I thought I'd throw this one in!

Do you have a pet hate word that has been doing the rounds in 2010?

I do:   "Absolutely"

It is the most absurd, overused and mis-used word I've heard in a long time.

A simple "Yes" would do

Happy New Year

One that  have seen used a lot on facebook recently is.......

"Chillaxing"

Also drives my partner nuts, she really does hate it.

Craig

ojibway:

I thought I'd throw this one in!

Do you have a pet hate word that has been doing the rounds in 2010?

I do:   "Absolutely"

It is the most absurd, overused and mis-used word I've heard in a long time.

A simple "Yes" would do

Happy New Year

I have to admit: I use that word too often. There are lots of words I hate. Especially "proactive" Sadly it has been with us for longer than just 2010... Let's hope it will disappear in 2011!

I'd like to see the back of 'text speak' which has killed or maimed many words in the English language..

My 22 year old sister will often text me to say something like 'yeh, woz wicked - now off to town wiv ma mates' - which makes me want to find her, snatch the phone from her hands, stamp on it until it becomes but dust on the pavement, then hand her a dictionary in its place..

That aside - one word which is thankfully now unfashionable, but i'd like totally eradicated is 'BRAINSTORM'

Surely a storm is a negative event where things fall down, get blown over and collapse - or smash to pieces.  However, when you get a room full of people who have to get together in order to think of things they can't quite do alone, it becomes a 'positive event' !!   Well, bless my Top Man suit and loafers Daz, let's have a brainstorm and go sell some mobile phones.. 

Lee

Hey, Lee

you've hit on two I've had to hit on the head more than a few times.

When I was a lecturer (design) I had, on many occasions, to correct student written work for using "text speak".

And, as for 'BRAINSTORMING'. It was a forbidden word in my class. You see, when it comes to thinking up new shapes and designs, brainstorming relies on what you already know so the outcome will be thus limited. I always encouraged developing ideas and designs from outside stimuli - so a fresh source of inspiration leading to shapes they hadn't dreamt of (or preconceived).

Mike

"Iconic"

Everything has to be iconic (in UK).  I cannot imagine how things like sound or an event can be iconic, but they apparently can be.

Just heard another one on the news..

" THINKTANK "

Even when you try to dissect that word and make sense of it in the sum of its parts, or try and meld them into something which reflects its true meaning - it still leaves you with a constipated look on your face.

To be honest, i reckon a 'thinktank' is the name for a place where 'brainstorms' take place, which serves only to elevate it's position in the hall of crap words...  

Lee

Roadmap.

Not 2010 but still being used. Grrrrr

Very interesting which words are used too often or in some kind of wrong usage. 

Lee, I would have a problem understanding your sisters` - 'yeh, woz wicked - now off to town wiv ma mates' - but please be ensured that we have similar abbreviations in Germany and to be honest I do not like them. 

One more thing which comes to my mind while I am writing that post is ... using three points or any other punctuation to end a sentence without really ending the thought in the sentence. 

Larskoelle:

Lee, I would have a problem understanding your sisters` - 'yeh, woz wicked - now off to town wiv ma mates' 

.. and i have a problem with it too.  There, we have crossed international boundaries!

to translate though..

yeh = yes

woz = it was

wicked = excellent

now off to town = i am now going to travel to the city centre

wiv = with

ma = my

mates = friends

As an addendum, i can honestly say that 7 years of reading posts by our very own Peter (Doctor) has improved my English beyond recognition.  I have been dragged from the gutter and now sit on the kerb thanks to that man!  A true English Gentleman, personally as well as online.

If only; my English is appalling! I was dreadful at school; I am sure my long suffering teacher despaired of me. I also have a tendency to write as if Caesar, with far too many sub-clauses. The people who really impress me are those non English speakers who post word perfect threads.

Doctor:

The people who really impress me are those non English speakers who post word perfect threads.

Mika's written english is astonishing and I'm still sure Electrified is an expat!

