Nominate a worthless, over-used word for bannishment!

[KurtNYC]

I would like to nominate "redoubling" as in "redoubling our efforts."

It is hyperbolic and, within one word, redundant. It is also useful for liars as one who has made zero effort can truthfully say that they are redoubling their efforts -- zero times 2, or 4, is still zero.

[IdaBriggs]

1. "Like" - as in, "like, I said" and "like, seriously."

Or, "its like" -- It totally reminds me of like, 1980s "valley girl" speech, and the fact that, like, some people, like, still do it, totally like irritates me.

[lame54]

5. like you know

[KurtNYC]

7. fer shur, fer shur

[Xithras]

36. "Like" is a recognized component of California English

And California English is a formally recognized dialect of American English.

"Like" is no more or less valid than any other language filler, such as "uh" and "um".

Telling a native Californians to stop saying "like" is like telling a southerner to stop saying "y'all". Or a New Englander to stop using "wicked" as a replacement for "very". Or a midwesterner to stop calling that drink "pop" (it's SODA dammit!)

[edgineered]

46. Found memories of a valley girl

that modeled plastic socks for me on our first night together still exist.

On our second night together we visited her sister and boyfriend in LA.
The sister and boyfriend slept in the closet that night.

Hearing 'like' isn't offensive at all...

[CTyankee]

2. speaking of "double," how about "double-down"?

[femmocrat]

3. "Repurpose"

I don't know why... it's a perfectly comprehensible word, but it annoys me. What happened to "recycle"? Is that word out of favor now? Has it been tossed to the trash bin?

Has "upcycle" replaced it?

[Sanity Claws]

4. Difference between upcycle and recycle

Recycle means to disassemble or melt down the thing and then use the result in a new product. Upcycle means to take an item that no longer has use for the owner (like a rusty bicycle) and reuse it in a new way, perhaps by incorporating it with other parts to make something new (like a lamp.)

[tabbycat31]

6. What would you call using somethig that would be otherwise trash

For example, I save my coffee grounds and use them as deodorizers and plant food (new suggestions always welcome).

I also save orange peels and free grated ones to use in cooking.

IMO recycling is sending out things like plastic bottles to the recycling center to be made into other things (plastic bottles, fleece, boardwark material, etc). It's generally done in large quantities and not at home.

Reusing is doing something like using the container your salsa came in as a storage container for more food.

Upcycling would be taking something and putting a creative flair to it to use it for something that was not its intended use. A quick Google image search reveals making a planter out of an old pair of boots, a cat bed out of an old computer monitor, etc.

I'm not sure what using food waste would be considered.

[femmocrat]

15. Compost?

Although I know you aren't just composting them. I would call it recycling.

[fizzgig]

20. i repurpose leftovers into new dishes

recycle doesn't seem to sound quite right.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

29. I repurpose learning modules.

[femmocrat]

32. What do they become?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

39. They become parts of new training packages.

You might have to do a little re-design to make them better dovetail with the other components of a new training plan but essentially you're taking a part that exists in one package and transplanting it to a new package.

[sakabatou]

8. Yolo

[KamaAina]

42. That would leave the county where UC Davis is up a creek.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yolo_County,_California

Yolo County, officially the County of Yolo, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 200,849. Its county seat is Woodland, and its largest city is Davis.

Yolo County is included in the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county is located in the Sacramento Valley,

Much of Yolo County remains a relatively rural agricultural region. This is evidenced by the multi-billion-dollar California tomato industry, centering on Yolo County, dominating 90% of the canned and processed tomato market in the United States.

[Tom_Foolery]

9. Republican. n/t

[a kennedy]

10. moving forward.....ugh hate it.

[Aristus]

11. 'Iconic'.

Shit, everything these days is iconic, for some reason. Usually for some reason other than that the item in question has become a cultural icon.

[LiberalElite]

52. +10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

[malthaussen]

12. "Elite"

So overused these days, the tiresomely commonplace is called "elite."

