Last night we had dinner at the Quarterdeck in Maynard with Mark and Ginger. We had four distinct choices: Indian, Thai, and Korean, but we chose fish. And it was delicious. Especially the appetizers: seared Sashimi cut wafer thin with a narrow crust of peppercorns and mustard, Coconut Crusted Scallops with chili sauce and the New England staple, fried clam bellies.
Sometime during the evening someone says the word “interesting.”
I launch into one of my mini tirades.
Me: “What is the single most overused, boring and meaningless word?”
Ginger: “Interesting?”
Me: “No, worse.”
Diane: “Fascinating?”
Me: “Worse.”
For me the word is “unbelievable,” and I’m sure someone will guess it. I pause again.
Mark: “I love you?”
Hyperbole
I shall not even try to comment on Mark’s guess.
But, for overused and thus meaningless, “awesome” gets my vote.
Coffee Boy
Wow.
Such deep thought. 🙂
michael
I kinda like awesome ; ) .
After I entered ìunbelievableî into the lexicon of works I hate, I was forced to defend my position. ìBut what about the Red Sox? That was unbelievable.î
ìNo it wasnÃt. It was just a FU*KING sporting event (I get polarized so easily). Jesus Christ walking down Central St MIGHT be unbelievable.î
indignant
How dare you. The red sox were/are unbelievable. And awesome. And interesting and fascinating too. So there. When you run out of adjectives the above are just fine. As for me it is the F word that is over used, so much so that it doesn’t pack a punch anymore. So that is the answer. When it no longer packs a punch or conjures up what it should, it needs to be retired. For those for whom it still packs a punch, the Sox were Fu*king unbelievable.
rakkity
Right on!
artful dodger
The next to fall might be one of my favorites, as it does not presuppose the nature of an emotion/reaction, just that a reaction is expected — “remarkable”. I find it can be used with deliberation and is appropriate to a good many situations. But its flexibility may well be its downfall……