Tools of the Trade #3 - Your Most Hated Words

[Duleigh]

I love words, and I have a lot of them in my toolbox. I did a neurological exam a few years ago and they estimated my vocabulary at well over 100,000 words. If you love to write you probably have a pretty big vocabulary also. The average American knows about 42,000 words, but vocabulary size is dropping, other estimates puts the number at 30,000 words for the average American. Americans are becoming less intellectual, even though people around us spend the day staring at their phone, they're not reading books, they're not expanding their knowledge base or exercising their intellectual capacity, they'e watching cat videos and reading posts that use words incorrectly. I have a horrible feeling that this is an issue with other countries also.

I find myself saying "How can you not know that word?" more and more every day. And what bothers me most is not the fact that people are less intellectual, it's that they seem to enjoy being less intellectual, they love to use words improperly. Here is my list of words that just make me cringe when someone uses them incorrectly.

Literally - I hate this word with a passion, It's used so wrong so often that I even hate hearing it used correctly. How many times have you heard someone say "I literally passed out." or something to that affect? Literally means "exactly" - word for word, verbatim, precisely. It does not mean actually, figuratively, positively, or almost.

Amazing - The actual definition of amazing is “causing great surprise or wonder” but most of the time its used to describe something that's out of the ordinary in a nice way. Or maybe the speaker is very easily amused. I try to avoid it at all costs and use “fascinating,” “incredible,” “stunning,” “unbelievable,” “magnificent,” or “prodigious” to show off

Stupid - Stupid is having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense. My sister has many degrees, but she says she can't hook up an indoor TV antenna, it's "too complicated." She's not stupid, she's intellectually lazy, if she actually read the instructions, she'd see how easy it is. My other sister is a has no idea how to set the M-904 Nose Fuse on a MK-82 bomb. That doesn't make her stupid, it makes her ignorant because she has no access to that information. My friend told me that the rule allowing a tied NHL hockey game to be settled by a shootout is stupid. It may be wrong but it's not stupid, a hockey game has no capacity for intelligence making it impossible to be stupid. And DON'T GET ME STARTED ON "STUPID FINE"

Crazy - For the verbally lazy it can mean everything from “extremely enthusiastic” to “extremely annoyed” It's also misused as an adverb also, "I've been crazy busy at work," or "I was laughing like crazy." Due to the connotation related to mental health I avoid it completely, but for my kids it's a worm that scatters its larva throughout their vocabulary. And DON'T GET ME STARTED ON "CRAZY STUPID HOT." I could figuratively puke.

Hack - A tip, a trick, a shortcut is NOT A HACK. To hack is to roughly cut something, to hack off a limb. To hack is also to manage or cope, as in "He couldn't hack the obstacle course." It's using a computer to gain access to a computer system, it's not the secret to perfect hard boiled eggs

Yes, I know that our language is constantly changing, but before we change the meaning of words, can't we try to use them all first?

What words do you hate seeing used incorrectly?

 

[jsmiam]

Orientated and disorientated. Because it became accepted due to being used incorrectly so often, that dictionaries just gave up and said “Fine. If it’s good enough for Popeye, then it’s good enough for us.” Arr.

 

[tenyari]

I turned an orientated my stare in surprise at Carlos as he finished fixing the engine to the old space cruiser.

It had literally been the most amazingly stupid, crazy hack I had ever seen. I was utterly disorientated; but it worked.

I find myself annoyed at using 'said' but I also find I can't avoid it.
'like' is another one. I feel my inner teenager coming out every time I type it.
'OK' gets me also. Even in dialogue I try to avoid it if I can a better way to say things. But for some characters it fits as something to just keep spamming out.

 

[lovecraft68]

Words I worked hard to get rid of or use minimally.
Actually
Almost- I've seen people say "He almost screamed" in that case you did or you didn't its not an almost.
I had the habit of using began and started. Most of the time you can eliminate those.

 

[tenyari]

Almost- I've seen people say "He almost screamed" in that case you did or you didn't its not an almost.

My trick for when I want to type almost is to use 'He started to scream'.

Which I see is another word on your list.

I've "actually" "almost" found a way to break my "habit" of using "began". Except I haven't...

(And while that's typed as a joke, it's actually also not a joke - I really need to find a way to not over rely on started...)

So let me add 'started' to my list as well. I think I've got a lot of examples of it in my current in-work that I hope to attack with a thesaurus when I go into editing.

 

[Duleigh]

My trick for when I want to type almost is to use 'He started to scream'.

Which I see is another word on your list.

I've "actually" "almost" found a way to break my "habit" of using "began". Except I haven't...

