Or So I Thought

So help me, I actually read these words in a published novel last night:

He was blah blah blah..."or so I thought."

Blech! Yuck! Are you kidding? It's a really annoying phrase. Author could have just as well used NOT! and I would have taken her about as seriously.

I think I might start keeping a list of phrases I hate.

Mr. Bridge in high school used to have a list of words we were not allowed to use. The main one I remember, because I was so offended, was "throughout." I can see now that it is an annoying word, but I really liked using it at the time. Now, when I want to use it, I stop and think if there is another way of saying what I want to say.

Mr. Hallstrom preferred that we not use adverbs that ended in "ly." He said they weren't very descriptive. I still kind of don't understand, but I stop and think about it before I use one.

Kristin hates the word "relationship." I've been staring at it and contemplating its meaning for about three minutes now, and I can honestly say it annoys me, too.

Anyone else want to contribute to the list?

Of course, we could assemble a list of words we really like, too. I already have a list started;they are called The Delicious Words. These are words like discombobulate, inclination, and discomfiture.

Any other favorites?

Comments

joshuafawson said…
Misty,
I'm so happy you found my blog. I love it to keep in contact, and in case you haven't heard, we are moving. It will be so great for me to be able to stay in touch with you. Josh and I hate the word fiance. When we were engaged we didn't ever know how to introduce each other because we hated to use that word. We would say "this is the man I'm going to marry", or "this is my boyfriend, we're getting married!" We came up with some pretty creative things!
Anonymous said…
I absolutely hate the word throng, in like hymns and ya know whatever.
Amy said…
Oh you found me! Yay! Thanks for the comments! This is going to be fun to see what your'e up to.

Amy
Kristin Sokol said…
I think the word probably should be changed to prolly. It's just funner.
Robert said…
What's wrong with throughout? Or sob? Hmm, I don't like that list much. My word contributions of words I don't like would be goodbye (almost never a good thing), to be honest (because it never is), forever (as in, "I haven't seen that movie forever"), and better (as in, we better go. What part of the English language is that?).
Dan said…
I thought Russ's suggestion was "thong" (which itself is a bad word), but I have to second "throng". Especially when preceded by "join the".

"Strife" is a horrible word, too, especially when rhymed with "life" or "wife". There are a lot of words that are pretty good words, but when used in a very forced rhyme, they lose a lot of their appeal.
Emily said…
Do you Remember Mr. Moore at Bingham? He had a list of words we could not use either. The one I always think twice about still is "got." I like it. It is short and to the point. I hate the word "pleasant" and the phrase "and what not." Discumbobulated is one of my favorites.

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