Words I Really, Really, Really Hate
I love words, crew. I adore the play of words. My father was a punster and I grew up reading the masters of words and puns. Like Isaac Asimov. And the magician of the impossible, Ray Bradbury. Aye, I grew up reading the classics of science fiction. But these men were more than writers, they loved words. Especially Asimov.
I love words. They are the basis of magic. Of the spells that created worlds like Middle Earth, Hogworts, Narnia, The Foundation… I love words! I grew up reading Edgar Allen Poe, who played with words and the sounds of words. I fell in love with poetry, with songs…
And I despise seeing words corrupted, or misused. I rant and rail at words being used to debase or belittle. Like real as you all know.
You’re not a real writer.
Oh, you write romance? That isn’t real literature.
When are you going to get a real job?
That isn’t a real religion.
ARGH!
OK. How about the word enough’ Another one of my pet peeves. I dislike words that are born with a nebulous limit. But they are used to dictate value…with a nebulous limit! Define exactly how much enough is, if you can!
Some words are simple poison. Enough is one of those. So is better. Better than what, exactly? And there is the perennial favorite, should. Always used by those telling us what we ‘should’ be doing with our life. I find the ‘shoulders’ often use ‘real’ a great deal. Or misuse real. And they nearly always believe we could be ‘better’ or do ‘better’.
Considering the bloodbath I instigated some months ago, tossing inner critics to the Kraken…ever notice how many of these words are favorites of the critical types?
I know there be ‘sweet’ words that drive others insane. Like the word ‘sweet’. I’m not one of those, I find the word works for me. But I know there are those overused words. I believe they fall in the ‘purple prose’ category. (Why did they choose purple to demonize these words? I like purple…)
Anyway!
There always be the simple malapropisms. Those can be fun, but they ain’t in my hate category. Nah, it be the misuse of words. Not to mention the hijacking of words. Why is bitch a bad word? Or witch? And all the ‘nasty’words, of course. All those words used to discuss genitalia, either gender. I do not understand why words are assigned values that are purely part of denigration. Why is it an insult to call a man a dick? Or a woman a cunt? I do not understand this, really.
Now, words change meanings as generations use them differently. (I can’t tell you all how many discussions I’ve had with my mother over the word ‘gay.’) I understand how words change according to the society…but I don’t like it. No, let me put that differently, it isn’t that I don’t like it…I don’t like seeing good words turned bad. Or simple plain words turned evil.
I do understand the difference between definition and connotation, but I don’t always like that there is a difference. I’m a dreamer, sue me. I’d like to see words returned to their origins, to their purity. Allow the usage to be ascertained by the surroundings. And strive to restore honor to much maligned words, condemn those that limit to their limits!
We are writers. We owe it to the world to use words correctly. To encourage the reader to open their mind and embrace the correct usage of words. Tracing words to their origin often opens minds to how far meanings wander. I have a friend who went to school to study pedagogy which means, basically, the science and art of teaching But I bet that isn’t what most of you thought when you read it!
We all have pet peeves regarding how words are used. What are the ones that drive you crazy? And why? You have any words you are determined to redeem as a writer? Any stereotypes to see slain? Any you see misused that cause you to toss a book into a wall? Or any clever uses that make your heart sing? (I don’t want to be totally negative today!)
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88 comments:
I was a horrible English major. Never liked reading literature. Mainly because real literature involved women who had sex and then died afterwards. Just never cared much for most real literature (though there were some Ray Bradbury stories I did like; that There Will Come Soft Rains is one of the best stories I have ever, ever read), except for maybe stuff by Mark Twain. You can't hate Mark Twain.
However, as appalling as my lack of reading was, I did really, really enjoy my English class about the origins of the English language...and the origin of words. It was so amazing how English developed--the bastardization of Anglo-Saxon, French, and basically every language that had a word we wanted to use for our own.
