Words, Words, Words!
The other day, I was editing something Bart was writing and I said, “I’d like to take out the phrase ‘short and sweet.’ It just bugs me.” (This might be why you don’t want me to edit things for you – my own personal quirks will start shooting out my ears).
Bart said, “You know, I don’t really like it either. Take it out.” (This is why I married him).
I have a lot of words I’m sensitive to – words that make me cringe.
Sometimes it’s only certain circumstances that I cannot tolerate a word or phrase:  “Lol” in an IM conversation is fine; “Lol” in a blog post makes me want to die. Smiley faces in IMs and emails don’t bother me, but I am a cruel editor of them in any blog posts. They never ever make the cut.
The phrase “mani/pedi” makes my skin crawl, although not as much as the term “prego.” (I feel as if my blog is defiled just by writing those two things on it. Shall have to bleach my computer screen tonight). The list, my friends, is never ending.
And I know I’m not the only one. It seems to me that most people have some words or phrases that are absolutely grating to them.
My college roommate could not stand the word “mate.”
Landen wants to vomit when she hears “moist.” (I am 100% with her on this one).
What words make you cringe?
Lately I've seen "Give credit where credit is due" on a lot of blogs, regarding the ownership of their own blog material, and for some reason it drives me crazy. Just say "hey, don't steal my stuff without saying it was my idea" or something like that but "credit where credit is due" irks me.
I hate it when people totally drop all grammar and punctuation in texts. Just because you're typing it on a phone, doesn't mean I'll suddenly be able to read your mind, regardless of adherence to general rules of language.
I also hate it when people say LOL or OMG while speaking. You're not limited to 140 characters! Plus, if you're laughing out loud, you shouldn't need to tell people standing next to you. I am, however, guilty of throwing emoticons in my blog.
Here are a few others I can think of at the moment:
"Irregardless" Without being without regard…
"I could care less" should be "I couldn't care less", otherwise you're saying you do care.
What a fun topic! It brings out the neuroses in all of us.
I too despise prego & preggers. I hate the words purse (I have a "bag," thank you), panties, pantyhose, pop (it's "soda" — but balloons can pop, that's fine), and pea, (noticing a trend? they all start with p…it's just a bad letter). Oh, and fart.
And that's just off the top of my head! It's amazing I can still have a (semi-) normal conversation.
this morning i was just thinking about how much i hate the word "hubby." ewww…
and thank you for hating prego/preggers… SICK.
and my fav (or not fav)… cool beans.
I hate the phrase "Bless her heart." This just makes me cringe! I think that I started hating it when my boss used it after my mother's heart attack. Our conversation:
Me: My mom had a heart attack.
Boss: Oh bless your heart…Bless HER heart!
Unfortunately, my husband likes this phrase, so I'm doomed to hear it at least twice a week. It's a good thing I love him!
I also really dislike the word "crotch."
I'm so embarrassed to type this, but I hate the word (cringe) "flaccid."
shudder
Can't quite pin down any words I don't like, but my grandmother always hated "belly button," preferring to call it a "navel." She said "belly button" sounded dirty. (I'm smiling thinking of her, but I'll refrain from throwing in the little colon/close parenthesis character so as not to offend anyone.)
I totally agree with all you issues, except maybe "short and sweet" that doesn't really bother me. I also hate it when people say Target with a "Y" sound on the end. Like it's a french word or something. The Preggers thing drives me crazy too. I guess it's too cutesy or something.
My sister swears the worst spoken word combination is "moist tissue".
Yeah, kind of grating, huh?
My most despised word is pee. I think it both juvenile and crass. I believe I raised 5 children without ever using that word. I am amazed at how often I hear it in public. What causes people to mention that particular bodily fluid so often?
I also don't like butt — as all my children know. Too coarse.
I find it amusing that Landen's other hated word is pedestrian. I'm not sure why.
Some improper word use gets on my nerves … like when people use "your" instead of "you're". Simple, simple grammar! Argh!
I try my best to correct any spelling mistakes (even when I text people) so I expect that same and don't like it when posts or texts are riddled with spelling errors. It feels like people didn't take the time to go over what they wrote.
I hate it when grown people use baby names for body parts. My children were taught proper body part names from the get go. I hate hearing adults say "boobie", "wee-wee" or "pee-pee". Grow up people!
I also hate 'irregardless'. Not a word, not a word, not a word!! My husband watches me cringe when other people use that word. He thinks it's quite comical to watch my response … it's like I get an eye twitch in response. At least he gets some entertainment out of it.
I do admit that I do sometimes use LOL on my own blog but that's because I'm used to forum speak. I will try to reduce my use of said forum speak … since such a large number of people don't like it apparently. The people have spoken!!
I just have to say sorry because I use "pee"…I am not going to say tinkle, or widdle, or teetee or any of the fluffy stuff…and I am also not going to get all technical and say urinate or void…haha…so with potty training my little guy I just had to stick with plain old "pee"…curious as to what Carole used instead? haha…it all means the same thing right? Funny how one word meaning the exact same thing as another word can make a person cringe. (oh wait…I do use "potty" in public)
I also really dislike the phrase
"Holy_______Batman!" ugh.
haha and I also hated prego and preggers…but have found with EVERYONE and their mom using it that I have joined the ranks…doesn't mean I like it though. (I bet some hates when people say "everyone and their mom/dog is doing it"
Hey can't please 'em all!(I bet someone hates that one too!)
I used to know a guy who cringed at the word 'panties' so I made an effort to say it in front of him regularly.
I hate the term 'expecting.' It makes it sound like you're from 1950, and you're confined to wearing stretch pants and a muumuu for nine months.
P.S. I hate the phrase "touch base."
"Call me back so we can touch base…"
Ugh!
Funny! Moist has always been top of my list of words, but as for phrases, can we just please never hear "at the end of the day" ever again? Thank you!
I don't like the word belly. Or moist. And I hate the word baggie but I use it at work sometimes. Blegh.
When I see OMG I always think "oh-em-gee". :p
Most anatomical words make me cringe just because they're nasty sounding. "Spouse" also really bothers me because (kind of like mate) it sounds like this asexual thing. Ick. Prego, lol and mani/pedi bother me too.
One of my top-bugging phrases is "kicks and giggles." Oh we just did this and that for kicks and giggles. EEEEH.
My biggest editing pet peeves are mistaking "I" and "me" (as in, "they went to the mall with Jill and I") and writing "loose" for "lose." So annoying.But all time least favorite words? Coitus is up there. Mucus. And any of the technical terms for the, um, rear anatomy. Ew.
Prego, preggers…I hate the phrase "we're trying" because eew…too much information, thanks.
Moist is awful. I also don't like panties.
I hate the phrase it is what it is. Ok, that helps how?
Most of all, though, LOL just makes me angry. Say ha ha or something.