r/AutisticAdults • u/Sufficient_Walrus417 • 1d ago
Does anyone else cringe at fake/cute-sy words?
Something about abbreviated words drives me MAD. I distance myself from people who over use words like…
Potty = bathroom (this one I REALLY hate); Jammies = pajamas; Night Night = bedtime; Snacky Snack = snack; etc.
Even as a child, I never used abbreviate words that are typically amongst or towards children. If it was someone I was really comfortable with, I would correct them.
Can anyone relate or am I just a bitch? 😅
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u/SkyVenom_Zero 1d ago
I only dislike it when people exclusively use cutesy words or terms to speak to me, like I have the iq of a frosted donut.
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u/reneemergens 1d ago
likewise, i like when people i have serious relationships with use a cutesy word here or there. my big burly man boss will use the word “dingy” whenever he can’t think of a word and i find it silly. like yeah you’re just a iowa farm boy at heart, love that. i’ll help you find the dingy
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u/tacksydriver 1d ago
I got so irrationally annoyed when people started saying "my stummy hurt" you have no idea. Tummy was bad, but stomach AND tummy combined? It felt almost disgusting, like it was meant to be an innuendo.
That being said, im a big fan of eepy. Sorry not sorry.
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u/peach1313 1d ago
I'm the opposite. Love the way they sound. Enjoy saying them. I reserve using them around people I'm really close with, though. I know there are people who'll judge me for it, although it's completely harmless.
Potty is the exception, I'm not a fan.
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u/Dclnsfrd 1d ago
Have you ever looked into the etymologies of the words that get to you? Like, “potty” comes from “chamber pot” AFAIK, “ies” as a suffix is common in English, reduplication is both legitimate and practiced in numerous languages, etc
So looking at the history of the words might make the irritation lower (if there are words you come in contact with on a regular basis where you can’t avoid it)
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u/Worcsboy 1d ago
I vary - if it's long-established, like "pub" for "public house", I'm absolutely fine with it. That would, for me, include "potty". However, if it's new and self-consciously cutesy, I really really hate it. Top of this list would be "touch of the 'tism" and "'sperg" - when I come across these on Reddit posts I just stop reading.
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u/Intelligent-Iguana 1d ago
I completely relate. I'm not a 3 year old, so I don't use them and don't want them used in conversation with me!
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u/inteligncisartifcial 1d ago
I advise you never to spend much time in Australia if this bothers you; aussies love their diminutives
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u/AntiDynamo 1d ago
Nah, OP’s examples are more baby-talk, and we don’t do that. For us, the shortened words are simply the name of the thing, like Maccas or bottle-o or ute.
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u/AntiDynamo 1d ago
I hate them as well, but I was raised not to use them because my mother hates them too lol. So you can imagine toddler me on a play date, me and my mum both cringing to hell when some other 3yo uses baby talk. I doubt I would’ve used them even if I’d been encouraged to, though, I never liked being treated as a baby even when I was a baby.
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u/randy_bo_bandyy 1d ago
Growing up my folks wouldn’t let me call things “doggy” “horsey” etc. plus I had a high vocabulary for my age thanks to me being an avid reader. I can’t stand fake baby talk, even with pets. It’s so annoying. My fiancé does baby talk with her dog and boy is it annoying (she knows it bothers me so she keeps it to a minimum around me but thinks once I have a pet of my own (I didn’t grow up with pets) I’ll start doing it too
I think it’s because I have a hard time interpreting baby talk because a lot of it is nonsense and I’m already working overtime to interpret normal talk, that’s my theory anyways.
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u/Alpha_uterus 1d ago
Fuuuucking hate it. ‘Gonna go wee wee’ my god mother just say you’re going to the bathroom. Going on holibobs? I will murder you Karen.
The one exception is a snacky snack. I love me a snacky snack.
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u/KeepnClam 1d ago
I'll warn you then, that "Wicked" is full of goopy and unnecessary made-up words.
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u/Sufficient_Walrus417 1d ago
See, and I love Wicked! It doesn’t drive me crazy because I see it more as a “different world”, if that makes sense.
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u/GrandAlternative7454 1d ago
In general, meh. Directed at me though? No thanks. If one more person calls me an enby (non-binary) or neurospicy I might lose it.