(And while that's typed as a joke, it's actually also not a joke - I really need to find a way to not over rely on started...)

So let me add 'started' to my list as well. I think I've got a lot of examples of it in my current in-work that I hope to attack with a thesaurus when I go into editing.

Actually isn't a problem, my kids (who are older now than I was when they were born) use Actually and Literally and it is a partial inspiration for this post. (Even though they're better educated than I am, I often remind them that I paid for my college education in cash) I make sure life isn't easy for them using those words in my presence, but I'm killing myself using "immediately" and "quickly" to start sentences. "Started" isn't a crutch yet so I'm going to have to keep an eye on that.

 

[jsmiam]

“To be honest with you…”. Off topic, since it’s not really misused. Unless you view it as a confession that everything else they said must have been dishonest

 

[Duleigh]

“To be honest with you…”. Off topic, since it’s not really misused. Unless you view it as a confession that everything else they said must have been dishonest

I've always wanted to respond with "Wait! You've been lying to me?"

 

[Bramblethorn]

There is no divine authority for what's "correct" and "incorrect" usage in the English language. It's just a matter of consensus. Many of the examples you're dismissing as "incorrect" are long-standing and widely understood uses of these words, acknowledged in most modern references, so it's hard to know on what basis you consider them to be wrong.

Noting your complaint about "posts that use words incorrectly", I hope you won't mind a little nitpicking as I go ...

The average American knows about 42,000 words, but vocabulary size is dropping, other estimates puts the number at 30,000 words for the average American.

Should be "put", since "estimates" is plural.

Americans are becoming less intellectual, even though people around us spend the day staring at their phone, they're not reading books, they're not expanding their knowledge base or exercising their intellectual capacity, they'e watching cat videos and reading posts that use words incorrectly.

Run-on sentence (I'd start a new sentence at "even though") and typo.

Literally - I hate this word with a passion, It's used so wrong so often that I even hate hearing it used correctly. How many times have you heard someone say "I literally passed out." or something to that affect? Literally means "exactly" - word for word, verbatim, precisely. It does not mean actually, figuratively, positively, or almost.

Either decapitalise "it's", or change that comma after "passion" to a full stop. "affect" here should be "effect"; the only place you're likely to see "affect" as a noun is in psychology. And should "used so wrong" be "used so wrongly"?

The use of "literally" to mean "figuratively" is recognised in most modern dictionaries. See e.g. Merriam-Webster's commentary on the issue, which notes that the figurative use has been around for a very long time (including an example in Dickens) and that the "exactly" sense of the word isn't even its original meaning.

This one does irritate me, more than any of the others you list, because it creates a lot of potential for confusion. IMHO the language would be better if the "figuratively" meaning didn't exist ... but it does, and it's entrenched, and trying to pretend otherwise doesn't do us much good at this point.

Amazing - The actual definition of amazing is “causing great surprise or wonder” but most of the time its used to describe something that's out of the ordinary in a nice way. Or maybe the speaker is very easily amused. I try to avoid it at all costs and use “fascinating,” “incredible,” “stunning,” “unbelievable,” “magnificent,” or “prodigious” to show off

When abbreviating for "it is", always use an apostrophe in "it's". Missing full stop at end of paragraph.

Stupid - Stupid is having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense. My sister has many degrees, but she says she can't hook up an indoor TV antenna, it's "too complicated." She's not stupid, she's intellectually lazy, if she actually read the instructions, she'd see how easy it is. My other sister is a has no idea how to set the M-904 Nose Fuse on a MK-82 bomb. That doesn't make her stupid, it makes her ignorant because she has no access to that information. My friend told me that the rule allowing a tied NHL hockey game to be settled by a shootout is stupid. It may be wrong but it's not stupid, a hockey game has no capacity for intelligence making it impossible to be stupid. And DON'T GET ME STARTED ON "STUPID FINE"

Editing issue with "is a has". Missing full stop at end of paragraph.

The uses of "stupid" you're objecting to are widely recognised in English. See e.g. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stupid noting in particular meanings 3, 4a, 4b, which cover the hockey game & "stupid fine" examples.

Crazy - For the verbally lazy it can mean everything from “extremely enthusiastic” to “extremely annoyed”

Missing full stop after "extremely annoyed".

It's also misused as an adverb also, "I've been crazy busy at work," or "I was laughing like crazy."

Double "also".

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crazy

Entry 3: extremely, wildly // "crazy good"

Entry 1: like crazy: to an extreme degree // "everyone dancing like crazy"

Due to the connotation related to mental health I avoid it completely, but for my kids it's a worm that scatters its larva throughout their vocabulary. And DON'T GET ME STARTED ON "CRAZY STUPID HOT." I could figuratively puke.

