I was recently chastised at work for using the word "cool" in an email chain–an act that I attribute to being overly-formal for no other reason than to uphold an unnecessarily perceived "law" of formality. Is there an English word that would better describe this?
Word Choice – Is There a Word to Describe ‘Being Formal for the Sake of Being Formal’?
word-choice
Related Solutions
If you are looking for a one-word answer I would suggest Onus.
The onus is the responsibility for something. It carries a connotation of the burden being placed upon someone. So, I would say:
I will do this, but the onus is on you to get it started.
This idea is reflected in Poe's Law. It is an internet adage named after its author Nathan Poe.
The core idea of Poe's law is that a parody of something extreme can be mistaken for the real thing, and if a real thing sounds extreme enough, it can be mistaken for a parody (all because parodies are intrinsically extreme, in case you haven't noticed it).
Further details: http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/poes-law
Urbandictionary also have an entry for the acronym NSIS. It can be either:
- Not sure if sarcasm
or
- Not sure if serious
Best Answer
The apt words are
Prig
Prude
Pedant