The Annoying Bits in Today's Lexicon
Okay, I admit it. I'm a major pop-culture junkie. I'm guilty of checking on celebrity or movie-related news. I enjoy reading about buzz-worthy stories that are going viral all over the world (Right there is one word that needs to be buried forever - viral). But sometimes I find myself sighing over the usage of certain words or phrases in such articles. These are just five of them which annoy me. And don't even get me started on the abbreviations.
Epic - Everything that happens now is 'epic'. When I was in school, that word referred to the Ramayana, the Mahabharata or the Odyssey. But now, reactions are epic, events are epic and yes, there are also epic fails.
Troll - I didn't have an idea what this word meant until I read about this magical creature in the world of Harry Potter and then, strangely saw its cartoon version in Dora the Explorer. But, in the social sphere, trolls are anything but magical. Every time someone posts something vaguely stupid or mildly controversial, headlines scream about so-and-so personality being trolled. In some cases, the trolled give the trolls, you guessed it, an 'epic' response.
All kinds of Awesome - It was not too long ago when 'awesome' became the most frequently used word by everyone, all over the world. When I thought it was now passe to say that word, I discovered this new phrase - 'all kinds of awesome'. What does this mean? Does this encompass good awesome, bad awesome, average awesome and worst awesome? Or does it mean it is too awesome to be described as just 'awesome'?
Goals - Heard of career goals. Heard of life goals. But now one finds people are giving others all kinds of goals - squad goals, relationship goals, selfie goals, diet goals, parenting goals, travel goals or friendship goals.
Shaming - Earlier we faced nasty comments, snide remarks or sarcastic compliments regarding our appearance, dressing or personality. We felt bad for sometime, then ignored it and forgot all about it. Nowadays, this has been transformed into 'shaming' in the online world. You have fat-shaming, thin-shaming, body-shaming, slut-shaming, food-shaming and many other forms of shaming. 'Shaming' has now become so common a word that I am not sure how to use the word 'shame' in any context.
Unfortunately, these words are not going to disappear anytime soon. Until then, maybe I should think of giving myself some better pastime-goals!
