Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Journey

Confession time:  I hate the word journey.

Random, much?

It's sort of an odd word to hate, don't you think?    I mean, there are SO many other words in the English language which deserve to be hated much more than the innocuous 'journey.' For instance, most everyone hates the word moist, and I happen to be one of them.  UNLESS 'moist' is used in a sentence such as this: 'moist layers of rich chocolate cake, filled with fluffy chocolate butter cream and topped with a luscious, shiny chocolate ganache and festive chocolate curls.'  When cake is concerned, moist is an acceptable word choice.  Otherwise?  NO.  Just no. 

Moisture?   Yes.  Moist?  No.

I think I hate the word journey most when it's used in the phrase 'weight loss journey.'  One of the contestants on this season of The Biggest Loser (Courtney) used the term 'weight loss journey' no more than three hundred times per episode.  After awhile, it began to bug.  So, I blame Courtney for my hatred of the word journey.

Thanks, Courtney.  Thanks for ruining a completely useful word with all of your obsessive, self righteous blathering about your 'weight loss journey.'  Thanks a lot.

In the interest of not embarrassing myself any further, I'll refrain from telling you how long and how often I've found myself thinking about, pondering and rationalizing my hatred for this word.  I will say, though, that it's often.  Pretty much anytime I read or hear the word, I think about it.  Unfortunately, journey is a commonly used word.  But, quite thankfully, Courtney's weight loss journey time on The Biggest Loser is over and our ears have been spared from that overly used, annoying phrase.   However, I'm sure she'll be back at the finale ready to share more about her damn journey.  I may need to invest in a pair of earplugs for that portion of the show.

So tell me, other than the word 'moist' (and any offensive slurs), are there any words that rub you the wrong way?

5 comments:

Sarah said...

Your post totally cracked me up because Courtney DOES say "weight loss journey" ALL THE TIME!!! It is so annoying!

The word that really bugs me isn't even a word. It is "um" and I hate it. Having to listen to people speak, in a meeting for example, and say "um" all the time is so distracting and drives me nuts!

Journey Hater II said...

I, too, am sick of the word journey!
American Idol journey...um, I can't think of any others right now, but they're out there. And they know who they are!
Now, a cake procuring journey is different.

Mea Culpa said...

Uh oh. I just posted "um" right under an "um" hating post before I even saw it and I hope the poster doesn't think I did it to spite her. I just always, you know, say um.

Alison said...

Sarah---I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed that.
I had a history teacher who said 'ahhhhh' or 'uhhhhh' or 'ummmmmm' at the start of nearly every sentence. It was extremely distracting.

'Um' is one of those verbal ticks, a lot like 'you know' which is thrown into so many sentences.

mom--yes, the American Idol journey. Every contestant on every reality show has a journey. Ugh. They need a new word. I'm sure Sarah wouldn't think you 'ummed' to spite her. ;)

Sarah said...

hahaha!!