To think Britney has a lot to answer for?

[Buzzardbird]

Seriously what is it with all this "toxic"?

Unless you are going to get seriously ill from contact with your db,ds,evil,dsil,dh,dm,Dr or dt or whatever the hell they are! They are NOT toxic!

I'm not a world expert on etymology but I'm fairly certain that the vacuous Ms Spears neither invented or defined the word. YABU.

You are very wrong

I am a bit with the word toxic. perhaps it's because you can catch unreasonable behaviour from relatives?

Its an abomination of the English language I tell ye!

Toxic was being used like that long before Britney.

Ironically I gave my MIL an article about how to deal with toxic relationships about twelve years ago, several years before I then had to take the advice in it and cut her out of my life.

I actually thought you were going to blame her for that horrible schoolgirl outfit Caroline Flack was wearing tonight on Celebrity Millionaire. I was all set to agree with you on that one

I absolutely agree with your OP but wouldn't put it at Britney's door. I'm sure she'd be appalled to have one of her best songs' theme lifted for the purposes of applying them to such mundane daily life.

I don't recall seeing the word used before Britney but it's certainly proliferated along with the other am-psych dribble spouted on chatboards everywhere.

It's a bit old, OP. Do catch up

My mother in law had a lot of chemo. She was literally toxic.

I used to have a huge girl crush on Brit when she did the toxic vid.. Especially when she had one that blue air hostess getup.

Wrt Toxic [insert relatinship] - it's just slang for a person you don't get on with.. Because either they are an unreasonable twat, or you are.

Quite often when people one here talk about toxic relatives I think to myself that I'm not surprised they are hard work they have to put up with you.

we only like that song cos it was in a doctor who episode!

I have only ever heard the phrase 'toxic relationship' on MN

And it still makes me want to remove my eyes with a blunt spoon and replace them with small pickled onions.

Steven Tyler and Joe Perry were the Toxic Twins waaaay before Britney ever screeched her way through a song.

They literally were toxic though....

Now have an image of a face with pickled onion eyes bleeeee!

Yes, I've also only heard the word with regard to relationships on MN. And while sometimes the "toxic" person is clearly an evil twisted nutter, often it just seems to be code for "I don't really like him/her".

I actually thought you were going to blame her for that horrible schoolgirl outfit Caroline Flack was wearing tonight on Celebrity Millionaire. I was all set to agree with you on that one

^^
I agree-she looks ridiculous

you're all over the shop.toxic as metaphor isn't homage to britney
it's mn hyperbole about dodgy ex
much like folk inappropriately using narcissistic as a description of their ex

"Unless you are going to get seriously ill from contact with your db,ds,evil,dsil,dh,dm,Dr or dt or whatever the hell they are! They are NOT toxic"

When Bowlby put forward his theory on secure attachments, he also highlighted the problems faced when there was a poor attachment between a baby/child and a care giver. Then that was expanded on and there were very specific descriptions for what a "toxic" relationship is.

It does make you seriously unwell if you have toxic relationships inflicted upon you and not just mentally/psychologically unwell.

I agree that the phrase can be overused on here, as is the use of Psychopath and personality disorders, when enough isn't known to even start to decide what is going on.

Unless you are reasonably read on psychology/psychiatry theories, you may not of heard of many of these terms.

I think when Britney used it, she just meant dangerous.