9 LEE:

Larskoelle:

Lee, I would have a problem understanding your sisters` - 'yeh, woz wicked - now off to town wiv ma mates' 

.. and i have a problem with it too.  There, we have crossed international boundaries!

to translate though..

yeh = yes

woz = it was

wicked = excellent

now off to town = i am now going to travel to the city centre

wiv = with

ma = my

mates = friends

 

As an addendum, i can honestly say that 7 years of reading posts by our very own Peter (Doctor) has improved my English beyond recognition.  I have been dragged from the gutter and now sit on the kerb thanks to that man!  A true English Gentleman, personally as well as online.

I actually knew most of those words from watching BBC America.  The expression I hate which I hope is confined to the US is 'send me a ticktock'. This is actually used by business people asking for an electronic appointment request by email or iPhone.

For great fun with new expressions, look at the Urban Dictionary at http://www.urbandictionary.com/.

Peter is indeed a gentleman.

Soundproof also blows me away with his English.  He often uses words I myself have to look up - and i'm English !!! 

Peter, stop being modest. Thank you.  Another one of your wonderful traits which endear me to you even further..

Anyway - back to the thread!

My son (daughter left last year) goes to a school where non-competition is key.  They've taken the happy-clapping tree hugging thing one click too far on the 'nice-o-meter', with every child being made to feel 'special' in their own way no matter how badly they do.  I get the ethos, but is going this far really going to prepare them for the real world?

Anyway... sports day 2009.  My daughter wins the 25m sprint (i know, i know) and is given a little something as winner as she is pronounced over the loudhailer.  Next up comes 2nd place, a little smiling girl who is pronounced proudly 'Second Winner' - then followed by 'Third Winner'.. 'Fourth Winner' then 'Fifth Winner' followed of course by last place - 'Sixth WINNER'

I stood there in complete disbelief.  How on earth can this play on words help these kids in later life?  "Sorry Miss Smith, you didn't get the job - but you were third winner.. hurrah!"  - or "sorry, you've lost out this time on promotion - but you're still fifth winner.."

What a load of rubbish.  Granted, i'm not up for thrashing losers with twigs or returning to Victorian values - but as a species we're competitive, that's the idea. At least get kids used to losing, which will in order make them want to win.. surely?

oops.. off on a tangent there - but 'Second Winner' is my annoying word(s)

Lee

Stonk:

Doctor:

The people who really impress me are those non English speakers who post word perfect threads.

Mika's written english is astonishing and I'm still sure Electrified is an expat!

I still annoy myself enough with unsure preposition usage and such that I've thought of reacquiring that English grammar book I sold more than 20 years ago after clearing high school!

Believe it or not, but it is also thanks to Beoworld. I used to write a lot on Usenet in the early '90s, but after that mostly degenerated into reading CS, electronic engineering and mathematics text books. Apart from some fine exceptions, they don't do much for your language skills. I'm sure my active general purpose vocabulary has grown massively since I registered here!

***

I don't text much with teenagers so I'm pretty safe from those horrors... but whenever I see 'ur' or 'coz' on a web page that has been typed in with a perfectly functional full scale keyboard, my first reaction is to click on 'back'. The author may have saved a couple of keystrokes, but I'll rather save my time than waste it on text that has been deliberately made hard to read.

I also hate 'sonically'. I suspect it's correct though and I can't suggest a better alternative, but that's not my job, I'm not a native speaker

9 LEE:

My son (daughter left last year) goes to a school where non-competition is key.  They've taken the happy-clapping tree hugging thing one click too far on the 'nice-o-meter', with every child being made to feel 'special' in their own way no matter how badly they do.  I get the ethos, but is going this far really going to prepare them for the real world?

