banned? Or just a dork?
Currently, I despise all words that end in “icious,” delicious excepting. The book “Pinkalicious” is the only other exception, because, well, I can’t argue with chowing down on pink cupcakes. That’s just good common sense.