To be hacked off with the word "random"?

[valhala]

The damn word is over-used and in the wrong context! For me, it seems to have started in DC's school, where every child is now speaking of having a random idea or speaking to random teachers, but now the parents are using it too!

I have no problem with catch-phrases. In my day everything was "savage", be it a great gig, a good idea or a savagely brilliant party but this bloody word "random" is driving me nuts!

Is it just a Southern thing? Is it me and my town? Or are other people's DC randomly using the word random in every random sentence?

I hate it too. And what does it MEAN? I really don't get the way its used. This makes me sound old, I know.

Yes YABTU. It's not the poor word's fault that it is overused and frequently randomly inappropriately applied.

I do agree it is somewhat overused but I haven't really heard it used inappropriately - just used instead of "some", or instead of "weird/ out there/ strange/ new/ inventive/ tangential/ no-idea-where-it-came-from".

Thumbwitch, I'm not blaming the poor word, but the flipping users of it!

I can only randomly conclude that you don't live in my area as if you did you would hear it randomly used in the street, in random houses and by random people all the random ruddy time!

I think I need to move to a remote, random island!

• correct - but until 5 weeks ago I did live in the SE of England and didn't hear it all that much. Maybe it is more specific to your area then...

Quite like the idea of a random remote island - take a map, stick a pin in - Bingo! one random destination....

YANBU
I hate it used as a noun - ie 'I met a load of randoms and went clubbing with them last night'. More used by my peers when we were teens to early twenties, so the misuse has been going on for a while!

I hate this too. All my friends keep posting photos on facebook, called 'Random Photos' (how original, and usually with a rogue apostrophe)

NNNNNnnnnngggggggg!!!

Thats a random think to be unreasonable about

thing

It's an Armstrong and Miller word from the sketch with the two airmen.

Must be said in an upper-class accent "Random".

never heard it mentioned at all (apart from the lovely mn random) my ds(15) and his mates don't use it.

Yep, it is everywhere round here. Me and my friends also used to use it, from about our mid teens onwards (I'm 24), but it seems to be dying out in our age group. My 16 year olf sister and her friends seem to use it every other word though! RANDOM LOLZ!!!!111!!111

I love it. I like applying it to people e.g. 'Who was that?' 'Oh, I dunno. A random'. Tickles me.

My friend has stretched it to 'Randomers' (a group of random people), which I love. The English language is so amazing.