Ten sayings that everyone hates but keeps saying
All good things must come to an end: like the “X-Men” Movies, and Summer, and Vine.
But when it comes to language — you know, words, diction, syntax, all that jazz — we (the humans) seem to think that we can keep any word fun, relevant, and topical so long as it’s ironic.
Like, once it’s established that a particular word or phrase is cringey, if we say it as a joke then we’re all in on it and it’s totally acceptable. There’s a word used to describe assumptions like those aforementioned, and that word is false.
We are not, in fact, in on the joke when the saying at hand is objectively cringey regardless of context or inflection of tone. These sayings are no longer zany, even ironically. But although we all kind of realize that these sayings are trash and/or/also played out, it’s evident we aren’t quite ready to let go of them yet.
Below are some of the words we (the humans) just can’t quite seem to shake from our vocabularies.
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1. “Mood”
I hereby challenge you to find something, anything that could not be deemed a “mood” by some person somewhere, or even just by me. Aha! You cannot. Therein lies the problem.
2. “Vibe”
The word “vibe” is one that has arguably always been douche-y.
I don’t think there was any sort of curve where it was normal, then actually cool, then annoying and is now used ironically like with some of the other words on this list. It’s just always been a little questionable.
I think what makes this so is the mildly-prententious-but-also-kind-of-void-of-meaning context it’s typically used in. Makes me think of guys describing things to me. On the other hand, maybe it’s a perfectly wholesome word and I’m just a douche. I’m open to critical thought.
3. “Woke”
Of course, being woke will never go out of style. It’s never uncool to respect ppl’s natural born rights *winks, puts on sunglasses looks into camera*
It’s unfortunate then that the term woke has become somewhat stale. Like again, being woke is obviously imperative but sometimes there isn’t a need to describe something as such. Like, I feel as though the word has almost become a shell of its former self, so in describing someone or something as woke we’re almost reducing it or them to this mildly cringe-y kind of bait-y word that’s been (wrongfully) used as a punchline one too many times; but I suppose it’s also fine, because the person or thing is still woke in the end? Stay with me.
4. “Clout”
I’m not even sure how to go about this one without going off on an uncomfortably long tangent…like, did it start out as a joke, or? Obviously it’s a dictionary word with like a human definition, but in the colloquial sense hasn’t it always been ironic?
I think I’ve given everyone who’s ever used this term the benefit of the doubt by assuming they meant it ironically. You never know though, esp. in LA…either way, I’m tired of hearing this fucking word. This one I can’t even use ironically for fun like I do the others, because it’s simply not funny. It’s more annoying than it is silly or zany or any other adjective, so please.
5. “Tag yourself”
See now this is a cringe saying I can get behind 105%. I mean I do think that by the day, the joke becomes less funny: like even the joke about this being a joke becomes less funny. But this saying never really hurt anybody, and is still crazy effective in certain contexts. Moving on.
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6. “Bitcoin”
Nothing I write here will be sufficient.
7. “Create”
Ah, another case of an innocent word minding its own fucking business and unsuspectingly falling victim to Instagram culture.
To create: a verb that’s quite useful to the English language, as it turns out. However, contemporary sentences with this word often seem to be missing at least one of the primary components a sentence usually should have, namely a predicate.
I think that sometimes people assume that when someone says they “create” but then doesn’t specify what it is they create or how they create it the person comes to assume they don’t really do anything, which is kind of wrong. Nowadays, some jobs are so borderline abstract they’re almost undescribable: and that’s actually really cool.
But I just think…ahhh. ehhh. hmmm. I feel that this word is so closely tied to the “link/build” culture of Instagram (which became a literal meme in and of itself) that there’s inevitably a certain level of accompanying cringe.
8. “Queen”
Usually predicated by “Yes” or something to that effect. We looooove this saying, and we also love women supporting women supporting women, make no mistake. This is just another example of overuse and overexposure leading me (or I’d like to employ the royal “us”, if I may) to a natural aversion to said word.
When another woman calls me a queen my day is easily made. That said, I also feel as though sometimes it’s used in the context of glorifying celebrities for posting on Instagram and wiping their asses, etcetera.
9. “Facts”
a) One of the best songs on The Life of Pablo b) another saying that I can’t tell if we’re saying ironically anymore.
New Yorkers get a pass on this one though, because we’re both legally obligated and genetically required to say this at least a few times per day, and also do we even really hate this saying? Arguably not.
10. “Dad sneakers”
Annnnooooyying. I called them that in my article on where to buy the ugly-hot dad sneakers everyone’s been wearing earlier this year. I can’t tell if it’s the sneakers themselves that are annoying, but after some thought I truly feel it’s moreso this term. It’s just such a ~2018 millennial~ term and it’s gettin’ old fast (much like we are).
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Go ahead and keep saying these things. I know I will. But each time I do, my laugh gets a little more hollow, and I predict that come a few weeks, there may not be an laughing to be had. But also, let’s be honest: there’s always laughing to be had.
