14 Words-Phrases Banished From English For 2018

It's time once again for the annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.

Lake Superior State University’s 43rd Annual List Of Banished Words holds a few surprises. I mean what else do you call a 'hot water heater?' How else do you convey the fact that you have a 'ton' of work to do? I do like the fact that 'fake news' has been kicked to the curb.

The tongue in cheek press release from an LSSU spokesperson says: “We’ve drilled down and unpacked tons of pre-owned words and phrases deemed impactful by hundreds of nominators during 2017, Let that sink in.”

The 'Banished List' was created by the late W. T. Rabe, a public relations director at Lake Superior State University during a Christmas Party in 1975. He and his colleges made up a list of words and phrases that irritated and annoyed them. Now the list consists of nominations from around the world of words and phrases that make no sense.

Over 900 entries were submitted and have been whittled down by an unnamed editor for the Lake Superior State University’s 43rd Annual List Of Banished Words 2018.

Unpack – Misused word for analyze, consider, assess. Concepts or positions are not packed, so they don’t need to be unpacked.

Tons – Refers to an exaggerated quantity, as in tons of sunshine or tons of work. ‘Lots’ would surely suffice.

Dish – As in to dish out the latest rumor on someone. Let’s go back to ‘talks about’ and leave dishes in the cupboard.

Pre-owned – What is so disgraceful about owning a used car now and then?

Onboarding / Offboarding – Creature from the HR Lagoon. We used to have hiring, training and orientation. Now we need to have an “onboarding” process. Firings, quitting, and retirements are streamlined into “offboarding.”

Nothingburger – Says nothing that ‘nothing’ doesn’t already. I’ll take a quarter-pound of something in mine.

Let that sink in – One could say shocking, profound, or important. Let that sink in.

Let me ask you this – Wholly unnecessary statement. Just ask the question already.

Impactful – A frivolous word groping for something ‘effective’ or ‘influential.’

Covfefe – An impulsive typo, born into a 140-character universe, somehow missed by the autocorrect feature.

Drill Down – Instead of expanding on a statement, we “drill down on it.”

Fake News – Once upon a time stories could be empirically disproved. Now ‘fake news’ is any story you disagree with.

Hot Water Heater – Hot water does not need to be heated. ‘Water heater’ or ‘hot water maker’ will keep us out of hot water.

Gig Economy – Gigs are for musicians and stand-up comedians. Now expanded to imply a sense of freedom and a lifestyle that rejects tradition in a changing economic culture. Runs a risk of sharecropping.

Do have a word or phrase that you think should be banished? Let us know in the comments!

[Information from Lake Superior State University]