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u/Dest-Fer 1d ago
Small kids usually litteraly go to potty before bathroom.
Also, just to explain why smart adults fall into that trap so easily, it’s because usually those are the words our kids will use first. We say pyjama, they call it Jammies, we think it’s adorable and start saying it too.
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u/AspieKairy 23h ago
I thought you were going to mention "uwu" (and similar terms) and was all set to whole-heartedly agree, as that's some of the cringiest stuff I've ever seen (and I grew up during the "pwn" cringe).
Actual cutesy talk like what you mentioned, however, I'm okay with. I talk to animals like that all the time, and I'm another person who, when unmasked, will sometimes use toddler words when by myself because there's a sense of safety in it (I still don't know if it's autism or trauma which causes me to regress, or a mix of the two, but I am aware that it's certainly something I do).
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u/Sufficient_Walrus417 23h ago
The sense of safety makes sense. Someone else mentioned not growing up using these words, which I didn’t. My mom is an SLP, so word abbreviations were very rare in my childhood.
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u/AspieKairy 23h ago
It's interesting how nurture shapes people, even if it's something as small as reactions to abbreviations and slang.
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u/cryingstlfan 18h ago
I have a 1 year old great niece that says "night night", I love saying that with her.
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u/se7entythree 17h ago
I hate them too. Especially “hubby” & “paci” (not exactly sure how to spell that one). Also delish & vacay.
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u/fragbait0 1d ago
Yeah until I got a cuteeee dog that melted my ice prison, and stopped caring what others think of it.
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u/teddybearangelbaby 23h ago
it's totally case dependent for me. i baby talk and say thinks like nanight, bb, jammies, idk theres definitely more, but when people talk in chuegy/millenial/reddit speak (e.g. "doggo", "fur baby", etc.) it makes me want to kms fr. i think the difference for me is between being silly/cutesy and infantalizing. potty would send me lol no
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u/smokeehayes 21h ago
When adults say it to other adults, yeah it's super cringe and weird.
If an adult is talking to a child, it would depend on the age of the child.
If you're talking to an average 8 year old and are still using things like "potty" and "jammies," then yeah. It's cringe and weird.
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u/Dulcimore51 20h ago
I relate. There are some words that make me want to yell at my tv. When our local newscaster started saying the "littlest" victim, I wanted to drive to the newsroom and hold up a protest sign. Forever.
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u/thislittlemoon 19h ago
Lol nah, I generally don't mind these. Bathroom itself is a leftover euphemism because historically people in western cultures do everything possible to avoid speaking overtly about bodily functions, potty is at least a name for toilet, which is the primary object people are referring to using when they "go to the bathroom".
These days, I talk to my dog more than any humans so the silly ways I talk to him are firmly entrenched in my speech patterns and I need to remind myself to speak like an adult when speaking to other adults.
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u/distractablecadet 17h ago
yes same & I also hated them as a kid. refused to use baby talk when I was little and would sometimes be rude to/correct adults who tried it on me. esp. people using overly familiar terms or speaking in third person. but to this day I hate saying "baby" words, even ones that are super common (like "tummy" instead of stomach)
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u/Dr_Dan681xx Probably Autistic 40m ago
Oh hell yeah. “Cray-cray,” for example, makes me outraged. An acquaintance habitually said “chicky” for chicken and I wanted to yell, “you’re a grown man, for Pete’s sake, stop using baby-talk!”
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u/pandakittii 1d ago
Tbh I'm the opposite, I have to keep myself from speaking "cutesy" in front of others because it's what feels natural for me to do when I feel happy and relaxed, I don't do it to get attention or to be quirky or anything, [I don't want to be judged for it!] I just genuinely think it's really fun and makes me feel comfy and safe, like I'm a little kid again =w=
When I'm completely unmasked by myself, I kinda revert back to speaking to myself like a toddler lol, it feels like I can re-ignite my childlike innocence. [Now that I write this "out loud", I'm realizing I may have some age regression tendencies... 🤔]
I understand though, I get how it can be irritating, especially when overdone! Some words throw me off too, I'm also not a fan of "potty", that's a bit much XD I don't think you're a bitch! Everyone has their preferences <3