The Most Irritating Words Ever

nytimes.com:

The Times magazine staff enjoyed readers' response to our post about Kurt Andersen's "Words We Don't Say" so much that we posted an unabridged list of your suggestions on our office wall.

Read the whole story: nytimes.com

Comments

[Eric N Davis]

01:45 AM on 06/05/2011

I would have chosen "______-gate". Why is it anytime some newsworthy scandal is reported, inevitably some moron decides to give the situation a name in honor of Richard Nixon's Watergate affair.

When Bill Clinton got a BJ in the oval office, it was known as "Monica-gate".
When Justin Timberlake ripped off Janet Jackson's clothes, they called it "Nipple-gate".
When FEMA failed to respond in a timely manner to New Orleans flooding, citizens named it "Katrina-gate".
In 1993 a pair of nominations for US Attorney General had to be withdrawn, due to their histories of hiring illegal domestic servants, in the case of "Nanny-gate".
When New England Patriots staff members secretly recorded New York Jets defensive play calling, ESPN called the affair "Spy-gate".
Rep. Anthony Weiner emails photos of his weiner--"Weiner-gate".

There are too many to mention, and most of them are ridiculous. No, let me rephrase that--ALL of them are like sooooo totally ridiculous, like you know what I mean?

[Stinastar]

09:57 PM on 05/31/2011

Can't believe "anyhoo!" didn't make it! Most annoying word ever!

[Eric N Davis]

01:55 AM on 06/05/2011

Well we can't always get what we want, can we? Anyhoo, I gotta go make comments elsewhere.

[MamacitaOfLove]

09:30 AM on 05/31/2011

I would add: 'state-of-the-art.'

Way over used.

[jrb35]

04:03 AM on 05/31/2011

Gossamer threads

[SPQR1052]

08:32 PM on 05/30/2011

Palin did not make it as pronoun?

[sockman]

08:26 PM on 05/30/2011

"Having said that" is a phrase that annoys me eventhough it is a phrase that I use and I will continue to use. Now, "that being said", I will make an effort to use it less.

[Eric N Davis]

01:49 AM on 06/05/2011

Having said that, you now understand your own shortcomings, and at the end of the day, you have some things to work on. Just take it one day at a time, and play your game, and you can live with the results.

[sockman]

06:47 AM on 06/05/2011

LOL....Touche!

[Peartree3]

08:06 PM on 05/30/2011

What about "assess" or "assessory" for "access" or "accessory"?

[JoeGdr]

06:30 PM on 05/30/2011

"It wreaked havoc ..." "They decided to wreak havoc ..."

If I see the words "wreak(ed)" and "havoc" next to each other one more time, I am going to explode.

[Eric N Davis]

01:50 AM on 06/05/2011

Please don't explode, that would really wreak havoc with your personal life.

[naschkatze]

10:47 AM on 05/30/2011

Looking over the HP this morning, I would say that the word 'iconic' is beginning to get on my nerves. To use the word so much detracts from its meaning.

[Eric N Davis]

01:53 AM on 06/05/2011

Well the HP really is an iconic symbol of our generation. The poster boy of modern media, as it were.

[colleenos]

09:21 AM on 05/30/2011

This subject is too, too alluring, I must avert my eyes or I'll be here for days.
One quick remark, relating to my own work (arts). These past few years all the cool young persons entering visual arts admin have a strict new language, designed to obscure the fact that yacking about art is not for everyone. Thus the insecure critic will use the word 'practice' in every sentence, with the occasional sprinkle of 'methodology'. No room for 'work', these days. All rooms and galleries are 'spaces', no matter how frequently iterated. I'd love to go on (an on)..point is, all this jargon makes the text (there's another one!) just too turgid to read, if one is kind-hearted. If not, one is inclined to grab the writer by the ears and shake her until her natural language tumbles back into place.

[colonelsun68]

08:15 AM on 05/30/2011

The problem with linguistic naval-gazing is that it can make people uncomfortably self-conscious. With "Bloomsday" approaching, we should celebrate by using Joycean abandon with language. Colorless language makes life awfully dreary.

[colleenos]

09:03 AM on 05/30/2011

Navel.

Let's not celebrate Joyce's 'abandon' with language. Let's call it 'superhuman control', yet still revel in all the fun and games, what? Having said which, I do agree with you. Looking forward to the 16th of June meself. ;>

[colonelsun68]

04:56 PM on 05/30/2011

Oops! It seems I was abandoning convention with "naval". (:p

[thebigbike]

11:55 PM on 05/29/2011

add to the list:

"spot on"

"you must"

"you should"

[Eric N Davis]

01:59 AM on 06/05/2011

Yes, you are spot on with your assessment here. You should write to the NY Times, and get them to add these. No really, you must.

[YOKEL13]

11:38 AM on 05/29/2011

Speaking of things linguistic, what's up with the trend of leaving the "-ed" off the end of participles, as in "the RENOWN Sarah Palin"?

[YOKEL13]

11:30 AM on 05/29/2011

At the end of the day, my biggest peeve is "at the end of the day", which begs the question, "who changed the meaning of 'begs the question'?" Going forward, I hope never to hear "going forward" again. I'll just assume "going forward" unless someone says explicitly "going backward".

[WYHKTai-Tai]

02:39 AM on 05/29/2011

"Shakespalin", "Shakespalinism" Uugh.