海角社区

Wait, What? No Worries. 海角社区 Banishes Those and Other Familiar but Problematic Words and Terms for 2022

Dec 31, 2021

Mass communication? Miscommunication!

If you鈥檙e going to turn to the vernacular to make yourself known, be sure you鈥檙e accurate and concise. Avoid error in and exploitation of everyday language. In short, do the opposite of what the public and the media did this year.

The irked and the amused from around the country and across the world sent that mock-serious message in their entries for 海角社区鈥檚 annual tongue-in-cheek Banished Words List. LSSU announces the results of the yearly compendium on Dec. 31 to start the New Year on the right foot, er, tongue.

Common parlance dominated submissions for the past 12 months. More than 1,000 of the 1,250-plus nominations of words and terms for banishment for misuse, overuse, and uselessness for 2022 were colloquial.

The No. 1 offender: 鈥淲ait, what?鈥� These two four-letter words should not go together under any circumstances, according to many nominators and the contest judges from the LSSU English Department, because the two-part halting interrogative is disingenuous, divergent, deflective, and other damning words that begin with the letter d.

鈥淢ost people speak through informal discourse. Most people shouldn鈥檛 misspeak through informal discourse. That鈥檚 the distinction nominators far and wide made, and our judges agreed with them,鈥� said Peter Szatmary, executive director of marketing and communications at LSSU.

鈥淎lso, seven of the 10 words and terms that LSSU banished last year reflected real-world concerns about COVID-19, while three could be categorized as quotidian. This year, as the global pandemic persists along with adaptations to it, the inverse occurred. Seven of the 10 words and terms to be banished are more conversational-based, with the other three applying to the coronavirus,鈥� he added. 鈥淥ne possible takeaway from all this about the act and art and science of disclosing something is the more things change, the more things stay the same. At the very least, it鈥檚 complicated.鈥�

LSSU has compiled an annual Banished Words List since 1976 to uphold, protect, and support excellence in language by encouraging avoidance of words and terms that are overworked, redundant, oxymoronic, clich茅d, illogical, nonsensical鈥攁nd otherwise ineffective, baffling, or irritating. Over the decades, LSSU has received tens of thousands of nominations for the list, which now totals more than 1,000 entries. Examples of the winners (or should that be losers?) to make the yearly compilation: 鈥渄etente,鈥� 鈥渟urely,鈥� 鈥渃lassic,鈥� 鈥渂romance,鈥� and 鈥淐OVID-19,鈥� plus 鈥渨rap my head around,鈥� 鈥渦ser friendly,鈥� 鈥渁t this point in time,鈥� 鈥渘ot so much,鈥� and 鈥渧iable alternative.鈥� The Banished Words List has become such a cultural phenomenon that comedian George Carlin submitted an entry that made the annals in 1994: 鈥渂addaboom, baddabing.鈥�

This year, nominations came from most major U.S. cities and many U.S. states, on top of Norway, Belgium, England, Scotland, Australia, and numerous provinces in Canada. Here are the list of the banished words and terms for 2022 and the reasons for their banishment:

1. Wait, what?

Most frequently found in text or on social media, this ubiquitous imperative question is a failed 鈥渞esponse to a statement to express astonishment, misunderstanding, or disbelief,鈥� explained a wordsmith. 鈥淚 hate it,鈥� added another, because the command query is an inexact method to convey the utterer鈥檚 uncertainty or surprise. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to wait,鈥� either, continued the second impassioned nominator. Misuse and overuse.

2. No worries

Nominated by writers nationwide for misuse and overuse, this phrase incorrectly substitutes for 鈥淵ou鈥檙e welcome鈥� when someone says 鈥淭hank you.鈥� A further bungling relates to insensitivity. 鈥淚f I’m not worried, I don鈥檛 want anyone telling me not to worry,鈥� a contributor explicated. 鈥淚f I am upset, I want to discuss being upset.鈥� 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鈥檛 over for this misused, overused, and useless expression. 鈥淢any times things don鈥檛 end at the end of the day鈥攐r even the ramifications of whatever is happening,鈥� observed a sage. Others consider 鈥渄ay鈥� 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, 鈥渉owever鈥� or 鈥渂ut鈥攅ven 鈥渢hat said鈥濃�攄oes the job as a transition instead of the wordiness. 鈥淕o ahead and say what you want already!鈥� demanded one entrant. That being said, its usefulness is certainly in doubt. As a commentator philosophized, 鈥淎t the end of the day, if you will, it already has been.鈥�

5. Asking for a friend

Misuse and overuse through deceit鈥攂ecause the friend is a ruse. This cutesy phrase, often deployed in social media posts in a coy attempt to deter self-identification, isn鈥檛 fooling anyone. Paraphrasing one sage, 鈥淥nce used to avoid embarrassment, as in, 鈥楧o you know a good proctologist? I鈥檓 asking for a friend.鈥� Sometimes an occasional sitcom joke. Now an overused tag with absolutely no relationship to its antecedent.鈥�

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鈥檚 circle back about why to banish this jargon. It鈥檚 a conversation, not the Winter Olympics.聽Opined a grammarian, 鈥淭he most overused phrase in business, government, or other organization since 鈥榮ynergy鈥欌�濃�攚hich we banished in 2002 as evasive blanket terminology and smarty-pants puffery.

7. Deep dive

鈥淭he only time to dive into something is when entering a body of water, not going more in-depth into a particular subject or book,鈥� admonished a petitioner. Another stipulated that people who float the phrase aren鈥檛 near pool, lake, ocean, or sea; thus, rather than dive deeply, they flounder shallowly. An editing whiz wondered, 鈥淒o we need 鈥榙eep鈥�? I mean, does anyone dive into the shallow end?鈥�

2022 Banished Words and Terms Deriving from COVID-19 Matters:

8. New normal

Overused catchall for ways COVID-19 affects humankind鈥攁nd banishment finalist last year for similar reasons. 鈥淭hose clamoring for the days of old, circa 2019, use this to signal unintentionally that they haven鈥檛 come to terms with what 鈥榥ormal鈥� means,鈥� a monitor elucidated. 鈥淎fter a couple of years, is any of this really 鈥榥ew鈥�?鈥� another speculated. Banished in 2012 for imprudence, defeatism, and apathy stemming from societal missteps.

9. You鈥檙e 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: 鈥淲e鈥檙e two years into remote working and visiting. It鈥檚 time for everyone to figure out where the mute button is.鈥� Or as a quipster summarized, 鈥淗ello? Hello?鈥�

10. Supply chain

Word-watchers noticed the frequent, unfortunate appearance of this phrase toward the end of this year as the coronavirus persisted. 鈥淚t’s become automatically included in reporting of consumer goods shortages or perceived shortages. In other words, a buzzword,鈥� concluded one analyst. 鈥淪upply chain issues have become the scapegoat of everything that doesn鈥檛 happen or arrive on time and of every shortage,鈥� noticed another. The adverse result: overuse ad nauseam.

鈥淪ay what you mean and mean what you say. Can鈥檛 get any easier, or harder, than that,鈥� said LSSU President Dr. Rodney S. Hanley. 鈥淓very year submitters play hard at suggesting what words and terms to banish by paying close attention to what humanity utters and writes. Taking a deep dive at the end of the day and then circling back make perfect sense. Wait, what?鈥�

For more about the Banished Words List and to nominate a word or term for banishment for 2023, go online to lssu.edu/banishedwords.