I found it particularly hilarious that words we use now had very, very, VERY different meaning in their inception. I have this quotation that makes fun of this:
Words mean what they're generally believed to mean. When Charles II saw Christopher Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral for the first time, he called it "awful, pompous, and artificial." Meaning roughly: Awesome, majestic, and ingenious.
- S. M. Stirling
There are many, many others, but I can't remember them all. I would like to keep a list one day, just so I could use the word in the archaic manner and make everyone freak out. Like, "Those shoes are totally awful, pompous, and artificial!" My friend would be completely hacked.
Mo, I don't think you could be negative. *LOL* And that's a good thing. Even if you do threaten to hug me and stuff...
I particularly enjoy lookin' up the origins a' vulgarity... Of course!
Me DH adores wikipedia fer that sort a' thing. Not lookin' up vulgarity in general, but origins...
It also be interestin' ta make note a' the origins a' names. And how they change!
I took a bazillion literature classes in college. Jus' luv ta see how perceptions change over time. Who would a' thunk the term, 'family values' would come ta mean more than jus' grandma's silver!
Always enjoyed how in the musical, "1776" Dickenson hissed an insult to John Adams... laywer! and John attacks him with a cane. Ya know it's an insult by how it's spoken and how it's recieved.
Words...wondrous things! And so easily misused and corrupted. Sigh.
Yes, words are amazing. One that bugs me, just because it's overused in my opinion, is 'scenario'. And one that drives me crazy is 'orientated', because it's just plain wrong! The word is 'oriented'. Words I love... Lassitude. Bougainvillea. Irony. And here's a delicious word meaning 'mean,dirty fellow' - slubberdegullion! Yes, words are wonderful.
Let's progress Alaska...uh, since when is progress a verb? Maybe it is now. Must look it up.
Oh, I love words too. I can spend hours crafting a sentence, playing with synonyms and near synonyms, struggling to find the exact word. One of my favorite quotations is Mark Twain's famous line, “The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” I once blogged on lighning words and lightning bug words and the importance of a writer knowing which to use in a rhetorical situation.
I especially love words that sound like what they mean: mellifluous, chortle, squalid, curmudgeon, efflorescence, furtive, embroglio, lassitude, scintillating, tintinnabulation (speaking of Poe).
I'm out of the club on this one. No wordsmith here. Though I threw plethora around not long ago and was all proud of myself. LOL!
I do think the meaning of "irony" has been totally screwed up since the Alanis Morrisette song. It is not ironic that the first time you flew in a plane, it crashed. It sucks, but it is NOT ironic.
Oh, and I totally stole that from Castle and another comic I saw a few years ago. Just to give credit where credit is due.
This is reminding me of Carlin and his list of words you can't say on television. He pretty much gave birth to the FCC. LOL!
I wrote a whole post and I guess the computer ate it!
Here I go again...
I'm not a wordsmith either, which is possibly why I overuse words. I'm like a cook with a heavy hand on the spices, but I only have the basics. Lots of "smiles" and "glances" thrown in like salt and pepper. Need a little extra kick, toss in a "devilish grin." Can't have too much "devilish grin." LOL
But I know it's possible to have too much. I'll have to fix it so the reader isn't grimacing in distaste!
Oh, and I love Janga's words that sound like what they mean. That's so true and they are powerful words to create not just sound but an instant, visual image. And those words would look great on the spice shelf. :)
Sorry - I had written much more than tha, but after three times of writing it and it not posting I decided to keep it short and see if it worked!
My pet peeve is "towards" it's not a word, but is used so much they are adding it to the dictionary.
Sabrina - I'm so with you on that. You walk toward the car. Or the car comes toward you. There is no "s" on that word! LOL!
And Melissa brought this up yesterday, but I do like that "unfriend" was named the word of the year. Since that was pretty much my motto when the year started. LOL!
Sabrina, doesn't that happening just make you want to bang your head against the desk or something? It's hard enough to find the words without them flying off into a void. Darn capricious words. I like that word - capricious. :)
Good ta hear so many wondrous words bein' bandied about. A word I like to hear, though I be uncertain a' it's definative meaning, be supercilious. I jus' like the way it sounds!
