Community Chat

[handygal2]

Lake Superior State University in Michigan publishes an annual list of phrases that should be "banned." Here are their top ten for 2022:

1.  'Wait, what?' - Most frequently found in text or on social media, this ubiquitous imperative question is a failed 'response to a statement to express astonishment, misunderstanding, or disbelief,' explained a wordsmith. 'I hate it,' added another, because the command query is an inexact method to convey the utterer's uncertainty or surprise. 'I don't want to wait,' either, continued the second impassioned nominator.
2. 'No worries' - Nominated by writers nationwide for misuse and overuse, this phrase incorrectly substitutes for 'You're welcome' when someone says 'Thank you.' A further bungling relates to insensitivity. 'If I'm not worried, I don't want anyone telling me not to worry,' a contributor explicated. 'If I am upset, I want to discuss being upset.' Despite its meaninglessness, the term is recommended to emailers by Google Assistant.
3. 'At the end of the day' - Twenty-plus years after original banishment of this phrase in 1999, the day still isn't over for this misused, overused, and useless expression. 'Many times things don't end at the end of the day—or even the ramifications of whatever is happening,' observed a sage. Others consider 'day' an imprecise measure. Today? Present times? Banishment in 1999: overused synopsis of a conversation or debate, often by politicians and pundits.
4. 'That being said' - Nominators cited this phrase as verbal filler, redundant justification, and pompous posturing. For instance, 'however' or 'but,' - even 'that said'—does the job as a transition instead of the wordiness. 'Go ahead and say what you want already!' demanded one entrant. That being said, its usefulness is certainly in doubt. As a commentator philosophized, 'At the end of the day, if you will, it already has been.'
5. 'Asking for a friend' - Misuse and overuse through deceit—because the friend is a ruse. This cutesy phrase, often deployed in social media posts in a coy attempt to deter self-identification, isn't fooling anyone. Paraphrasing one sage, 'Once used to avoid embarrassment, as in, 'Do you know a good proctologist? I'm asking for a friend.' Sometimes an occasional sitcom joke. Now an overused tag with absolutely no relationship to its antecedent.'
6. 'Circle back' - Treats colloquy like an ice skating rink, as if we must circle back to our previous location to return to a prior subject. Let's circle back about why to banish this jargon. It's a conversation, not the Winter Olympics. Opined a grammarian, 'The most overused phrase in business, government, or other organization since 'synergy''—which we banished in 2002 as evasive blanket terminology and smarty-pants puffery.
7. 'Deep dive' - 'The only time to dive into something is when entering a body of water, not going more in-depth into a particular subject or book,' admonished a petitioner. Another stipulated that people who float the phrase aren't near pool, lake, ocean, or sea; thus, rather than dive deeply, they flounder shallowly. An editing whiz wondered, 'Do we need 'deep?' I mean, does anyone dive into the shallow end?' 
8. 'New normal' - Overused catchall for ways COVID-19 affects humankind—and banishment finalist last year for similar reasons. 'Those clamoring for the days of old, circa 2019, use this to signal unintentionally that they haven't come to terms with what 'normal' means,' a monitor elucidated. 'After a couple of years, is any of this really 'new?'' another speculated. Banished in 2012 for imprudence, defeatism, and apathy stemming from societal missteps.
9. 'You're on mute' - People switched from in-person exchanges to virtual meetings to follow the social distancing protocol of COVID-19, and the unwitting deafening silence happens on both sides of the camera. Overuse and uselessness, then, due to ineptitude. A discerning submitter encapsulated the issue: 'We're two years into remote working and visiting. It's time for everyone to figure out where the mute button is.' Or as a quipster summarized, 'Hello? Hello?'
10. 'Supply chain' - Word-watchers noticed the frequent, unfortunate appearance of this phrase toward the end of this year as the coronavirus persisted. 'It's become automatically included in reporting of consumer goods shortages or perceived shortages. In other words, a buzzword,' concluded one analyst. 'Supply chain issues have become the scapegoat of everything that doesn't happen or arrive on time and of every shortage,' noticed another. The adverse result: overuse ad nauseam.

Are there any words or phrases that you're tired of hearing? I personally would be very happy to never hear any pandemic-related terms ever again. There are too many to list here. 

[phoenixbrd]

""transitory inflation"....

[deepwaterdotter]

"unvaccinated"

[colliegirls]

 I hate "I'm good" instead of " no thank you"

[MarnieRez3]

Fantastic post! Thanks for sharing this, @handygal2.

I have a few I'm tired of hearing:

1) "A girl could lose her mind," said by Colleen Lopez on HSN about every jewelry piece she sells.

2) Using the word "So" as a way to start a sentence. (I"m trying to train my daughter to drop this habit!)

3) "Our store," Amy Stran uses this phrase way too much to refer to The Q.

4) Anyone who wants to "double down" on anything, I immediately cringe.

5) In no special order: "iconic," "retro," "stunning," "California chic," "PS and by the way," and "Instagram-worthy."
I am in total agreement with you on the pandemic-era terms; Im so tired of hearing any phrase that begins with the word "Covid."
Thanks for the chance to let off steam! Happy 2022...hope it's filled with non-cliche phrases! 💜

[handygal2]

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@deepwaterdotter wrote:

"unvaccinated"

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@deepwaterdotter : And, similarly, "fully vaccinated." No one even knows what that means anymore.

[on the bay]

covd 

quarantine

ventilator

life support

red zone

variants

(and a whole lot more but I'll stop here)

[MarnieRez3]

@colliegirls

Great one: "I'm good!" Used way too much!

Also, any time any iPhone user "likes" or "loves" my text, I want to throw my cell phone out the window.

[PickyPicky3]

@handygal2   Excellent list. I can't stand -- I was like I never wear that color.