Anyone have a list of words that you can barely stand to hear uttered? A friend from college nearly goes into seizures when she hears the "oi" dipthong... needless to say, a group of us took it upon ourselves to torture her by repeating the phrase "moist oily boil wrapped in aluminum foil".
I have trouble with the words "dollop" and "youngster". Is this a shared neurosis, and if so, is there a word to describe this disorder?
Welcome Fibrebabe I absolutely loathe the ubiquitous f*ck - not simply because its usage has degenerated from earthy to vulgar, but because it sounds ugly. It is used in a variety of hateful ways that degrade the basic meaning of the word, and the sound of it is the sound of fingernails across a blackboard, for me.
I have to disagree Max, I think of it as a nice, crisp, succinct word.
Since having our thread on the word, I don't really like hearing discombobulated. Coming from people my age it sounds like they're stupid trying to sound intelligent.
Max wrote: I absolutely loathe the ubiquitous f*ck and then wrote It is used in a variety of hateful ways that degrade the basic meaning of the word,
and I couldn't agree more. To me it also degrades the person who uses it as a casual profanity. (Including myself) {insert ashamed of herself blushing emoticon here} Just seems to me that one should first learn to use the language before venturing on to the Dark Side ... but then if one truly knows the language .... wow
the ubiquitous Monty Python lads covered this with their woody and tinny words (of which woody and tinny are examples thereof) -- I'm sure there is a link buried in the archives.
The interesting thing about the "F" word (don't you just love the convolutions we go through to get around four little letters?) is that (a) it is entirely ubiquitous these days, and (b) it has actually lost its original meaning in most usage. "F*ck me!" is a common expression in Ozkiwitralasia (is that a valid neologism?), yet there are no sexual connotations intended by it or taken from it.
It is also no longer the sole domain of the rougher kind of male. I must admit, though, that I'm still coming to terms with women of good education (and presumably upbringing) telling others to "F*ck off" or "Get f*cked" without even breaking stride or considering it in any way out of the ordinary. Because, of course, it isn't out of the ordinary these days, far from it. I even heard my dear old Mum use it once when she managed to put her finger between the foot and base plate of her sewing machine and thereby stitch her finger to the fabric she was sewing ... which rocked me back on my heels more than the actual accident, which was messy enough! And she would have been older than WOW if she wasn't dead at the moment.
I think you can dislike it, but you're never going to get rid of it. I guess that in fifty years' time a board like ours will be discussing its etymology!
Capital Kiwi stated I think you can dislike it, but you're never going to get rid of it. I guess that in fifty years' time a board like ours will be discussing its etymology!
Agreed. This thread is one that I feel very comfortable contributing to, due to its entirely subjective nature. The original post asked about words that inflict excruciating pain, and that one does for me. I have no intention of launching a campaign against the word, any more than against prioritise, which I hate with equal vehemence. Unschooled as I am, aesthetics, or my sense thereof, is the guiding force behind my use of language, and both those words are quite unbearably ugly to me.
"F*ck me!" is a common expression - - - - yet there are no sexual connotations intended by it or taken from it I don't entirely agree with that. Over here, the equaly common expression of surprise/dismay, "F*ckin' Hell!!" is often greeted with the reply, " I certainly hope they do!"
It just goes to show the power of a word, doesn't it? Strange how a combination of curved and straight lines can have such an effect.
What intrigues me is the impact that context has on making a word acceptable or unacceptable. As much as I loathe "fuck" (see, I can type it!), I am very comfortable using the correct pronunciation of the Maori "whaka", an extremely common element in Maori places names, and which, when said properly sounds just like "fuck a". I guess it's the vulgarity, paucity of imagination, and aggression so often displayed in the use of the Anglo-Saxon version that offends me, that makes it sound so ugly.
Capital Kiwi, I think that the phrase which will be the subject of etymological speculation in fifty years is the one you just coined. "Older than wow": what a great expression. It will leave the same mystified look on my younger listeners that "gone like pong" does now.
Although a frequent user of it (too long in the bush with drillers - one only needed a 2 word vocabulary - will leave it up to you to guess the other one) I refuse to put it into print. How's that for double standards!!
Remember those funny faxes we all used to get at work before email was invented? Dja ever see the one that gave examples of ALL the different ways the word could be used (ie wonder, incredulity, anger, loving etc). I remember just about busting myself larfin. (I'm ashamed to say that the only one I can remember was incredulity - the Lord Mayor of Hiroshima - "What the f* was THAT?"
I really hate the word "pot pourri" (I'm not sure I even know how to spell it). And I don't much care for pot pourri itself. I also dislike the word "veritable," and unfortunately folks will occasionally mention "a veritable pot pourri" and I subsequently have to be hospitalized for weeks at a time.
WARNING - Potentially controversial! Be aware I am anti the phrase, not the nationality!
A friend from college nearly goes into seizures when she hears the "oi" dipthong...
This brings to mind immediately the warcry of the home team in the Olympics 'Aussie Aussie Aussie - oi oi oi!' As a non-native living in Sydney, this makes me cringe internally. 'Oi' is to me such an ugly exclamation, conjuring up images of angry, incoherent red-faced men who can't be bothered to remember your name but need your attention this very minute for something which is important to them but you know nothing at all about and have nothing to do with anyway. (yes, I have two particular men in mind!) I suspect I have stronger mental associations than many, but still I can't understand why Australians would want their country to be associated with such a yobbish chant.
Someone, sometime, somewhere said the most euphonious phrase in English is "cellar door." Say it aloud several times, it is really pretty in American. How does it sound with English, Aussie, Zild accent? Nice perchance? OTOH, say uncle or Ithica several times, aloud, and they sound really dorky wow
Hi guys, I've been away awhile and I see that this thread has moved off of the "F" word, BUT I can't resist. I am a volunteer firefighter and one morning at a fire scene,(about 4:00 AM), when a piece of equipment broke, I heard the best use of the word F*ck that I have ever come across and I challenge you guys to top this one! The firefighter in question said, and this IS a direct quote: "The fuckin' fucker is fucked!" It absolutely said it all!
Wow, I recall hearing that same factoid, with the addition in one version that a non-English speaking immigrant couple named their daughter "Cellardoor" because they liked the sound.
On a related note, when I was very small I named one of my dolls "Kerosene." My parents thought it was hilarious, but I like the sound of the word.
OHMIGAWD. The memories THAT brings back. The Cellar Door was (perhaps still is) a place in Georgetown where we newly-graduated 18-year-olds went to have our first legal beer. It was literally in the basement of a building, and was the place where many a musical career got started. I saw PP&M there before they became world famous. Same for Aretha Franklin.
I always assumed it was named Cellar Door because it was in a cellar.
Doll named Kerosene This is a true story, so help me God. When my wife was in nurse's training and doing her rotation thru OB/GYN, she met a new mother, a primipara (there's glory for you!), who named one of her twin girls Siphyllis (accent on 2nd syllable) because she thought it sounded so beautiful. The other? Gonnoriya, of course.
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I absolutely loathe the ubiquitous f*ck - not simply because its usage has degenerated from earthy to vulgar, but because it sounds ugly. It is used in a variety of hateful ways that degrade the basic meaning of the word, and the sound of it is the sound of fingernails across a blackboard, for me.