One a' the most entertainin' bit 'bout Pirates of the Caribbean was the use of such particular words. disinclined to acquiesce to your request...
I get the toward/towards conflict... Progress Alaska? I think that be leanin' toward(s) (*g) an old fashioned use a' the word.
Orientated? Oriented... This, I've done! Not particularly with that word, but wit' others. Where I add a syllable or two...
Yer all showin' much more education that I! I complained about enough, better, should, real!
Critics words!
Capricious is sort of like precocious. I think I know what they mean, but am never quite sure. LOL! I was always told I was precocious as a child and finally looked it up to make sure I wasn't being insulted.
Capricious be one me DH throws at me...I didn't think he were usin' it right and we went ta the dictionary... We were both sorta right...
So much depends on surroundin' circumstances!
It be a bit of a giggle how Alanis misused irony. Very ironic, ain't it? ;)
Oh - a word I love...
Facetious
Bo'sun, that word "unfriend" just gives me a bad feeling. It should not be easy to "unfriend" someone! It's like a science fiction story waiting to happen. If I was so inclined to write an end of the world type story, which I'm not, my first line would be: It all started when a capricious society chose "unfriend" as the word of the year.
Chance, you are the one who also wrote There always be the simple malapropisms. Simple for you maybe. You know what a "malaproism" is. LOL
Bo'Sun - saw this today and thought of you...
http://www.woot.com/
Facetious! That's one me DH throws about also! Sounds great, which be why he likes it... But we disagreed on the meanin'! It were interestin'!
Unfriend...well, I like it better than the misuse of whatever. It's bein' treated like a throwaway verb...
Dissrespect be another a' those made-up words that have entered the common consciousness!
And I can't even spell it. malapropisms *copy and paste, just copy and paste* LOL
Did I spell malapropism right?
*g
Only reason I know that one is I have a real appreciation fer when an author creates one, beautifully!
It be like readin' a finely crafted pun! Bless ya, Asimov...
Sabrina - I want the blue one! I'm going to hit up my IT friend here at work and see if that's a good idea. Man, less the 3lbs!
Melissa - Trust me when I say it is not that easy to unfriend people in real life. LOL! But sometimes, it's just necessary. I'm loving that opening line. LOL!
I'll second Facetious.
I've technically unfriended people in real life. It ain't easy, but sometimes it do be necessary...stay sane, unfriend.
Misused words do irritate me. Confusing words with very different meanings especially makes me want to scream--accept/except, disassemble/disemble, flout/flaunt, past/passed. And I think "irony" is misused about 75% of the time. Grrr!
I still can't believe for eight years we fought against NUCULAR weapons.
And you wonder why I can't spell it. LOL
I hate malipromisms. *sigh* In high school, while reading out loud in class, I was supposed to say "organism." It did not come out that way, but I made a valiant effort to continue reading like nothing had happened! I really hoped no one had noticed. But they did. Teenagers snap to that attention over that word like the dog in the movie UP does over "squirrel." LOL
Janga, My husband's pet peeve is affect/effect. Here in PA leave and let are interchangeable--we learned about their misuse when I was in grammar school in CT and I could not understand why. People don't tend to misuse them in New England. Now I know why--that part of the grammar book was for PA. *g.
I loved reading about Flaubert when I was in HS sitting in the garden thinking of the "mot juste". ? spelling. How cool, the perfect word. (I'm probably making up the garden part).
I love that different words can have shades of meaning. Disingenuous, illicit, facetious.
Chance, I was thinking of this the other day. I thought if I got my interview with James Lipton and he asked me which word I don't like--I'd say "can't" because I have been getting a whole lot of "can't" lately and it can be really defeating. I like your list.
Melissa - I feel your pain. But really, wouldn't that be a fabo thing to put into a book. The one word mistake that haunts the heroine?
*giggle
Amanda - Aye, funny how the blog has turned into more of a love fest... The words that pick on me are most simple. And deadly dangerous.
