It must have been about ten years ago now that a fairly brusque woman bowled up to me after church, wanting to know the whereabouts of the ten tea towels she had bought for the church kitchen.
I knew I had taken two or three home to wash and as I tend to do, had forgotten to bring them back. I admitted to this failure and didn't think any more about it but a bystander waited for the woman to leave and said "wow, that was awkward"
It was the first time I remember anyone using "awkward" for a situation that was mildly uncomfortable but now it seems to be the word of choice for any incident or conversation that falters, is overly intense or one party is socially inept in any way.
Thinking about all of this raises some questions:
Have we become less tolerant of a bumpy conversation?
If so, is it all of us or just younger people? (maybe under 35?)
Or were we always having awkward conversations but using other words to name them?
Or did I spend most of my life being the awkward one so people said it behind my back?
Once upon a time I probably would only have used the word awkward for something personal and possibly embarassing: spinach in teeth, something sexual, body odour, those kinds of things.
How do you use the word awkward and has it changed over time?
I think that is the word of the day, and is not something I use in that context. I am physically awkward which I freely admit to. Probably also socially awkward but I think I would use other words to describe that - none of which come to mind at the moment.
ReplyDeleteEC, it's nice to know that you thinkit's the word of the day. I wondered if I had missed something
Deletealso, you're not at all socially awkward
DeleteI broke my ankle and have been wearing a VERY heavy moon boot from the toes to the knee. When people see me hobbling, everyone says "how awkward you look".
ReplyDeleteHels, I'm pretty familiar with heavy moon boots and all I can say is of course they look awkward, they are designed to stop normal movement. I hope it does it's job and you heal well
DeleteI don't think it is a word I use, certainly in the last few years. I recently had a awkward situation in a shop where I believe I was overcharged and the shop keeper, whose shop I'd visited often enough, insisted I had not. She is a nice person and I think it may have been a language issue, but I did not return to the shop for a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteYes, thats a bit awkward. If the person was from a Chinese background, she'll lose too much face to ever admit a mistake
DeleteMy first thought of awkward applies to the physical as in an awkward person. I don't think the word has changed but is probably used more than it once was. Good question.
ReplyDeleteThe younger geberation don't seem to use it for physical awkwardness at all
DeleteI think of socially awkward, like someone who cannot carry on a conversation. Also, awkward dancing, any kind of dancing. As for the lady demanding the location of the tea towels she brought to church, I would call that conversation embarrassing to the woman, not you. I would put her in charge of washing the towels!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't worried about the woman, unless people are super aggressive that kind of thing just washes over me. That's probably why people think I float through life
DeleteI do use the word in that context , mostly applying it to a situation that is out of the norm and very unexpected (unpleasantly unexpected). Like seeing a married friend having a romantic dinner with someone other than their spouse. It put me in an uncomfortable and awkward position.
ReplyDeleteNow that is very awkward!
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ReplyDeleteLinda I deleted your comment so your email address isn't quite so exposed.
DeleteI would use the word awkward for a mildly uncomfortable situation. Whether that's more common now than a few years back I don't know. I would say the word comfortable is the one that's become more common and there's an obsession with whether people are comfortable or not. But sometimes it's healthy to be in an "uncomfortable" situation if it means you're being exposed to something that makes you rethink your attitudes and ideas.
ReplyDeleteHi Nick,
DeleteI agree that comfortable is not synonymous with healthy. I think adult life is full of periods of discomfort, pain, sadness, distress, anger, etc and the best we can do is move through those experiences and try to leverage them to something better (did you like how i managed to get corporate speak "leverage" in there?)
I often think about the evolution of the English language but had never previously reflected upon awkwardness. In the past, "awkward" was a term that might be applied to clumsiness or someone's gait. It's more modern application is one with which I have no dispute. It works.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's a good adaptation of the word. I was mostly wondering if our tolerance for tricky conversations has reduced or if we just put a different name to the ones we don't like
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