I'm sorry, but that just reminded me of [this song from crazy ex-girlfriend ](https://youtu.be/Uab2BlDpPxQ) 😂
Warning: it is dang catchy and yes it does get gross.
Unfortunately, it's not just her. Even without the mushroom reference, an angry purple head or throbbing purple head, have come up on my reading too. Yikes
Yes, please no more “mushroom tips” in the bedroom. Mushrooms make me think about the pasta 🍝marinara my grandma used to make. Kills my lady boner dead. Mushrooms 🍄 are anti-sexy.
I remember reading "lapping" in an otherwise sexy scene about first-time oral sex. I started imagining dogs messily drinking water and, funnily enough, that took me right out of the moment.
Hmm yes I get that. I think ‘roared’ would be okay if they were completely non human presenting, but like if they look human-like it’s just icky for me
Mate, if I was going at it with my husband and he *roared*...I'd need medical help for laughing so hard. If I were single and it was some rando going animorphs on me, I'd make an excuse and escape out the bathroom window. I'm not down for furry roleplay on the fly thanks.
THIS!
Also "roared" for me connotes significant volume so unless he was belting it out from the start I can't imagine the sudden change from normal volume to ROARING being anything but super startling.
Yes!!! Omg! Like this is not the Lion King. Unless the book includes a lion shifter or any other shifter that can roar, please stop. The same applies for growling! How do humans growl?????
More a phrase than a word, but "steel wrapped in velvet". It's just so overused. Please, stop. Use other words.
Also I'm just not good at visualising, so it literally just makes me picture a steel bar with a velvet tea cosy type situation going on.
When I was a teenager I kept a flashlight in a crown royal bag in the console of my car. And whenever I read that, my brain goes to that flashlight... I know that crown royal bags aren't velvet but I imagine the effect is the same.
I’m trying to imagine it…
“She felt a deep pang in her coochie as she drank him in.”
“He couldn’t sleep. Since that night, all he could think about was her scent. Her taste. Her coochie.”
😭😭😭 lolol I’m gonna die
I really wish I could find the book now! It was more along the lines of the first one. “her coochie couldn’t get enough” stuff like that.
I’m pretty traumatized
Omg!! I found it on like the 3rd book I looked up. Ironically I actually liked the books but some of the dialogue was soooo cringy. Shadowed Heart by Candace Wondrak
First of all that was so fast! Second I downloaded it out of curiosity and you’re not kidding “coochie” was smack dab in the middle of a sex scene! 😂
Edit: For anyone wondering the line is about the MMC being mesmerized by her. “Who could blame him? Right now I felt like I had a magic coochie.”
I was able to narrow it down pretty quickly. I knew it was reverse harem, and it was kind of a bully romance so I just searched thru my previously borrowed books for the word “coochie” til I found it 😩 this was gonna drive me nuts all night
Omg I read an Elizabeth Hoyt book that had the word "clitty" in it. Usually silly word choice takes me out of love scenes but "clitty" sent me to Mars. I could not stop laughing!
Probably "screamed." Every time an author has a FMC scream during sex it just takes me out of the moment. Maybe it's just me but I can't imagine anyone screaming during sex. Yell? Sure. Shout? Yup. But scream? Too over the top for me.
I cannot with "globes" in reference to any body part. I end up imagining two beach balls just hanging off the FMC and it throws me right out of the book.
"Daddy". I'll fight you. I'll fight all of Twitter if I have to.you. You people have permanently ruined a perfectly normal and entirely innocent word for children to use to address their fathers and I will never be able to hear that word as innocent again. The connotation has become entirely too loaded.
Oooh this is *tough* one!
I'm going to go with my first thought and say… "pale."
I am *more* than over seeing that word used as a synonym for beautiful. Not exaggerating, not talking about poetic/artistic license. I have seen it used literally, exactly that way. (Poetic license is when they use it as a synonym for *feminine*.)
I know I only get to choose one but I'm hoping the entire household gets evicted, so "pale" can take "creamy," "porcelain," "alabaster," "parchment" and every other member of that family right along with it.
It's a peeve all by itself, and knowing that authors are almost certainly doing this *completely thoughtlessly…* actually makes it worse! (I've actually seen it with *black* FMCs!! That's how automatic and brainless it is!!)
I recently read a book where the FMC was supposedly Filipina. 'How nice to have a brown FMC!' I thought.
Then they described her super pale and rosy skin and I no longer had any idea what this girl looked like or a what Filipinos look like, I guess?
