Since posting the original 200 Words and Phrases That Tick You Off, we've continued to collect readers' verbal peeves. Here are the results for 2011.
The term logomisia (from the Greek for "word hatred") refers to a strong dislike for a word or phrase based on its sound, meaning, usage, or associations.
It's clear that many of you have experienced such word aversion.
Readers who contributed to our list of 200 Words and Phrases That Ticked You Off in 2010 won't find many surprises in this year's collection.
You remain annoyed (sometimes profoundly disturbed) by buzzwords, vogue words, malapropisms, redundancies, and clichés. You're vexed and perplexed by instances of bureaucratese, legalese, and journalese. And you're clearly exasperated by usageerrors of all kinds--including a few that aren't errors at all.
Here are 100 verbal pet peeves submitted by readers during 2011. To contribute an annoying expression to our next list, visit 100 Words and Phrases That Ticked You Off in 2013 and click on the "comments" link at the end of the post.
- Absolutely!
- Across the aisle
- Agreeance (for agreement)
- Analization (for analysis)
- Anxious (instead of eager)
- Are we having fun yet? (used sarcastically)
- ASAP (especially when used in speech)
- At the end of the day
- At this moment in time
- Awesome (and other overworked hyperbolic adjectives)
- Back-story
- Been there, done that
- Benchmark
- Bottom line
- Brain fart
- Butt naked (instead of "buck naked")
- Categorically deny
- Conventional wisdom
- Cooking up a storm
- Could care less (instead of "could not care less")
- Customers (instead of patients, in the health-care industry)
- Dealio (slang for deal)
- Double down
- Down to the wire
- Embattled (journalists' jargon)
- Embedded
- Epic (as a vague, all-purpose adjective)
- Extreme
- The fact of the matter
- Free gift
- Fungible
- Gift (used as a verb)
- Girls (in reference to women)
- Give a shout out
- Give me a break
- Going forward
- Have a good one
- Having said that
- Hella (as in "It's hella crowded in here")
- Icon and Iconic (overused and almost always inappropriate)
- Inappropriate
- Infrastructure
- Ish (used to convey mild disagreement with another person's opinion)
- It is what it is
- It's not my fault
- Just saying (after stating an opinion)
- Kick the can down the road
- Know what I mean?
- Kudos
- Like (when used as a discourse marker)
- Literally
- Look (when used to preface an answer)
- Love me some (as in "I love me some tamales")
- Luminary (for "anyone who is making big bucks no matter how evil they are as humans")
- Meme
- Moist
- My bad
- Narrative (when used as political jargon)
- No problem (instead of you're welcome)
- Pacifically (for specifically)
- Pass the smell test
- Penned (when used as a synonym for wrote)
- Perfect storm (in reference to anything except an actual storm)
- Pitcher (for picture)
- Play hardball (unless you're actually on a ball field)
- Price point (for price)
- Proactive
- Reboot (in reference to anything except a computer)
- Refudiate (for repudiate)
- Ridonkulous
- Right now
- Same difference
- Sexy (when used to describe sexless things)
- Simply (when used condescendingly in instructions)
- Skill set (for skills)
- So fun!
- Staunch (as in "staunch Republican/Democrat")
- Supposively (for supposedly)
- Sustainable
- That being said
- That's what I'm talking about
- That's what she said
- These ones
- Thinking outside the box
- Throw X under the bus
- Too funny
- Townhome
- Transitioning
- Under the radar
- Untimely death
- Utilize (when use is more appropriate)
- Vanilla folder (instead of "manila folder")
- Very unique
- Welcome to my world
- Wellness Center
- What are your co-ordinates?
- Whatever (when used as an exclamation)
- Whoa (as in "I was like, whoa")
- Womb to tomb
- You know? (when used as a discourse marker)
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