Tuesday Tea: What are the words that bum you out?
la la la... I can't hear you
Last week, I asked about your favorite words — and the discussion was so lively and fun! Thank you, everyone, for playing along. I loved reading your contributions!
It’s time now to go to the dark side. An incomplete list of words I don’t enjoy hearing or saying includes the following:
scab (ew)
mucus (double ew)
all of the words associated with bigotry: homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, misogyny, sexism, classism, racism, ageism, ableism, anti-semitism… you get me.
preggers (just say pregnant)
BTW… Today I learned there’s a book called The Illustrated Compendium of Ugly English Words: Including Phlegm, Chunky, Moist, and More with 300 definitions and illustrations.
And, perhaps, more exciting: The Illustrated Compendium of Weirdly Specific Words: Including Bumbledom, Jumentous, Spaghettification, and More:
Have you ever been lying in your bed, surrounded by crumbs and wrappers, feasting on your fifth pop tart and thought, I wish there was a word for this? Well, there is! Accubationis - the practice of eating and drinking while lying down.
The book also includes:
Badling (noun) - a group of ducks
Crapulence (noun) - sickness resulting from eating too much
Guddle (verb) - fishing only with your hands
Kaiju (noun) - a film genre characterized by giant, terrifying monsters
Slugabed (noun) - a lazy person who stays in bed late
Wegotism (noun) - the excessive use of the word ‘we'
But! Back to the bad!
Trump
I dislike the word — utilize. Just say use! It means the same thing.