“Indices” bugs me for several reasons. First, some spell-checkers flag it as incorrect. Second, it invites people to use the word “indice” (as in, “in-di-see”) when they mean to say “index” – it just makes me cringe. Third, we have available to us the perfectly reasonable, better-behaved, and better-sounding “indexes.”

“Ouster” is out because it describes both action and actor in a most confusing way. The “-er” construct implies actor – call it an “ousting” or an “oustation” for god’s sake.

i also hate the word akimbo — it was ruined for me forever by thomas wolfe, who uses it approximately 7,000 times in the phrase “shanks akimbo” in a man in full.