Log in or Sign up

Kawaii Headdesk

A list of 97 words by uselessness.

About

The internet has given birth to a most hideous beast: a subculture that merges the worst of middle-school drama, valley-girl stupidity, and pop-culture idolatry. Add a dash of emo and a pinch of snark and simmer for 40 minutes. The final product is a cesspool of misdirected rancor, terrible spelling, and a massive superiority complex, that tries too hard to be cute.

Here are some of the words this demon has spewed.

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • marky cool list! Jul 10, 2011

  • jfk I don't know. The description of the list might pose a more convincing argument if the list itself had more face validity. C'mon, entries like: that's hot, i heart, hella, uber, hubby, pics, teehee, hottie, bf, gf, first post? A subculture clearly spawned in hell. Also, the lister's use of smiley faces, lol's, and terms such as "newbies" in his own posts makes him seem a less credible critic. Jun 18, 2009

  • john U, can't believe I missed this list first time around. I have a love-hate (ok, mostly hate) relationship with the words on it, but I love the list itself. And I really appreciate you putting into words, in the description, the inchoate discomfort this kind of language makes me feel, and your recognition that these are all of a piece. They're not just words, they epitomize a syndrome. I can live with rancor and bad spelling, but the cutesy superiority complex part is nauseating. Jun 18, 2009

  • madmouth preggers is from way back.

    this list makes me feel so guilty. Apr 14, 2009

  • whichbe giyf May 6, 2008

  • uselessness I've never seen it that way before, I guess it's a newer form that plays on the lolcats meme, like o hai. Jul 20, 2007

  • tribblewing Actually, it's kthnxbai, not 'bye'. I actually love these words; they're meant to be used facetiously, as a particularly ironic stylistic effect. Some of these belong on a l33t/1337 list. Jul 20, 2007

  • reesetee I haven't taught in ages, but I suspect I'd do the same. Thank heavens I haven't seen any manuscripts containing netspeak...yet. Feb 26, 2007

  • abraxaszugzwang I've seen them used in a few papers. If I were teaching college level students back home, I would do the same najp. Feb 26, 2007

  • notanotherjazzpoet Some of us do understand it but still loathe it. I take the harsh route, and fail any paper containing net speak. No questions. No revisions. Just an F. I do warn them, of course.

    I've not seen a u in place of you yet. Feb 26, 2007

  • uselessness Ew. One of many reasons I, despite loving language, decided not to teach it. Feb 16, 2007

  • reesetee I was reading a Washington Post article the other day about how these...um...creations are creeping into essays and other writing assignments. Not surprising, of course--but the point of the article was that even if teachers are willing to let them slide (and few are), they can't understand the damn things because most are old enough to have avoided this particular boil on the face of the English language. Feb 16, 2007

  • chained_bear No, you're not the only one who hates it. Though I have to admit, some of these are kind of neat in an in-joke sort of way. Not too many though. Feb 16, 2007

  • uselessness Oh GOSH. Can I be the only one who hates this stuff? Jan 16, 2007

  • kaichi Here's another one I saw just a few days ago: "lool." I assume it's an elongated form of "lol," but I'm not really sure. Jan 16, 2007