We all have those words that make us cringe or go "Ew!" when we hear or read them. I'm not even talking about vulgar or inappropriate words, necessarily, but regular, everyday words that spark a negative reaction in us. Leigh Fallon and I are both creeped out by the word "moist." (I'm not sure what Leigh's reason is, but the nasty grandmother on The Nutty Professor ruined that word for me years ago!) Unless we're talking about cake, I try to avoid moist stuff, LOL.
Part of it is a maturity thing. I still giggle on the inside at some uses of the words "balls," "nuts," and "weiner." And I can't stand "barf" or "ralph," although any other vomit-related words are fine. I wasn't going to share my least favorite word of all time, but I'm feeling open at the moment. Here goes...I absolutely cannot stand the word "boner." Thankfully, I rarely hear it anymore these days. Blech!
I got this idea for a post because one of my beta readers, Evie, recently scratched "interjected" from my manuscript, saying, "Ew, don't use this word--it's just one of those words. *shivers*." I thought that was so funny, because interjected is a totally fine word by me.
Your turn to share! What words make you shudder?
I dislike male characters screaming. I know, it's completely ridiculous! But I really associate "scream" with "female". If a male screams in a book I'm reading, it throws me out of the story - unless it's a very little boy or a baby.
ReplyDeleteThere's a post about writing and gender in there somewhere, I'm sure ;)
I can't think of any words I hate right now, but my Aunty (who used to be an English teacher) told me I use 'gotten' a lot and it bugs her as she thinks of it as slang, not a proper word.
ReplyDeleteEvie, what do you have against interjected??? Does it sound gross to you? LOL I don't get it! It sounds sort of like injected...is that yucky?
ReplyDeleteMiss Cole...hahaha! And, ooh, that's a good idea, the gender post. I don't like for male characters to be pouty either. I think the word would be "broody" unless we're trying to insult them.
Sharon, that's funny about your aunt! :)
I HATE the word "farther". It's just so ugly to me. I always want to change "farther" to "further" when I read it.
ReplyDeleteI hate "barrette" and "syrup" because I NEVER know how I want to say them. Is it "bar-rette" or "bret"? Is it "sie-rup" or "sirrup"? I hate the way all pronunciations sound... *hides*
ReplyDeleteI can't stand kiddos, dude, and a few others I can't think of specifically right now.
ReplyDeleteDain, I'm a "further" user, whew!
ReplyDeleteJessi, pronunciations can be so annoying!!! My husband always says I pronounce "soy" wrong and he makes fun of me for saying it like, "Soh-eee." Ugh!
Uh-oh, Clutzattack, I use "kiddos" all the time! Eek! And one of my characters is a "dude" user...don't hate me! :)
earwax. just..ew.
ReplyDeleteLOL @ Evie. I don't get the interjected one.
ReplyDeleteAnd you hate the word boner? ROFL.
I KNOW there are words that I hate and make me thing EWW. I'm not sure why I can't think of any at the moment. I will be back if I do.
Excellent post! moist, huh? Yes, that does make me think of clammy, cloying things. Moist boner? Oh dear.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the word that raises the hair on my arms is pus, for the obvious reasons, and So. I always wish I could change So to Very. But then, I'm very odd....
Ew, nomadicdragon! Someone on Twitter said "mucous" which is equally disgusting!
ReplyDeleteKell, yes, there's something springy or boingy about the word boner, definitely not sexy. Ick.
My best friend HATES the words "lingerie" and "lover," so naturally I use them all the time in my most seductive voice. Bahahaha!
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI hate the sound of the word "moist". Ew!
Pus and Moist boner - AGG!!!! Alison, you are KILLING me! LOL
ReplyDeleteLaura, *high fives*!
ReplyDeleteHahaha!!!!! Great post, Wendy!
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, I don't like the word "uttered" ... "he uttered" ... I mean, really??? Creates not wanted visuals!!!
Utter...tee-hee! Hm, I don't know if I've ever heard "utter" used as a verb...have I? LOL - I've heard "muttered" or utter used as in "utter humiliation". Now I'm confusing myself! But yes, my mind goes to mammary glands.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that kid in the picture is my husband when he was five... seriously!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great post! It's really interesting to see everyone's most hated words.
ReplyDeleteWendy Higgins: The word "lover" has been so overused for me. I don't hate it, but I can't take it seriously. It makes me think of cheesy romance.
I don't like "chagrin". It's a perfectly good word, but I associate it with its overuse in Twilight... and now it makes me smirk every time I see it.
ReplyDeleteI also can't stand "disorientate". What's wrong with plain old "disorient"?
I hate the word "desire" To me, it sounds like a really old grandma beginning a sex-ed talk.
ReplyDeleteThis is really inconvenient since I write romance.
Funny post.
Spongy is a word I just loathe. Couldn't say why. It just sounds icky. Then you add moist to it 'moist and spongy' and it's doubly gross...
ReplyDeleteI hate it when someone who is supposed to be a sympathetic character smirks. Just ... no. Leave the smirking to the baddies, please.
ReplyDeleteIt's so interesting to see the words that bug people, and it just goes to show how subjective language can be.
ReplyDeleteI should make one barf-worthy sentence combining all of the words that we hate, LOL!
La Coccinelle, I didn't even notice chagrin in the Twilight books. That's funny.
Evie, ALL grammar mistakes drive you nuts - how would you choose? :)
Inexplicably, I have always hated the word "meat." When we're cooking out and people say "is the meat on the grill?" CRINGE! Or "I ate too much meat last night." It makes NO sense, but something about it seems so vulgar and crass. It makes NO sense and I get mocked for it often.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Shauna, I can totally see that one! I had a revulsion to all meat while pregnant, so the word "meat" still sits wrong with me, too. Plus, it's one of those words that can substitute for other "things," in an unflattering way, which makes it even ickier.
ReplyDeleteOoh, random thought for Morgan...this morning a sentence popped into my head ("I won't utter a word") and I thought, DUH! Utter as a verb!
ReplyDeleteI hate a lot... "barf" and "puke" are definitely the top two I hate... I hate "skinny" when it's used for objects because it doesn't make sense, I hate "skinny" in general. I also hate "kid". Not as in like, "He was just kidding!" but as in "Oh, that kid over there".
ReplyDelete