Brits vote for the most irritating word of 2023, including 'bae' and 'holibobs'
It's totally amazeballs that the Christmas holibobs are almost upon us, so we can enjoy some awesomeness and Lolz with our BAE.
Apologies if that sentence was totes jarring, but it merely serves as an example of the words Brits currently find most annoying. Sorry, not sorry.
According to new research, as many as eight in ten (80%) of Brits insist there are certain words and phrases that they find hugely irritating.
Turns out "amazeballs" is the single most annoying word in modern culture, with one in three (34%) of the 2,000 Brits surveyed claiming that the term is the most cringe-inducing. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is an informal adjective, to describe something "extremely good or impressive".
"Holibobs" (29%), "awesomeness" (28%) and "nom nom nom" (26%) also made the top 25 words, as did "totes" (26%) and "bae" (25%).
Almost a third (27%) hate hearing the abbreviated term for laughing out loud "lolz", while a further 27% aren't impressed to be having banter via the word "bants", which means to share playful remarks with another person or group.
If you’re trying to impress someone romantically you might want to avoid the terms "hankie-pankie" (23%) or "nookie" (21%), as they are both highly likely to put a potential partner off.
Read more: The very specific time of day that Brits feel the 'least energetic'—the 2:36pm slump (Yahoo Life UK, 6-min read)
And whatever you do don't wish your colleagues a "happy Fri-yay" (apologies fellow Yahoo Life workers), or ask if anyone fancies going out for "drinkies" as this is likely to grate on around a fifth of them.
Ditto asking what's for "din dins", which a quarter find annoying.
Other modern terms that leave the nation wincing according to research agency, Perspectus Global, include "sorry, not sorry" (22%), "no problemo"(20%) and "fur baby" (19%).
One in four (25%) have sighed in disappointment when they have seen or heard someone using a cringeworthy word, while almost a fifth (17%) admit that their opinion of the person goes down.
A further 13% say they will going out of their way to avoid the person who committed the verbal offence entirely and 7% say they immediately unfollowed the culprit on social media.
Read more: Personal trainer reveals the work from home exercises you can do at your desk (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
Why do we find certain words so cringe?
Neuroscientist Dr Rachel Taylor says our seemingly harsh reactions to hearing jarring words is tied to our instincts.
"If someone uses a word that we find embarrassing, as humans, we instinctively want to distance ourselves from them - hence the cringe, which can be seen as physically making ourselves smaller," she explains.
"Our primitive brain cannot distinguish between a physical threat (a nearby predator) or a psychological threat, and any awkward behaviour from others can trigger a threat response."
Watch: One in six older adults completely ‘baffled’ by digital terms
Obviously the words that we find embarrassing are not objective, but culturally specific.
"Our reactions are learned and have been created by our experiences from birth until now," Dr Taylor continues. "Our judgement is environmental, yet the response is caused by an interaction with current status and learned behaviour. The brain combines it all and proposes a precision of what the word means, and then we experience an emotion."
Dr Taylor says a word may have connections with all sorts of emotional relevance or it may be a shared hatred of it.
"I hate ‘moist’, as do most people - it feeds the disgust emotion," she explains. "While ‘amazeballs’, the most cringeworthy word according to the poll, is likely to tap into the embarrassment emotion, because it's seen as silly, old fashioned and uncool."
Commenting on the findings Hariet Scott from Perspectus Global added: "It’s fascinating to see which words and phrases leave us embarrassed and annoyed.
"With more than 650 words added to the Oxford English Dictionary last year, it is clear that the English language is constantly evolving and changing. So much so, that you can never tell when certain expressions will be popular, and when they will fall out of favour."
Read more: Most hated office jargon revealed: Blue-sky thinking, low-hanging fruit and more (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
The 25 words and phrases that annoy Brits most
Amazeballs - 34%
Holibobs – 29%
Awesomeness 28%
LOLZ – 27%
Bants – 27%
Nom nom nom – 26%
Totes – 26%
BAE – 25%
Din dins – 25%
Chrimbo - 23%
Hankie-pankie – 23%
Wifey – 23%
Sorry, not sorry – 22%
Nookie – 21%
Happy Friyay – 21%
Drinkies - 20%
No problemo – 20%
Fur baby – 19%
Coolio – 19%
Methinks - 19%
Hot girl summer - 18%
No offence, but - 18%
Bossing it - 17%
Wine-o-clock - 17%
My bad - 15%
