Overused Words

My close friends and family know I have a large vocabulary, and a deep love for expanding it. I think spelling is fantastic but I have a deep dislike for trolls that have committed their life to correcting other people's spelling. I know I make grammatical mistakes, so correction would be hypocritical. Therefore I try my best not to harp on the spelling of others (unless I can't even understand what the original message was). 

Even though I pride myself on my restraint, there comes time when I allow myself to gripe about the state of vocabulary these days.

Our language is not only filled with incredible words, but outstanding synonyms to all those words. So when I see an overuse of a certain single word, I'm slightly peeved. Can't we find creative ways to explain things? By now I'm sure you're already thinking about words that get overused. At least, I hope you're  already thinking about words that get overused, because I don't want to some kind of weirdo.

Here's a short rant on words that need to take a long vacation. I'll even supply some substitutes.

Epic. Used in everything ranging from the coolest stunt you ever seen a person do all the way to that one time when you tripped over the coffee table but caught yourself before totally face-planting AND THE CHEESE DIDN'T EVEN SLIDE OFF THE CRACKER IT WAS EPIC OMG.

We have done this classy word an extreme disservice. "Epic" deserves more. It needs to be reserved for truly unbelievable things, like the construction of the Hoover dam.


Excuse me, but DAM!

As if water-holdery wasn't enough, there is a two-lane bridge on top of that colossal structure.

You run all the way through a pouring rainstorm only to find you've locked your keys inside your car. Your friends go "Haha, epic fail man." What word are they going to use when they visit something truly awesome?

Shawn's Synonym Suggestions: outstanding, unbelievable, miraculous, unprecedented, legendary, and remarkable.

Awkward. This word mainly gets overused by teenage girls, so it's not as widespread as the 'Epic' Epidemic. I don't quite know where this trend has come from, but I'm slightly miffed by it.

Tween 1: "I love orange juice. It's so orangey and juicy and good. It's my favorite."
Tween 2: "Eww, nasty. Orange juice is definitely NOT my favorite. Apple is better."
Tween 1: "..."
Tween 3: "Awk-waaarrrrdd".

Tween 1: "Oh, look, there's Tween 2. She's wearing that scarf again, after I told her it totally looks silly. Now she won't talk to me, but I have to sit by her in biology."
Tween 3: Awk-waaaarrrrdd".

Shawn's Synonym Suggestions: unnerving, embarrassing, worrisome, heebily-jeebily.

Legit. This is not a word. This is a butchering of the excellent word "Legitimate". It's pronounced "Lah-jitt", and depending on how EPIC the situation, more emphasis is placed on the second syllable, until people are practically spraying you with saliva telling you how awesome their weekend was.


This moose's weekend was EPICALLY LEGIT.

Shawn's Synonym Suggestions: credible, prime, authentic, valid.

Those are the choice few that come to mind, and I promised my rant would be short, i.e. brief, momentary, fleeting.

That doesn't mean I won't revive this subject on a later date, though. :)