"larva" should be "larvae" here - you can't scatter one larva throughout something.

Hack - A tip, a trick, a shortcut is NOT A HACK. To hack is to roughly cut something, to hack off a limb. To hack is also to manage or cope, as in "He couldn't hack the obstacle course." It's using a computer to gain access to a computer system, it's not the secret to perfect hard boiled eggs

Missing full stop.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hack

Hack (noun), 6c: a clever tip or technique for doing or improving something // "We asked entrepreneurs across industries to share their favorite productivity hacks, from useful organization apps to clever tricks for cutting down meeting times."

 

[Duleigh]

There is no divine authority for what's "correct" and "incorrect" usage in the English language. It's just a matter of consensus. Many of the examples you're dismissing as "incorrect" are long-standing and widely understood uses of these words, acknowledged in most modern references, so it's hard to know on what basis you consider them to be wrong.

Noting your complaint about "posts that use words incorrectly", I hope you won't mind a little nitpicking as I go ...



Should be "put", since "estimates" is plural.



Run-on sentence (I'd start a new sentence at "even though") and typo.



Either decapitalise "it's", or change that comma after "passion" to a full stop. "affect" here should be "effect"; the only place you're likely to see "affect" as a noun is in psychology. And should "used so wrong" be "used so wrongly"?

The use of "literally" to mean "figuratively" is recognised in most modern dictionaries. See e.g. Merriam-Webster's commentary on the issue, which notes that the figurative use has been around for a very long time (including an example in Dickens) and that the "exactly" sense of the word isn't even its original meaning.

This one does irritate me, more than any of the others you list, because it creates a lot of potential for confusion. IMHO the language would be better if the "figuratively" meaning didn't exist ... but it does, and it's entrenched, and trying to pretend otherwise doesn't do us much good at this point.



When abbreviating for "it is", always use an apostrophe in "it's". Missing full stop at end of paragraph.



Editing issue with "is a has". Missing full stop at end of paragraph.

The uses of "stupid" you're objecting to are widely recognised in English. See e.g. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stupid noting in particular meanings 3, 4a, 4b, which cover the hockey game & "stupid fine" examples.



Missing full stop after "extremely annoyed".



Double "also".

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crazy

Entry 3: extremely, wildly // "crazy good"

Entry 1: like crazy: to an extreme degree // "everyone dancing like crazy"



"larva" should be "larvae" here - you can't scatter one larva throughout something.



Missing full stop.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hack

Hack (noun), 6c: a clever tip or technique for doing or improving something // "We asked entrepreneurs across industries to share their favorite productivity hacks, from useful organization apps to clever tricks for cutting down meeting times."

Thank you for your input, was this to build me up or build up your ego?

 

[Bramblethorn]

Thank you for your input, was this to build me up or build up your ego?

Neither. I can be egotistical as anybody here, but I don't base that on knowing the difference between "affect" and "effect".

IME there are two main reasons why people like to focus on "correctness" in English. Some are trying to achieve clarity in communication, and some just like being able to tell other folk "you're wrong". I encourage you to think about which one you are, and about which one your post makes you look like.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's interesting, but the more fiction I write, the less inclined I am to have "most hated" lists like these. I used to be more of a grammar and diction Nazi than I am now. It's because in fiction the rules aren't absolute and do not apply to all stories; it all depends on what the particular story requires.

"Hated" words, for me, generally fall into two categories: 1) unnecessary qualifiers, like "very," "literally," "actually," etc., and 2) officious words, like "utilize" in place of "use." But the problem with getting two angry about these things is, 1) I use qualifiers all the time, in my speech and in my stories, because I think they convey something about the narrator and about the tone that I want to convey, and 2) there's a place for over-long words depending upon what you want to say about a character or the narrator.

Increasingly, I fall back on the one universal rule of fiction: "It depends."

 

[Carnevil9]

I try to never use a big word when a diminutive one will do.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

I try to never use a big word when a diminutive one will do.

Iswydt

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Run-on sentences are a hate of mine. But even though I know how to use semi-colons and all, I try to use them sparingly (much of my previous fic writing was for a niche fandom where the source used them loads, so I overuse the things), as most of my long sentences in drafts would be stronger and clearer if chopped up.

I noted a couple years ago I overused "and". Now, however much I try to be aware of that, it still happens in first drafts, though I also overuse 'though' and 'but'. All the more reason to edit, I suppose.

