Words, usages, and phrases that annoy the shit out of you...

"like the lovechild of [ x ] and [ y ]" / "if [ x ] and [ y ] had a baby"

stop with this lazy shit, the formulation is not inherently funny or clever, & there are other ways to describe the combination of two influences

saying someone looks or sounds "like a muppet"

if they do not bear an uncanny resemblance to a specific muppet then i don't want to hear it, just more lazy cleverness, plus the muppets rule so fuck u

"cosign"

elmo argonaut looks like Lew Zealand.

muppet is an insult over here, probably not independent of the actual muppets tho tbf

"Fey" in any context not meaning "doomed". I think that some people think it's a synonym for "gay".

The twee kicks in quickly with opening track “The Stars Of Track And Field,” with its references to “kissing girls” and “innocent boys” in the first few lines. This may sound silly, but there’s something about the way frontman Stuart Murdoch says “boys” and “girls” that sounds especially fey, and it inexplicably irks me. Maybe it’s because Murdoch’s accent enhances the preciousness, or maybe it’s because I find it annoying when grown adults refer to each other as girls and boys, like they’re on a playground or playing kickball in an adult recreational league.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/belle-sebastians-if-youre-feeling-sinister,47346/

creative as a noun

as in "let's get a couple of creatives in here"?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/may/29/advertising-creatives/print

I want to be a destructive.

fey
adj \ˈfā\
Definition of FEY
1
a chiefly Scottish : fated to die : doomed b : marked by a foreboding of death or calamity
2
a : able to see into the future : visionary b : marked by an otherworldly air or attitude c : crazy, touched
3
a : excessively refined : precious b : quaintly unconventional : campy

yeah I've never seen "fey" used in the first or second contexts there

Morgana le Fey is probably the only one in any kind of common usage (though people probably think it's her surname.)

I don't understand what definition 3 has to do with definition 1 or 2, which are the ones I'm familiar with.

marked by an otherworldly air or attitude -> elven in a contrived manner (see, say Elfine from Cold Comfort Farm) -> Definition 3.

also see: Joanna Newsom

Yeah, I could see that. But my strong suspicion is that it's not as complicated as that. I'll bet that it evolved from people misusing language. Anyone have an OED account here?

xp

Fée is also 'fairy' in French.

the key word here is "evolved"

I don't understand what definition 3 has to do with definition 1 or 2, which are the ones I'm familiar with.

brit vs amer thing maybe? I've never heard of the 1st 2 usages.

Perhaps. It's not even a word that would come up much in conversation really, so it's hard to tell.

I've never heard of the 1st 2 usages.

Me neither.

Here's OED:

1. Fated to die, doomed to death; also, at the point of death; dying. In literary use now arch. Still in popular use in Scotland.

2. Leading to or presaging death; deadly, fatal. Obs.

3. Accursed, unfortunate, unlucky. Obs.

4. Feeble, timid; sickly, weak. Obs.

5. Disordered in mind like one about to die; possessing or displaying magical, fairylike, or unearthly qualities. Now freq. used ironically, in sense 'affected, whimsy'.

I'm mostly aware of it as the 2nd usage from the first def!! But that's primarily from reading fantasy lit for 20 years.

Pretty sure this isn't from people "misusing" language. Always thought fey acquired it's "twee" meaning via "Goblin Market" and general Victorian interest in whimsy.

'ilxor-looking dudes'

lol

Found this:

Fey derives from the Old English fæge (“doomed to die”) and carries the related sense “in an unusually excited state (like one about to die).” By an extension, the word came to mean “whimsical, otherworldly, eccentric,” perhaps from confusion with fay (= a fairy or elf). This shift in meaning was noticed as early as 1950. Today the word's original meaning is all but forgotten—e.g.: “An upsurge of book sales in cyberspace could have dramatic effects on the fortunes of the already fey and contradictory world of book publishing.” ( Washington Post, Aug. 4, 1997.)

That explanation is perfect Losrandfound. Thanks.

I don't understand what definition 3 has to do with definition 1 or 2, which are the ones I'm familiar with.

― kkvgz, Wednesday, November 10, 2010 2:39 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

I feel like there are tons of words in the language for which this is true

stool...implement for sitting on, or piece of shit?

*runs off to open your terrible ideas thread*

A lot of these are caused by two separate root-words converging in sound and spelling over time.

converge...to come together or shitty hardcore band?

stfu ... shut the fuck up or southern tenant farmers union?

Fare thee well. Fare thee well. Fare thee well, my fairy fay.
For I'm going to Louisiana for to see my Susiannah,
Singing polly-wolly-doodle all the day.

I feel like I know way too many people who will always half-smirkingly say "interweb" or "internets" instead of internet, or "uber" instead of super or very, etc.

"goodness" e.g. 'visit our website for more goodness'

^^^^^ yes, #1 for me

"_________ goodness"

kind of hate the genericness of this, like "ohh this pastry is filled with creamy goodness" or "oh yeah give me some of that football goodness"

― crüt it out (dyao), Saturday, June 26, 2010 5:59 PM (4 months ago) Bookmark

was about to complain about "genericness," but apparently it's a real word, which kind of blows my mind, i never would've guessed.

it really bugged me recently when someone used "sensical," though, that's definitely not a real word.

"chocolatey goodness"

"Turkey Day"

1. Fated to die, doomed to death; also, at the point of death; dying. In literary use now arch. Still in popular use in Scotland.

"Fey" guys doomed to reproductive failure, will die childless. Look at Morrissey.

i HATE "uber"

especially how its always used with "hip" and "cool"

"Killing it" meaning doing it well. Just shoot me at this point.

also "Really?" sarcastically/nonplussed a la Amy Poehler/Seth Meyers in their bit. ugh.

"ponder"

Turkey Day uuuuugh

http://www.theonion.com/articles/fey-rights-group-demands-distinction-from-homosexu,18606/

"Friend" to mean an inanimate object or activity that one considers beneficial, helpful, or pleasing. Especially annoying when the object/activity is in the plural, as in "Sore joints? Ice packs are your friend."