Banished Words 2016
So, for the 41st year in a row, Lake Superior State University (LSSU) issued a presser with a list of problematic words that should banned by every stakeholder. Their secret sauce in generating the list? The price point is good, everyone can join the conversation, and they never walk it back if someone complains about a word breaking the internet.
In what’s become a tradition, I’m blogging about LSSU’s annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness”. I suppose you could say the list has been giving me life.
2016’s winners losers banished words are as follows:
- So
- Conversation
- Problematic
- Stakeholder
- Price Point
- Secret Sauce
- Break The Internet
- Walk It Back
- Presser
- Manspreading
- Vape
- Giving Me Life
- Physicality
This year the word ‘so’ received two honors. It was the word that received the most nominations for being banished. It was also the first time a word from a previous year has appeared on the list again. In 1999, it was banished as a way of providing emphasis, as in “I am SO down with this list!”
If you enjoyed this post, please amplify it on social media. Maybe we’ll break the internet.
This blog was originally posted on Manage by Walking Around on January 3, 2016.
Hey Jonathan,
Bummer, I had to look up what manspreading and vape mean, as you apparently didn't manage to include them in your post 😈 .
But, nice try again! Thanks for sharing, even if it's debatable whether this really is a Business Trend...
Fred
Well, it is a never-ending business trend to misuse, overuse and therefor throw poor, defenceless words into the uselessness-pit. 😉
Hi Fred,
I linked to a description of manspreading since I wasn't sure if people knew that word. I assumed -- incorrectly -- that vape was well known.
As for whether it's a Business Trend or not, maybe that's problematic.
Cheers,