zlacker

TIL! https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ilk

still, there are probably a lot of people like me who have heard it used (incorrectly it seems) as an insult so many times that it's an automatic response :-(

>>freedo+(OP)
Don't worry, you're not a senator.

And, if there's one thing politicians are know for it's got to be ad hominem.

>>freedo+(OP)
Tone, intended or otherwise, is a pretty important part of communication!

>>DANmod+uA
There is this idea that the shape of a word, how it makes your mouth and face move when you say it connotes meaning on its own. This is called "phonosemantics", just saying "ilk" makes one feel like they are flinging off some sticky aggressive slime.

Ilk almost always has a negative connotation regardless of what the dictionary says.