I've got a bee in my bonnet about the word touché. I keep hearing it getting misused, and it really is beginning to annoy me.

For the record, here is a definition of the word touché. Its origins are in the sport of fencing, and is said when your opponent gives you a good "hit". In other words you are praising you opponents skill in the art of fencing. That leads on to the second definition of touché, which means you concede / acknowledge a particularly good point in an argument or discussion.

IT IS NOT AN EASY WAY OF SAYING "BACK AT YOU"

How people have come to use it in this fashion I don't know, but please, stop it! You sound ridiculous if you say it without understanding its meaning. E.g - Me: You are a lazy slob. You: Touché! - With the wrong intonation, you're actually saying, yes I am a lazy slob, rather than throwing it back in their face. Only if the point is a good one, like You: You spend too much time on the computer. Me: Touché - is the use of touché correct, as I would concede I spend too much time on the PC.

So anyway, my point is this, next time you are about to use the word touché, stop, think about it, and only if its meaning will actually be correct in the context, say it.

English class dismissed!