It is human to have pet peeves—things that make the vein on your forehead pop just from thinking about them. It is also pretty common for them to stem from language, especially considering the impact of internet Slang and an absurd number of acronyms in social media or texting. Amirite? Lol.

The AskReddit community is once again brimming with answers, this time—to the question of what slang word or term can drive a person insane. The responses are some pretty cringe expressions, which prompt people to close their eyes and sigh in disappointment.

Browse the list to see if you feel the need to cover your eyes as well after seeing these slang terms. If you do, check out these British phrases that are absolutely loved by non-Brits to see if you can find any substitutes.

#1

Doggo, pupper, fur baby.

I work in the veterinary field and I once turned down a job because we were required to refer to the pets as fur babies and the humans as pet parents. I have no problem calling someone "Mom" or "Dad" to their dog or cat, if that's what they prefer. It was the *required* cutesy language that irritated me.

#2

I'll be honest, the "Karen" calling has gotten out of hand. Most of the time it doesn't even apply anymore. Anyone who ever speaks against anything you do is a Karen these days.

#3

Any person who spells anything as "baby talk". Replace letters with a W to sound younger. It's weird, it's creepy, and I'm sick of seeing people saying things like "I'm sowey" or "hewwo" like either stop, or rip out my eyes

Edit: damn, not to be that person lol but thx for the upvotes

Image credits: My_NonExisting_Balls

#4

I personally can’t stand when people are voicing for animals and say “hooman.” Drives me f*****g insane, I hate that I even had to type it out for this.

Image credits: Slick_Tuxedo

#5

Bae

Image credits: smart_introvert

#6

People claiming a "hack". No, it's a tip.

Image credits: AWorldRider

#7

When someone asks for advice or asks a question on social media and says "and GO!"
"Restaurant recommendations in Brooklyn.. and GO"

Image credits: ardentvix

#8

Woke. Every second moron who thinks they're cool is using it, and often in the wrong context.

#9

“I could care less” drives me absolutely bonkers!

I **could** care less, implies you do care at least some.

I **couldn’t** care less, means you literally don’t care at all.

#10

I still get icked by hubby and wifey.

Image credits: yayaudra

#11

"of" instead of "have":

* must of
* should of
* could of
* would of

STFU you're killing me.

#12

When memes start with

“No one: “

Adds nothing to the meme. I get that it means unprovoked but sometimes I feel like I’m having a stroke reading “no one:

Me: eating ice cream alone at 3am”

#13

"Literally"...because of the way almost everyone use it now. It's plain wrong.

#14

"Tell me you're this thing, without telling me you're thing this"

Stop already. My wife overuses this and I cringe every time.

Image credits: anominousoo77

#15

"Sorry, not sorry." What is the point in saying that?

Image credits: Jesisty

#16

Cray cray.
My 65 year old coworker says it all the time. Taking "crazy" 1 word 2 syllables and replacing it with "cray cray" 2 words 1 syllable each word is annoying in and of itself. But hearing it from a grown a*s man just adds to the cringe.

Image credits: AcanthisittaLost9508

#17

Bruh. And men calling women 'females'. Also, when people say something is 'cringe'.

#18

Slayyy

#19

Preggers

Image credits: UpvoteForPancakes

#20

Adulting is the worst

#21

People still use "thank you for coming to my TED talk" on social media and it was f*****g stupid when it started and it's still stupid.

Image credits: DJ_Molten_Lava

#22

Supposably

#23

I don't know if this counts, but I can't stand people replying "this" to comments on here.


Go ahead I know what you're about to do...

#24

since someone’s mentioned hooman, i’ll mention doggo and catto. i wish the trend of those cringey dubs over animals being silly would die. they make them far less funny, and animals don’t even need voices to be amusing in the first place.

#25

I've noticed that people in the corporate environment are using "ask" as a noun in place of "request." I know language changes but it just seems unnecessary.

"The ask from the customer is....."

I'm not sure what it is about this usage that irritates me, but it makes me grind my teeth, I swear.

#26

“On accident”

#27

Jelly for Jealous - what are we, 2 years old?

Thunderboomers for thunderstorms - again, how old are we?

#28

One of my coworkers uses “Gucci” as good. I must have missed when they became popular or it’s his own thing but it makes me cringe.

Image credits: dinoroo

#29

I dislike "today years old", partly because as an Excel user it means "44937 years old".

Image credits: ViridianKumquat

#30

UwU speak.

even ironically, it hurts my soul

Image credits: Azsunyx

#31

Any idiot who uses

"Save this/protect this X at any/all cost"

"You won the internet"

"You broke the internet"

"We dont deserve X"

drives me crazy.

#32

Oh and, "understood the assignment" don't even get me started on that one.

Image credits: TealTryst

#33

“Living rent free in your head.”

First of all, what does that even mean? Second of all, no.

#34

"Slaps" or "bops " when talking about music. Also not a fan of "hella" or "selfie"

#35

I hate quotes that say “read that again” at the end. It makes me very much against reading it again.

#36

"Za" for pizza

#37

"drip" in reference to, apparently, being well dressed. I can't work out how that happened. it sounds like an STD.

#38

I loathe most of the obnoxious words people will use to avoid saying vagina. Coochie. Vajayjay. Girly bits/parts. The list could go on and on.


I don't mind the cruder stuff, like pussy, c**t, etc. But the thirty year old women who use elementary school lingo to discuss their vagina just make me insane.

#39

Cringe. I normally don’t care at all about slang and think people should be focused more on rhetoric than word usage…but cringe is so extremely overused and typically used to demean or basically abuse or even bully others.

