A Blog of Epic Porportions

I am a self-proclaimed logophile. (It’s true; just look at my “About Me” paragraph.) But as much as I love words and language and value the vital role that words play in expression, there are certain words and phrases that just get under my skin. A couple years ago, I wrote an article about my frustration with the popular phrase, “I know, right?” (See: Raise your hand if you’re sure.)

Other nerve-grating lexical peeves include such atrocities as “amazeballs” and “awesome-sauce.”

I don’t hate all made-up or misused words. I understand that the English language wouldn't be what it is today without these occasional, and usually forgivable, offenses. Certain locutions, though, just get my blood a-boilin’, and one such example is the recent epidemic of a gross overuse of the word “epic.” Am I the only one who’s noticed this? It seems like, according to so many (often young) people, everything is “epic.”

-“Man, that tuna fish sandwich I had for lunch was epic!”

-“That staring contest was totally epic!”

-“Dude, let’s watch a rerun of Full House! It’s gonna be epic!”
-“I know, right?”

What??

While I appreciate a healthy amount of zeal for life and all its little blessings (including tuna fish), I think there’s a chronic social misunderstanding of the definition of the word “epic.” Perhaps a more appropriate substitute would be “enjoyable” or “satisfactory.” Not everything can be epic. If everything becomes epic, then nothing would be epic, and even the most epic of things becomes mundane. Can we maybe all agree, as a culture, to stop perpetuating this nonsense, and if necessary, consult a thesaurus to arrive at more suitable words to describe everyday situations?