Luxurious Snacks

Isn't it funny how words bring certain thoughts and references to our minds? Any variety of word can draw on innumerable experiences from our lives and paint a picture as brief as a clip or flash, or as long and detailed as a memory or series of thoughts and concepts. I get a particular kick out of words people don't like.

I have a friend with whom I used to work who had a thing against the word "snacks" and similarly against the word "luxurious." He couldn't really ever describe why he didn't like the sound, thought, or connotations that came with those words, but nonetheless, he just didn't like them. (It goes without saying, that we often though of types of foods that we could offer him between meals that might somehow be considered decadent or extravagant to necessitate the use of luxurious snacks to describe them).

For me, the work is "stinky." I just can't handle the idea of something being stinky. It's the smell of cheese, dirty socks and other rank odors. I detest the word, and it makes me think of those stinky things when the word comes up. Just smelling something bad makes me think of the word, which sets me on a spiral of stink. Stinky stinks.

When I overcome my crazy spiral, I really enjoy asking other people about words they don't like. It's particularly rewarding to see their faces and the passion they pour into their lists. Some of the favorites (or least-favorites, as it were) that I've heard are: moist, damp, finger, slacks, blouse, crotch (ha!), flesh, smear and sore. The list could go on and on, but it's so interesting really. What makes certain words unappealing? Is it the type of word, what it describes, or just our reference points to the particular word?

Words are so funny to begin with. No matter the language, we are just combining symbols (of one form or another) that represent sounds and concepts. Sometimes the same combination of symbols can mean different things depending on the context, or different symbols can sound the same even if they mean different things. It's really amazing that as you read this, your mind has associated all of these random symbols together to make sentences and meaning just as I wrote them on the screen.

Well, what about you, what words are on your list of least favorites?