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Original poster

I don't want to ruin every book you're going to read from now, but have you noticed they all have the word

239 replies

Cify · 28/03/2018 09:06

Detritus.... in therm?

And now I've noticed it I can't stop seeing the word in everything I read.

And yet I've never heard a single friend complaining about the detritus in their kitchen.

Please tell me I'm not alone? Do you notice certain words or phrases (that people don't actually say in real life) being used over and over again in novels?

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thenightsky · 10/04/2018 11:34

Yes... shrillness winds me up no end. It is always, without fail, used when referring to females, never males. The other word that annoys me also is 'feisty'. Also appears to be only used for uppity females.

GallicosCats · 09/04/2018 21:13

'Expensive buttery highlights' for the heroine's hair, anyone? (Buttery hair sounds like a complete pain to wash and a bit rancid after a few days, surely? Grin)

Hermione's shrillness annoys me, but not because of Hermione IYSWIM. It's almost as if it's put in by the author to remove any strength and credibility she might have as a female character. Shrillness is like nagging: only applied to females, in order to trivialise their experiences.

alterego1965 · 06/04/2018 23:53

Yy to women 'scooping' things up... usually children or laundry Hmm. Men never 'scoop'

Dinosaurdiva · 06/04/2018 21:02

I read that as she stepped out of the shower and slipped on a linen dress meaning she fell down!! Was thinking she should not have left the dress in the floor to slip on

ShirleyValentineswall · 06/04/2018 18:52

Oh we have a gulp! It says "another gulp" but the first time it said it was a sip.

ShirleyValentineswall · 06/04/2018 18:49

Oh and the woman is forever piling her hair on top of her head.

ShirleyValentineswall · 06/04/2018 18:47

Thanks to this thread I've just noticed flashing eyes and hot liquid in the last four pages of my book Grin

kateandme · 05/04/2018 13:28

when two characters no something the other person husband say or something has gone on and the character doesn't no and they "look between them/looks passes between the two,the tw awkwardly look at eacohter over others head.guitly look between the pair. etc.do people really do this.

YouStacey · 04/04/2018 22:34

Ian Rankin says "meaning" a lot.

Arkengarthdale · 04/04/2018 22:23

Ian Rankin and Val McDermid characters often eat something 'washed down with' whatever they're drinking. Aargh! Must be a Scottish thing Grin

MRSRUDEBOX · 04/04/2018 22:03

Years ago I used to read Katie Price books- got sick to death of 'she flashed her emerald cat like eyes....always thought Oh Fuck Off Katie.

SatsukiKusakabe · 04/04/2018 20:26

Funny links - I read Game of Thrones at the beginning of the year and mentioned that Daenerys line to my husband - I said he’s meant to be in her point of view but he’s writing that for himself, not the character. It pulls you out of the story and is not good writing.

SecretSpi · 04/04/2018 20:21

There are a few descriptive ones that get over-used:

motes of dust (usually dancing)
shards (usually glass but can be something else)
clouds scudding across the sky

LockedOutOfMN · 04/04/2018 18:15

Gold.

Piggywaspushed · 04/04/2018 17:22

I thought this thread might be the right audience for this, if you haven't seen it:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-43639004

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 03/04/2018 19:41

Ohhh, I though a 'Mumsnet look' was what we call in this house 'woman looking'. That's when DH asks for a seldom-used kitchen implement. I say "It's in the drawer to the left of the hob". DH says that he's already looked and it's not there. I walk (pad?) into the kitchen, open the drawer, move a couple of things around, pull out said item and hand it to him.

DontCallMeBaby · 03/04/2018 19:28

“A couple of Boden Catalogue women a few feet away give them a Mumsnet look. Linda spots it, snarls a ‘What?’ in their direction and they recoil.”

The Darkest Secret, Alex Marwood. I believe the Boden ladies are, effectively, hoicking their judgy pants - and Linda deserves it far, far more than they realise.

ErrolTheDragon · 03/04/2018 18:21

Well, a linen dress (actually, I bet it was a 'simple linen shift') is basically made of tea towel.

Someone may have mentioned this, but ever noticed how many hollows the heroines of romantic fiction have? Hollow of their stomach, hollow of their neck, blusher brushed into the hollows of their cheeks...

afrikat · 03/04/2018 15:59

Someone just got out the shower and slipped on a linen dress and applied a bit of mascara. I don't know when they dried themselves.

Someone else just noticed all their trousers were too big as they'd accidentally lost weight

Bah

ErrolTheDragon · 03/04/2018 13:05

3) ‘a Mumsnet look’

???!!! Do tell us what was the book, and a fuller quote.

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 03/04/2018 12:20

“Tang” is much more common in writing than speaking. Sometimes used in combination with “redolent” actually!

viques · 03/04/2018 11:58

Nine pages! Have we had breathing yet? We all do it, nothing to see here, pass on please.

laurzj82 · 03/04/2018 11:51

Dean Koontz uses redolent. A lot. "The air was redolent with..." I can't unsee it now. I don't think I have ever spoken that word

Falconhoof1 · 03/04/2018 11:22

I read a book recently where everyone chuckled. "He said with a chuckle". "He chuckled" etc. Actually it was mostly the men that chuckled. Made them seem a bit ridiculous really. Stop bloody chuckling! It was a very crap book though.

ClinkyMonkey · 03/04/2018 10:21

Maybe I'm overreacting, but I have just abandoned my audiobook because the word 'padded' was used twice - TWICE - in the space of two minutes. I'm not listening to any more of the damned thing and am off to find my thesaurus and check for alternative verbs. Just to prove to myself they exist.

I spotted this thread early on and was going to contribute 'padded', but found that other posters had saved me the bother!

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