Hated words would include 'panties' which I've ranted about before, boobs and boobies (unless you're in Allo Allo or a birdwatcher), twee euphemisms like 'love tunnel', adding 'actually', and possibly 'gasping' because there's a lot of gasping that probably isn't. In the middle of sex you can get away with a gasp or two. Half a dozen is probably too many.

 

[SamScribble]

Hated words would include 'panties'...

Panties! Yes. My list of 'hated' words is rather short; but panties it right there at the top. Panties has the power to stop me reading.

 

[000zing]

You forgot "incredible"... or, rather, you didn't, choosing to use it as quasi-synonymous with "amazing"... which is stretching more than a point.

IMHO, this word is our current front-runner for the prize of the most gobsmackingly over-used one of all time. The undereducated trot it out ad nauseam, often only when they mean "really good". I do believe they think, consciously or otherwise, that it makes them sound "cool"... another pet annoyance...

 

[SimonDoom]

Hated words would include 'panties' which I've ranted about before, boobs and boobies (unless you're in Allo Allo or a birdwatcher), twee euphemisms like 'love tunnel', adding 'actually', and possibly 'gasping' because there's a lot of gasping that probably isn't. In the middle of sex you can get away with a gasp or two. Half a dozen is probably too many.

Guilty as charged. I've used all of these other than "love tunnel"--but I'm still looking for a good opportunity to use that one too! That, and "honey pot."

I get the distaste for "panties" on your side of the Atlantic, but it's so common here that nobody thinks about it. "Knickers" sounds funny, and unsexy, to me.

I don't think I'd ever seen the use of the word "twee" until I visited this forum. It's a great word. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think Americans use it very often (I never do), and I cannot think of a good American equivalent.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I get the distaste for "panties" on your side of the Atlantic, but it's so common here that nobody thinks about it. "Knickers" sounds funny, and unsexy, to me.

I don't think I'd ever seen the use of the word "twee" until I visited this forum. It's a great word. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think Americans use it very often (I never do), and I cannot think of a good American equivalent.

Yeah, I try to avoid writing 'knickers' too - it generally refers to larger less-sexy underpants anyway, or to old-fashioned pants/schoolgirls/the schoolgirl look, so not a very useful word for Lit.

'Cutesy' is the best US word I can think of for 'twee'. Another pet hate would be the overuse of 'quaint' by American tourists in the UK to describe anything foreign rather than actually old-fashioned and dainty.

 

[TheRedChamber]

Run-on sentences are a hate of mine. But even though I know how to use semi-colons and all, I try to use them sparingly (much of my previous fic writing was for a niche fandom where the source used them loads, so I overuse the things), as most of my long sentences in drafts would be stronger and clearer if chopped up.

I noted a couple years ago I overused "and". Now, however much I try to be aware of that, it still happens in first drafts, though I also overuse 'though' and 'but'. All the more reason to edit, I suppose.

Hated words would include 'panties' which I've ranted about before, boobs and boobies (unless you're in Allo Allo or a birdwatcher), twee euphemisms like 'love tunnel', adding 'actually', and possibly 'gasping' because there's a lot of gasping that probably isn't. In the middle of sex you can get away with a gasp or two. Half a dozen is probably too many.

I've started running a word count over my stories before publishing. I had 16 'actuallys' in a 15k story. I've permitted myself three. 10 eventuallys and 11 definitelys become 4 a piece. More than anything I've stopped people starting to do stuff, now they just do it. (26 down to 6)

 

[SimonDoom]

Yeah, I try to avoid writing 'knickers' too - it generally refers to larger less-sexy underpants anyway, or to old-fashioned pants/schoolgirls/the schoolgirl look, so not a very useful word for Lit.

'Cutesy' is the best US word I can think of for 'twee'. Another pet hate would be the overuse of 'quaint' by American tourists in the UK to describe anything foreign rather than actually old-fashioned and dainty.

So what's the sexy Brit word for a woman's underpants?

 

[Smuttyandfun]

As, that, and while. I use all three way too much and they are difficult to let go of, so editing is a bitch.

I try and go back over what I write and get annoyed with myself when I see these three little words pop up, often way too frequently. If I've written something longer, it's a bitch to try to get them all out, too.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

So what's the sexy Brit word for a woman's underpants?

I'd like to know, too. Whenever I'm reading a story, especially here on Lit, two words that usually stop me in my tracks, are arse and bloomers. Neither sounds very sexy to me. Whereas, the lady's ass might be spectacular, especially encased in a tiny black thong.

 

[DouglasFinney]

You don’t need a sexy synonym for panties if all your characters go commando.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

You don’t need a sexy synonym for panties if all your characters go commando.

Lol. True!