THE WEEKLY SQUEAK: APRIL 2, 2009

The Weekly Squeak is just a random fact about myself, expanded into a blog post for your reading enjoyment.



This week: WORDS
(er, well, last week. I got a little bit behind. oops)



I can't remember a time when I was not a writer. Even in second grade, one-page "short story" assignments thrilled me and always resulted in an "A" (or an "S+" as it was known in second grade.)

I can say the same about reading. I was the "nerd" in school for much of my life. Not the nerd who dressed funny, wore huge glasses, or never bathed. The nerd who wanted to read a book when it was assigned. No, scratch that. I was the one who had already read the books that were assigned. The one who carried around thick novels designed for kids (or adults) much older and wiser, and actually understood them. That nerd.

I have an English degree.



So yeah, it would be accurate to say that I am somewhat obsessed with words.
And today I feel like talking about words that I hate.
My husband makes fun of me because I often say "I hate that word" when listening to people talk. It has nothing to do with the meaning of the word, or with the person saying it (I'll go into pronunciation another time) but merely the sound of the word. The way the letters look next to each other. Some words just freak me out.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I have to mention a few of the top offenders:

lunch: probably my least favorite word of all

munch: just gross
(oddly, "crunch" does not bother me)

folks: I hate the "olk" sound, ugh

morning: just bothers me

moist: I think everyone hates this word

cell phone: I call it a mobile. Bonus "fuck you" points when people say "celly." Ugh.

relax: the sound of it literally makes me tense up

toggle: sounds like toddler-speak

corn: the food is gross, the word is grosser

feisty: just hate it

I am not sure why the list is so short right now...I will definitely hear many more words I hate later, and remember how much I hate them. That's the problem. I usually can't remember most of them until someone says one of them out loud.

Anybody else out there have any words they hate simply because of the way they sound??