I like lazy words. Lazy words are words created to either save you the time of using too many syllables while speaking or to blame something else for your mistake.

Probably my favorite lazy word is “OOPS.” This is a word only used when we drop something, spill something or make a mistake, usually a big one.

When I set something down and it drops to the floor ... oops gets a call. Oops in that instance is blaming gravity for the mistake.

Oops it fell, don’t blame me, blame gravity.

That’s what oops stands for; it's an acronym for “Oh Oh Planets Spinning!”

Oops also works great when you press the wrong button.

“Hey you didn’t press that button releasing the nuclear waste into the engineer room did you?”

“Oops.”

Another great crop of lazy words are the ones that everyone understands but you don’t even have to open your mouth to speak them. There are two that represent yes and no. It’s hard to spell but easy to say:

“Do you like that?’

"mmhhmm" (hummed/spoken on the upward lilt)

Which can quickly be followed by the negative.

“You want more?”

"mmm mmm" (shorter/abrupt on the downward lilt).

Another good one is “Uhhoh.” This is a quick, almost unconsciously spoken word that is expedient enough to indicate impending doom just in time before you are hit by the train.

Another great lazy word allows you to appear to be undecisive but manages to get the idea across that you don’t want to do something, without indicating a decisive commiment so as not to insult the asker of the question. It works like this:

“You want to go with me to hear my favorite polka band?”

“mmmm” (in a straight questioning lilt, accompanied by a thoughtful head tilt)

It literally means your not sure, or you're thinking about it, but is a universal “no thanks.”

There are also some sophisticated lazy words for negative and positive. "Yes" can be communicated by a positive sounding “UhhHuh” (lilting upwards), while the same word “Uhhhuh” ( lilting downwards) means the negatitive.

Anyways, just some observations on lazy words and how often we use them daily. Now I ask myself, “Was this an interesting column?’

“Hmmmm…uhhhhh?” (contemplative)