The Box Factory / May 14, 2010 9:19 AM

Epic Fail. For me it's just an...well you know.

David / May 14, 2010 9:38 AM

Epic /anything/.

"FTW".

Lolcats. I really dislike Lolcats, a lot.

Katie / May 14, 2010 9:38 AM

"Fail" as a noun makes me want to flip a table.

Ramsin / May 14, 2010 10:52 AM

I avoid pretty much all of them. They all infuriate me. All the "can haz" stuff is bewildering to me. Why do these cats talk like this? Why is it hilarious? Is it baby talk? Why is that acceptable in public?

And when people respond to something with "fail" it's beyond lazy. To me it sounds just like some kind of weird contemporary Valley Girl lingo that will embarass the people who employed it in a few years. When you say "Fail" I hear "Gag me with a spoon".

FML, FTW, Fail, all that stuff.

That said, there are some memes that can be pretty amusing. The "demon sheep" thing is pretty funny because it hasn't devolved into a context-free catchphrase. And some are understandable--mainly the abbreviations like "brb". But frankly we all type well enough now that it takes hardly more time to actually type something out.

David / May 14, 2010 11:02 AM

I do, however, quite like the tautological goodness that is

X Y is X.

Awesome.

I mean, awesome meme is awesome.

Dmitry Samarov / May 14, 2010 11:04 AM

FAIL, WIN, and every other time a verb is used lazily as a noun; is it just to save space? Or in hopes of sounding like an ad slogan?

There are also grotesqueries of business-speak like "the Take Away" which should only be used by Patrick Bateman types in my opinion. Too many to list really...

Andrew Huff / May 14, 2010 11:27 AM

@Ramsin I guess I shouldn't share this link, then: icanhaz.com/GB7th.
;)

I'm kind of ready for bacon and zombies to go back to just being tasty and creepy, respectively.

flange / May 14, 2010 11:32 AM

i guess as an editor i'm lucky to have the long-term view that this stuff goes as quickly as it comes. a few people cling to each, and the signal-to-noise level never really improves, but i've finally learned not to care.

that said, yes, i agree that bacon needs to go back to being a nice little food. now that torani is selling a bacon syrup, it's over.

Spook / May 14, 2010 11:50 AM

"Awesome"
"Yummy"
"Foodie"
"hands down"
"To die for"
"BFF"
"Hot Dough's"
"Beards"
"Bikes"
"Shows"
"Dork"
"Geek"

I've noticed that the people who use the above words are either turbo stroller mommy daddy yoga types or their associates

yup, a fiery death for them would be apropos

jonk / May 14, 2010 11:55 AM

Palin

Jurgis / May 14, 2010 12:22 PM

Ramsin sounds like an old angry man who is sort of out of touch..."Turn that music down! It's nothing but noise! Boy, that Palin is one hot number!". :-)

Steve / May 14, 2010 12:38 PM

I'm tired of all these "iwanttodrawacatforyou.com" things. Enough already! Nobody's going to pay you $10 to draw a really charming cat to their exact specification!!!

eee / May 14, 2010 12:40 PM

"Nom nom nom" when describing food that will be or is being eaten. I can't stand that.

Ramsin / May 14, 2010 1:12 PM

Jurgis, swap out Salma Hayek for Palin and you've got me dead to rights. Old at 28.

Amanda / May 14, 2010 1:15 PM

socialist

vanessa / May 14, 2010 1:55 PM

"preggers"

It makes me wince every time I hear it.

baldeesh / May 14, 2010 2:19 PM

I second "preggers" and would like to add "hubby" to that list.

Carrie / May 14, 2010 4:14 PM

Foodie bothers me.

I'll third "preggers" and will mention "baby bump" or "bump watch"

............. / May 15, 2010 8:04 AM

I ABSOLUTELY DESPISE FRED- THAT HAS GOTTEN SO OLD............

HE MUST DIE

paul / May 15, 2010 11:03 AM

Memes.

No really, this whole viral/meme/infectious idea concept is a virulent disease on creativity and language. I try hard not be a carrier.

That said, I'm going to try to use 'demon sheep' in at least one situation today and see if I can spread it.

Luke / May 15, 2010 5:15 PM

The "Chicago must allow food trucks now!" thing.

Ray / May 16, 2010 8:25 PM

(X) is the new (Y).

Cheryl / May 17, 2010 12:06 PM

Teapartiers.

David Grant / May 17, 2010 12:41 PM

Replacing one word from a sentence with "awesome".

p1: "These turkey burgers are giving me indigestion."
p2: "These turkey burgers are giving me AWESOME!"

*laughter/high-fiving from bystanders*

Elizabeth / May 17, 2010 12:41 PM

Using "awesome" as a noun. Ex: "This episode of 'The Hills' is made of awesome."

Others: le sigh, le tired, yummy, bff, besties."

Second ee on nom nom.

Clint / May 17, 2010 3:19 PM

third for 'on nom nom'

Mike / May 17, 2010 7:24 PM

Does. Putting. A Period. After. Every. Word. Count. As. A. Meme?

Because I can't stand that shit.

Spook / May 17, 2010 7:26 PM

The sad thing is that you know it goes like this......

"wow, I love how she just used the word "awesome"! I can't wait to add it to my cup cake lexicon so I can use it in my next conversation during yoga class so I can sound just like every body else!