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Annoying Food Words: Our Two Cents

Nancy Leson
/
KNKX
Veggies? VEGGIES!?! Are we four year olds?

There are any number of overused, hackneyed and just flat out annoying words at large in current food writing.  My personal worst would have to be the infuriatingly infantile "veggie."  Nancy Leson shares my loathing for another "-ie," the pointless and demeaning "foodie."  But she doesn't stop there.

"Toothsome, scrumptious, delectable" are words she's entirely over.  I threw in "slurp," a word even uglier to hear than the sound it represents.  And its opposite, "drool." 

"As in 'drool-worthy,'" Leson shudders.  "That one makes me really sick."

KNKX staffers  weren't shy about sharing their opinions on the food words that annoyed them most. Morning Edition host Kirsten Kendrick and Director of Content Matt Martinez both chose "Moist."

Brenda Goldstein-Young, KNKX Queen of Promotions:  "Paleo and Epicurean."

Robin Lloyd, Afternoon Midday Jazz host: "Sammie" for sandwich.

Sound Effect producer  Kevin Kniestedt waxed wroth: "I *#^!-ing HATE when fast food commercials refer to their fake liquid cheese as 'melty.' ...It makes my insides cramp."

Ed Ronco, All Things Considered host: "I hate yummy with the heat of a thousand suns."

Production Manager Nick Morrison: "Sourced is starting to set my teeth on edge."

Emily Fahey, Director of Major/Planned Giving: "When the phrase 'gluten-free' is used unnecessarily.  Like, wow – are these apples really gluten free?"  (Stein: If only I could find the shot I took of a Tacoma auto repair shop's "Gluten Free Oil Changes" sign.)

Sound Effect host and senior producer Gabriel Spitzer:  "The outright disgusting 'mouthfeel, mouthgasm, toothsome.'  Anything referencing mucous membranes at mealtime has gotta GO."

Marketing Manager Rebecca Corbaley: "Harvested.   You mean the kale I'm about to eat isn't from the Enterprise's replicator?  It was actually harvested?"

And don't get me started on those tediously twee coffee orders.

What food words get under your skin?  Hit the comments and let 'er rip!

"I've got a little list." – Ko-ko, the Mikado's Lord High Executioner

Dick Stein joined KNKX in January 1992. He retired in 2020 after three decades on air. During his storied radio career, he hosted the morning jazz show, co-hosted and produced "Food for Thought" with Nancy Leson and wrote and directed the Jimmy Jazzoid live radio musical comedies and 100 episodes of Jazz Kitchen.