Hurty word/s;
of British origin and related to 'offence archaeology'; social media words/phrases picked by entities and held up to the general public with great fanfare, an act which then backfires due to wide public opposition/pushback/indifference. Effectively, such 'hurty words' are not deemed important in the greater public sphere and are seen as a generally time-wasting, childish distraction.
When a pursuing (often state) entity appears to actively seek out and prioritise wording trivialities within the language of social media, while ignoring or failing the much more important or pressing issues in society, effectively seeming to 'sweat the small stuff.'
"Plod looking for hurty words on X instead of catching 6 gazillion mobile phone thieves on e-scooters on the streets."
"They're boycotting So-and-so because So-and-so's grandma said a hurty word fifty years ago."
of British origin and related to 'offence archaeology'; social media words/phrases picked by entities and held up to the general public with great fanfare, an act which then backfires due to wide public opposition/pushback/indifference. Effectively, such 'hurty words' are not deemed important in the greater public sphere and are seen as a generally time-wasting, childish distraction.
When a pursuing (often state) entity appears to actively seek out and prioritise wording trivialities within the language of social media, while ignoring or failing the much more important or pressing issues in society, effectively seeming to 'sweat the small stuff.'
"Plod looking for hurty words on X instead of catching 6 gazillion mobile phone thieves on e-scooters on the streets."
"They're boycotting So-and-so because So-and-so's grandma said a hurty word fifty years ago."
by Haphazard Squirrel August 24, 2025
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