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You know how you find certain words seriously annoying? Like whatever.

Rob Beschizza at 8:29 am Fri, Dec 28, 2012

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Reuters is just saying.

"Whatever" headed the list, cited by 32 percent of adults, and next came "like," which 21 percent didn't like. Runners-up included "Twitterverse" and "gotcha'." The results mirrored last year's survey when "whatever" topped the annoying words list for a third straight year. But "seriously," named by 7 percent last year, dropped off the list entirely - really.

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MORE:  annoying • words

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  • http://twitter.com/samari711 samari711

    I am literally exploding with excitement over this list.

    • mappo

      I literally, like, liked your comment. Seriously.

  • Thomas Schmidt

    2 others on my list.  “Literally” & Anything-Gate.

    • Glippiglop

      Agreed.  The use of “Plebgate” has been annoying the hell out of me in the UK for the last 2 months now.  It seems you only need to tack ‘gate’ onto any controversy these days in order to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

      • Wreckrob8

        Would that be mountaingate or molegate or gategate?

        This is what happens when you confuse your plebs with your proles.

        • http://lemoutan.blogspot.com/ Lemoutan

          I now think there should be ceroles.

          • Wreckrob8

            Zee-roles.

      • Antinous / Moderator

        It’s been going on in the US for 40 years. The UK should at least have a little national pride and append “-fumo Scandal” to everything instead.

  • Jean Baptiste

    I’m amazed that the word “actually” isn’t listed.  At least, I couldn’t find it.  Some folks use “actually” in every sentence, or multiple times in every few sentences.  Or maybe it just seems like it.  Whew.

    • Lobster

      Actually, I like “seriously” quite a bit.  Seriously.

    • http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

      Persons who overuse ‘actually’ should be presumed to be lying in it’s absence.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1733028904 Robert Carter

        “Its.” No apostrophe.

        • Lobster

           Thank you for helping to avert this apostrophe catastrophe.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Actually, I think that ‘actually’ has a place in a world where people spend half their lives playing WoW, watching Game of Thrones or reading Twilight.

      Donnie Darko: I made a new friend.
      Dr. Lilian Thurman: Real or imaginary?

  • Boomer

    Being a senior living in the hill country of Texas that would be “howsomever” but my most hated word is “entitlement” for a retirement program I paid into for fifty years. Entitlement my ass!

    • http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

      But it is an entitlement, what has you angry is the purposeful re-defining of the word to mean the exact opposite of it’s actual.

      • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1733028904 Robert Carter

        “Its.” No apostrophe. Only the contraction of “it is” uses an apostrophe.

        • Wreckrob8

          It’s got?

          • http://lemoutan.blogspot.com/ Lemoutan

            Well apart from is and has, what’s the apostrophe ever done for us?

        • http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

          Sorry if my error confused you it is not one I often make. 

          I saw you were confused in the other example of my error on this page too, Bob, my apology is extended forthwith. 

  • Tchoutoye

    My pet hate word is “social”, in the context of anything media-related.

  • Paul Renault

    Like “like”?

  • Selena60

    That list is like, awesome. (awesome is my pet hate)

    • http://lemoutan.blogspot.com/ Lemoutan

      To us Brits, it sounds like arse um.

      So there’s that*

      * I quite like that one.

      • http://twitter.com/beep54orama B E Pratt

         As an Austinite, enjoy saying, “…and Bob’s your uncle!” Confuses the hell out of people around here for the most part.

  • Jellodyne

    Hey, I like ‘Gotcha’! What’s wrong with gotcha? Is it overused in some circles I’m not familiar with?

    • Lobster

       Ask Sarah Palin.

      • lknope

         You betcha!

      • Jellodyne

        Ah, gotcha.

        • http://lemoutan.blogspot.com/ Lemoutan

          Natch

          • Lobster

             She’s got a snuke in her snizzle.

  • gothevole

    At the end of the day, amazing.

    • http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

      ‘At the end of the day’ makes me stabby or it would if I were not so diligently non-stabby in my relationships.

      The CBC has a form letter that must be signed by all persons being broadcast on CBC Radio requiring them to work “At the end of the day” at least once in any broadcast instance they wish to be a part of. 

      If I knew who makes them do that I might be slightly less diligent in their presence

      • Paul Renault

         I blame Harper.

  • http://boingboing.net/ The Life Of Bryan

    I despise the user of ‘super’ as a superlative, although fortunately that seems to be dropping off lately.

    • Lobster

      What would you prefer?  Mega?  Should we call them megalatives?

  • http://twitter.com/dailyrev Brian Donohue

    “Game changer” is especially irksome; but my #1 word/phrase peeve of 2012 would remain It Is What It Is.

  • signsofrain

    Mega-this, mega-that. Seriously kim dotcom, shut up. Also ‘convergence’ and ‘singularity’ – Also doomsday, zombie, ninja, robot and pirate. 