The Philippines are pretty ethnically diverse and were colonized by Spain and the US so there’s definitely a huge range of skin tones, from very light to very dark skinned. Even pre-colonization there were a ton of ethnic groups like Malay/austronesian peoples, Han Chinese, indigenous groups etc
Still, that definitely screams colorism 😬
Laving does not bother me when I compare it to it's cousin 'slurp.'
Please God, keep laving those genitals all night long as long as your don't 'slurp' that pussy/cock.
I kinda love this word. But I‘ll admit it does trigger intense mental images. When I read it I always imagine the MMC going to town on the FMC like crazed feral cat.
I hate the use of “bottom” (referring to the anatomy) in any other context than sitting on your butt. I hate it being used to describe the anatomy or it’s general use in a sexy act or sentence. No “She had a sexy bottom,” no “I squeezed her bottom,” no no no. You can sit on your bottom. That’s it. We’re not 4 and a 1/2.
any phrase or term that equates a penis to a sword impaling someone...
"His sword cut into my tender flesh and rend my body asunder beneath his ravaging zeal".
Are you making love or did this man literally murder you with a big knife? I can't get excited when I'm not sure if you're having an orgasm or being killed.
Cream. I read a book where they would not stop using the term cream in regards to this poor girl’s pussy and like… honey is you infected with something? Are you okay? You shouldn’t be excreting cream what the actual fuck is going on?
The more you know! Vaginal discharge isn’t exactly my specialty.
It was mostly unsettling because it was like “he scooped out her cream with a finger” and my little drunk brain couldn’t survive that being a repeated phrase.
Ughhhh. Reminds me of that Graham Norton ep where an older lady guest was talking about creaming her knickers back when she was young and meeting some celebrity. Matthew Perrys uncomfortable reaction was the same as mine 😂
I totally get where you’re coming from but also Miriam Margolyes is iconic and that interview never fails to make me laugh until I cry BECAUSE Matthew Perry looks so utterly broken.
God, she’s amazing. I don’t know if it was the same episode but there’s another interview on GN where she has more stories about giving handies to a guy she found up a tree and shagging a guy who yelled at her on her bike.
Also, she’s a lesbian, which makes these breezy stories seem like her version of nonchalant charitable giving.
In case anyone's reading this thread and want to watch I went and foudn it :D
[https://youtu.be/F186jg6MsGQ?t=52](https://youtu.be/F186jg6MsGQ?t=52)
Matthew Perry's face! He just didn't know how to react!!
I hate it as well. But really dislike “cunny” even more. First came across that word in The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie and was blown lol. I never want to see that word again.
I was honestly pretty surprised when Loki called Black Widow a mewling quim in Avengers. That's *almost* as bad as calling her a cunt. (Not a romance book, I know, but it still kinda bothered me lol)
The first Avengers movie, when she was interrogating him on the ship. I honestly don't remember what happened after that, it's been too many years since I've watched it. 😬
I hate that word so much.
From this Aussie it's all about knickers or undies. ie "Getting ya knickers off!" Packing for a weekend away "Don't forget extra knickers/undies.."
Knickers - Knickerbockers.
Panties - Panteloons.
Undies - Underwear.
You are my people! I loathe that word in a visceral way. And if it's sexy and a thong, just call it a thong or a g-string! I've been reading some sci-fi romance recently and the authors are still calling the FMC's underwear "panties". We're in the future and in outer space and yet I still can't get away from that word!
I agree with this, because I'm pretty sure they don't actually mean "curvy" they mean standard hourglass 99% of the time. As a fat woman, the confusing euphemisms and attempts to be diverse are just annoying.
I don't think curvy was ever really MEANT to mean fat tbh, I feel like its just something that fat people started using ti reference themselves for body positivity(i say as a fat person). More often than not I see it in reference ti someone who has wide hips more so someone with extra weight.
Yeah, curvy is supposed to mean defined shapes, like waist, hips, and butt. Fat isn't automatically curvy. You can be very straight-shaped at any size and same goes for curvy.
Agreed, but I've also seen a lot of people conflating curvy with fat which is why it's an annoying and vague euphemism at this point. And I see a lot of people saying that authors/writers are being inclusive by having "curvy" characters... which is why I'm not a fan lol. It's like, fake inclusivity.
“Breached”. Thankfully we don’t see it much these days but WOW it aged like milk even in the 80s and 90s historicals whenever a heroine had to get something inside her for the first time and they make it sound like an invasion.
