Thirty overused, irritating and just plain awful food words and phrases that make our mouth hurt
There are words, cliches and phrases that we, as food writers, use far too often, and while we're all probably guilty of making your nostrils flare when we use some of the very same vocabulary that we're now going to criticize, it's when other food writers use these annoying and overused words and phrases that we cringe. You all, no doubt, have plenty of jargon to add to the list of irritants. ![]()
But first, here's ours.
If you have even the slightest grasp of the English language, there is absolutely no reason that you should ever, under any circumstances, use the word "nom" -- unless you also meow for your dinner.
Yum, yummy, yum-O, yummers, yumbolicious, or any other variation of yum
Yuck. Just yuck.
Veggie
This is a personal pet peeve, which I think has something to do with the laziness of abbreviating perfectly fine words that simply don't require it. Aside from that, it sounds so babyish.
Artisanal
It's just so...precious.
Anything grilled, roasted, braised, broiled, fried or done "to perfection."
So trite, so overused, so meaningless.
Mouthwatering
Reminds me of drool, which is what a lot of us do while we sleep but should never do while we eat.
Mouthfeel
If you're going to describe the texture of food, then please, for the love of God, don't use the word "mouthfeel." It's creepy.
Orgasmic
When was the last time that you put food in your mouth -- real food -- and climaxed? I'm okay with "mouthgasm," but leave "orgasmic" out of the act.
Homemade
We all use it, including me, but here's the thing: Just because something is homemade, or housemade, or, for that matter, hand-crafted, doesn't mean that it's good, but whenever we write "homemade" or see the word on a menu, we assume that because it's made in-house, it can't be bad. Who are we kidding? And for the record, if the guy in the kitchen made it at home, I'm not altogether sure I want it.
Fork-tender
Gag me with a spoon.





























