As a writer (oh... doesn't that sound exceedingly snobby?), I don't believe there are such things as "bad words."
To be honest, if you've read this blog (and certainly if you've read my most recently published book), you likely have noticed that I pretty much use just about every "bad word" in the lexicon of profanity.
Except for one or two that I just don't like.
But, most words, I like very much.
In a follow-up to yesterday's post, I thought I'd compile a list of nine words/terms that I do not like much at all. In fact, I hate them. I would have made a rounded "ten" with the addition of the word crossover, which, to me, means a really ugly car or something that would be naturally selected out of the gene pool in the next breeding frenzy, but I decided to sit on the fence about that word for the time being.
Also... yeah... I caught a lot of grief for making fun of Steampunks yesterday. Um... so what can I do? Eh.
Anyway, here they are, in two sections:
PART ONE -- WORDS THAT ARE MADE UP:
DYSTOPIAN (This is a made-up, trendy word. Like "fajita," which is also a word I hate.)
FAJITA (Do you even have fajitas on the East Coast, or, like Machiattos, do they only exist in California?)
MACCHIATO (I know. This really isn't a made-up word, but I still hate it. This foul blasphemization of coffee is actually Italian, for "Douchebag," which happens to be one of my favorite words.)
STEAMPUNK (The only thing worse than saying you're writing a "Steampunk" novel is saying you're writing an "Edgy Steampunk" novel [see below] while enjoying a Macchiato. Shut up and stand still, so I can punch you in the neck.)
PART TWO -- WORDS THAT ARE NOT MADE UP:
EDGY (This word is meaningless and criminally overused. Please do not call yourself edgy. Ever.)
FAERIE ("Fairy" is okay. Just not "Faerie." Ewww... I want to punch myself in the face just for having typed it.)
FALLEN ANGEL (No. Just, no. Never.)
ANY NAMES OF PEOPLE OR PLACES THAT SOUND ICELANDIC BUT WERE MADE UP BY FANTASY WRITERS FROM THE MIDWEST ('Nuff said.)
SCROTUM (I have blogged about this word before. Nobody should ever use it, no matter how genteel or anatomically precise you're trying to be. The word should be abolished, to be replaced by the much more lyrical "Ballsack.")
Now, and this shall be the winter break writing assignment for my young writers' group: go write a story that uses all of the above.
10 comments:
great list...the only one I disagree with is Dystopia, I think it's a fantastic word.
I love 'steampunk' as a concept, but the word is retarded.
We have fajitas on the East Coast. It's an excuse for you to pay $10 to make your own food at the table while those sitting beside you bitch about the steam.
I love this post. I would marry it, but I am already married....and it would be weird to marry a blog post.
I, too, have words that I hate:
nauseous (I mean, I get nauseous just typing it.)
brouhaha (is this even a word? I HATE it. Luckily, it is used very little.)
I never really thought about it but, yeah, I hate fajita, too.
Shelley
(okay, I confess, I have used faerie...but only because I think the letters look prettier on the page than fairie or fairy or faery...stupid reason, I know.)
Shelley I agree faerie is pretty written that way and I think Andrew would like it better if the f-bomb was dropped in front of the word.
And fajitas are great with mojitos and margaritas. Try Lupe Tortillas when you visit Texas - they have the best fajitas.
I'll admit my ignorance - I had no idea what steampunk meant but know I'm enlightened.
Actually mojito would be one of the words I hate.
I rather like macchiato though because when I was living in Tuscany I occasionally enjoyed the dollop of steamed milk floating on my espresso.
As a side note the phrase "when I was living in Tuscany" automatically marks me as a douchebag, and I accept that.
I hate steampunk as well but only because it seems to promote the wearing of costumes, and I hate all forms of costume.
Also "due diligence"is falling slowly out of frequent usage but I still hate it and hate anyone who would use it.
What about "scrote"? Can I use the colloquial (sp?) abbreviation as an insult? Because I do so love calling people scrotes. And what about fucktard? I use the word "retarded" but I always kinda feel like an ass, but using "fucktard" alleviates my guilt.
PS: I am guilty of using "dystopian" and "steampunk" on more than one occasion - in fact, I said both yesterday. To the same customer!
Well... this is quite an encounter session.
I'm wondering if Steampunks are even allowed to use a computer, or if that's kind of like eating a cheeseburger if you're Jewish.
And, anyway, what's a Steampunker going to do if he gets really mad at you? Fly over your house in a dirigible, taunting you with his Maltese Cross insignias and throw lawn darts at you?
And Shelley, nobody should ever use the word brouhaha, unless, as a last resort, it has some magical power and is the only way to get the person who's driving the car you're trapped in to avoid playing the latest Rihanna CD.
Michael, the thing is, macchiato, in Italy is not a big foo-foo milkshake, like they are here. But yeah... the whole "living in Tuscany" thing...
(Could have been more douchey if you said "Living in a CASTLE in Tuscany.")
And, eegads, Lauren! Scrote??? What a wonderful word.
Thanks to your last post, I dig the word "pretend-iverse."
"Faerie," on the other hand, makes my stomach hurt. It might be the dorky fourth-grader in me, because she's still miffed over losing the spelling bee by one stinkin' letter, but I hate when people change spellings willy-nilly.
(Also, I don't like when people say willy-nilly, but I can't seem to help myself.)
Sarah,
So nice of you to pop by and offer that completely repulsive hyphenation (w-n... I realized I didn't have the inner strength to type it out) to the pool of despised words.
Two things:
1) I love West Virginia
2) Your book, Livvie Owen Lived Here, which I also totally love, happens to be currently sitting just to the right of my knee (I have a very messy stack of books I'd read last year tilting beside my desk).
Thanks for stopping by the pretend-iverse.
If people from the 19th century didn't wear costumes they'd be naked. That's a whole different genre.
I don't like "genre" because I'm not quite sure what it is. Like "theme." Or "platform." Or "meme." (I hear there are memes online, but I can't find any.) And I don't eat fajitas because I don't know what they are.
Isn't Ballsack some French guy writer? He's not a scrotum.
I know right?? I'd like to take credit for inventing it, but I actually read it in these really twisted police procedural mysteries from England. Also I dislike the word mature, because the people who toss it around usually aren't and sometimes they say it like "ma-toooor" and that makes me cringe. Also puberty. Why would you call it that?? It has the prefix pube! Is that a prefix?
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