Clinton, South Carolina, Thursday, October 31, 2019, 9:30 a.m.

I try not to hate, but from time to time, I have to ask forgiveness over things such as New York Yankees. It’s not as bad to hate things as it is to hate people.

For instance, I hate a lot of words.

Utilize. In all except rare instances, it is no more than a pretentious version of “use.” Most people who say “utilize” are speaking into microphones. It’s a dumb way of acting smart.

Arguably. Every time I hear someone say or write, “He was arguably the greatest point guard of his generation,” my reaction is, Okay, argue it. It’s lazy and is no improvement over a simple “perhaps.”

Irrespective is fine. Irregardless is redundant, of course, since it means the same as “regardless.” People who say “irregardless” are trying to appear smarter than people who say “regardless.” Au contraire.

Signage. Pompous version of “signs.”

I could go on and on, but it would take a while. I have no list anywhere other than in my leaky mind. One of the simple pleasures of growing older is the occasional realization that words one has heard – and often used – for his or her entire life are dumb.

It is healthy to keep asking questions throughout life and unavoidable when one writes for a living. Thankfully, many characteristics of writers are also unhealthy, and thus is the world fair.

What is not healthy is to impose one’s preferences on others. Language evolves as its users pile mostly stupidities on top of one another. It does now. It did in 1519, 1819, and today. It goes back almost to the origin of words themselves.

Someone translating the Bible wrote, “The wages of sin is death,” and the next monk down the line thought, Shouldn’t it be, the wages of sin are death?, and the first monk asked, “What?” and the second monk said, “Ah, fuhgeddaboutit.”

Incredibly, if a sports announcer says enough times that the kid returning the punts “can literally fly,” then eventually it will become literally instead of figuratively – literally! – and a word will mean itself and its opposite.

Freedom is going to ring whether one likes it or not. To thine own words be true.

 

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