I'm wit' ya. Can't be a nasty word.
Mayhaps I shoulda titled this blog Words I Find Disturbin' ta Me Well-Bein'!
Though I really hate them, too!
Amanda, lol about the "leave/let." I remember that one from the standardized grammar tests when I taught high school. It's not a Southern error either. On the other hand, the English department decided on our own that "fixing to" was a regionalism rather than an error. We could hardly penalize the kids for marking as correct an expression they heard the best educated people they knew (including their English teachers) say every day. :)
The one word mistake that haunts the heroine?
That's a good idea. I guess haunted would be a little strong. Maybe she'd repeat the story to a teenager with the misguided notion it would help her relate. One of those "when I was a kid" moments that all kids roll their eyes at. And the teenager would say, "I hate you! It's in my head and now I'm going to do that too!"
PS: I'm guessing citified is probably not a word. :)
I think I've heard "Leave it be" and didn't think twice about it. But I don't think I've ever said it. (I grew up just outside PA and used to live there, this comment makes more sense if you know that. *g*)
I refused to pick up "fixin' to" when I moved south. But the "y'all" is in my for good, I'm afraid. My child was born in the south and she's either fixin' to do something, or she reckons. Cracks me up. When she was two, she made Scarlet O'Hara sound citified.
Melissa - Nah, the heroine that hates goin' back ta 'er small town roots because when she's there, everyone reminds 'er a' the time when...
I been readin' a mystery series where the heroine returns ta 'er small town roots ta find the guy she knicknamed weener in high school now be the chief of police... Ya can bet that comes back ta haunt 'er!
Though tellin' the wrong adolscent could be quite hauntin'!
If citified ain't a word, it should be! Local word usage fascinates me! Bein' from CA, we don't have much that way...lessen yer from the San Fernando Valley... Though I think we be guilty a' turnin' way too many words inta meanin' other than...
Take a meetin'?
Pencil ya in...?
Google, anyone?
Me DH can see the Google buildin' from his office window... And Yahoo! be nearly as close... A social networkin' wet dream...
I do love that google is now a verb.
And I will never forgive California for making "My bad" popular. I HATE that phrase with a passion.
Or all the acronyms for chat blogging and texting. Now that's a relatively new, secret language that teens are probably hating that their parents can pick up on it. Although I've only scratched the tip of the iceburg and I'm very soon totally lost.
Terri, one of my dearest friends is a Greek married to a German. She boasts that her daughters are fluent in four languages--Greek, German, English, and Southern. :)
Sorry, that should have been to Melissa. LOL! Got off on my rant and wasn't paying attention.
Janga - I still have to translate from Southern to English, but not as much as when I first crossed the Mason Dixon Line. Tup over instead of tip over. And there's something different about how to turn off a light switch, but I can't remember it now.
Carrying your relative to the doctor always gets me. I get this image of the person giving their loved one a piggy back ride. :)
Chancy - I know the very basics of texting. My child wrote a story for school and included OMG! The teacher did not mark it, but I informed her she would NOT be using those text abbreviations in actual papers.
Popping in a quick self-promo:
Giving away copies of Sins of the Flesh with author Caridad Pineiro at www.cheekyreads.com today
AND- I'm guest blogging at author Amanda McIntyre's blog about buying books for holiday gifts. There's a $10 gift card for a prize!
You can find that blog here:
http://www.mcintyreshouseofmuse.blogspot.com/
Ya know, once we 'adults' figure out the text slang, they'll jus' invent somethin' new ta keep us on our toes.
I 'member me nephew, then 13, usin' the phrase 'old school' ta be insultin'. Then it got taken over by the adult set and turned inta somethin' cool...
But code words? Harken back ta me first blog on the Romance Writers Code...accronym city! I'm still lookin' ta score one a' those books! Same thing fer one on editin' marks. (I know they be out there, I jus' need ta find 'em!)
