Banned Words 2012

Lake Superior State Univeristy has published its list of Banned Words for 2012, created by popular vote.   Have a look.

Pretty weak, isn’t it? I don’t even know what Trickeraton or Man Cave means (and please don’t tell me.)   Let’s face it, this list is just bullshit. We’ll  make  our own, like we did last year. I’ll start:

Push back
The American People
Twitterati
Repurposed
Luxe
Counter-intuitive
Snooky
Lady-parts
Skinnies
Cult Status
Slut-shaming
Mitt
Newt
Going Viral
Sourced
Narrative
Facebook

I don’t want to see or hear these words any more. They’re dead to me.

Your turn!

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88 Responses to Banned Words 2012

  1. sharnek says:

    Gifted (as in I was gifted these shoes / coat / bag etc)
    Gals

    Can we see the return Vagina? Why did it ever go away!

  2. mimi says:

    ooh, i agree on ‘slut-shaming’, although it’s probably because i see it everywhere and yet i haven’t really had the energy to even bother trying to figure out what it means.

    and 100% YES on ‘gifted’, it just reeks of entitlement.

    my pet hate is still “nom nom nom”, “nommy”, “om nom”, or even worse “nommylicious” – VOMIT. what is even more heinous is that it is used by people aged over 30. ick.

  3. andrea says:

    thrifted. As in ” top from the Gap, skirt- thrifted”. Which means that the skirt came from a smelly Goodwill or Salvation Army. (No value judgements there, but people should just tell it like it is). “thrifted” sounds so much more romantic and hipster, no? Which is why it should be banned.

  4. sisty says:

    Yes, gifted!

    And thrifted!

    utilize — what’s wrong with “use”?

    conversate — which of course isn’t a real word, but you’d be surprised how many mouths it comes out of.

    panties

    pant when you mean “pants”

    real time

  5. DCD says:

    There is one word from the University’s list that deserves to be on our list too: Ginormous.

  6. maki b podell says:

    how about inauthentic-
    id like to blame it all on dr phil and oprah….

  7. patni says:

    ewwwwwwwwwwwww skinnies and luxe. I HATE luxe.

  8. I’m with you on several of these. Why can’t people simply use real words?
    – Fashionista. Use of this made-up term needs to stop. I feel embarrassed for anyone whose vocabulary includes “fashionista”.
    – Anything-“licious”. This one also needs to go away unless it is, in fact, a real word such as “delicious”.

  9. patni says:

    my addition and i could be wrong, is pair. Every time i read of another fashion blogger “pairing” red pants and yellow socks and pink boots and a black bow, my head explodes. Isn’t a pair two? so i guess you could pair red pants and pnk shoes, but it is not a pair if you add the yellow belt. It could all be an abomination, but that is another thread.

  10. patni says:

    crisp white shirt. Pull out a damn thesaurus.

  11. honeypants says:

    I think we had ‘sexy’ to modify inanimate objects or ideas last year, didn’t we?

    Someone up there said ‘inauthentic’ – I nominate ‘authentic’ as well.

    Besties. Totes. I still hate Pop.

    In reference to vagina up there, I have a friend who says ‘va-geen’ and it makes me want to stab my ears out every time I hear it.

    And whenever I see ‘jeggings’ at a store, I want to scream.

    Ugh! URBAN GATHERING!!!

  12. Tanya says:

    “Body-snarking” makes me want to throw things. I’m adding the variants, “lady bits” and “lady-boner” to the dead-to-you “lady parts.” It bothers me that “amazeballs” is still around.

  13. purpleafricanprincess says:

    “fabulosity”- like wtf? Who made that one up
    “absolutely”- always used wrongly
    “babe”- used by anoyne over 21 pathetic

  14. Marky says:

    Yes, how is ‘amazeballs’ still around?

    I have to admit, ‘douche’ and all variants (‘douche bag,’ douche nozzle,’ ‘douchey’) are bugging me these days.

    I know we’ve written about ‘curated,’ but I still hear too many people use it without irony.

    ‘Heritage’ to describe a style of clothing is really disgusting, especially because I like most clothing that is described as ‘heritage.’

    ‘Partner’ used to describe a straight person’s husband or wife is gross.

  15. Aly says:

    “post-baby body” makes me crazy!

  16. kate says:

    i live in san francisco where “curate” is running rampant and wreaking havoc amid the vocabularies of the artist-hipster-brokeass-sombitches who think a sandwich shop makes for a fabulous location for a gallery opening.

  17. Ann says:

    I agree with all of yours. And I’m also with Tanya – “lady boner” has GOT to go. Honeypants – “totes” needs to disappear, and of course Marky is right in pointing out “curated.”

