Awesome.
I use it. You use it. It seems massive tracts of the blogosphere use it.
It’s damn versatile.
If you need to describe something that is actually great you say ‘awesome’ (i.e. – ‘I just had the world’s best corndog. It was awesome!’)
If you want to express sarcasm you can use ‘awesome’ too (i.e. – ‘Smith really did an awesome job fucking up that presentation. His ass is grass.’ )
In addition to versatility, it is a word that now has a certain juvenile connotation and overtone to it, making it a perfect fit for the zeitgeist of the current era and the dominant culture of the blogosphere.
‘Awesome’ may not have that long a life. My guess is that the way the word is used now will be kitschy funny (sort of like the way ‘groovy’ is now) by the time my kids are in their mid teens.
What do you think, is it the most overused word in the blogosphere? Will it go the way of cool words past and devolve into kitschery? Leave a comment and let me know.
(BTW – the tattoo in the photo above is real. I think, in this case, a picture is word at least 20 000 words.)
my most overused word is actually so i embraced it and made it part of my personal brand
Awesome post, Jackson, I mean…
In a quick, completely unscientific study, I checked Technorati for how many posts have the word “awesome” in them– 1,193 as of now. “Groovy” only returned 32 posts, so your suggestion of that term as antiquated is probably accurate. This makes me more cognizant of current trends in linguistics and how they reach a wider audience through social media. Awesome is definitely the dominant, versatile adjective of the times, but who knows what will be next? I vote we bring back “rad”– not the whole word “radical” but the laziest possible abbreviation of it. Makes it easier to fit into 140 characters 😉
Hey Krista,
Rad comment!
Thanks for citing those stats. Very interesting.
BTW – I share your belief that ‘rad’ is a much more 2010 than ‘radical’ for the reasons you mention.
Have a great weekend 🙂
Dahling Jax. Ve are ALL so awesome. AWESOME!
According to askmen.com, it’s “like:” http://www.askmen.com/top_10/entertainment/top-10-most-overused-words_1.html
But I suppose that’s what you get when you ask men. Awwsummm!!!
Fun post – thank you!
Thanks Jedi! That’s, like, awesome! 🙂
I just typed up some stuff for a class recently and definitely used the word ‘awesome.’ As much as I hate to admit it, I probably used it multiple times. It is such an overused word, and it is even used to describe things that need a completely different adjective. I have noticed the excessive use of the word, but I have never thought of it being a word that could one day be outdated (like ‘groovy’). That is some AWESOME insight! I have to say thank you for bringing that to peoples’ attention. Maybe we will all end up widening our vocabulary.
I use the word awesome to describe something that’s better than “really great” or “cool”. I find its juvenile sound lends it to describe things that I think are better than “great” but fall short of being sophisticated. Take the movie “The Rock”, is it a fine example of cinematic excellence? No. But is it awesome? Yes, it’s fun to watch because it’s full of explosions and action sequences (well, for me that’s fun). Or consider deep-fried Oreos. A culinary masterpiece? No. Awesome? For the mere fact that someone had the gusto to take a creme-filled cookie, batter it and stick it into hot oil- that inspires awe for me. So, it is awesome.
So while I will agree that people over-use it, I would not tell anyone to abandon it. It’s expressive and bears positive connotations, and I think we could all use a little more expressed positivity.
agreed.
Don’t forget about the other A word – absolutely.
I absolutely won’t Tina 🙂
Nice add. I use the word absolutely far too often (esp since I am rarely certain about many things)
Thanks!
It is not only overused. It is applied to the most vapid, silly and vacuous of ideas, creations, products, events, e.g., the color of someone’s clothing, an invitation, a new kind of dessert, ad infinitum. It is embarrassing and the older the user, the more foolish that person appears.
The theory of relativity is awesome. NASA’s landing on the moon is. The creation of many life-saving, miracle drugs merit use of the word. They pyramids, Niagra Falls and the Alps do as well. The fall of the Berlin Wall can make claim. The end of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s ascent to the Presidency of South Africa fall into the same category.
Shame on anyone who uses this word so inappropriately and especially those who use it over and over again. It is one of the dumbest and most ungainly of verbal crutches and should be banned–by children, a growing 14-25+ cohort (the most guilty) and by adults.
Proposal is for generation of a major social marketing campaign to rid ourselves of inappropirate use of the word. It would be a contribution to free speech rather than a blow to it. It would offer a welcome social, written and audio respite from this terrible habit. It could raise our national image!
Any takers?
Hey Jessie,
Thanks for the passion. It is literally jumping off the screen at me!
Great comment. Your examples are BANG ON.
Appreciate you stopping by and sharing your thoughts. 🙂
I consider myself an astute listener of the words people use. Based on my subjective experiences in the past few years, “amazing” has surpassed “awesome” as the universal American English language filler used for a positive description of an impressive person, event, achievement, experience, etc. Listen for yourself and see if you agree.
This is too funny. I just started a new blog and realized that both posts had the word “awesome” in them and was completely horrified.
It’s the most overused word everywhere–period. The Grand Canyon is awesome. Someone doing the mundane or everday thing is not.
Steve – I agree. Please – everything can not be amazing. Unless you are a teenager and then your friends, your teacher, your dog, your mom, your graduation party, your new shoes…
Just to prove it, the first tweet I saw (Doctor_V) immediately after my comment had “amazing” in it. And I was not looking for one with the word, it just happened to be there waiting for me. A little variety in adjectives would be fantastic.
Oh, I would so love to tire, once again, of “groovy” or even “far out,” if only to be protected from hearing awesome!
“Great” is by far the most overused word in the bloggosphere. It’s not even close.
I have a beer for every time someone responds to an article saying…
“GREAT post”
“GREAT article”
“GREAT list”
“GREAT info”
etc.
Needless to say, I am drunk 24/7.