…there’s a whole collection that make my toes curl and my teeth grind. There’s no logical or even sane reason why I hate certain words, but I just know that I do. Unfortunately, a colleague who’s always eagerly scanning the horizons for something to bother me about knows what these words are and now he and his accomplices ambush me with them as I go about my innocent day. Why would he want to do that? Well, just look at that face. Kindly observe the mad glint in the eye. That should be answer enough.

Right at the top of this list is the inexplicable hunky dory. Or ticketty-boo if you’re from a certain part of the world. There are many theories about the origin of hunky dory. One school of thought says that it sprouted up in America in 1865 thanks to a Japanese performer. Another says it may be sailors’ slang for a particular street where everything is okay. In general, it seems to indicate that all is safe and well. But you wouldn’t be awfully safe using it around me.

Then there are a few Indian favorites I just cannot abide. Take galore. In fact take it away altogether, please. I hate also the very sound of the phrase “boon or bane?” It’s a favorite headline accompaniment. Early Monsoon: Boon or Bane? Distance Learning: Boon or Bane? Web 2.0: Boon or Bane? I had absolutely forbidden my editorial team to ever use a boon-or-bane headline but it’s generally quite popular specially when the writer has no particular clue what to say. There are a few other b-words around: There’s behemoth, a very old word meaning monstrous beast. Hate it. There’s also bête noire, which either means black beast or flourless chocolate cake and is ridiculous in both cases. There’s also the colorful but objectionable hullaballoo and brouhaha, both of which make me double up in pain. But worst of all is the nauseating little word “kudos”. Kickos, is what I say.

There are even a few Hindi words I intensely dislike. There’s “tashan” which makes me want to smack someone. And there’s “falana-dhimkana”, and “bindas”.

On the other hand, I entirely love all sorts of neologisms which I generously welcome into my world and my heart. I discovered today that the kids at work use “dinglu” to refer to single quotes. Also “ting-ting” to mean the same thing. Charming.

None of these words, of course, in the least bother my colleague Nitin. He remains in a permanent state of smug hunky doriness.