Everybody has a few they dislike—words which, when you hear them make your bowels stir, like the sound of nails on a chalkboard.
One of my long-time faves is “solutions.” For almost the last dozen years every business seemed to have “your solution.” Ultimately, they typically don’t. I’d much rather see them use “panacea”, a much more elegant word, and really the one they’re wanting to use anyway.
A more useless term seems to be falling into vogue, and it’s exponentially more idiotic than “solutions”: “thought leader.” A phrase like this is potentially the ultimate sin of political correctness. A sure shoe-in for the grassroots efforts of the NAASP . . . the National Association for the Advancement of Stupid People.
These two words together imply a lemming collective mentality, a Borg-like approach of submission to one all-omniscient voice of prosperity.
It’s the new Milorganite* of Economics, the latest in a society-wide cover up for complete ineptness and lack of accountabilty. Bring those houseplants to the next staff or board meeting and let the amazing fertilizing powers of your thought leaders’ words nourish your flora.
I really loathe the ability of morons to bring their wares to the threshold of the English language and then take a glorious dump upon it.
How about you? Does the fact that “funner” appears in the dictionary make you want to claw your eyes out? And no, it is not a legitmate word! It clearly was put in the dictionary to appease the growing lowest common denominator and politicians.
I welcome your caustic replies and, doubtless, valid entries into this bastion of American acceptance
*If you don’t know what Milorganite is you’re in for a treat! Milorganite is created from the sewage sludge of the Milwaukee sewer system. The ‘biomass’ is heat dried to 95% solids. Mistakenly, Milorganite is referred to as a compost, which it is not. Compost are blends of thermophilic organic materials, with higher moisture, lower nitrogen and much higher application rates. Milorganite is sold throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean as a home lawn and golf course fertilizer.
