And He's Like, So Amazing....

I'm starting off this blog by posting about one of my pet peeves. I find it annoying that people over use the word "amazing." Everything's amazing these days--even if it isn't.

I like to watch game shows, and the contestants, when introducing themselves, often refer to their spouse and/or children as "amazing." Hi, I'm Jane from Podunk, Michigan. And I'm married to my amazing husband, John, and we have three amazing children.

According to my dictionary, the definition of "amazing" is "greatly surprising."  So does Jane find her husband and children greatly surprising? What's so surprising about them, I'd like to know.

The thing about the word, "amazing" is that it can be amazingly good, or amazingly bad. Maybe Jane's amazed that her husband refuses to ever stop and ask for directions no matter how lost he is. Or that he can spend the entire weekend lying on the couch stuffing his face with junk food and watching football while she cleans the house, runs errands and looks after the children who never cease  to amaze her by their seeming inability to do anything she asks of them. Or maybe she's amazed by her teenager's disgustingly filthy room that should be condemned by the local authorities.

I'll bet Jane's husband thinks she's amazing, too. Perhaps he's amazed that every once in awhile she manages to cook something that's fit for human consumption. Maybe he's amazed that she never gets tired of talking about her feelings, or asking him if certain clothes make her look fat.

Another way the word is over used is by people describing something they did or saw. We went to see this new band last night and it was amazing. We had an amazing time!

What was so amazing about the band? Did they expect it to be awful, but were greatly surprised that it wasn't? Or did they expect it to be good, but discovered that any toddler banging on a toy piano played better music? Or was the lead singer drunk and wretching onto the audience? I think I would find that more amusing than amazing.

Maybe "amazing" is the new way to be diplomatic. I'll bet John tells Jane she's an amazing cook. She doesn't have to know he means amazingly bad. Most people assume you mean amazingly good when you say the word "amazing." So you can be honest without hurting their feelings.

If my husband ever tells me I'm an amazing lover, I'm going to look at him through narrowed eyes and say, "And just what do you  mean by that?"