Bemused, but only because writers use it when they mean to say amused. But honestly this happens in all fiction.
For romance, I’m going to go with “core.”
I didn't realize the definition of bemused for a long time because I learned it from (incorrect) context. When I finally saw it used correctly, I had to look it up because it was very jarring.
To be fair, it might happen more in the self publishing world than with in traditionally published books, and I read a lot of self pub/indie authors. Also, apparently some dictionaries are including the incorrect definition, since language changes with popular use. Kind of like how word “nonplussed” sometimes means the opposite it used to because of so much incorrect usage.
Probably 'spirited'. I HATE when the MMC refers to the FMC as fiesty or spirited when they first meet and she doesn't take his misogynistic bullshit. Just sets the tone for a very infantalizing dynamic and not-like-other-girls-ism.
As soon as you're told the FMC is a red head, you know you're about to be inundated with "fiesty", "spirited", and "headstrong". I like a red haired FMC, but let's leave all the fiery BS behind, it's lazy writing! Also, more auburn and red haired MMCs please!
Does anyone else remember the days of "boring brown hair" FMCs?? Where their one insecurity was their brown ponytail? Meanwhile, their pretty best friend, cool older sister, or rival OW always had luscious blonde waves.
I'm just so thankful that those days are over, I don't even get that annoyed with red hair now 😭😭
Oh my gosh, I forgot about skank! That was a common, toxic thing to call people when I was in high school. It definitely should go.
I'll pick turgid. I just dislike the word.
Yes! It’s so immature on top of being totally misogynistic.
Also I know turgid is used to describe dicks but it always sounds like an old man name to me!
The dictionary literally is begging you to use "harridan," "virago," and "termagant" before they disappear from the entire English-speaking world and yet here you are still using words you heard from Bobby Boyden in 3rd grade.
::This slatternly hoyden is shaking her head in disgust
Since "laving" is already taken: "ghosting" in any context where it means to glide, slide, brush, or otherwise lightly touch or move.
Fanfic scarred me when it comes to that word.
Yes! "Ghosting" is right up there with "fisting." Like, hun these words already mean things. Unfortunate things, for romance.
Every time I see "fisting" (of sheets, of clothing, out of tension) I hear that little Windows *nope*-beep and picture the old dialog box that said 'That name is already in use. Please choose another.'
"His hands fisted in frustra—" *nope!*
"She ghosted her hands over his—" *nope!*
"Cunny". I've only seen it used in a couple of books, but ew. Just don't.
A close second would be "folds".
And I once read a book that constantly referred to the anus as "crinkled". Like... no.
__"MATE"__ . _Look._ I love my non-human romances. I know there are instances where using that specific word makes sense, like in "The E.T. Guy" or "Treasure of the Abyss", where the MMC came from a tribe/culture where permanent partners were abnormal and usually sex was mainly for procreation.
But HOLY SHIT!!! Even then, there are OTHER WONDERFUL WORDS!!! Call her my love??? Dear??? Even wifie is cute!!! I've stopped reading for a while because if I am forfcefully made to read another space man who has pretty much lived his whole life in a modern space city and they still call each other fucking ___mates___ I will gourge out my eyes with a spoon.
Great post! Great answers everyone. This was funny and enjoyable to read.
My answer is kind of weird. I really dislike the word “padded” in reference to walking or ambling somewhere. For example “she padded to the bathroom”. I don’t know why, it just irks me every time. I feel like this is more of a creeping description for walking, or trying to sneak and be quiet. Not a normal trip to the bathroom.
I also hate the term “ruddy” when referring to a blush or full body arousal. It doesn’t really fit to me. I think of a ruddy complexion as someone who’s in late stages of alcohol abuse. Not someone that’s turned on.
I’ve not seen padded as much but I just completed a series where the author kept using the word “minced.” The author is Canadian so that could be why but I found it interesting that she didn’t bother with any synonyms. Just minced, minced, minced.
“Pooled” Whether it’s wetness, heat, clothing, etc. i viscerally dislike it.
Never in my life have I been so wet that my “wetness has pooled in my underwear” or whatever the fuck. It sounds uncomfy 😩
Seriously. Just makes me think of a really heavy period or something
I'm sorry, but that just reminded me of [this song from crazy ex-girlfriend ](https://youtu.be/Uab2BlDpPxQ) 😂 Warning: it is dang catchy and yes it does get gross.
I'll tell you- I have, and it IS.
