The new default icon set drives me nuts as well. Fortunately, you can select other icon sets in the settings.
I've actually reduced my gimp usage because I find myself hovering over ever tool, repeatedly, because the new icons are too cryptic and low-information. I switched back to "Legacy", though "Color" might work as well (they just don't seem as understandable at first glance, though perhaps I'm biased towards the familiar here.)