My most hated words

I’ve been told I spend a bit too much time on Twitter. To illustrate this point, I once tweeted my most hated word in the English language: slacks. It’s just an awful, harsh-sounding word. Since then, fellow twitterers and technical communicators @afox98@billswallow and @seanb_us (and some of the best people I’ve never met) have referenced The Word a few times.
Most recently, I threatened to create an account tweeting my least favorite words. Instead,  I’ll list a few here, and see how this works out. Feel free to add your least favorite words in the comments!

  • Slacks
  • Monday
  • Sharepoint
  • Revisionist history
  • Activist judges
  • Dubya
  • Wiki

15 thoughts on “My most hated words”

  1. Yummy.
    Mama.
    Webinar.

    Any blend that contains the word “mom” (ie, mompreneur, momversation). I wrote a whole blog post about it. 🙂

  2. webinar. yes, i freaking hate that word! thanks for reminding me. that one will go in blog post 2.0 😉

  3. I’d add “infographic” to the list. Come on, people. It’s a chart.

    I disagree with you on “wiki,” by the way. It’s acceptable only as an onomatopoeia when describing the sound of a DJ “scratching.”

  4. I considered Budweiser, but it’s not really a word I hate. Plus, it would be a disservice to Budvar. Drinking crappy beer, yes, now that I *hate*.

  5. Why SharePoint?

    I agree with wiki. And I’ll add:
    leverage
    tentacle
    Tweet – tho I like the Twitter tool itself… I hate the word “tweet” (I was tweeting last night?)… feels especially weird, to say the least, when mentioned in a boardroom full of folk in suits.

    I’m sure I’ll think of more on a particularly cantankerous day. Happy Friday!! 🙂

  6. succulent
    fancy/fanciful
    mull (esp. when used in a headline, i.e. Board mulls proposal)
    Any word that is not really a word but used as one, like “KPIs” or “CRM”
    Any new word created by adding a prefix or suffix that refers to another event, “contragate” “interngate” “wiki-anything”

  7. I have to agree with Berna. The word leverage makes me break out in hives.

    Ed, I found you at Fordeville Diaries, but when I arrived here, I realized I already know you. I’m a fellow tech writer in New York. I did an article for the STC newsletter back in March about the release of my novel. Hope all is well.

Comments are closed.