do any terms or words annoy you?

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I say it all the time. But I'm trying to learn Italian and it's really fun to speak. Grazi! And Si! And Prego! I don't even realize I'm saying them anymore.

But it does irk me when Americans say "Cheers!" or more likely - say it in email. Oooohhh - its usually those chipper little passive-aggressive Microsoft marketing types - so pretty much anything they say is annoying and out-of-context.

"Oh my gawd", though this is usually down to the way it's said.

FireBird, you have my sympathies about the meds (have you tried explaining this effect to your physician, and did they listen at all?), and I'm with you on several counts.

I hate the medical use of the term 'morbid'. It actually just means 'causing or producing illness', but one, it's inaccurate (it's not inevitable that you will be ill if you have a BMI over 40, which is technically what 'morbid obesity' is - and there should also be such a thing as 'morbid marcidity' which is the term we'd use for being 'dangerously' thin, i.e. under a BMI of 18, if there were any sort of balanced view involved), and two, it does have definite overtones of death and scary stuff, and hence is easily misused by medical folks who should know better to put the wind up people.

(OT for a moment - I also hate the way the medical profession, in which I have a clerical job, uses the word 'abortion'. Medically this means any pregnancy loss, accidental or induced, but in reality it's a hurtful term to use in front of a woman who's just miscarried a much-wanted baby. While I'm pro-choice, using the term in those circumstances seems a bit tactless.)

Back to fat, I also actually hate the increasing use of the word 'obese' itself. Again, it was for many years simply a medical term for a BMI of over 30, but these days it's used to describe almost anyone who's not 'Hollywood thin', from your British size 12 to your 50-stone person who has to be winched out of bed. It's also treated as synonymous with almost any other undesirable quality you want to imply about a person. Even by doctors who should, again, know better, and not let their judgement of the way a person looks (and you'd be surprised how much that skews what we actually know about obesity and health) cloud their judgement. OK, rant over.

The word "sacrifice"
My husband says this word A LOT when he talks about on how hard we worked to get where we are.
I am almost to the point that when he is about to say it I just want to say... you don't need to say that word, or don't be so dramatic.

OK - ThatRedHairedGrrl - this has nothing to do with anything...but I still get weak-kneed when I see Kurt Cobain. Those eyes...I still just want to hold him and tell him everything's going to be ok.

Ok - back to whatever is is we were talking about!

Nonsense. Talking is 10% communication and 90% self indulgence.

Ebonics. American drawl.
French, German and eastern European accents as portayed by Hollywood.
The way phrases often are said twice in movies. ("Loud and clear, (insert name), loud and clear.")
The word for the number 12 in both Norwegian, English and German.

Not really a word or term, but the gestures flight attendants make when explaining exits et c, along with their glued on smiles.

Lots of politically correct words, bordering on ridiculous.

The way reporters are intentionally choosing words to manipulate viewers/readers into taking their point of view.

Oh, I thought we were talking about the written word. If someone actually uses that kind of sophistry in conversation, I suppose it is 10% better than braying like an ass. Not that there's anything wrong with braying like an ass. I don't mean to insult anybody...