I may live in the Adirondacks, but that does not automatically make me a fan of local girl made it big Rachel Ray. Perhaps it’s because I don’t hail from these parts that I am unable to hop on her perky band wagon. Maybe it’s that I don’t like cooking shows. Or maybe it’s that her schtick makes me feel the kind of uncomfortable, borderline panic of having to walk through the cosmetic and fragrance section of a department store during the holidays with a hangover. I find her scratchy voice obnoxious, her self-deprecating humor forced, and her aw-shucks thing more annoying than an eye tic on a cross country flight. She falls into what I like to call the “point guard” category. Another famous “point guard”: Suzy Kolber . My loathing for them is palpable. Short, bubbly, aggressive, obnoxious.
So you’ll excuse me if I don’t celebrate the entry of Rachel’s E.V.O.O. word into the American Lexicon. Ooh goodie. Cause frankly I was having a bitch of a time getting extra virgin olive oil out of my mouth. Come on. Can we leave her at Magazine Empress, TV Show Host, Cookbook Author and General Annoying Personality ? Do we have to bestow upon her the power to change our language?
I don’t want this. I don’t want this like I don’t want to hear someone tell me that they need to get “orientated.” When did this happen? When did saying “orient” cease to satisfy? Why did must people add the “ate”? These are the same people who say “supposably” , “anyways” and “irregardless.” They aren’t words people. And speaking of words, why do people say “verbiage” Are “words”, “content”, “copy”, “language”, “fill” and countless others not good enough?
Being that I am all fired up let’s just get one more thing out in the open…Eatery. I bet Rachel Ray goes to eateries. It just sounds so, wrong. I cannot remember the last time I said,
“Hey honey? I feel like going out. But I really don’t feel like going to a restaurant. Why don’t you pick out an eatery?” Restaurant. Cafe. Bistro. Kitchen. Bar. All perfectly acceptable. Each capable of handling the responsibility of representing a place where you can eat. And yet, we still have people inserting Eatery in Downtown Shopping Directories.
Do you have a word that sticks in your craw?