Everybody has people, places, things, and events that craze or enrage them. Everybody has triggers and hot buttons that must not be pushed multiple times!

Image by <a href=”https://pixabay.com/users/aitoff-388338/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=623174″>Andrew Martin</a> from <a href=”https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=623174″>Pixabay</a>

I’ve recently learned a new word that is something that violates my sense of right and wrong as a bonafide word nerd… this is it, peeps. Whaddayathink?

I have other triggers: talonlike fingernails raked across a chalkboard, gang-related graffiti defacing a public place, and anyone speaking is a Mickey or Minnie Mouse voice. Bad speaking such as “I saw it,” is a major offense in my word nerd sphere. And, hate speech. Cacology is offensive and signals that the person is an undereducated goofball. Do you agree, Constant Reader? What word or grammar misuse triggers your conversational unease?

Imagine yourself at a writers’ conference and a renowned author mounts the dais to deliver the keynote address… You’ve traveled some distance and paid big bucks to hear this person’s wisdom. Now imagine a rip-roaring word misuse bounces out of his mouth and hits the microphone with a pop. Egad! His cacology during the speech led to confusion among the audience. And, very likely, a loss is book sales.

More often trigger connotes behavior that ignites negative emotions and can send an endangered person into a tailspin. Bullies, blasphemers, and gas-lighters are fond of belittling others in thought, word, and deed – and are superbly skilled in techniques. For the victims of such, here’s advice for handling such. Good luck and God bless you, dear one. Here’s my hug to use whenever you need.