Super this, super that… Aren’t you tired of all these superlatives?
It might sound peculiar, but some words are starting to really bug me. They irritate me because they have been overused and have lost their meaning.
If you eat caviar every day, it will quickly lose its original appeal and become dull, unexciting. The same fate applies to words. Some of the terms on my “shunning” list are: awesome, devastated, outraged, disrespected, whatever, star, super…
Nowadays everything is “awesome” and everybody has been “devastated” by one thing or the other. I cannot stand it anymore.
America, a nation that used to be on the cutting edge of just about everything, has been reduced to a land of parrots and copycats. “What monkey see, monkey do.”Pathetic!
Super, originally meant “above” or “over” expressing the highest degree of quality. But now, nothing is plain or ordinary anymore. Everything is super… something.
If an actress gets a bit part in a movie, she instantly becomes a “superstar”. If a young girl walks the catwalk a few times, she is a “supermodel”. The little grocery store around the corner is now a supermarket.
Basta! Enough! We need to save our vocabulary from pollution.
Fopdoodle (a stupid fellow), raggabrash (a disorganized or grubby person), flibbertigibbet (excessive talkative person), mafflard (blundering fool), muckspout (someone who uses a lot of cursing) are now insults in disuse.
These words were probably cool and popular at one time, but through overuse they became annoying and obsolete.
So, for crying out loud, stop being outraged or devastated. Don’t parrot and repeat mechanically whatever you heard somewhere. Be indignant, furious, full of rage… anything but outraged.
Use your imagination. If need be, rehearse at home what you would like to say to your rivals or your loved ones. Be original or hold your tongue for chrissake!
In conclusion:
Watch your mouth. Don’t pollute. Don’t abuse anything, including weed, French fries and superlatives.
Abuse of words has been the great instrument of sophistry and chicanery, of party, faction, and division of society. John Adams
Merci beaucoup for your attention.
Alain
A woman tells her doctor, ‘I’ve got a bad back.’
The doctor says, ‘It’s old age.’
The woman says, ‘I want a second opinion.’
The doctor says: ‘Okay – you’re ugly as well.’ – Tommy Coope