“That’s so cringe! Those things are cringe! He’s being cringe!” Seriously? All these things make you cringe? An actual physical response to discomfort? Doesn’t seem like it. Seems like you just want to call other people losers or “nerds” while claiming to hold some sort of moral majority on your side. Like you have the right opinion or view and other people don’t.

Guess I cringe at “cringe”. It’s more the attitude behind it than the actual slang itself that irritates me.

#40

Bruh

Some people just use that as complete statements or responses.

I once saw a reaction video on youtube and the guy was literally just saying bruh after ever few seconds. That was the whole reaction, something happened, he'd tilt his head up or shake it and say "bruh". Nothing else.

That's overused but you also have a lot of variations. Bro, burv, brah, breh, bruh... like wtf are we doing to this word? One variation "bro" should really have been enough the rest just come across dumb and goofy.

#41

Soz - you're apologising, without being bothered to say the whole word, seems somewhat ironic

#42

Apparently I'm the least cool person on the planet. I've never heard of the majority of these words.

#43

None of them really drive me insane. I've always had an "amused old man" attitude towards it, even when I was a teenager. When I hear a new slang word I'll just chuckle and go, "kids say the darndest things."

#44

Hearing “breckie” for breakfast makes want to fork-stab someone.

#45

"Its a vibe", "this game is a vibe" drives me absolutely insane

#46

Not necessarily slang, but more of self-censorship (and I think a lot of it comes from TikTok because you can't use certain words?).
Aside from the obvious like, f* ck/fck, here are some other examples I've come across: s *x - r *pe - unalive - p*rn - pretty sure I saw Hitluur in reference to Hitler - seggs for sex...

Wherever this trend of censoring literally everything has come from, it drives me up a wall and makes me think the person doing the typing is incredibly immature and pretty dumb. Can't say the word sex? Then you probably shouldn't be having it.

If this is in fact something TikTok started, to that I say *what the f**k* because, and correct me if I'm wrong, it's a platform where people can post videos of themselves scantily clad "dancing" (I.E., doing something that looks like synchronised seizures) but can't say "bad" words. How does that make sense???

F**k. I hate TikTok.

#47

It's kinda falling off but "low key" became much to overused and people were just using it as filler.

On reddit there are certain buzzwords that seem to catch fire and spread through the whole site that I despise. They get used to the point that most people using them have no idea what they actually mean. A current one is "gaslighting." Gaslighting isn't just when someone says something that is untrue or something you don't like. It's a specific thing.

#48

Everyone saying “rizz” lately is driving me insane

Image credits: stupidtortilla_

#49

That ridiculous misuse of the word "based."

#50

Stan/We Stan.

It completely misses the point of the song, it makes people sound like they can’t think for themselves, and is overall stupid.

It’s like a cult mantra.

Guess I’m an old man now, and I’m completely f*****g fine with that.

#51

Chad. Using Incel/'Seduction' Community language is f*****g *creepy*.

#52

As a middle school teacher - “sus” and “cap/no cap”

sus - suspect/suspicious

cap - b******t/you’re lying

no cap - telling the truth

Image credits: persieri13

#53

Today years old. Just say I learned today.

That's it, one word, to replace 3.

It's just needlessly long. It doesn't even make sense.

#54

Started saying "yas" ironically. So it's a word I use now. But, boy did I use to give my little sister hell for it. Still not quite sure how I got here.

Image credits: AquachickCupcake4ce

#55

"Not me (...)"


Every time I see this it just irritates me.

#56

People using "finna" when the rest of their vocabulary and accent rivals The Queen's Received Pronunciation. You sound ridiculous.

Edit: I am a 100% aware that Southern a/o Black Americans have been using this word for decades. There's no problem whatsoever with you. I'm talking about those that insert "finna" in their vocabulary when they personally distance themselves from any sort of "informality" in their chosen words.

Edit 2: *"I finna be in the pit"* is the perfect example of what I'm trying to say.

#57

“Let’s gooo!”

“Bussin”

“Goofy Ahh”

#58

"I can't" in twitch every time something slightly unexpected happens.

Image credits: twoLegsJimmy

#59

Goofy ahh and using “ahh” as a suffix in place of “a*s”. Like if you say hot-a*s, ok. If you say hot-ahh, I will steal your larynx.

#60

Clap back

#61

"Go brrrrr"

#62

“And that’s on god”

#63

Could you "double-click" on that for me? (as used in a sales meeting to ask someone to explain something further). Really grinds my f*****g gears.

#64

Having a "menty b."

Image credits: True-Mousse4957

#65

Ayyyoooo

and

Everyone on twitch saying "let's goooooooo" every 3 seconds.

#66

Bestie. It’s so disingenuous and overused.

#67

LatinX is so dumb

#68

“Periodt”

Seriously stfu

#69

People calling us “Filipinx” instead of Filipino.

#70

"King"/"queen", unless your last name is actually von Saksen-Coburg or von Habsburg, or Battenberg etc.

#71

People who say “he’s an npc” or “bot”. It’s especially rampant in circles of gamers and holy s**t it drives me insane. No idea why, it’s just annoying

#72

"its giving"

#73

Guys, I came in here to snicker at some Gen Z slang, not be called out for being a geriatric millennial. :(

#74

Calling lessons “learnings” doesn’t make you sound smarter.

#75

In Germany we have a word called "Digga" it’s like "dude" but worse, drives me insane

#76

Poggers.

#77

I can’t stand when anyone says “era”

“I’m in my fitness era” “I’m in my crocs era” stfu

#78

"Its the ______ for me."

I heard it once and now I hear it a million times a day.

#79

That’s so fetch

#80

"Rizz"

Sounds way too much like jizz to me

#81

Updoot.

#82

Bussin and no cap. Whenever I see someone type and or say this I feel like they are a npc