-- Mal

[GoCubsGo]

19. Yup. Overused and misused.

I participate on some hockey discussion boards. A lot of people like to use "elite" to distinguish the goaltenders with the best records and stats from the others. Except that any starting goalie in the NHL is "elite". You don't get to play in that league as a starter if you aren't among the best of the best. I cringe every time I read that word in that context.

[Ron Obvious]

13. Populace and Utilise

There's almost no case where people and use wouldn't serve perfectly well.

[WinkyDink]

22. You know what you are not? A school administrator. ;-)

[Ron Obvious]

24. Right you are! n/t

[Le Taz Hot]

82. Actually . . .

Use and utilize are often used interchangeably and, therefore, incorrectly. The word "use" means the act or practice of employing something. "Utilize" is to use something for other than its original purpose, i.e., I took a drafting board, mounted a large cork board and am now utilizing the drafting board as my macramé board.

Did I mention I used to teach English?

[Ron Obvious]

85. I ... am now using the drafting board as my macrame board

I rest my case, English teacher

[Le Taz Hot]

86. A perfectly legitimate use of the word "using."

I was just demonstrating the difference between the two words. Really not trying to be a PITA, just trying to be helpful.

[bigwillq]

14. Bae (nt)

[Wolf Frankula]

16. Racist

It's become a general insult and lost its exact meaning.

Wolf

[shenmue]

18. No

Still looks the same in the dictionary to me.

[av8rdave]

17. "Metrics"

A sloppy substitute for "data," it somehow relieves the user of providing any meaningful information. It's amazing to me how quickly a suggestion or discussion can be shut down with a simple, "the metrics don't support that." I call bullshit.

[geardaddy]

25. +1

[WinkyDink]

21. "HOMELAND"!!!

[rurallib]

56. Amen to that

[tk2kewl]

23. "Optics"

[KurtNYC]

27. good one - hearing that a lot lately

[tk2kewl]

28. yeah... i hear it at work...

but your post about the "Homeland Generation" was what changed it from annoying to disgusting for me

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025660501

[hunter]

80. It still means lenses and mirrors and math and such to me.

If anyone uses it another way in my presence I'll be sure to give them my best "what kind of idiot are you?" glare.

Language is the ultimate democracy. Everyone has the power to change it, for good or bad.

[geardaddy]

26. Plate as a verb. n/t

[femmocrat]

31. It can be a verb.

It means to coat with a thin layer of metal, like gold or silver plate.

How have you heard it used?

[geardaddy]

34. Yeah, I hadn't thought of that.

I hear it used on cooking shows: "It's time to plate the dish."

[femmocrat]

35. Oh, yeah.... that sounds terrible.

"Plate" it with what?!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

92. Crushed cornflakes

The tasty plating!

[fifthoffive]

30. Pre-planning

What do you do before planning? Plan to plan?

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

38. A 3 cell strip is worth many words

[Gidney N Cloyd]

41. I love going into meetings where it's clear there had been a pre-meeting without me.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

44. All you need to do is...

...contradict something tangential to the topic and claim data/decisions from a prior meeting as a reason.

[eppur_se_muova]

33. Bespoke. nt

[Xithras]

40. The expansion of the word bespoke recently IS odd and annoys the crap out of me.

Historically, the word bespoke was only used in mens fine tailoring and a handful of other fields (software development, medicine, etc). Over the past few years it's started to pop up EVERYWHERE. I actually saw a real estate ad in San Francisco a few days ago that described the flat as having a "bespoke kitchen". Seriously? The word is CUSTOM.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

45. When I was 10...

...I had a bicycle with a b-spoke that made noise upon striking a c-ard.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

37. signage

What a waste of a syllable.
A sign is a sign. More than one sign can be referred to "signs".

[KamaAina]

43. Kardashian

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

47. ???