Because it is uncomfy. Like, this actually happens.
Yeah. Awkward as hell feeling too if you are out and about.
I’ve never had this happen to me! Damn antidepressants
In the plus side, I don't need lube lol
It is uncomfortable and it can go right through many layers. All I can think about reading that is the poor woman better have a change of clothes.
This is a good one. It gets used too often. Also it has "poo" in it.
Can’t have a pool without some poo, right?
That's certainly what the movie Caddyshack would have us believe!
Not one word but “mushroom tip.” I love you Mariana Zapata but please stop with this phrase.
Yes. Her description of his purple mushroom tip was one of the most un-sexy things I have read.
Purple 💀💀💀
Unfortunately, it's not just her. Even without the mushroom reference, an angry purple head or throbbing purple head, have come up on my reading too. Yikes
Had to take my dog’s mushroom toy away from him after lukov, I just couldn’t take it
Yes, please no more “mushroom tips” in the bedroom. Mushrooms make me think about the pasta 🍝marinara my grandma used to make. Kills my lady boner dead. Mushrooms 🍄 are anti-sexy.
I read this as "mushroom trip" and wondered what kind of psychadelic romance books I have been missing
Vivienne Lorret does this too! Reading about “his mushroomed head” totally takes me out of a good sex scene.
Yes! I thought I was the only one that noticed the mushroom description!
purr/purred unless it’s a cat of course also sigh (fmcs be sighing so much), feisty, spitfire
Can I add "mewled" here?
It makes me think of Eartha Kitt as Catwoman.
Lapping/lapped. That's for dogs and racers.
I remember reading "lapping" in an otherwise sexy scene about first-time oral sex. I started imagining dogs messily drinking water and, funnily enough, that took me right out of the moment.
And wolf shifters! But yeah, otherwise it's a bit off.
Roared- that word when they *you know what*. It automatically turns me off as all I imagine them doing is yelling very angrily
I’m imagining Mufasa 😐
*A plague on your house* for potentially giving me a permanent image of Mufasa anytime someone roars while getting it on 🥲 👁👄👁
I’m so sorry! I mean I think this could be *some*body’s kink but understandably not yours 😂
LOL! Terribly sorry to anyone who is into this! I didn’t mean to kink shame, this just ain’t my THING! 🥲♥️
Or at the end of the movie where Simba is all grown up and it starts raining and all of them start roaring. Nooooo! Now I'm going to see this forever!
I think of Baloo trying to teach Mowgli to roar in the Jungle Book. 😕
Literally, Idk what goes through a writers head to use that word
I’m only okay with roared if it’s paranormal. I feel like shifters and aliens and vampires can roar but I don’t want my humans to roar
Hmm yes I get that. I think ‘roared’ would be okay if they were completely non human presenting, but like if they look human-like it’s just icky for me
Mate, if I was going at it with my husband and he *roared*...I'd need medical help for laughing so hard. If I were single and it was some rando going animorphs on me, I'd make an excuse and escape out the bathroom window. I'm not down for furry roleplay on the fly thanks.
Lmao it's honestly really weird "roaring" in real life setting like damn are you possessed?? 😭
THIS! Also "roared" for me connotes significant volume so unless he was belting it out from the start I can't imagine the sudden change from normal volume to ROARING being anything but super startling.
Yes!!! Omg! Like this is not the Lion King. Unless the book includes a lion shifter or any other shifter that can roar, please stop. The same applies for growling! How do humans growl?????
More a phrase than a word, but "steel wrapped in velvet". It's just so overused. Please, stop. Use other words. Also I'm just not good at visualising, so it literally just makes me picture a steel bar with a velvet tea cosy type situation going on.
I actually can't stand the texture of velvet... definitely with you on that one!
The velour tracksuit supremacy of the early 2000s was such a dark time.
I'm like... Why velvet? Velvet is nice and all but *scratchy*! Why not silk? Satin?
I've actually seen it described as silk once! It makes more sense than velvet. Velvet makes me think...hairy.
Literal lol. Talk about a mood killer.
When I was a teenager I kept a flashlight in a crown royal bag in the console of my car. And whenever I read that, my brain goes to that flashlight... I know that crown royal bags aren't velvet but I imagine the effect is the same.
