Words I Hate for No Rational Reason Whatsoever

Pepperdine

I don’t hate the word “pepper,” I’m more than okay with “dine.” But together, they create a twanging sound in my brain that I find very unpleasant.

Sugarland

Unlike “pepper,” the word “sugar” irritates my ear all by itself. But “Sugarland,” which I heard mentioned on the radio this morning, has an irritating quality that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Combining “sugar” with another word makes it much worse: Sugarloaf. Sugarbaker. My ear hates ’em. And remember that Suge Knight guy who was in the news some years ago -- the rap music executive? What an unfortunate position he was put in by the phonetic oddness of “sugar.”