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Style Poll: Most Overused Words in Men’s Style?

January 22, 2013 By Joe | Heads up: Buying via our links may result in us getting a commission. Also, we take your privacy rights seriously. Head here to learn more.

Language is funny.  Some words are immortal (“the” is still going awfully strong.  Like, Highlander strong.  Pretty sure it’s going to come down to “the” and “and” at the quickening).  Others most certainly have a shelf life.  One minute, they’re barely used.  The next they’re getting so much use they burn out so furiously that verbalizing their smoldering ashes in public can cause eye rolls.

Fair?  Not always.  But jargon/slang/descriptor fatigue happens.  And the half-lives of verbiage in Men’s Style can get awfully short.

Do any of these need to be put on the shelf for awhile?  (guessing it’ll be a resounding “yes” for at least a few).  You decide.  Cast your votes below.  You can vote for as many as you’d like.  Use the comments for further explanation and/or alternatives.

Most Overused words in Men's Style

View Results

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Any more nominations?  Totally guilty of over-using plenty of these here on this very website.  Leave it all in the comments.  Top Photo: Yale Law Library.  Bottom Photo: Martha Soukup.  *Gentleman Paradox here

Big words BIG WORDS HERE

Filed Under: Etc. Tagged With: jargon, language, slang, style poll, swag, swagger

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Comments

  1. ChavaM says

    January 22, 2013 at 4:43 AM

    Honestly, I think the most overused word is “dapper”.

  2. Tim Hutchinson says

    January 22, 2013 at 4:56 AM

    I’ll throw in the suggestion that “classic” is overused on many style blogs/communities.

  3. Yaniel says

    January 22, 2013 at 5:08 AM

    I’m going with #menswear

  4. KD says

    January 22, 2013 at 5:25 AM

    +1 for “sartorial”. Woof.

  5. Christopher Teague says

    January 22, 2013 at 6:36 AM

    My thought exactly – it was a cool word when it was newly discovered and used judiciously and correctly to describe suiting only. Now we have sartorial underpants.

  6. David X L says

    January 22, 2013 at 7:10 AM

    That’s why the site name is past-tense!

  7. Electrogent says

    January 22, 2013 at 7:30 AM

    Is there an “all of the above” button?

  8. BenR says

    January 22, 2013 at 7:47 AM

    Many of these don’t bother me, as they are simply the most accurate word to describe particular things. (Style, silhouette, handcrafted, menswear.)

    Others do bother me, as they are just empty, slangy figures of speech without any precise meaning that people seem to use simply because they’ve run out of lexical creativity. (“Killing it,” “Stepping up your game.”)

  9. Timbo says

    January 22, 2013 at 8:00 AM

    Cop. As in, “I need to cop that.” You’re not Macklemore or DJ Jazzy Jeff.

  10. Aaron Thornberry says

    January 22, 2013 at 8:21 AM

    Where’s the option for “spot on”?

  11. Joe says

    January 22, 2013 at 8:47 AM

    HA!

  12. Joe says

    January 22, 2013 at 8:48 AM

    Completely with you. Its been showing up in a lot of product descriptions as of late. And honestly, while I like the word itself, it can come off as stuffy pretty easily.

  13. John_C says

    January 22, 2013 at 8:56 AM

    I’m gonna go with ‘classic’

  14. Pete says

    January 22, 2013 at 8:56 AM

    What about “bespoke?”

  15. John Zang says

    January 22, 2013 at 8:57 AM

    I think “loud” is the most vague and consequently the most overused.

  16. aaron levy says

    January 22, 2013 at 9:00 AM

    Bespoke. Measuring yourself and ordering a suit online from a small catalog (made to measure) is not the same thing. Bespoke is having a tailor/clothier measure you in a store, picking your own fabric/cut/details from the very start and continually adjust it until the fit is right, not just cutting something from a pattern.

  17. calan.reyes says

    January 22, 2013 at 9:27 AM

    Good lord, I’d say it’s “sprezzatura” (any spezz, etc).

    I’ve studied painting (yeah, I know) but that word still confuses me when said in the context of #menswear. I always think, “well that didn’t look easy…” because the word is really to describe something that “looks easy” or “made look easy”.

    Often dressing ‘up’ means ‘too much’, especially here in on the West Coast.

  18. nagonnaworkhere says

    January 22, 2013 at 9:33 AM

    I think ‘bespoke’ has become tired…

  19. Kiel West says

    January 22, 2013 at 9:35 AM

    “tailored”

  20. tony black says

    January 22, 2013 at 9:58 AM

    manly…or wooster

  21. Dru Matthews says

    January 22, 2013 at 10:13 AM

    Seconded…ESP from Glen at GQ

  22. Tyler Draheim says

    January 22, 2013 at 10:28 AM

    Killed it!

  23. Greg_S says

    January 22, 2013 at 12:02 PM

    Swag. You are not Tom Haverford

    http://pinterest.com/nbcparksandrec/rent-a-swag/

  24. Ronald William Combs says

    January 22, 2013 at 3:40 PM

    This article is on point.

  25. cspurcella says

    January 22, 2013 at 4:13 PM

    classic, timeless, essential, etc.

  26. Morgan Liu says

    January 22, 2013 at 6:51 PM

    They’re only overused if you read too many men’s style blogs. To a neophyte surely the language seems colorful and inventive and mysterious. Enough familiarity can drive anything into the ground. So you see, it’s really your own behavior at fault.

  27. Justin Tessier says

    January 22, 2013 at 6:53 PM

    Agreed, was going to make a comment about this. In fact, the only terms I voted were those almost childish words which are better suited to a sports context.

  28. Wayne says

    January 22, 2013 at 7:05 PM

    +1000. Man, I hate that!

  29. TCB says

    January 22, 2013 at 7:35 PM

    Yes to this. J Crew is an especially bad perpetrator; they somehow “discover” “classic/timeless” pieces … like preppy archaeologists.

  30. Kyle Wiley says

    January 23, 2013 at 3:38 AM

    Thanks for the Highlander intro. That was my show in the 90s

  31. BJ McGeever says

    January 23, 2013 at 11:05 AM

    But, Greg, I aspire to be.

  32. Chris says

    September 6, 2013 at 1:59 PM

    “Pulled the trigger” when describing making a purchase. “I pulled the trigger on that J. Crew blazer” or whatever. Can we not talk like douchebags and just say “decided to buy” instead?

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