Thought Experiments : The Blog

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

The Curious Matter of Moist

Amanda, second only to Nigella in the domestic goddess awards, points me in the direction of this. It's all about the way women - mainly - have a deep aversion to the word 'moist'. The lengthy discussion is strange and wonderful. Lots of other hated words appear, but 'moist' is the most consistent. I don't get this. I like 'moist', but then I'm a man. It's curious that the word 'used' seems to go along with 'moist'. But this is a family-friendly blog. I've always loathed the word 'promulgate'. Some sub once wanted to insert this horror in some copy of my and I started screeching. 'Sticky', now that's a bad word. What's brown and sticky? A stick. 
PS Rereading this, I realise I have an aversion to the word 'stakes'. I was going to write 'in the domestic goddess stakes' and I couldn't.

# posted by Bryan Appleyard : 2:02 PM  

4 Comments:

  • At October 30, 2007 2:33 PM, Anonymous Susan B. said…

    As a woman, i know why women don't like the word "moist." And yet only one person responding to bloggers asking about despised words put it with the other word that it's suggesting: "yeast." Well, i won't say more, but that's why it's a horrible word.

    Personally, I don't know why some words mentioned were so bothersome: "hardscrabble"? "giggle"? Don't see what's wrong with them. But, then, it's meanings that get me, not sounds. I dislike the word "pustule." Another nasty one: "oozing." Or "fetid."

    My significant other says the ugliest word in the English language is "squat."

     

  • At October 31, 2007 7:39 AM, Blogger Richard Havers said…

    For me it's politicians who use the word robust as though it justifies everything they say.

    It does of course mean - 'sturdy and strong'. It also, according to the OED, means. "Designating a process where the result is largely independent of certain aspects of the input."

    I find myself shouting at the TV, just as i did last night when Caroline Flint said the Govt's immigration figures were "robust"

     

  • At October 31, 2007 9:06 AM, Blogger Bryan Appleyard said…

    Shout on, Richard. I too was shouting at La Flint.

     

  • At November 01, 2007 2:46 AM, Anonymous Edwuba said…

    There's soemthing offputting about fuckhead.

     

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