How to stop Claude from saying load-bearing
Points and comments are a snapshot, not live.
Users can replace Claude's repetitive phrases like "load-bearing" via a MessageDisplay hook script.
The author provides a Python script using regex to replace common Claude-isms (e.g., "seam" -> "whatchamacallit", "load-bearing" -> "cooked") in the MessageDisplay hook. The script reads JSON from stdin, applies replacements, and outputs the modified text. Installation involves saving the script to `~/.claude/hooks/wordswap.sh`, making it executable, and adding a hooks block to `~/.claude/settings.json`. A new session is required for the changes to take effect.
The author notes this approach can make the frustration humorous or simply fix Claude's vocabulary, and encourages users to create their own replacement sets.
What commenters are saying
The thread centers on frustration with Claude's repetitive phrasing and its influence on users' own thinking. One top commenter calls AI speech an "infohazard" and shares a tool ("debabel.py") that filters common clichés from LLM output using regex and NLP, based on analysis of 10M+ words of transcripts. They provide a before/after example showing significant reduction in verbose phrases.
Other comments identify specific annoying phrases: "belt-and-suspenders," "quietly" (as in "quietly outperforming"), "that's the wedge," "that's the unlock," and "you're right to push back." Some debate whether "belt and suspenders" is a genuine idiom versus a Claude-ism. A commenter questions why RLHF produces this style if nobody likes it, while others suggest humans do like it in moderation or that it reflects corpspeak culture.