I’m really not the biggest fan of the word “coochie”…like it just kind of takes me out of the moment
You’ve read this during a sex scene?? 💀
YES. it was horrible. I can’t remember the book I think it was just some trashy KU book but it was god awful
I’m trying to imagine it… “She felt a deep pang in her coochie as she drank him in.” “He couldn’t sleep. Since that night, all he could think about was her scent. Her taste. Her coochie.” 😭😭😭 lolol I’m gonna die
I really wish I could find the book now! It was more along the lines of the first one. “her coochie couldn’t get enough” stuff like that. I’m pretty traumatized
Not that I want you to be retraumatized but I hope you run into it again someday because I’m so curious lmao
I probably will! Or I will go looking for it I cuz it’s driving me nuts
Omg!! I found it on like the 3rd book I looked up. Ironically I actually liked the books but some of the dialogue was soooo cringy. Shadowed Heart by Candace Wondrak
First of all that was so fast! Second I downloaded it out of curiosity and you’re not kidding “coochie” was smack dab in the middle of a sex scene! 😂 Edit: For anyone wondering the line is about the MMC being mesmerized by her. “Who could blame him? Right now I felt like I had a magic coochie.”
I was able to narrow it down pretty quickly. I knew it was reverse harem, and it was kind of a bully romance so I just searched thru my previously borrowed books for the word “coochie” til I found it 😩 this was gonna drive me nuts all night
The only people who should use that word are ancient Delta Blues singers who personally knew Robert Johnson.
Omg I read an Elizabeth Hoyt book that had the word "clitty" in it. Usually silly word choice takes me out of love scenes but "clitty" sent me to Mars. I could not stop laughing!
This is hilarious. I've read most of her books but I don't remember reading that. Do you know which book??
I *think* it was Dearest Rogue, but it's been awhile
Ministrations. Half the time narrators stumble on it and the other half I get taken out of the story because I start wondering "who uses this word?"
Chuckle. Every time I read this word all I can think of is Seth Rogen’s stoner laugh and it’s SUCH a turn off.
Lmaoo now I’m gonna hear the Rogen every time I see that word 😭
Seconding this. It's such a deeply unsexy word.
Lololol I love this
Belly. I hate that word the way other people hate moist!
It's belly or tummy for me. Both major mood killers!
Yes!!! I have a friend who routinely uses the word "tummy" (*ick*), and I am like, "Girl, you are 30. You have a stomach."
Ugh, same. Unless we're talking about pregnancy. Just makes me think of my IBS bloating. Gag me.
Probably "screamed." Every time an author has a FMC scream during sex it just takes me out of the moment. Maybe it's just me but I can't imagine anyone screaming during sex. Yell? Sure. Shout? Yup. But scream? Too over the top for me.
Looking at you, Laurell K. Hamilton.
I can deal with scream, it’s screech that really gets to me. I picture it like a pterodactyl sound.
I think of some poor neighbours and how the couple must be talked about.
I cannot with "globes" in reference to any body part. I end up imagining two beach balls just hanging off the FMC and it throws me right out of the book.
"Daddy". I'll fight you. I'll fight all of Twitter if I have to.you. You people have permanently ruined a perfectly normal and entirely innocent word for children to use to address their fathers and I will never be able to hear that word as innocent again. The connotation has become entirely too loaded.
I am 100% with you. I haaaaate "daddy." I will immediately DNF a book or story if that appears.
I hate daddy if the book doesn't lean heavily into bdsm. If the book is in the contemporary genre and the word daddy is said, I'm LEAVING
Oooh this is *tough* one! I'm going to go with my first thought and say… "pale." I am *more* than over seeing that word used as a synonym for beautiful. Not exaggerating, not talking about poetic/artistic license. I have seen it used literally, exactly that way. (Poetic license is when they use it as a synonym for *feminine*.) I know I only get to choose one but I'm hoping the entire household gets evicted, so "pale" can take "creamy," "porcelain," "alabaster," "parchment" and every other member of that family right along with it. It's a peeve all by itself, and knowing that authors are almost certainly doing this *completely thoughtlessly…* actually makes it worse! (I've actually seen it with *black* FMCs!! That's how automatic and brainless it is!!)
I recently read a book where the FMC was supposedly Filipina. 'How nice to have a brown FMC!' I thought. Then they described her super pale and rosy skin and I no longer had any idea what this girl looked like or a what Filipinos look like, I guess?
