# How to stop Claude from saying load-bearing

> Source: <https://jola.dev/posts/how-to-stop-claude-from-saying-load-bearing>
> Published: 2026-07-14 00:00:00+00:00

# How to stop Claude from saying load-bearing

Absolutely ripping your hair out reading Claude referring to everything as “honest takes” and "load-bearing seams"? [You’re not the only one](https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/issues/53454). But what if I tell you there’s a way to take this massive source of frustration and make it so *ridiculous* you can't but laugh at it? Or just simply fix Claude's vocabulary. I present to you, the `MessageDisplay`

hook.

First you need a little script with some replacements set up:

``` python
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import json, re, sys

replacements = {
    "seam": "whatchamacallit",
    "you're absolutely right": "I'm a complete clown",
    "honest take": "spicy doodad",
    "load-bearing": "cooked"
}

data = json.load(sys.stdin)
text = data.get("delta") or ""

for phrase, replacement in replacements.items():
    pattern = r"\b" + re.escape(phrase) + r"\b"
    text = re.sub(pattern, replacement, text, flags=re.IGNORECASE)

print(json.dumps({
    "hookSpecificOutput": {
        "hookEventName": "MessageDisplay",
        "displayContent": text,
    }
}))
```

put that in `~/.claude/hooks/wordswap.sh`

and make it executable with `chmod +x ~/.claude/hooks/wordswap.sh`

. Then to hook it up, add it to your `~/.claude/settings.json`

in the `hooks`

block like:

```
{
  "hooks": {
    "MessageDisplay": [
      { "hooks": [ { "type": "command", "command": "$HOME/.claude/hooks/wordswap.sh" } ] }
    ]
  }
}
```

Hooks load at startup, so you just need to start a new session to start your new life.

I'm sure you can come up with much better and more productive replacements than me. Have fun!

Written by [Johanna Larsson](/about).
Thoughts on this post? Find me on Bluesky at
[
@jola.dev
](https://bsky.app/profile/jola.dev)
.

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