Has anyone else noticed how much this word is now used in conversation, it seems to be used quite universally Radio/TV/ general conversation. I first started to be aware of it 3/4 years ago being used by a young family member. What makes a particular non-decript word take hold. Being a wrinklie I 've heard several words become the norm in my life time-ACTUALLY is another recent one.
And when did brothers and sisters transform into "siblings"? We don't have locations or sites anymore: everything is held at a "venue". Are we on the same page?:)
The most irritating crap word that annoys me the most is SYSTEM.
Ads everywhere .. cleaning systems, electronic systems, cooking systems ... even medical care now! Grrrrr
Basically BJS people need the obvious stating to them these days so if the sentence is going to be explaining something simple they need to know right at the start, although actually I'm not one of these people! :o)
I don't mind as long as it doesn't get repetitive, we went on a minibus tour round West Midlands Safari Park and the driver said "Although to be honest..." at the start of most of his sentences, that got a bit annoying!
'siblings' is great - much quicker than saying 'brothers and/or sisters'. It's a word the language has needed - there are gaps in languages, including English - there's still no single word for 'him or her' and people say 'them' instead when there's only one person.