Are there any words or phrases you regularly hear yourself using in your everyday speech that you wish you could weed out?
I catch myself using the following ones too often and wish I could successfully get rid of 'em:
particularly
especially
inordinantly
goofball
knucklehead
Munchkins (gotta stop using that!)
_______________Land (I name all kinds of concepts Something-or-Other-Land: TechnoLand, La-La-Land, ElementaryLand, and so on. I'm sick of hearing myself do so.)
pristine
crytalline
ethereal
orchestral (and I'll bet my friends are sick of me talking about orchestral this and that, too!)
...and a lot of others that just keep me from thinking.
Do you have words and phrases you'd like to kick out for a while so some others could work their way into your EverydaySpeechLand? (See how stupid that sounds!? And it is!)
Bugaboo regards,
WW
Whenever I visit the Merrimack Valley or spend time with folks from that area, I come, ya know, back with, ya know, this habit, ya know, which ya know drives me nuts even as I hear myself, ya know, say it.
I root it out of my speech as fast as I can, ya know.
dam!
Other words that acreep into my converasation more than I'd like are:
Perfectly!
Absolutely
I know (I suddenlty realize I sound like Mrs. Fawlty!)
Ever since I excised "a lot" from my personal lexicon I'm always using "quite a few" or "many" and they often don't sound quite right. In writing papers I notice that I use "rather", "seems" and "quite" quite a bit. I also use "interesting" or "intriguing" frequently and I need something new.
WW, I'll trade you your inordinantly for an astonishing
Then I'll trade for five of your
astonishings for ten of my overworked exclamations
son-of-a-bitch!. -
-
Who wants my 'amazing'? (Please!)(That's no word, that's my life...)
Who wants my 'amazing'? (Please!)(That's no word, that's my life...)No problem, Jackie; we'll just start calling you Grace.
Many many years ago, my family moved to a small town in northern Virginia. And they even took me with them!
Anyway, the rural mail deliverer was a fellow named Elmer Maley. He punctuated every sentence with the word "bolly", and it was several years before I got up the nerve to ask someone what bolly meant. It was Elmer's shortening of the phrase "by golly." I've never forgotten it, and someday Elmer, thinly disguised, will appear as a character in my novel about the Tarleton Tavern. May never get it published, but writing it sure is fun.
In conversation, when I agree with someone, I almost always say "Fair enough," enough so that people I work with sometimes say it along with me when they see me winding up for it.
I have weaned myself from its use a bit, but I'd not mind being a mite less predictable in what I'm going to say.
And for many years, "amaaaazing" was how I described anything positive - drove me nuts, but I couldn't stop - I think I used up my allotted quota of word-usages for that one, however, because I rarely say it now.
I had a boyfriend when I was thirteen who used to say "and such" at the end of everything. In the end I couldn't stand it any more and gave him the push. I hadn't realised that my ability to be irritated by words (see early threads about pet peeves) would lead me to spend so much time with you guys.
Here is a rather sad juvenile site on pet peeves. Just see how bad it could get if you put on paper every minor irritation in your life as these people did:
http://www.gargaro.com/peeves.html
i edit out about 50% of my but's.. since but is a very negative word..(as in you did a great job, but..) what ever comes after the but is almost always negative and/or agruementive.. (got one!)i should edit out more..
every day in every way, a little better--oops, that goes in the misquoted thread.. oh well.
Ya think? (with oh, just the right tone and rising inflection..0 way, way to often comes out of my mouth.
I say "oh bollocks" FAR too often , it used to just be moments of stress but now I'll say it if the wind changes. must...stop
the Duncster
Swedish mama???
In what context? This is a new phrase for me. I would look it up on Onelook, but I have a gut feeling it wouldn't be there.
I would look it up on Onelook, but I have a gut feeling it wouldn't be there.
It *best not be there. It is a phrase of mine own invention and says something rather scatological about a person many believe to have supernatural powers.
WW,
I'm as lost as you are.
I'm as lost as you are
And here I was thinkin' it was his twee, ever-lovin' way of referring to you, AnnaS.