{P} problematic words.
i’ve noticed lately that several words are, shall we say, conspicuously overrepresented in my vocabulary.
and by present, i mean WAY overused. to the point of obnoxious.
but i can’t stop saying them.
one word that i find myself almost daily is the word problematic, which just means that whatever it is that i’m describing as problematic has become a problem.
i like it because it is efficient, using one word to take the place of four.
but i use it ALL THE TIME.
it’s become, well, problematic.
i mean, it’s not to the rachel zoe level with the word literally, and at least i use my words correctly. [side note: if you’ve never watched the rachel zoe project, it is a hot mess of crazy, which i find entertaining. in our nearly 5 years of being together, rachel zoe’s show on bravo is the only one that the boy has made me turn off because of how obnoxious she is, and this is coming from someone who has endured an entire ice road truckers marathon.)
but still.
here are the others that probably need to take a hiatus from my everyday speech:
funsies (like, let’s do this for the heck of it–which is ridiculous because it’s not even a real word, people.)
ridiculous
ubiquitous
grody
problematic (it’s seriously bad, so i listed it twice.)
seriously
what are your overused words? anything that makes you sick as it’s coming out of your mouth but you can’t stop? words that you love, but your significant other hates? is there an anonymous group or 12 steps to do?
do tell.
sara, darling. 
Hilarious! While I do over use that word, I also find it describes my reaction to this blog. Probably my most problematic word would be dichotomy. Despite the fact that I use this term correctly, it is still overused. I just can’t find another word to replace it! It’s quite a conundrum 😉
Amber! Love to see you on here! I agree…and conundrum is such a FABULOUS word, you should just start putting that in rotation.
I can’t think of my own words that I use too often…but I can think of a phrase I can’t seem to stop using when I blog, and that is “I think.” Really, there are other ways to start sentences!
Husband of mine has the habit of starting sentences with “to be honest with you…” like everything else he said wasn’t quite as honest as what he’s about the say. That’s not how he’s meaning it, really he says it anytime he’s about to tell you something he thinks.
I say “I think,” he says “to be honest with you.”
We’re both plagued with redundancy.
haha! i think we all are…maybe we’re trying to make a point? a teacher i had pointed out to me that redundant phrases and fillers are often to “soften” a point we’re making because we’re less confident with what we’re saying.
sometimes i think that’s true.
sometimes i think i’m just lazy and not editing what i write.
I probably have some problematic words… Oh wait. Any non-committal word like maybe, probably, perhaps and possibly, even the occasional ‘I’ll let you know’, ‘might be’, ‘I guess’ or ‘we’ll see’ is definitely and completely problematic for me (way too much rhyming there-ee).
I have a problematically problematic problem with modifiers.
“I have a problematically problematic problem with modifiers.”
ha! love that, and you.
i have a problem with project management terminology that I let creep over into everyday language. be warned, my dear sara, it can happen to you … 😉
critical path – if you didn’t do something you should have, then apologize and go do it. don’t say something stupid like “sorry, it wasn’t on my critical path”
milestone – projects achieve milestones. people achieve.
on a project, perfectly legit. in normal discourse, ugh — i know my life is a project, but i don’t have to talk like it is.
so true! although, my profession has a strong relationship to the english language, so perhaps everyone will just think i’m a pretentious snob? yikes!
this is really amusing 🙂 i’m glad you brought this topic up. my husband also says “to be honest with you”. drives me nuts! i say “shut up!” alot. it helps me express the sheer shock and awe that i feel by what someone is saying. i also say “really?” meaning, “seriously? youve got to be kidding me right now…” i dont think i’ll stop saying these things though. i need them in my life.
i like how you need these words in your life, overused or not!