...ian

[nirvana555]

48. I am so sick of people saying ( after they've made their point) "Does that make sense?" I want

to shout at them: "NO, IT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL!!!!!!"

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

49. Makes sense to me

[DinahMoeHum]

50. "Awesome!!"

Last edited Wed Oct 15, 2014, 10:46 AM - Edit history (1)

I swear, I want to strangle the next asshole who uses that word. What a lack of imagination on their part.

[narnian60]

64. You stole mine.

Used to be a perfectly good word. Banned it from my students' writing. How can everything be awesome?

[DinahMoeHum]

69. Getting to this before you did is NOT stealing. . .

Nobody else posted it, and I felt if ever a word deserved to be on the list, it was that one.

Sorry as hell.

[Laffy Kat]

112. Yes. I feel the same way about "cool" now, too.

Everything is either cool or awesome.

[kcass1954]

51. If I get one more email from a manager that refers to us as "Team"... n/t

[hay rick]

53. I'd redouble my efforts...

but I'm already giving 110 per cent.

[KurtNYC]

55. Ahhhhhhh !!!!!

[LiberalElite]

54. option nt

[kwassa]

57. Decoding. Emerging. Impactful. Authentic. Interfaces. Articulation. Proficiencies.

Debrief.

Meaning-centered.

Socio-emotional.

[ailsagirl]

58. awesome

It has been ruined.

[Initech]

59. Using the word "preggers" to describe pregnant women.

[Arugula Latte]

74. Add to that "baby bump"

Okay, that's two words.

[Initech]

75. I seriously loathe stories about celebrity "baby bumps".

[Initech]

60. "Nucular"

It's "clear". "Nuclear". And we had to endure 8 years of a man who couldn't pronounce this wprd correctly with access to an entire arsenal of nuclear weapons!!!!

[lastlib]

107. AND the basturd you're associating it with!

Banish him to The Hague forthwith, pronto!

[kairos12]

61. Metrics. The metrics of victory over ISIS are...blah, blah, blah.

[Iggo]

71. "Optics" is another one.

Hasn't been around as long, but we need to nip that one in the bud.

[betsuni]

62. "Curated" is the next one to be ruined.

"My Curated Life" "Curated Lifestyle" blogs (the people who still use "awesome" to describe everything). In the last two days I've seen "wreck havoc" at least seven times and it's really bugging me. Yesterday I saw: "Always have a trick under your sleeves." Argh.

[mrmpa]

63. Inappropriate........

as in that was inappropriate behavior. No it was "wrong". We don't want to hurt someone's feelings so we use the word inappropriate, when the word wrong should be used instead.

[gratuitous]

73. Using "misspoke" when you want to say "lied"

Same general area of misuse.

Also, I could happily live out my life without hearing "double down" (especially when what the speaker means is "all in&quot ever again.

[narnian60]

65. Furbaby.

No one is a bigger animal lover than me, but that word is just icky.

[Sherman A1]

66. "Really?"

Just absolutely drives me crazy.........

Tells me just how much TV influences us or perhaps brain washes us.

[hobbit709]

67. Republican

[IDemo]

68. Selfie n/t

[Iggo]

70. Ilk.

And "Spot on!"

[Populist_Prole]

72. Just sayin' or I'm just sayin'

Seems to be rash use of this lame comeback used by weasels that have no valid argument after they're called for making an offending or illogical statement.

[WinkyDink]

79. I like this term. J/S. ;-)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

76. It's concerning to me.

They made up a word. They could say "It worries me" or "it bothers me" or "I am concerned about it."


Reiterate. Redundant word since "iterate" means repeat. "Iter" is Latin for "again". But who the hell knows Latin roots anymore except people like me who actually studied Romance languages.


Last night on the Travel Channel I heard "today's modern woman". Redundancy.


Optics of the situation. They can't say "This situation looks bad from the outside"? To me, the word "optics" has to do with Isaac Newton and telescopes and cameras and eyeglasses and other things that have lenses in them.