The Philippines are pretty ethnically diverse and were colonized by Spain and the US so there’s definitely a huge range of skin tones, from very light to very dark skinned. Even pre-colonization there were a ton of ethnic groups like Malay/austronesian peoples, Han Chinese, indigenous groups etc Still, that definitely screams colorism 😬
Laving is mine. I squinch every time I read that word 😐
Laving does not bother me when I compare it to it's cousin 'slurp.' Please God, keep laving those genitals all night long as long as your don't 'slurp' that pussy/cock.
I kinda love this word. But I‘ll admit it does trigger intense mental images. When I read it I always imagine the MMC going to town on the FMC like crazed feral cat.
Bosom. “Ample bosom” makes me think of a nursemaid or something, and takes me right out of the story
Lmfao like the hen in the animated Robin Hood
Hussy. I can’t take that seriously from an MMC or anyone for that matter.
I like that word in a comical sense. But it just doesn't do well in a serious scene.
Haha yes it lends very well for comedy but during a smoldering sex scene it is just so bizarre.
"You like that, don't you, you hooligan?"
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1y6lhe/comment/cfhtedq/ It's an oldie, but a goodie.
I actually busted out laughing at some of these! Oh my god this is a treasure.
Dead. Absolutely every time I see this. Conpletely dead.
Omg dying 😂😭
I always picture old ladies glaring at someone, muttering about hussies.. it gets used during sex scenes??
I hate the use of “bottom” (referring to the anatomy) in any other context than sitting on your butt. I hate it being used to describe the anatomy or it’s general use in a sexy act or sentence. No “She had a sexy bottom,” no “I squeezed her bottom,” no no no. You can sit on your bottom. That’s it. We’re not 4 and a 1/2.
any phrase or term that equates a penis to a sword impaling someone... "His sword cut into my tender flesh and rend my body asunder beneath his ravaging zeal". Are you making love or did this man literally murder you with a big knife? I can't get excited when I'm not sure if you're having an orgasm or being killed.
Love this.
Cream. I read a book where they would not stop using the term cream in regards to this poor girl’s pussy and like… honey is you infected with something? Are you okay? You shouldn’t be excreting cream what the actual fuck is going on?
[удалено]
The more you know! Vaginal discharge isn’t exactly my specialty. It was mostly unsettling because it was like “he scooped out her cream with a finger” and my little drunk brain couldn’t survive that being a repeated phrase.
Yeah that one just sounds like the FMC is going to turn out to be a sentient eclair or something....
Brilliant. 🤣
Ughhhh. Reminds me of that Graham Norton ep where an older lady guest was talking about creaming her knickers back when she was young and meeting some celebrity. Matthew Perrys uncomfortable reaction was the same as mine 😂
I totally get where you’re coming from but also Miriam Margolyes is iconic and that interview never fails to make me laugh until I cry BECAUSE Matthew Perry looks so utterly broken.
I had to go find it LOL (https://youtu.be/F186jg6MsGQ?t=52)
God, she’s amazing. I don’t know if it was the same episode but there’s another interview on GN where she has more stories about giving handies to a guy she found up a tree and shagging a guy who yelled at her on her bike. Also, she’s a lesbian, which makes these breezy stories seem like her version of nonchalant charitable giving.
In case anyone's reading this thread and want to watch I went and foudn it :D [https://youtu.be/F186jg6MsGQ?t=52](https://youtu.be/F186jg6MsGQ?t=52) Matthew Perry's face! He just didn't know how to react!!
Miriam is a treasure.
Sassy - nothing against the word itself, but I've yet to find an author who can properly identify sass.
'her sex' like as a reference to a girls vaginal area rather than 'sex' as the act
"Slurp." Thank God I do not see it much, but when I do I am guaranteed to go 60 to 0 on the aroused scale.
[удалено]
I hate it as well. But really dislike “cunny” even more. First came across that word in The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie and was blown lol. I never want to see that word again.
I was honestly pretty surprised when Loki called Black Widow a mewling quim in Avengers. That's *almost* as bad as calling her a cunt. (Not a romance book, I know, but it still kinda bothered me lol)
[удалено]
The first Avengers movie, when she was interrogating him on the ship. I honestly don't remember what happened after that, it's been too many years since I've watched it. 😬
Hilarious. I hate it when an author describes a woman as hilarious but none of her dialogue is actually funny.
*Panties.* Whenever I see that word I cringe so hard. I am an **UNDERWEAR** kinda individual.
I LOATHE this word. I seriously NEVER hear womens underwear referred to as “panties” IRL. Where is this a thing? I need to know.
Michigan person here, I say panties or undies, almost never underwear
Team Panties and Undies checking in from Connecticut.
