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I’m happy to have found the weekly blog challenge this year because so much of what I would normally share here during my research process is going into my non-fiction book. But I will have some fun tidbits and teasers in a few weeks when the book is in first draft stage.

This week’s theme is “words that make me go ick.” I’m not really sensitive to words like a lot of people are. I have no issues with most of them.

What I don’t like is made-up words/phrases. I couldn’t handle Harry Potter for the longest time because of terms like muggle. (Thank God I got over that one!) I especially despise ones used by the kids nowadays like: totes adorbs, on fleek, jelly (as in jealous), all the feels, I knows, miss your face, squad (when used to refer to friends – um, you only have a squad if you are a cheerleader or maybe a fighter pilot). *shudders* Ugh. I know this is how language evolves (I can still hear my History of the English Language professor explaining this to us), but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I don’t things that make people sound unintelligent.

Words that are fun to say:

• Berber (my boss and I have a whole running joke around this one)
• Yert
• Lugubrious
• Ishkabibble (I’m trying to bring that one back from the 1920s)

Words I say far too much:

• Dude (now I’m dating myself)
• Like (I was like, no, I’m not a Valley Girl. Why do you ask?)
• Bugger (I watch a lot of British TV, okay?)
• Oh my god (or OMG, but I don’t say the letters, I use it as an abbreviation in texts and such)
• F*ck (I try not to curse online, but in real life, I curse like a sailor)
• Goober (that is my “meant as a compliment” pet name for a lot of people, as well as one of my cats)

Words I love:

I like the $25 words that most people don’t use daily. I think that makes me a word snob. These are few I do use:

• Oblique
• Obtuse
• Ubiquitous

Words I overuse in my books (and try to edit out)

• That
• Seemed
• Smiled
• Was
• Just
• Always

What are some of your favorite words? What about the icky ones? Which ones are just plain fun for you?