Shaving terms I don't like

Canned Goo

What do you mean by "weasel" acronym?

YMMV is a cop-out

^^^ This

Your Mileage May Vary comes from the EPA stickers. Who gets the EPA computed mileage when driving their cars? Hence ... YMMV. In context here, its a weasel word. See  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona...sel%20word a word used in order to evade or retreat from a direct or forthright statement or position

It is an evasive word rather than a definitive statement. No one says ... This product is the best razor. They say "The product is the best razor but YMMV". That is weaseling out of a definitive statement. Its also hijacking another word from another industry, just like "gentlemen" has been hijacked to make traditional wet shaving seem "cool" but that is more advertising or selling the hobby. Look at us, we are gentlemen ... cool, huh?

Weasel words have no hard data, no facts, just ... well kind of OK

BTW, yes Canned Goo is a perjogative term use to deride those who don't wet shave. Its like "gentlemen", a type of propaganda. Its branding. Let's brand canned shaving cream or gel as "goo". I'm sure you all can think of other branding using common terms.

top tier
nourishing
luscious
buttery
cushion
for straights - "toe"
artisan
croap - not the word. any soap with that consistency
efficient
mow
BBS,DFS,SAS etc
snurdle

I'm tired...it's just shaving

Gentlemen, I find it interesting that the terms and acronyms that annoy us are, indeed, the very ones that also act as a binder and commonality in our wet shaving community, whether or not we like them.  YMMV, of course, but my less than comfortable BBS shave with hardware and software that consisted of a cartridge and canned goo, because I was in a rush this morning, in no way upset my guest who is SWMBO while she is visiting me.

Each of us probably have words, terms, and acronyms that drive us to distraction (mine is the misuse and overuse of the word awesome) but, for the most part, we have developed our own little language that speaks to and, ultimately, unites us in our hobby.

yohannrjm, thanks for a great thread.  It was a most enjoyable way to start my morning.

What do you mean by "weasel" acronym?

YMMV is a cop-out

^^^ This

Your Mileage May Vary comes from the EPA stickers. Who gets the EPA computed mileage when driving their cars? Hence ... YMMV. In context here, its a weasel word. See  https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictiona...sel%20word a word used in order to evade or retreat from a direct or forthright statement or position

It is an evasive word rather than a definitive statement. No one says ... This product is the best razor. They say "The product is the best razor but YMMV". That is weaseling out of a definitive statement. Its also hijacking another word from another industry, just like "gentlemen" has been hijacked to make traditional wet shaving seem "cool" but that is more advertising or selling the hobby. Look at us, we are gentlemen ... cool, huh?

Weasel words have no hard data, no facts, just ... well kind of OK

I disagree.

Much like the word "gentleman", in and of itself, "YMMV" implies nothing other than the simply stated fact that your results will likely vary from my results.

Implications being both unspoken and presumed, are very difficult to generalize and qualify.

I use the word gentleman frequently, not out of a position of eilitism, but as a means of addressing groups of men whom I respect because of the way they present themselves.

I use YMMV not as a copout to avoid responsibility for my opinion, but as a way of indicating in as few key strokes as possible that my experience with a particular item could very well be different than your experience with the same item.

Since language is constantly changing and evolving, I rarely rely on outdated definitions, even if they are still applicable in small ways. The EPA being the originator of the phrase "your mileage may vary" has no impact on the colloquial usage it enjoys today...

Good thread! The one I hate the most (and it really has nothing to do with shaving) is SWMBO. It just annoys the crap out of me. I'm glad that nobody here ever uses it, that I've seen anyway. There is another site out there that I've read on occasion where it is quite prevalent.

I agree.  Michael Hyatt has an excellent podcast about how we should speak of our wives, and why.  Never liked this reference.

I don't really have any terms that bother me. My biggest pet peeve is when someone tries to make things "right or wrong". Sure, there are a lot of proven techniques and a lot of things that have proven themselves to be useless, but generally speaking, everything we do is adapted to our own personal styles, tastes, and goals, from the way we load and generate lather to the way we store our used blades. Everything we do is a matter of choice and opinion...in my opinion

Except your opinion is wrong. . Just kidding.

I'm generally not a fan of jargon and acronyms, they tend to identify people as members of a particular group and exclude outsiders. They also make newbies feel like newbies. I'm often confused reading posts that have acronyms and other terms that I don't know or understand and I've often thought that DFS should have a page where all the terms, abbreviations and acronyms could be listed and defined and each time a poster uses one of those terms it would hyperlink to the definition or have a popup bubble with the definition when you mouse over the term.

That said, I also don't see YMMV as a cop out but rather a way of succinctly communicating that your experience with something is subjective and someone else may have a different experience entirely. Anybody not a newbie understands that there are very few absolutes in wet shaving. You only have to post glowingly about your favourite razor or brush or blade or soap and you'll find legions of people coming out of the wood work that vehemently despise your beloved item for a litany of valid reasons. Of course there'll be those that agree with you although for some reason, maybe just human nature, the people that disagree with you seem more motivated to post their feelings. I think its a variation on the maxim "friends come and go but enemies you have for life"

I don't like the term "enabler" and its variations, just a personal peeve of mine.
"A person who facilitates the self-destructive behavior of another is referred to as an enabler."

While I get the marketing angle, I do have a pet peeve with the wide variety of descriptions used to grade badger hair. I'm just waiting on the "hand picked by vegan virgins" grade of badger hair to hit the market...

While I get the marketing angle, I do have a pet peeve with the wide variety of descriptions used to grade badger hair.  I'm just waiting on the "hand picked by vegan virgins" grade of badger hair to hit the market...

The sad thing is badger grades are totally subjective and it is not like there is some governing body that decides what, "Silvertip, Fine, etc." is.

I've held, felt, and used a silvertip from two different brush makers and they were so far apart in feel and performance it was a fing joke.