I was taught, both at Primary and Secondary School , to eschew the use of the word Nice which was lazy and to seek a more precise/appropriate descriptive adjective. Consequently, every use of the word on Gransnet Forums, leaps out at me and makes my hackles rise. The only time I use the word is sarcastically, as in 'That was nice of her' when in fact is was rude, upsetting, or belittling.
Growing up in Scotland we were taught never to use the verb "to get" Grandtente OK! So what synonym would you use instead of "Get lost!" "Get nicked!" "Get stuffed!" ? Bear in mind you're in the car and haven't got time to look up your Thesaurus, before the other driver has sped off! It has to be pithy; I can think of many more, but you'd get yourself deleted if you tried them here! OoRoo
I think that in many conversations with close friends it's perfectly appropriate. If I use the word to acknowledge a comment from my husband, he will say "NICE?!!" It apparently doesn't demonstrate any enthusiasm. ?
Word snobbery: The true snob never rests; there is always a higher goal to attain, and there are, by the same token, always more and more people to look down upon.
Hands off Nice biscuits my favourite! You can't beat that lovely coconut taste with a nice cup of tea! It takes me straight back to the '70s when we didn't have the huge choice we have now.
For get lost surely ‘go away! polly No way! It doesn't convey the sense of aggression required by the situations I have in mind! Consider just a few of the Classics: "Get thee behind me Satan" Get thee to a Nunnery" " I've got you under my skin!" Are you going to re-write all such classics based on synonyms? If so, Good Luck, but you must admit you've lost the argument! OoRoo
I was also taught to find better alternatives to nice but haven’t really thought about it for years. I’ll probably be hearing it constantly now. What really gets me is the overuse of properlymarvellous & huge ?
I remember when I was still at primary school we were given a piece of text that used "got" many times. We had to re write it without using "got" at all.
Rufus 2. It was to make us think and find better ways of expressing ourselves. eg "I received a letter" rather than "got a letter". Or "I mounted a horse" rather than "got on a horse". It was so long ago now, well over 50 years, but it must have made an impact on me for me to remember it! I still try not to use the word "got" too often. But it is such an easy word to use!