Issues. People don't have problems anymore, so they have "issues". The word "problems" implies something serious so we must make it sound gentler.


Making color "pop". Hear that all the time on decorating shows. They can't say "bright" or "saturated" color. Dark colors recede, bright colors come forward visually.


"Know whut ah'm sayin'?" No, I don't know what you are saying, you idiot, because you mumble and don't use proper grammar.


I want to strangle someone when they sound like Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel on The Simpsons.


"Giving 110%" -- somebody is bad at math.


"Team player" -- good little corporate sheep who is terrified of saying or doing anything different. Yeah, lots of countries in history have had millions of team players carrying out the orders of the leader. Sometimes they were called dictatorships.


"People person" -- well, we are all by definition individually a person, and collectively known as people. So this is meaningless.


"It is what it is" -- another useless tautology (A = A) that means and says nothing. Verbal filler, kind of like bubble wrap in the physical world.

In the sixties, the word that implied status was "executive".

[NobodyHere]

108. 'In the sixties, the word that implied status was "executive". '

[Glorfindel]

77. Hopefully when used to mean "I hope" or "one hopes"

Used correctly, the word is fine: "It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive." What a shame that there is no such word as "hopably."

[Jamaal510]

78. "Epic".

These days, that word has been used so much for things that aren't even close to the dictionary definition (e.g. "epic video", "epic remix", etc.)

[RobinA]

81. Skill Set

I loathe this. It turns people into robotic commodities and reduces them to a bunch of tasks they can accomplish. The first time I heard it I thought it was a joke. A parody of corporatespeak. Come to find out that real people use it without a touch of irony. It should only be used, if at all, with a boatload of irony.

[Recursion]

83. Artisinal

Is it really an "artisinal" cheese, waitress? Really? Really? Or is it just cheese?

[Barack_America]

98. Yes, please.

[KurtNYC]

100. Yes. So over-used that they can substitute the noun, artisan, for the adj, artisanal

"Artisan cheese" = the cheese itself is "a worker who practices a trade or handicraft."

[riderinthestorm]

84. Dude

[LWolf]

105. This one gets my vote. nt

[pinboy3niner]

87. Bannishment

I recommend we go back to spelling it with one 'n'.

[Hotler]

89. So........n/t

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

93. It needs two 'n's.

but not three.

[flying rabbit]

88. Offensive

and its variants. Way overused to describe something a person doesn't like.

[greatauntoftriplets]

90. Hand crafted.

It's badly overused these days.

[First Speaker]

91. "Meme"

...it is essentially meaningless. It conveys nothing that "idea" does not, but it sounds more enlightened--or something...

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

94. So

So starting a sentence with the word "so" is just so annoying ...

[JCMach1]

95. 'Proactive'... really do we need a word meaning more active than active?

HELL to the NO

[malthaussen]

111. That would have been my second choice.

But I interpreted the OP to limit us to one suggestion. Hate, hate, HATE that neologism. So obviously the invention of a PR man.

-- Mal

[elleng]

96. Incredible

[vanlassie]

97. "Wow Factor". "Bling"

I watch bridal gown shows. HATE these two descriptions!

[elleng]

99. Impacted

[Inkfreak]

101. Comprehensive. (nt)

[Scuba]

102. "Actually". See post # 82.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

103. Amazing

and hackneyed phrase: At the end of the day.

[Jeff Rosenzweig]

104. "authoritarian" n/t

[IrishEyes]

106. One Stop Shop

I know it is a phrase but I hear it at every company. It is over done.

[hamsterjill]

109. "reaching out"

Yes, I know - that's TWO words. But the phrase just bugs me!

You don't REACH OUT to business contacts, etc. You contact them.

[onecent]

110. ABSOLUTELY... I AM so sick of that word....when they don't know what else to say on

television news that is what they say.....(it means "I'm as dumb as you"