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Our show on word aversion produced a plethora ... um, cluster ... make that a good number of responses from listeners. Some of them even shared phrases composed of words they cannot bear to hear:

"Crispy curly noodle-cake, mulching in the gully."

"The nurse was dabbing the weeping sore."

So here's an idea: What's the grossest sentence you can craft from the lexicon below, or from the comments at the bottom of this page? 

I rode the funicular to the fecund clematis patch.

Use the leeches from my flesh to lubricate my luggage.

Leave your suggestions in the comments below, and add any words of your own.

OFFENSIVE WORDS, AS LISTED BY OUR GUESTS AND LISTENERS:


Reckon (if spoken with a British accent) 


The phenomenon of word aversion — seemingly pedestrian, inoffensive words driving some people up the wall — has garnered increasing attention over the past decade or so. In a recent post on Language Log, University of Pennsylvania linguistics professor Mark Liberman defined the concept as "a feeling of intense, irrational distaste for the sound or sight of a particular word or phrase, not because its use is regarded as etymologically or logically or grammatically wrong, nor because it's felt to be over-used or redundant or trendy or non-standard, but simply because the word itself somehow feels unpleasant or even disgusting." (Slate.com)

Gallery

Certain words trigger a listener's gag reflex.

Clusters of moist scabs, and other words people hate

Go Deeper.

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