British Comedy Guide

Words you hate Page 6

Quote: catskillz @ October 14 2009, 1:32 AM BST

Multi-tasking. I want to know why people in this country seem to fall about laughing whenever anyone mentions this.

:|

Quote: Finck @ October 13 2009, 10:40 PM BST

Excited/exciting.

I should never have started this PR lark. Everyone's excited and everything's f**king exciting.

"Exciting" used to be my polite codeword for "shite" when I worked for a TV station. The marketing people would proudly show off a new network promo, slogan or program line-up, which they thought was wonderful, and ask me what I thought of it. "It's very exciting," I would answer flatly.

Quote: Tim Walker @ October 13 2009, 11:03 PM BST

I'd say "bonk" is worse.

Agreed. Shag is classy by comparison, even though "bonk" tended to be a posher word (didn't it?).

Quote: RubyMae - Glamourous Snowdrop at Large @ October 13 2009, 11:26 PM BST

I hate it when someone you are not seeing calls you sexy in a greeting as in "Hello Sexy". Why would you think that is okay? I'm not Barbra Windsor.

Several female colleagues and friends address me with a cheery greeting of "hey sexy" and vice versa. I also address a few male friends as "sexy". It's not intended flirtatiously. It's just a fun form of greeting. I wouldn't go about addressing happily married women (let alone women I didn't know really well) as 'sexy'. I'm not fond of using darling, sweetheart, sweetie, sugar or other loveydovey names for women I'm not intimately aquainted with. In fact I don't use sweetheart, sweetie or sugar at all.

Quote: Kenneth @ October 14 2009, 3:03 AM BST

Agreed. Shag is classy by comparison, even though "bonk" tended to be a posher word (didn't it?).

The word was used in Four Weddings And A Funeral a few times, so you may be on to something there.

What I don't like about bonk is that it's the almost-innocent, yet charmless euphemism for the word f**k. It actually demeans sex to me by making it sound rather childish.

Fortunately its use seems to be on the decline in the UK. It was a bit of 90s word, really. :)

Quote: RubyMae - Glamourous Snowdrop at Large @ October 13 2009, 11:33 PM BST

It's not playful! Whenever I hear it I can only see the person saying it sat in a Ford Capri with a fist of twenties and a bag of bon bons!

Image
Quote: Lee Henman @ October 14 2009, 12:11 AM BST

I also hate "bespoke"

Same.

I think "bespoke" should be allowable in regards to tailoring.

In any other context, of course, the person employing the word should be deep fried in a vat of James Corden's crotch-sweat droplets.

Quote: Renegade Carpark @ October 14 2009, 12:39 AM BST

Avuncular - as in pertaining to Uncles.

How f**king bored to you have to be to invent a word that pertains to Uncles only?

Avuncular is often used loosely to denote affection (definitely non-sexual) felt by an older man toward younger males/females. Like the kindness and tolerance that an uncle has for his nephews/nieces. Thus Jon Pertwee would say Doctor Who's relationship with his female companions was always only ever avuncular. Although Doctor Who's avuncularity went out the window when Russell T. Davies came along.

Quote: catskillz @ October 14 2009, 1:32 AM BST

Multi-tasking. I want to know why people in this country seem to fall about laughing whenever anyone mentions this.

Perhaps they're reminded of this hilarious image that was forwarded into almost everyone's inbox about a year ago:

Image
Quote: Kenneth @ October 14 2009, 3:32 AM BST

Although Doctor Who's avuncularity went out the window when Russell T. Davies came along.

Good point. Although not a fan since I was a kid of Doctor Who, I was rather disappointed that with Rose (Billie Piper) they included a more-or-less blatant love angle to the show. The Doctor worked best when he was like a slightly crazy (but harmless) uncle or even a protective elder brother to the human race.

What is ostensibly a kids show does not need off-putting "lovey-dovey" elements to it, which my daughters personally hate at their age.

What were we talking about again...? Errr

Oh, "stakeholder(s)", which is a word that has become ubiquitous since New Labour came to power in 1997. An important-sounding word for what basically translates to "proletariat scum" whenever government uses it.

Quote: Kenneth @ October 14 2009, 3:37 AM BST

Perhaps they're reminded of this hilarious image that was forwarded into almost everyone's inbox about a year ago:

Image

Men! We're a hopeless bunch of f**king idiots, aren't we? Ha ha ha ha ha! :|

I don't exactly hate these words, but they are overused (in NZ).
Awesome, wicked, choice, good times, muntered, gnarly, chunder.

I like the words, tosser/tosspot and twat.

Hmm good thread I missed!

My pet hates are add ons like -tacular and -tastic.

E.g. your uncles hideous rape/murder by a baboon was grief-tastic.

or you've got AIDS how tragi-tacular.

Also "like" and "you know"

Quote: Kenneth @ October 14 2009, 3:37 AM BST

Avuncular is often used loosely to denote affection (definitely non-sexual) felt by an older man toward younger males/females. Like the kindness and tolerance that an uncle has for his nephews/nieces. Thus Jon Pertwee would say Doctor Who's relationship with his female companions was always only ever avuncular. Although Doctor Who's avuncularity went out the window when Russell T. Davies came along.

I see. I can imagine the early Doctor Who script meetings - How should we describe the Doctor's relationship with his assistants? Distant? No. Friendly? Definitely not. Fatherly? Uh-uh. How about non-sexual affection felt by an older man toward younger males / females, like the kindness and tolerance that an uncle has for his nephews / neices? Yes, that sounds good, but how can we shorten that description to a manageable level? Dunno.

For all you post modern ironic types don't forget to add '-ing' to nouns to make them into hip new verbs - such as 'antique-ing', 'kebab-ing' and 'lawn mower-ing'.

Not the actual words, but the way they are used:
When someone starts a sentence with 'also' or 'and' then finishes it with 'as well' or 'too.'

I really want to bitchslap anyone who pronounces the letter 'H' phonetically.

Quote: Baumski @ October 14 2009, 12:12 PM BST

I really want to bitchslap anyone who pronounces the letter 'H' phonetically.

It is often taught that way to dyslexics and they have a great deal of trouble trying to stop it once they know how to use it properly.

Quote: Loopey @ October 14 2009, 12:15 PM BST

It is often taught that way to dyslexics and they have a great deal of trouble trying to stop it once they know how to use it properly.

OK, fair enough, but as for anyone else, is it like it once was when people pronounced it because they wanted to sound posh?

Quote: Baumski @ October 14 2009, 12:21 PM BST

OK, fair enough, but as for anyone else, is it like it once was when people pronounced it because they wanted to sound posh?

I don't like it either by the way - but do come across it a lot as explained above. Otherwise, I agree with you, I suspect it is to do with delusions of grandeur.

Share this page