The vote is in: Here are the words that make us CRINGE

Trine Jensen-Burke

Prepare to feel really uncomfortable.

You know how there are some words that can make you, even if you just hear them being uttered, feel totally grossed out? Words that, if you actually have to say them out loud, makes you cringe?

Yup, been there. And it turns out, we are not alone. A recent survey done by underwear company Knix Wear polled 500 women and identified a list of 40 (FORTY!) words that actually have the power to make us squirm.

Are you ready? It turns out, from that list, six words stood out to be particularly horrific to us women.

Let’s see if we are in agreement on these, girls: Counting down backwards, here goes:

6. Flap

Sure, birds flap their little wings (and fairies, maybe too), but the word flap still makes us feel like you might be talking about front bottoms, in which case flap, apparently, is a totally YUCK word.

5. Curd

Who doesn’t love a bit of lemon curd? We were a bit baffled at this one, but according to linguistic expert Mark Liberman from the University of Pennsylvania, who helped out with the study, the reason behind this one could be because “curd” rhymes (and reminds us of, apparently) the word “turd” – which, in fairness, is pretty gross.

4. Chunky

A whopping forty percent of women found that the word ‘chunky’ made them uncomfortable. And while there are lots of scenarios where ‘chunky’ is a great thing (salsa, peanut butter…), seems the majority of us connect the word with a negative one about women’s bodies.

3. Panties

It’s got the creep factor.

2. Squirt

Porn, apparently, has ruined this word for women everywhere. No longer can we think of the word ‘squirt’ in relation to, say juice or diluted orange without feeling totally grossed out.

1. Moist

Few will be surprised at this one. The number one word that makes women feel utterly uncomfortable and makes us feel like reaching for a bucket is moist. YUCK. Moist. It sounds all sorts of icky, doesn’t it? I mean, it doesn’t even sound innocent when you use it about carrot cake, never mind in any other scenario.

Other words that made the yuck-list included (in no particular order): Poop, slurp, discharge, fanny and crusty. Well, excuse of for a minute… *Dry retches.

What words make YOU shudder? Join in the conversation with us on Twitter at @Herfamilydotie