It is just a form of shorthand, but I can't see myself ever typing (again that is)GSYJDWURMNKH, which apparently means "Good Seeing You, Just Don't Wear Your Monkey Hat."
Found that at:
http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php
Uh...no. But then again, I know very few people who wear monkey hats ta begin wit'!
that's a good link Melissa - thanks!
I think someone just pounded on their keyboard and then went back to make up some stupid saying from the letters. And what's wrong with a monkey hat, anyway?
Nothin' be wrong wit' a monkey hat. I jus' be sayin' I don't know many people fer who that fashion be somethin' they foller!
Oh, we should give out undead monkey hats. With nose plugs.
WMMH ... Wearing me monkey hat.
Yeah, that would work! Lessen that already means somethin'!
What would it signify? Been drinkin' too much rum? Wait, that wouldn't work, we'd all be wearing monkey hats, all the time!
pardon me, that be how do men named Richard feel about it!
Sure, let's bastardize the English language even more!
So, when did dick become a derogative word for a guy? And how to men named Richard feel about it?
how do men named Richard feel about it?
They go by Rick or they feel like changing their name. Wasn't John Wayne's real first name Marian? (sp?) Actually, not kidding, my married name was Cockayne (yeah, pronounced cocaine). I do make life hard on myself. LOL
I worked with a guy in radio named Dick. Two of them actually. One is a really popular DJ here who has been around forever.
The other was this country bumpkin who drove me crazy. He got so pissed when I was promoted over him, he resigned ON AIR. Since we were then Dickless, we like to call that the day we were castrated. :)
Castrated is different than being dickless. (Since we're discussing words and meanings today.) But I can see using that word than "emasculated" which doesn't seem to pop out of the mouth as freely.
Hi, Hel! Yup, castrated has ta do wit' the jewels, emasculated 'as ta do wit' the sword...
So Terri you were precocious?
My earliest memories are of my Grandmother saying "Julie, Don't be Facetious!" Then I'd ask her "Who IS this Facetious person? And hoooow do you know that They Aren't trying to be like me?"
Back in my day no kid wanted to be accused of being A CopyCat!
Really? You're going to ding me on the dong misuse? Seriously?
Julie - Not on purpose. :)
Speaking of Facetious ... Chance there is just something Inherently funny about a sentance that asks "... how to men named Richard feel about it?"
Terri - Not on purpose either!
Melissa That was a great site. Who knew?
Here are some of my favorite & unfavorite* words.
Pleasant words: Domicile, Docile, Quaint, Cute
Words that roll off the tongue like Shakespearian sonnets:
Alliteration, Assonance, Discombobulating, Onomatopoeia, Paradox, Enunciate, Quibble. Rhetorical, Conducive
Words that make me cringe:
Trichinosis, Volatile, Expectorant, Excrement, Condiments. Yes I said Condiments . It sounds like mint flavored condoms. Ick. Then there’s the word … Argyle. It sounds like a fatal disease.
“It’s hopeless. The doctor says that he has less than 24 hours to live.”
“OMG! Don’t tell me … is it?”
” Yes. He has … Argyle.
*= Yes I know that Unfovorite Is not a word but it should be! ;)
Sorry ta duck out, crew. I was over on another blog readin' lots a scathin' comments bout the new HQ/RWA stuff. Nora spoke up! Jus' be warned, if'n ya head fer this blog...400+ comments. Many a' them very, very long. Me eyes hurt!
A good example though a' how people confuse what one thing means ta another. Vanity press vs. self-published. Two whole different worlds!
I need some eyedrops!
make that UnfAvorite. not Unfovorite.
And 400 comments? Poor Chance!
Yeah, my eyes ache...small print... But, wow. Lots of interesting persepectives and several well known authors chimed in, not just Nora.
Link Chance!
I'm liking a discussion for once. I can check it out tonight.
Since we're talking about words today ... from my on;ine news page:
"No rebuke for 'admonish,' 2009 Word of the Year.
Admonish, a verb dating to the 14th century meaning "to express warning or disapproval in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner," generated enough curiosity to crown it Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2009.
