海角社区

44th annual list of banished words eschews collusion, is officially in the books

Dec 31, 2018

The wordsmiths at 海角社区 have released LSSU’s 44^thannual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.

鈥淲e grapple, litigate, and then yeet irritating words and phrases gathered from the nominations and votes received during 2018,鈥� said an LSSU-OTUS thought leader from the word-banishment wheelhouse. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the most important election of our time.鈥�

LSSU’s word banishment tradition is now in its fifth decade, and was started by the late W. T. Rabe, a public relations director at 海角社区.

For every new year since 1976, LSSU 鈥� also known for premier programs in nursing, engineering, robotics, and Great Lakes freshwater research 鈥攈as issued this list, firmly tongue in cheek.

Rabe and fellow LSSU faculty and staff came up with the first list of words and phrases that people love to hate at a New Year鈥檚 Eve party in 1975, publishing it on Jan. 1, 1976. Though he and his friends created it from their own pet peeves about language, Rabe said he knew from the volume of mail he received in the following weeks that the group would have no shortage of words and phrases from which to choose for 1977. Since then, the list has consisted entirely of nominations submitted from around the world.

Through the years, LSSU has received tens of thousands of nominations for the list, which now includes more than 1,000 entries. This year’s list is culled from nominations that come mostly through a university web site at lssu.edu/banished and a word banishment page on Facebook.Word-watchers target pet peeves from everyday speech, as well as from the news, fields of education, technology, advertising, politics and more. An editor makes a final cut in late December.

And now, the 2019 list, along with reasons for banishment by nominators:

Wheelhouse, as in area of expertise 鈥� Chris, Battle Creek, Mich., 鈥淚t’s not in my wheelhouse to explain why dreadful words should be banished!鈥�; Currie, Ottawa,Ontario (Canada), 鈥淚rritating, has become a clich茅, annoys me, offence to the English language, etc.鈥�; Kevin, Portland, Ore., 鈥淚t’s an awkward word to use in the 21st century. Most people have never seen a wheelhouse.鈥�

In the books . . ., as in finished or concluded 鈥� Sandy, White Lake Township, Mich., 鈥淚t seems everyone’s holiday party is in the books this year, and it’s all there for friends to view on social media, along with the photos of the happy party attendees.鈥�

Wrap my head around鈥� Linda, Bloomington, Minn., 鈥淚mpossible to do and makes no sense.鈥�

Platform鈥� Michael, Alameda, Calif., 鈥淧eople use it as an excuse to rant. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter have become platforms. Even athletes call a post-game interview a 鈥榩latform.鈥� Step down from the platform, already.鈥�

Collusion, as in two or more parties limiting competition by deception – John, Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., 鈥淲e all need to collude on getting rid of this word.鈥�

OTUS family of acronyms such as POTUS, FLOTUS, SCOTUS鈥� David, Kinross, Mich., 鈥淥verused useless word for the President, Supreme Court, First Lady.鈥�

Ghosting鈥� Carrie, Caledonia, Mich., 鈥淪omebody doesn’t want to talk with you. Get over it. No need to bring the paranormal into the equation.鈥�

Yeet, as in to vigorously throw or toss 鈥� Emily, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., 鈥淚f I hear one more freshman say “yeet,” I might just yeet myself out a window.鈥�

Litigate鈥� Ronald, Fredericton, New Brunswick (Canada), 鈥淥riginally meant to take a claim or dispute to a law court . . . appropriated by politicians and journalists for any matter of controversy in the public sphere.鈥�

Grapple鈥� David, Traverse City, Mich., 鈥淧eople who struggle with ideas and issues now grapple with them. I prefer to grapple with a wrestler or an overgrown tree. ”

Eschew鈥� Mary, Toronto, Ont. (Canada), 鈥淣obody ever actually says this word out loud, they just write it for filler.鈥�

Crusty鈥� Hannah, Campbellsville, Ky., 鈥淭his has become a popular insult. It’s disgusting and sounds weird. Make the madness stop.鈥�

Optics鈥� Bob Tempe, Ariz., 鈥淭he trendy way to say 鈥榓ppearance鈥�.鈥�

Legally drunk鈥� Philip, Auburn, Ind., 鈥淵ou’re a little tipsy, that’s all. That’s legally drunk. People who are ticketed for drunk driving are actually 鈥榠llegally drunk,鈥� and we should say so.鈥�

Thought Leader鈥� Matt, Superior, Colo., 鈥淭houghts aren鈥檛 ranked or scored. How can someone hold a thought-lead, much less even lead by thought?鈥�; Paul, Ann Arbor, Mich., 鈥淚f you follow a thought leader, you’re not much of a thinker.鈥�

Importantly鈥� Constance, Pace, Tex., 鈥淭otally unnecessary when 鈥榠mportant鈥� is sufficient. 鈥楳ore importantly鈥� (banned in 1992) apparently sounds more important but is also senseless.鈥�

Accoutrements鈥� Leslie, Scottsdale, Ariz., 鈥淗ard to spell, not specific, and anachronistic when 鈥榓ccessories鈥� will do.鈥�

Most important election of our time . . .鈥� Jos茅, Ozark, Ark., 鈥淣ot that we haven鈥檛 had six or seven back-to-back most important elections of our time.鈥�

Read more about , along with a form for submitting words and phrases for 2020. Word-watchers may check the alphabetical “complete list” on the website before making their submissions.

海角社区, overlooking the St. Mary鈥檚 River in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, offers extensive real-world learning environments. Its unsurpassed location for research and exploration is surrounded by three Great Lakes, dozens of inland lakes, miles of rivers, and millions of acres of state and national forest.聽With faculty who are experts in their field, students receive individualized attention leading to outstanding career placement in engineering, robotics, fisheries and wildlife management, nursing and computer science, and more. Lake State is one of Michigan鈥檚 most affordable universities, with instate tuition that鈥檚 one rate for everyone. Visit lssu.edu for more information.