  • CLamb

    I find use of “impact” as a synonym for “affect” especially annoying.

  • xian

    Not sure if these qualify as words, but ‘meh’ and ‘ftw’ drive me crazy.

  • http://twitter.com/mikesum32 mikesum32

    No worries until shit gets real; ignore this kerfuffle. It is what it is. 

    • Antinous / Moderator

      We told people to stop using kerfuffle in comments several years ago.

  • http://celesteagnes.blogspot.com/ Sekino

    Overused words don’t bug me that much. The ones that irk me big time are:

    Definately. I see it spelled this way more often than the proper way. What’s the problem with that goddamn word?

    Agitprop. I don’t encounter it much but I find it fugly to the eye and ear every time I do. When your portmanteau ends up that awkward, just make up a new word.

    • http://twitter.com/fossilfuels Funk Daddy

      Definately – a descriptive word emphasizing the individual(s) conviction in defiance origin – stuporspeak definitely + defiantly

      • Antinous / Moderator

        I refudiate that.

  • Aaron Jones

    “is what it is” is the worst.   Also do not like everything being “AMAZING” and everyone being a genius

  • IronEdithKidd

    Whatnot.  

  • Damien

    It seems to be the done thing these days when people are talking, that they begin a statement with “So”.

    It doesn’t make them sound like a genius. The words they follow-up with are no great revelation, or a secret of the universe. Prefixing a sentence with a dramatic “So,” doesn’t add emotional or logical weight to the rest of the sentence. It doesn’t magically make the statement self-evident. It’s semantically empty.
    They’ve opened their mouth without thinking about what they’re about to say, and vocalised nothing more than the mental equivalent of clearing their throat.
    Starting a sentence with “So,” just makes you sound stupid.

    • http://lemoutan.blogspot.com/ Lemoutan

      To me, it just sounds rude. It’s as if the interviewee were impatiently waiting for the interviewer to stop rabbiting-on, wasting their valuable talking-time, and let them say what they came to say.
      It’s not as if they’re completely ignoring the questioner. But it does feel like the interviewee would rather the interviewer just wasn’t there. As if they’re thinking “Well we all know why you’ve invited me and we all know what questions you’re going to ask, and we all know I’ll be edited if you don’t like what I say, so we don’t really need you here at all do we?”

  • artbyjcm

    (Disclaimer, this probably only applies to the US) My most hated, incredibly over-used word isn’t a real word. I even see people spell it the way they say it “Nuculer” and “Nuculear” which is supposed to be Nuclear. Ever since Bush said it wrong (New-que-ler), I’ve noticed everyone says it that way, even people that hated him. People without southern accents. Kids born after he said it.

    It bother the crap out of me. People say “Whatever” when I correct them, but the word doesn’t look like what they’re saying!

  • oldtaku

    I’m sure nobody has a problem with ‘What should I get?’ ‘Whatever you’d like!’. It’s got to be the dismissive ‘what-EV-ur’ which only the truly self-entitled can properly manage.

    Of course you can vary the emphasis and the pronunciation to properly express the depth and fine nuances of your contempt. ‘What should I get?’  ‘WHUT-ev-ah Maaaahm. GAWD.’

    And of course there’s the sullen monotone ‘whatever’ which still manages to convey the ennui of the universe when the embroidered version might get your video game or shopping privileges revoked.

    Or the conversational: ‘He said that?’ ‘YES! And so I was like… what-EVER.’

    So versatile.

  • http://twitter.com/Marilyn_Res Marilyn Terrell

    I rebel when I see these in print: “must-have” must-see” “must-do.” 

  • rattypilgrim

    “Clearly”. Especially when used by Newt Gingrich to add a professorial ring to his otherwise low-brow “big ideas”.

  • RJ

    Every time someone uses the word “epic” to describe anything, they should be immediately bitch-slapped hard enough to bloody their nose. An epic is a type of story, not a car or a girl’s boobs or whatever cheese-like fluid you’re dipping pressed sawdust chips in. If that’s your definition of “epic,” then the back of the shampoo bottle must really quicken your pulse, you smooth-brained waste of resources.

    A similar punishment should await anyone who begins a statement with “um”; “yeah”; or “so.” An inappropriate “yes” should earn punishment, too. If a clerk or waiter says, “Welcome to Shrieking Ronnie’s Burgers, how can I help you?” Do not begin your response with, “Yes.” The clerk did not ask IF they can help you; they asked HOW they can help you. If you can’t even handle ordering your grease shake and fried fritters, you’re just one bong hit away from growing gills and returning to the sea. So please, smoke some weed and get out of the way.

    Incidentally, the only people who are annoyed by “whatever” are the ones blithering some sort of nonsense and expecting others to care. “Whatever” is your clue to shut up and find something else to do.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Every time someone uses the word “epic” to describe anything, they should be immediately bitch-slapped hard enough to bloody their nose.