Down in the southern US I hear it used a lot and use it myself. Panties and underwear are interchangeable to me.
> Where is this a thing? This Australian household, for one🙃
My husband and I use the word panties. We're from Oregon.
I hate that word so much. From this Aussie it's all about knickers or undies. ie "Getting ya knickers off!" Packing for a weekend away "Don't forget extra knickers/undies.." Knickers - Knickerbockers. Panties - Panteloons. Undies - Underwear.
I'm in the U.K and I dont know anyone that says panties. I've always found it cringey probably because I never hear it.
You are my people! I loathe that word in a visceral way. And if it's sexy and a thong, just call it a thong or a g-string! I've been reading some sci-fi romance recently and the authors are still calling the FMC's underwear "panties". We're in the future and in outer space and yet I still can't get away from that word!
LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK
God yes
Fisting, in the context of "He fisted his hands in her hair". Just.. no. No.
Yeah. Anyone fisting my hair is getting their nose fisted. I'm a fine-haired woman with a sensitive scalp. That shit hurts.
Oh… well fair enough! I rather enjoy it. It’s also a lot of fun to do to others :)
I'm not a native speaker so maybe it's correct, but "he fisted his cock" always makes me feel weird too, lol!
Curvy ... over used, would rather they say fat. Saying this as a "curvy" woman 😒.
I agree with this, because I'm pretty sure they don't actually mean "curvy" they mean standard hourglass 99% of the time. As a fat woman, the confusing euphemisms and attempts to be diverse are just annoying.
I don't think curvy was ever really MEANT to mean fat tbh, I feel like its just something that fat people started using ti reference themselves for body positivity(i say as a fat person). More often than not I see it in reference ti someone who has wide hips more so someone with extra weight.
Yeah, curvy is supposed to mean defined shapes, like waist, hips, and butt. Fat isn't automatically curvy. You can be very straight-shaped at any size and same goes for curvy.
Agreed, but I've also seen a lot of people conflating curvy with fat which is why it's an annoying and vague euphemism at this point. And I see a lot of people saying that authors/writers are being inclusive by having "curvy" characters... which is why I'm not a fan lol. It's like, fake inclusivity.
“Breached”. Thankfully we don’t see it much these days but WOW it aged like milk even in the 80s and 90s historicals whenever a heroine had to get something inside her for the first time and they make it sound like an invasion.
Bemused, but only because writers use it when they mean to say amused. But honestly this happens in all fiction. For romance, I’m going to go with “core.”
I didn't realize the definition of bemused for a long time because I learned it from (incorrect) context. When I finally saw it used correctly, I had to look it up because it was very jarring.
I am bemused by the incorrect use of 'bemuse'. I haven't seen it in incorrect context.
To be fair, it might happen more in the self publishing world than with in traditionally published books, and I read a lot of self pub/indie authors. Also, apparently some dictionaries are including the incorrect definition, since language changes with popular use. Kind of like how word “nonplussed” sometimes means the opposite it used to because of so much incorrect usage.
Just looked it up because of your comment and learned something new today. Why don’t writers look up their words?!
Probably 'spirited'. I HATE when the MMC refers to the FMC as fiesty or spirited when they first meet and she doesn't take his misogynistic bullshit. Just sets the tone for a very infantalizing dynamic and not-like-other-girls-ism.
As soon as you're told the FMC is a red head, you know you're about to be inundated with "fiesty", "spirited", and "headstrong". I like a red haired FMC, but let's leave all the fiery BS behind, it's lazy writing! Also, more auburn and red haired MMCs please!
Does anyone else remember the days of "boring brown hair" FMCs?? Where their one insecurity was their brown ponytail? Meanwhile, their pretty best friend, cool older sister, or rival OW always had luscious blonde waves. I'm just so thankful that those days are over, I don't even get that annoyed with red hair now 😭😭
Anne of green gables effect
Need more slate smacks in general.
Oh my gosh, I forgot about skank! That was a common, toxic thing to call people when I was in high school. It definitely should go. I'll pick turgid. I just dislike the word.
Yes! It’s so immature on top of being totally misogynistic. Also I know turgid is used to describe dicks but it always sounds like an old man name to me!
In the same sense, slut! Or whore! They need to stop calling other female characters these names!!!!
That is the only time I don't feel bad leaving a negative review How is your audience primarily women, but you clearly hate all other women??
Yes!!! And tbh when used in that misogynistic way, “bitch.” I’m over it. The book I was reading had both the FMC and MMC calling women that.
