Moist? Sexy? Pants? What Words Make You Wanna Throw Up A Little Bit In Your Mouth?
A few months ago, I participated in a meme on Facebook that asked people what words were simply too gross for them to hear. Another variation asked what word you’d like to see stricken from usage. Still another: what words make you cringe?
It turns out there’s a pretty wide swath of words that gross us out. And what makes one person boke won’t invite even the faintest reaction from another.
For instance, my big no-no word is “webinar.” Please don’t say it around me: for various reasons, it just makes me see red. (Even typing it just now made my eyes cross a little bit. “Webinar.” Stop that now!)
But “webinar” didn’t even rank in the disgusting words line-up in a recent piece on The Huffington Post. “What are the ugliest words in the English language?” They asked. “What words do people really hate hearing? ... What word do you find so repulsive it's hard to hear?”
The resulting piece is pared down to absolute basics: 16 words that disgusted their readers in a slide show with 16 representative photos. The highlights? As indicated by the title of this piece, the results are surprising. Sure “moist” I could see coming, but what’s up with “pants”? And “slurp” i get: it’s a little bit of an onomatopoeia, after all. But, excuse me: “hockey”? That’s just wrong.
What about you? In a world full of words, which ones pull an immediate reaction?
It turns out there’s a pretty wide swath of words that gross us out. And what makes one person boke won’t invite even the faintest reaction from another.
For instance, my big no-no word is “webinar.” Please don’t say it around me: for various reasons, it just makes me see red. (Even typing it just now made my eyes cross a little bit. “Webinar.” Stop that now!)
But “webinar” didn’t even rank in the disgusting words line-up in a recent piece on The Huffington Post. “What are the ugliest words in the English language?” They asked. “What words do people really hate hearing? ... What word do you find so repulsive it's hard to hear?”
The resulting piece is pared down to absolute basics: 16 words that disgusted their readers in a slide show with 16 representative photos. The highlights? As indicated by the title of this piece, the results are surprising. Sure “moist” I could see coming, but what’s up with “pants”? And “slurp” i get: it’s a little bit of an onomatopoeia, after all. But, excuse me: “hockey”? That’s just wrong.
What about you? In a world full of words, which ones pull an immediate reaction?
posted by Linda L. Richards at 8:45 AM
7 Comments:
"Scrotum" ugh!
The word "damp" does it for me every time. That and "smear" though maybe they're somewhat related?
I'm still chuckleing a bit at the idea of sexy, moist pants. Or maybe revolted? Not quite sure.
bunion!
thrum
"Synergy." The "syn" part makes it sound like it should be fun, but the "ergy" sounds like "clergy" thereby negating the good times.
I once saw an advertisement in a grocery store for "Moist succulent pork." I almost puked. Three of the worst words in the English language.
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