      I feel that way when someone refers to LOTR as a trilogy.

    • timquinn

      whatevs

  • http://www.facebook.com/teleny Alissa Mower Clough

    “Passed away” or “passed” for “died”. It’s not “gentler”, it’s low-class and stupid.

    • rattypilgrim

       ”Passed” always sounds like the deceased just finished a bowl of pinto beans.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Oh, God, yes. That fills me with horror.

      Idiot: He passed last week.
      Me: Passed what? His real estate exam? A kidney stone?

  • http://www.theroguegourmet.com The Rogue Gourmet

    For one, I despise the (non)word “functionality”. What is the #%%$&! is difference between functionality and function? Can someone explain why this word even exists??

    • chenille

      Functionality is a quality. So something can have a high degree of functionality, while a high degree of function is a little bit off. It’s too often used where function is meant, but it is its own word.

      (And for the record, I started that sentence with “so” because that’s the dialect ’round here, and I don’t really want to talk to crazy prescriptivists who’ll judge me for it in the first place.)

  • http://mightybob.com thatbob

    “Legendary,” when used by a fawning media to describe somebody – usually a performing artist – who is, in fact, only real.

    I will happily give a pass if the person is commonly known to be the subject of legends.  So “the legendary actor Richard Gere,” sure fine.  “The legendary actor Bigfoot,” yes, obviously.

    “The legendary actor Tom Hanks,” probably not.

    (Sorry, Tom Hanks.)

    • Antinous / Moderator

      If Star Wars is a classic, what’s the Iliad?

  • Ms J

     The phrase “Being that…” is the worst.  Not only is it a waste of time, but it makes the speaker sound like a pompous fool.  When was the word “since” removed from everyday speech?

    • Antinous / Moderator

      I find the use of ‘since’ in a non-temporal context somewhat distasteful. ‘Whereas’ is an appropriate choice.

  • http://mightybob.com thatbob

    I don’t dislike “Just sayin’.”  But I think it’s a really poor substitute for the longer variant, “I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’,” which I adore, because of the rich way that it invites you to fill in its blanks.

    For example:  “Honey, that’s your second piece of pie.  I’m not sayin’, I’m just sayin’.”Oh, the things that (s)he is *not* saying to her/his honey in a sentence like that!

  • $19428857

    Swag. LOL. ZOMG. Gay, not in reference to homosexuality. Lady parts. Totes. Hella. Man up. Social, as in social marketing. Zombie. Pirate. Junk, as a synonym for genitals. Douche. Mansplaining. Hater. Hack(ing). Old school. Know what I’m sayin’?

    • http://theladyfingers.blogspot.com/ Ladyfingers

      There’s a belief amongst certain types of blog writers that presenting anything controversial in feigned teen-speak makes them both both innocent if it turns out to be wrong, and somehow belittles any imagined stereotype that might disagree with them.

      Which is less totes adorbs than they think.

      • Antinous / Moderator

        Shouldn’t that be “totes less adorbs”?

        • http://theladyfingers.blogspot.com/ Ladyfingers

          “Totes adorbs” is the adjectival phrase there, so your correction would imply I am using “totes” to criticise the use of criticism-deflecting teen-speak.

          • Antinous / Moderator

            Magotes.

  • foxtails

    Blogosphere.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      Commentariat?

  • http://voidstar.com/ jbond

    Period. Period.

    • Ben Burger

      I can’t stand it when people put periods after every word in a sentence, which seems to becoming a trend.
      ‘Hey I put periods everywhere so you can’t argue with my statement.’

      They’re right god dammit!

      • Antinous / Moderator

        Nuff. Said.

        (Is that overkill?)

  • tim

    Drizzle, panty and orientate.

    • rattypilgrim

       I’ve always hated panty. It sounds ridiculously infantile.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=797427140 Jack Orenstein

    I absolutely loathe the word “webinar”. It’s an ugly word, it conjures a soul-sucking waste of time, and captures pretty much everything that’s gone wrong with the internet.

  • http://theladyfingers.blogspot.com/ Ladyfingers

    I think the main thing we can deduce from this list is that it’s better for Americans not to use any slang.

    Incidentally, writers on the Gawker network seem to think it’s, like, super adorbs to totes be ironic with the langizzle to wash their hands of the paucity of diligence when presenting click-bait. Don’t think you’re funny when you do this, internet writers.

    Also, stop saying “I know, right?”

  • ludd

    I blame it on the parents.

  • http://www.gyrofrog.com/ Gyrofrog

    “Iconic”

  • http://www.facebook.com/DasKlaun Rich Bowen

    And another year of being the single lonely soul railing against “crispy.”

  • zotlerg

    What a bunch of slubberdegullions!
    ; )

  • TheMudshark

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpfGBxxTDAI

  • aarontheman

     I know, right?! I really hate that one.
    Right up there with John Boehner’s ‘uh’ pauses.