It beat out several other finalists that emerged from what the dictionary publisher's editor at large, Peter Sokolowski, called the "intersection of news and vocabulary." Runners-up announced Thursday included inaugurate, pandemic, furlough and rogue — the latter tied to Sarah Palin and the sole carryover from the 2008 list."
Merriam-Webster's 2009 Top 10 list
Julie, I bookmarked it under a "languages" (seems to fit as well as Spanish or pig latin!) folder for who knows what future purpose. Some plot will need it.
I love it when a writer throws in some foreign language followed by the English translation. It seems so much more authentic. As if I don't have enough trouble with English! My "ghost" remembers his murder:
With painful clarity, one memory hit him.
A gun at his temple and a cold command spoken in Spanish. “Matar el americano.” Kill the American.
A second later, he’d been shot.
"Matar el americano" is as much as I dare. I'm worried any more and someone who speaks the language like a native will know I got it wrong. Maybe I got that little bit wrong.
Here's the link chance was referring to:
http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/want-to-self-publish-how-about-harlequin/
Bo'sun - Smart Bitches, Trashy Books started it on Tuesday, I think when HQ made their announement. Saying they thought it was very revolutationary...three days later and over 400+ comments... Nora commented today, around 3:40am. And got into a pissing contest with a rather fractious woman.
Fractious, I like that word!
Hey! The guy was getting shot in the head. No one would blame him if he got the words a little mixed up.
I figured it was smart bitches or dear author. Neither site I visit but I'll check out these hyper discussions.
Melissa - I would not sweat over that little bit of Spanish. No need to freak over three words.
I agree - I think your three words are fine. And I like the use of the English translation right after.
Yeah, three words might pass. I may need more. My son's father is from Peru so I guess I might ask him. Although he might wonder about the murder topic..oh, well!
Yeah, the English after is a good touch. Helps out the reader. I always hated those books that slipped in French phrases w/o any translations!
'Course, I feel the same way 'bout regency books that don't offer a list a' definitions at the beginnin'. Not all a' us are born knowin' what a cravat is, smalls, or a reticule.
Peruvian Spanish might not fit inta where yer settin' yer books. Spanish changes a lot from area ta area!
Okay, I just hopped over to that discussion and I'm pretty sure I've injured my brain. When you said pissing contest, you weren't kidding. Wow.
Well, it's Colombia where he hears it, but hopefully I'll be okay if I don't get too carried away.
Yes, I've read some regency era books where the French came on a bit thick.
Oh, Chance, thinking about your world building, the book "How To Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Orson Scott Card mentions that invented languages use basically the same concept of following with the English translation as known languages. But he stresses that "if mugubasala means bread then say bread. Only use the made up stuff when there is no English word."
I think the thing wit' me world...I don't really make up words, but words are truncated from what we know. Sort a' like shorthand... I ain't made up me mind to stick with that or jus' change things completely yet...
Yeah, ain't it wild, Bo'sun!?
I went over to that discussion on self publishing and it did feel a bit like stepping into quicksand. I think I'd rather brave the Kraken's den full of critic words than go into that discussion.
There be some fascinatin' insight inta what be goin' on...but it be exhaustin' ta go through all a' it...
And me mate, Jane-o, be certain somethin' more be goin' on...time will tell!
As a self-pubbed author, Melissa, I 'magine yer blood could boil over some a' the misunderstandin's goin' on...
See what the next few weeks hold!
Yeah, I'm giving a lot of thought to this. Personal experience tells me self publishing is the wrong road to take, but there seem to be some inevitable changes coming in the publishing world. I suspect the big publishers, like HQ, are hedging their bets. I'm going to write my little theory on my blog. :)
Let me know when ya toss forth yer theories so I can check 'em out!
One a' those days when a crowd be talkin' bout somethin' and tossin' terms around that they don't always have a total understandin' of...
Talk 'bout misunderstandin's!
I like the word "linoleum" :)
I do, too! ;)
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