Word Aversion

[Vannie]

Mulberries

Dingleberrys

 

[NotHardUp1]

A general annoyance to me is the predominantly American penchant for speaking in metaphors when none is required.
And using nouns as verbs.

I intentionally use metaphors at work when on conference calls or in meetings to force executives and others to listen to whatever I'm saying. The tendency for them to be distracted, or to be allegedly "multi-tasking," drives me to reach for fresh ways to express the ideas necessary.

As for the latter, I still remember my former dorm mom referring to the house across the street from her home as we visited on her front porch. She lowered her voice when I asked who lived there and replied, "I don't neighbor with them."

What I find so much more irritating is American cannibalisation of written English words. Thru instead of through is a prime example

I've always chafed at seeing it in print, especially on public signs or anything like that, but as I age, I think I understand the drive for economy in spelling. The meaning of "thru" is unmistakable, so writing it efficiently makes sense, plus it's long overdue to cast off they trappings of feudalism.

queefing

Since hearing the word "gushing" used on new feminine hygience product commercials, I'm planning on starting a letter writing campaign to have male hygience product ads placed that prominently mention smegma.

bowels

I'm not bothered hearing it as much as I am annoyed at hearing long bowel sounds . . .

kumquat

Kumquat may . . . or may not annoy me.

 

[NotHardUp1]

My own aversions include weird. The explosion of it about 20 years ago by illiterate youth to describe ANYTHING unfamiliar, and often, to impugn something as nefarious, really got to me.

Another is the growing use of perfect as a reply by wait staff. It exudes a servile air that seems to be turning it into a buzz phrase type of term. If I'm ordering a grilled cheese sandwich with a glass of iced tea at a diner, I don't find my order to be "perfect!" It's just a grilled cheese sandwich, without any superlative delusions for a sandwich. It will never become St. Grilled.

The political euphemism underrepresented is yet another. It is used to imply self-evident discrimination or systemic oppression, when it doesn't in fact mean that. Women are underrepresented in many physically demanding vocations, but have not sought entry. Whites in many nations are underrepresented in machete attacks, but the option has long been there for us, simply not exercised. The politicization of the term to mean only one thing in American is immediately evident if one were to refer to Blacks or Latinos as underrepresented in the charities that work to support conservation and the national parks.

Mother in reference to fermentation has always been unappealing to me. Call it scum, or even bitch if its chief function it to make everything around it sour.

Another political term I dislike is sacred. Too often it is used as a trump card, implying anything designated so by any group in land use is thereby non-negotiable. It's almost pointless to use the term when almost ALL cultures have viewed the earth and its resources as sacred in some way and at some time. Even cemeteries are subject to relocation if a greater good prevails for the populus.

It should also go without saying that literally has simply become broken in America. So many people use it to mean something in extreme, but not literal. To wit:

 

[rareboy]

Dink.

 

[pigface]

Since hearing the word "gushing" used on new feminine hygience product commercials, I'm planning on starting a letter writing campaign to have male hygience product ads placed that prominently mention smegma.

 

[NotHardUp1]

View attachment 2202532

 

[pigface]

View attachment VID-20220906-WA0002.mp4

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

Spotted Dick....yummy but I would prefer Sticky Toffee Pudding or English Trifle.

Don't forget about Eton Mess.

 

[LoveMyPeppermill]

The meaning of "thru" is unmistakable, so writing it efficiently makes sense, plus it's long overdue to cast off they trappings of feudalism.

To be fair, I have only ever seen "thru" used in advertising and branding (and, latterly, in text messages, where people use all sorts of shortcuts). I have never seen "thru" in place of "through" in a piece of real writing.

Since hearing the word "gushing" used on new feminine hygience product commercials, I'm planning on starting a letter writing campaign to have male hygiene product ads placed that prominently mention smegma.

Smegma? Naah. Push for use of the words spurt, shoot, seed, and/or milk.

 

[Latimer]

A general annoyance to me is the predominantly American penchant for speaking in metaphors when none is required.
And using nouns as verbs.

Grammarly lists the following verbs that were originally only nouns:

Chair, cup, divorce, drink, dress, fool, host, intern, lure, mail, medal, merge, model, mutter, pepper, salt, ship, sleep, strike, style, train, voice

 

[metta]

What I learned from this thread: English-speaking countries are annoyed at what Americans have done to the English language.

 

[pigface]

Grammarly lists the following verbs that were originally only nouns:

Chair, cup, divorce, drink, dress, fool, host, intern, lure, medal, merge, model, mutter, pepper, salt, ship, sleep, strike, style, train, voice

A number of those are not verbs in the English that was taught to me, and most have considerably different meaning when used either as a noun or verb.
My objection is to utilising the typical meaning of a noun as a verb.
E.g., "plate your food", "passengers deplaned",

 

[unloadonme]

Another word which grates with me is "medalling", used when a person wins a medal at a sporting event. Even worse in this respect is "podiuming". Argh.

 

[Peloso]

Another is the growing use of perfect as a reply by wait staff. It exudes a servile air that seems to be turning it into a buzz phrase type of term. If I'm ordering a grilled cheese sandwich with a glass of iced tea at a diner, I don't find my order to be "perfect!" It's just a grilled cheese sandwich, without any superlative delusions for a sandwich. It will never become St. Grilled.

It also implies, at least to me, that the diner has narrowly escaped giving an order that was somehow imperfect.

But as an experienced waiter I'll tell you what it really means: easy. Had you ordered a grilled cheese, lightly toasted on one side but not on the other, with a mix of different cheeses and cut into thirds, you might have rated a mere "fine", which in waiterspeak is a nonverbal way to roll your eyes in annoyance.

And who orders a grilled cheese in a restaurant? A lot of people, I know, but for god's sake go home, toss some buttered bread in a pan and make it the fuck yourself.

 

[NotHardUp1]

And who orders a grilled cheese in a restaurant? A lot of people, I know, but for god's sake go home, toss some buttered bread in a pan and make it the fuck yourself.

To be clear, I did not, but I made it up to give a clear example.

FWIW, I was in Yellowstone National Park today and ate a burger for lunch. On the menu was a $15 grilled cheese sandwich with fries. It had better be perfect.

 

[metta]

^
Reminds me, I used to get grilled cheese on garlic cheese sourdough bread, it was delicious!
https://californiagrill.com It's not on their menu anymore, and I don't go to that area anymore either since I used to go to eat out with my best friend's mom and she passed away.

 

[Peloso]

You have to broil them if you want them perfect and that's a little bit of an art.

 

[Peloso]

FWIW, I was in Yellowstone National Park today and ate a burger for lunch. On the menu was a $15 grilled cheese sandwich with fries. It had better be perfect.

$15 because the cheese was made from organic cows who were fed wheat grass and seaweed and lived on a mountain in Peru for some reason.

 

[NotHardUp1]

You have to broil them if you want them perfect and that's a little bit of an art.

A moment turned away and it's all ruined.

 

[Peloso]

The secret is to rotate them under low heat.