Moist is, hands down, one of the least favorite words out there. A solid one-fifth of the population cannot even stand to hear the word.
In fact, it might even earn the place of ‘most hated word of all time” in many circles.
So, what is it that makes the word ‘moist’ so uniquely disturbing to so many of us?
The Science
Thankfully, there is research to help us answer that question.
Paul H. Thibodeau from Leiden University published a study that delved into what it is about that one word that makes some of us want to cover our ears and scream.
He discovered that some of us are more bothered by it than others. Those with more education are particularly likely to be repelled by the word. The younger generation hate it more than previous ones. Women despise it more than men.
The data doesn’t lie. Some of us are simply more disturbed when we hear ‘moist.’
The researcher also noted that it isn’t the sound of the word ‘moist’ that particularly disturbs us, but the connotation. We tend to negatively associate it with bodily functions.
Jason Riggle, a professor of linguistics at the University of Chicago, explained the phenomenon to Slate:
“The [words] evoke nausea and disgust rather than, say, annoyance or moral outrage. And the disgust response is triggered because the word evokes a highly specific and somewhat unusual association with imagery or a scenario that people would typically find disgusting—but don’t typically associate with the word.”
Yeah, that makes sense, a least to the twenty percent of us who are absolutely repelled when we hear the-word-that-must-not-be-spoken.
Are there exceptions to the rule?
Our general aversion to the word ‘moist’ may ruin the expected positive response to a baker’s discussion of a deliciously moist cake…
Thankfully, at least someone on Twitter thinks it’s still safe in that context:
“I discovered you can use the word moist without bothering anyone, but only when describing cake.”
Phew!
Or not. We’re not actually sure what to think of this tweet:
“I’m gonna bake a cake so moist, girls are gonna be like, ‘Ewww, why did you say moist? I hate that word?’ and I’m gonna be like, ‘Taste the cake!’ And they’re gonna be like, ‘Damn, it’s moist!'”
To have the cake or not. That is the question.
A Social Phenomenon
We can’t always help what we associate a word with. Sometimes our minds just go there no matter how much we don’t want to go down that path.
Moist seems to be one of those words that we can’t seem to escape from fast enough. It has a life of its own.
It finds its way into our thoughts so much that people have posted their dislike of the word all over the internet. ‘Moist’ has become a topic of discussion that can be hard to avoid…especially if you are desperately trying to.
“Can we please remove the word ‘moist’ from the dictionary. K THANKS.”
We’re working on it, Mike!
As for other words that the general population finds particularly gross, ‘crevice,’ ‘slacks,’ and ‘luggage’ make the list.
We would hate to think what would happen if someone got their slacks caught in the crevice of their luggage.
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