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This Word is Unacceptable

Mr. Martin did it again. I can’t even remember what he was indignant about this time. Everything after he, again, dropped the ubiquitous “U bomb” faded into irrelevance for this word-weary wanker. It drives me nuts. Can anyone tell me when and why the word “unacceptable” became the most stirring (and the most repetitive) expression of dismay or disapproval that our public voices can summon? How can a word be so clear and yet so toothless?

Unacceptable is what your handwriting is when your partner can’t tell what you want at the grocery store. Unacceptable describes an undeserved compliment or an invitation to a party you’d never attend in a hundred years. Surely we can find something less tweedy, less bureaucratic, less parson-ish to describe scandalous immorality and international brutality. Come on, Paul. You have good writers. You guys can do it. Your present vocabulary is just, well, you know…

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