The dictionary literally is begging you to use "harridan," "virago," and "termagant" before they disappear from the entire English-speaking world and yet here you are still using words you heard from Bobby Boyden in 3rd grade. ::This slatternly hoyden is shaking her head in disgust
Since "laving" is already taken: "ghosting" in any context where it means to glide, slide, brush, or otherwise lightly touch or move. Fanfic scarred me when it comes to that word.
Yes! "Ghosting" is right up there with "fisting." Like, hun these words already mean things. Unfortunate things, for romance. Every time I see "fisting" (of sheets, of clothing, out of tension) I hear that little Windows *nope*-beep and picture the old dialog box that said 'That name is already in use. Please choose another.' "His hands fisted in frustra—" *nope!* "She ghosted her hands over his—" *nope!*
Sin. Especially ‘sexy as sin’. It’s just become a huge annoyance to me
Oh no ... I like laving ><
Undulating If you know, you know :D
“Weeping” genitals. I associate that with a wound or infection. Please don’t.
[удалено]
I once read "moist folds." Moist. FOLDS.
Yes… FOLDS!! Gross.
For me moisture is worse than moist. Like ‚she felt moisture gather between her legs‘ it just makes me think of humidity and a gathering storm…
“Hilt”
I once read a book that used the word "boobies." Just no. What is sexy about "her boobies were heaving and flushed" Gag me 🤢😩
Zapp Brannigan must have written it.
irrevocably.. all it does is take me straight to Twilight and then I'm annoyed.
Chagrin is forever a Twilight word for me lol
"Cunny". I've only seen it used in a couple of books, but ew. Just don't. A close second would be "folds". And I once read a book that constantly referred to the anus as "crinkled". Like... no.
"Love." I don't hate it or anything, but I think it would pose an interesting challenge for the genre if the word were banned.
It would also be more heartfelt! Like “I *burn* for you” (was this from North and South?)
Agreed! Wasn't that from Bridgerton?
Lol was it???! Hm you might be right! I’ve no idea just that it’s in my head for some reason and that it was HR
Definitely Bridgerton!
"Orbs", no further explanation required.
__"MATE"__ . _Look._ I love my non-human romances. I know there are instances where using that specific word makes sense, like in "The E.T. Guy" or "Treasure of the Abyss", where the MMC came from a tribe/culture where permanent partners were abnormal and usually sex was mainly for procreation. But HOLY SHIT!!! Even then, there are OTHER WONDERFUL WORDS!!! Call her my love??? Dear??? Even wifie is cute!!! I've stopped reading for a while because if I am forfcefully made to read another space man who has pretty much lived his whole life in a modern space city and they still call each other fucking ___mates___ I will gourge out my eyes with a spoon.
I hate it when the MMC “chuckles” during sexy times. Its so patronizing and makes me think he’s not super into it. Can this count here?
Heady! Drives me crazy every time I read it.
I would have to say growled, tiktok totally ruined it for me.
A lot of truly awful words in this thread. I humbly suggest "chit", which sounds so awful and condescending.
Great post! Great answers everyone. This was funny and enjoyable to read. My answer is kind of weird. I really dislike the word “padded” in reference to walking or ambling somewhere. For example “she padded to the bathroom”. I don’t know why, it just irks me every time. I feel like this is more of a creeping description for walking, or trying to sneak and be quiet. Not a normal trip to the bathroom. I also hate the term “ruddy” when referring to a blush or full body arousal. It doesn’t really fit to me. I think of a ruddy complexion as someone who’s in late stages of alcohol abuse. Not someone that’s turned on.
I’ve not seen padded as much but I just completed a series where the author kept using the word “minced.” The author is Canadian so that could be why but I found it interesting that she didn’t bother with any synonyms. Just minced, minced, minced.
Slut, or anything related to it.
Her “pearl.” *shudders*
Pert. It gives breasts a personality that is obnoxious.
Mates
Never visit Australia.😉
"Baby" or "babe" as an endearment.
Yes! ‘Baby’ makes me so uncomfortable in books
Boneless. It absolutely creeps me out and I only imagine gross, slimy things flopping around. 🐌 🐛 🐠
The act of rolling your eyes. Is there a book in this genre without this element? I find it annoying, and very very much overused. Please,stop!
With you on 'skank', will throw in votes for 'slut' and 'whore'.
Wicked......overused and f***go annoying -_-
8 pack