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“Lovely”

(161 Posts)
RosiesMaw2 Sat 05-Oct-24 18:14:03

Why is everybody referred to as “lovely” ?
You know the sort of thing, I suspect I am guilty of it too.
“My lovely cleaner, my lovely hairdresser, my lovely gardener etc?”
This from a post by our local WI FB group (place names redacted))
What a fabulous day out with our lovely WI ladies to The Kings Gallery and the Royal Mews - plus we were joined from a couple of lovely ladies from xxxxxxxxxx WI too
A superb day out with lots of lovely chats over tea and coffee getting to know one another a little better 😍 and two fabulous exhibitions that we all really enjoyed 🎉
Huge thanks to lovely xxxxx from xxxxxx Coaches for getting us there safely and huge thanks to all the lovely ladies on the trip

AIBU to find this all a bit saccharine and 🤮🤮🤮🤮

Aveline Sun 06-Oct-24 14:49:41

Not aiming to be original -just lovely

LucyAnna2 Sun 06-Oct-24 14:50:10

Sometimes people are clever, but not very kind. Maybe that makes it hard to keep friends.

Skydancer Sun 06-Oct-24 14:54:39

Agree, Jane43. I absolutely CANNOT STAND being called "lovely". It is so patronising. In fact I am at the point of asking people not to do it. It is awful! I know we all have our pet hates. Some people don't like being called love, my dear, darling etc. But "lovely" is the one that makes me want to scream. Don't know why really.

Dickens Sun 06-Oct-24 15:00:07

paddyann54

I,ve seen words come in and out of fashion the past few years.There were “creative” everything for a while from decorators which was fine to plumbers and carperfitters…not sure how creative Idwa t my plumber to be or my husband whose mechanic had creative in his note heading.

Then there was “stunning” everyone in every picture online wa stunning ,every ordinary view of a hill or a plant was stunning every grotty house on right move was a stunning family home .
I was happy to see the back of stunning .Lovely isn’t used much here but I,ll look out for it it will be interesting to see people’s idea of lovely

My OH is amused by what he considers the overuse of the word "awesome" - which appears to be the chosen adjective of some young people.

If you present my teenage grandson with a cup of tea (he is already a confirmed tea-drinker) he will say awesome as you plonk it on the table.

If a gets a slice of cake with it - it will become "amazing".

However, I'm grateful for a response of any kind as teenage boys are not known for their effusiveness - his father, at the same age, would've just grunted or if he was feeling sociable - managed a "ta".

RosiesMaw2 Sun 06-Oct-24 15:16:01

Aveline

Not aiming to be original -just lovely

As I said saccharine- All a bit People's Friend.

Jaxjacky Sun 06-Oct-24 15:51:21

Dickens we’re getting ‘hundred percent’ or ‘no worries’ from the 12 year old grandson!

Aveline Sun 06-Oct-24 16:41:23

RosiesMaw2 nice!

JaneJudge Sun 06-Oct-24 16:42:49

I think I'm guilty of this blush but it's always a relief when everyone is lovely as opposed to the opposite

HowVeryDareYou2 Sun 06-Oct-24 16:44:57

I use "lovely" a lot. Perhaps I should extend my vocabulary

Dickens Sun 06-Oct-24 17:00:54

Jaxjacky

Dickens we’re getting ‘hundred percent’ or ‘no worries’ from the 12 year old grandson!

smile

... he's obviously learning the lingo at a young age - what did we say at that age, I can't remember?

It's preferable to the "whatever" though isn't it!

Feelingmyage55 Sun 06-Oct-24 17:17:35

It is rather ironic to comment on the overuse of a word that is straightforward, complimentary and positive. Lovely is also cheerful, gentle and appreciative. All these are lovely qualities that I personally cannot experience enough of.
Dear readers, I am sitting in a lovely, comfy chair, enjoying lovely, smooth coffee after a lovely cheerful chat with my very lovely daughter. Have a lovely afternoon.

RosiesMaw2 Sun 06-Oct-24 19:07:54

It is rather ironic to comment on the overuse of a word that is straightforward, complimentary and positive
Why should it be ironic?
Not criticising the word but the overuse - you can always get too much of a good thing!

JamesandJon33 Sun 06-Oct-24 19:13:29

We were always told not to use’ nice’ at school. So I suppose lovely took over. Exquisite, superlative etc are a bit over the top for somethings Just like baby Bear’s porridge

MissInterpreted Sun 06-Oct-24 19:43:06

Oh, Dickens, I used to work beside someone who called everything and everyone 'awesome'. It used to drive me mad!

hollysteers Sun 06-Oct-24 20:03:09

My late DH often called female friends and relatives “sweet” and for some reason it always irritated me. (I wouldn’t call myself a sweet person..)
I’m going for spiffing to sum up something I really like, and am allergic to the use of “sick” by youngsters for the same thing. Ugh.

escaped Sun 06-Oct-24 20:10:04

That last sentence made me laugh. We had a visitor's book in our holiday property and people used to write, "lovely pool, lovely grounds, lovely location" etc. One changeover day I looked in the book, and a teenager in the group had written a big "SICK" across the page. 🤣

grandMattie Mon 07-Oct-24 06:42:54

JamesandJon33

We were always told not to use’ nice’ at school. So I suppose lovely took over. Exquisite, superlative etc are a bit over the top for somethings Just like baby Bear’s porridge

I was just about to say that!!

Kim19 Mon 07-Oct-24 09:08:18

I watch Pointless comparatively regularly and often see men introducing their team player as ' my lovely wife'. Ugh! (may well lead to divorce in my household!). However....a lovely day conjectures everything wonderful for me.

Granmarderby10 Mon 07-Oct-24 09:37:57

Baby Bears porridge was *just right” as I recall😋

Allira Mon 07-Oct-24 10:35:01

Kim19

I watch Pointless comparatively regularly and often see men introducing their team player as ' my lovely wife'. Ugh! (may well lead to divorce in my household!). However....a lovely day conjectures everything wonderful for me.

I suppose it's better than The Wife or Her Indoors!

Greyisnotmycolour Mon 07-Oct-24 10:48:30

55RosiesMaw2

I seem to remember being told to vary my adjectives in English lessons 60+ years ago.

If we used the word"nice" it would be crossed out in red and we had to submit a list of twenty words we could have used instead.

springishere Mon 07-Oct-24 11:57:10

It's better than the overused "fantastic" or even the F word.

gran5up Mon 07-Oct-24 11:58:44

Some years ago when my elderly, hyper-critical hypochondriacal mother was paying frequent visits to hospital, the doctor would send a letter from the clinic, describing her as "this pleasant lady".
One man's lovely....

Etoile2701 Mon 07-Oct-24 11:59:21

It's better than everyone being referred to as nasty.

sarahcyn Mon 07-Oct-24 12:02:18

Thank you so much for this. I have just got used to it over the years - every Whatsapp group message is "dear lovely doulas" and every potential client is "lovely". You have woken me up, torn the scales from my eyes, and made me swallow the lovely red pill. Enough lovely!