Trendy Words I Do Not Like

[Cheerful]

"Deep dive"

Poster named "aside," p. 1 of thread, agrees with you.

[Hibush]

"Deep dive"

Poster named "aside," p. 1 of thread, agrees with you.

It took a deep dive into the thread to find that. Good work!

[Cheerful]

"Deep dive"

Poster named "aside," p. 1 of thread, agrees with you.

It took a deep dive into the thread to find that. Good work!

Alas, I cannot accept a grade I did not earn. 

Back on p. 2, after I posted "reach out," I saw that "reach out" had already been entered among aside's list on p.1. I have some of aside's list memorized now.

Drill down.
Deep dive.
Reach out.
Leverage (as a verb).

[ciao_yall]

Was reminded of this sketch from Kids in the Hall.

[fourhats]

"Deep dive"

Poster named "aside," p. 1 of thread, agrees with you.

Oops!

[Vkw10]

Adulting.

[Larimar]

Adulting.

+1 to this one. It's annoying.

Larimar

[marshwiggle]

Adulting.

+1 to this one. It's annoying.

Larimar

Didn't this one originate as kind of ironic? As young people became legally of age, the idea that different expectations were being placed on them made them see the situation as somewhat performative. (They didn't feel any different, and yet they were expected to act differently.)

I guess this is my question:

Is there a place for made-up words if they suggest a subtle difference in meaning from existing words?
(Such as examples on this thread, like "utilize" instead of "use" to indicate use for a purpose other than what was intended.)

[Engineer13]

Snowflake
Triggered

[apl68]

+1.

And who decides that these practices are the best?

Ideally "best practices" are practices that have been generally agreed upon as standards in a profession.  I'm sure that the term can be used as a buzzword.  But when you're trying to justify something to your staff, or to your own overseers, it's often useful to be able to show that you've researched your plans to make sure they're in line with best practices in the field.  It's a useful concept.

A lot of these phrases are.  They just have come to be overused or abused for some reason.  Speaking of which...

[apl68]

"Comfort zone"

On my walk to work this morning I thought about somebody who had stepped outside of her "comfort zone"--she had overcome her fears and risen above herself to accomplish something worthwhile.  Then it occurred to me that I've long been annoyed at the expression "comfort zone."  It's a useful expression, but it has been so overused.

[marshwiggle]

Snowflake
Triggered

This is an interesting combination, since "triggered" is a result of "trigger warnings" given by people trying to protect those that others call "snowflakes".

In other words, the terms come from opposite sides of the same debate. I have a hunch that most people who dislike "trigger warnings" would be willing to have the term "snowflake" banned if "trigger warnings" and anything associated with them were as well.

There are all kinds of things which may, for a variety of reasons, make certain people uncomfortable. That's because human beings are all different. Trying to enumerate the possibilities and have formalized procedures for trying to prevent it is a hole with no bottom. Basic human decency will prevent most people from doing it knowingly; making it a punishable offense just makes everyone walk on eggshells rather than try to understand and empathize with each other.

[Vark]

"Perfect." For example, when eating out (pre-pandemic; now I do curbside pick-up), it annoyed the hell out of me when the waitstaff would tell me "perfect" after I ordered my meal. In what universe does requesting a chicken sandwich reach a level of perfection?  If my order is "perfect," then why are my companions' very different orders also "perfect"? I'd love to tell people how ridiculous the use of the word is in such situations but have not thought of a polite way to do so.

[hmaria1609]

Adulting.

+1 to this one. It's annoying.

Larimar

Didn't this one originate as kind of ironic? As young people became legally of age, the idea that different expectations were being placed on them made them see the situation as somewhat performative. (They didn't feel any different, and yet they were expected to act differently.)

I guess this is my question:

Is there a place for made-up words if they suggest a subtle difference in meaning from existing words?
(Such as examples on this thread, like "utilize" instead of "use" to indicate use for a purpose other than what was intended.)

+2

[Vkw10]

Adulting.

+1 to this one. It's annoying.

Larimar

Didn't this one originate as kind of ironic? As young people became legally of age, the idea that different expectations were being placed on them made them see the situation as somewhat performative. (They didn't feel any different, and yet they were expected to act differently.)

I guess this is my question:

Is there a place for made-up words if they suggest a subtle difference in meaning from existing words?
(Such as examples on this thread, like "utilize" instead of "use" to indicate use for a purpose other than what was intended.)

+2

Adulting didn't bother me much when it was the 18-21 year-olds using it. I'm seeing it used by much older people and about much older people. Hearing 50-year-olds talk about younger people "adulting" sounds condescending to me. Saying a 35-year-old is "adulting" when he pays his own bills sounds like he's doing something unusual and special.