Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Ugh Words

I was just reading an edition of Language Log, which is interested in words and their uses. It's a pretty interesting site.

This one was a bit unusual. They polled people for the words they just can't stand to hear. Some of them were surprising -- hardscrabble, for one; pugilist; luggage;hubbub. One fellow said that his wife is okay with 'moisturizer', but not 'moist' (which he says affects his ability to watch cooking shows). And a woman cites 'panties', which she says always has a 'creepy pedophilia connection'. I don't know about that, but I know the word itself has always struck me as odd. My 80+ year old mother used the word once with me, and it creeped me right out.

From that blog's writeup:

Among the 1,694 responses:

Elizabeth Barrett: moist and panties. Either separately or in conjunction. Blech.
Em T.: My mother hated gut. Would not let us say it, as if it were the worst word in English.
Maizie B.: goosepimple
kismet: Oh, I hate panties too! Everybody I know has to refer to them as underthings.
VanPear: I guess it's two words, but mother's milk squicks me terribly.
susan b.: I hate "chunk" and "chunky". I also hate "wedge". "Cut into wedges". "serve with a wedge of cheese". Ick. I also hate "moist". And I dislike "meal".
Eustacia: Baffle. Squab. Cornucopia.
Reggae Junkie: Big toe. Navel. Armpit. Lunch meat. insert. bra strap
Harri P. Boob. Panties. Swimsuit.
kismet: Giggle. Hate hate HATE giggle. With the concentrated hatred of a thousand hate filled suns.
BlueBirthday: I hate the word "moist" so much I can hardly type it.
sohcahtoa: I hate "gig", "motif", and "whimsy". No rational reason, just hate them.
Diana Barry: "Navel" and "furtive." Ugh.
Cathy Georges: Also clabber and squall. And plumbago.


Wonder what other Ugh words exist?

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