Anyway... sports day 2009.  My daughter wins the 25m sprint (i know, i know) and is given a little something as winner as she is pronounced over the loudhailer.  Next up comes 2nd place, a little smiling girl who is pronounced proudly 'Second Winner' - then followed by 'Third Winner'.. 'Fourth Winner' then 'Fifth Winner' followed of course by last place - 'Sixth WINNER'

I stood there in complete disbelief.  How on earth can this play on words help these kids in later life?  "Sorry Miss Smith, you didn't get the job - but you were third winner.. hurrah!"  - or "sorry, you've lost out this time on promotion - but you're still fifth winner.."

What a load of rubbish.  Granted, i'm not up for thrashing losers with twigs or returning to Victorian values - but as a species we're competitive, that's the idea. At least get kids used to losing, which will in order make them want to win.. surely?

oops.. off on a tangent there - but 'Second Winner' is my annoying word(s)

Lee

-and I thought that it was only in Scandinavia we had these schools, driven by old hippies ("we're all alike...", "You must wait for the others...")   I see that You have your battles too.

Steffen

How about ...

SWMBO: "Can you tape that for me?"

Sobbing, I start the EyeTV hard disk recorder ...

And Lee, your story reminds me of the time I was a "Little Ath(letic)s" with my son (no one wins, we just beat our PBs (which is actually a nice philosophy)), when there was a thunderstorm so we shuffled all the "little vegemites" into the safety of the sports pavilion, and to keep them entertained I started drawing pictures, asking what they were, and labelling them: "CAT", "MAT", "DOG".

There was a look of horror on one woman's face and she said "we do not do capitals any more" 

Larskoelle:

One more thing which comes to my mind while I am writing that post is ... using three points or any other punctuation to end a sentence without really ending the thought in the sentence. 

Guilty again. (Normally I would have typed three points here) Another word I particularly hate is sparring partner. I have no problem with the original meaning of the word, but I can't stand the way it's used in think tanks by types who spent too much time brainstorming (nearly used three points again).

Some nice ones here!!

I like the 'tickbox'

On our ever increasing number of property shows - or are they just repeats? - I like people for whom it 'ticks all the boxes'. Obviously they work in local government and have forms to fill to show they have met all their targets.

But here's another: "yeah no" or "yeah, yeah no". Seems to be common to 25 to 40 year olds when in conversation with one another. Like a nervous twitch!

Another word I don't like: facilitate

Hi Lee,

Hi Linder,

Thank you very much for the translation as well as the dictionary.

Somehow I got your little sister and if she would have sent me the same message I would have understood her somehow.

Honestly I do not know why someone should use such abbreviations but anyway. In Germany not only "urban" citizen are using such words explained on urbandictionary.com

One word I do not like at all but which is used very often is Lokation which is used for the different offices we are using. It is the same as location but with a very typical german pronunciation.

As I am from germany I do not want to judge the english vikinger writes on beoworld.org but said that I have to admit that his english is much better than mine and that I would be glad to be able to speak and write as fluent and eloquent as he does.

STRAW-MAN!

I have quite a few to add:

Going forwards/Going forward. As in going forwards we shall do some work instead of sitting in this meeting room saying ridiculous things such as going forwards.

Skillsets - I fail to see how one can compartmentalise their skills into sets, this is therefore totally unnecessary in my opinion.

Not fit for purpose - Gordon Brown said it once about a social service team and then every layperson copied it inappropriately - these trousers are not fit for purpose, this carpet is not fit for purpose, these baked beans are not fit for purpose.

The hanging "so" that forces you to direct or finish a conversation - "What do you do for a job?" "I sell photocopiers so errr..." 

Internet/SMS memes:

Unnecessary use of (or any use of) LOL - For example, I have just gone to the shop LOL. What makes your visit to the shop inherently funny?

Pointless kisses at the end of text messages from female friends or relatives - Can you bring me a newspaper Xx. Why not just say Can you bring me a newspaper please?

ROFL - Did you really?

Not a word, but anyone found guilty of doing those idiotic Air Quotes deserve to have their fingers chopped off

Stonk:

Mika's written english is astonishing and I'm still sure Electrified is an expat!

Wow! Thank you so much! 

Unbeknownst to you, you posted that very fine compliment on my birthday