    I’ve also recently heard a run on the phrase “to the extent that,” used as follows: “Please invite Sister Wolf to the meeting, to the extent that she has an interest in attending.” STOP making things more verbose than they need to be!

  18. Tanya says:

    Yes, Ann! “to the extent that…”, “to the degree that..”! Awful. I just thought of another stupid convention that gets under my skin. It’s that thing where they list off something that is attractive/appealing to them in the form of a question, followed by a “Yes, please!” An example: “Raspberry macarons and mimosas followed by pedis with the girls? Yes, Please!!” No.

  19. Sister Wolf says:

    ARTISAN! How could I forget?!?

  20. Andra says:

    Jeggings!!

    What the fuck is a jegging?

  21. Srenna says:

    super-pac

    * So sick of slut-shaming!
    But Man Cave is super annoying. Every episode of House Hunters on HGTV employs this term. The lady part of the couple will trill over islands in the kitchen, and the guy part of the couple will look for his “man-cave”.

  22. Kellie says:

    these are far better than the list provided by “Superior”
    I agreee, all the fashiony words made up by hipster wannabees.
    Curated
    Thrifted
    And referring to pieces of clothing/accessories as “she”

    “she is a lovely coat”

    ugh

  23. Madame Fifi says:

    “A pop of color” makes me want to rip out my own intestines with a fork. Why, I don’t know, but I hate it. Also, “a red [or pink or brown or whatever] lip”. It’s called LIPSTICK.

    And, please, stop calling everything “amazing”. First of all, it rarely IS amazing, and secondly, get yourself a damned thesaurus.

  24. Debbie says:

    i now it’s an old saying but I CAN’T STAND YADA YADA YADA UGH!

  25. patni says:

    also i despise moto, it means nothing. Also curate and snag when you mean buy. All kinds of verbosity annoy me. TV newscasters seem to be particularly guilty of these kinds of idiocies.At this hour, at the noon hour, one of our own, fallen hero etc. One that always makes me laugh is when they ask a sports player or a bystander to a disaster how they felt and they say they felt all the emotions.

  26. kate says:

    what really bothers me about the word “jeggings” is that it’s jeans + leggings… and that could have just as easily been shortened to “leans”! which would be so much more clever! and easier on the ears, but i suspect we’d still be sick of it by now anyway.

    “i have a lady boner for this fashionista’s personally curated style. the most AMAZING skinnies and an AMAZING super-luxe bag she says she thrifted for a song – paired with a red lip for a pop of color? yes please!!”
    …just trying my hand at it.

  27. Cricket9 says:

    Oh god, I couldn’t agree more with everyone here. What a bunch of a smart people you are! I would add “Kardashian”.

  28. St. says:

    Really surprised not to see this on the list –

    “swag” — or anything to do with having “swagger”.

  29. shoestring says:

    “Seamless.”
    Also second Madame Fifi’s “pop of color.”

  30. mimi says:

    “‘fabulosity’- like wtf? Who made that one up?”

    purpleafricanprincess, i believe it was kimora lee simmons.

    oh and i agree with “lady boner” that is just plain AWFUL.

    i also despise the term “food baby” – revolting!

  31. kt says:

    “Cray” is like nails on a chalkboard to me.

  32. the other Debbie says:

    up tick
    seriously?
    man cave
    not words but so annoying: fist pumps and “bro” hugs

  33. Sister Wolf says:

    “To be honest,”

  34. Sister Wolf says:

    Marky -But I’m not done with “douche” yet! Last night I called the lead singer of Maroon 5 a douche and had a fight with my husband over it. If that guy’s not a douche, who the fuck is????????????????

  35. annemarie says:

    marky- amen! straight people who say “partner” should be burned at the stake.

  36. Jill says:

    Revirgination…

  37. Mr. San Pedro says:

    I admire everyone’s sensitivity to words. You all really brought your A game, I mean, you just brought it.

  38. diana says:

    patni-i LOATHE pair. it’s basically included in every description on modcloth.com and i can’t even go there anymore. i also hate how every fashion blogger thinks they’re being really innovative by suggesting that you “pair a biker jacket with a lace dress for a girly/edgy juxtaposition!”

    some of these are more expressions than anything, but…
    “wow. just…wow” as a reaction to something someone disapproves of
    “holy ____ batman”
    “first world problems”
    “check your privilege” (which doesn’t mean i’m against doing so, i just hate the phrase)

    yeah i’ll be back

  39. Jaimi says:

    Tacking on “-gate” to anything remotely scandalous. Fucking enough already.

  40. Victoria says:

    I second the ‘lip’ thing. And ‘lippie’ in addition. As in ‘she finished the look with a red lippie’.

    As for The University list, it seems rather pretentious. For example, ‘blowback’ vs. ‘reaction’: reaction is neutral, but blowback has a more negative connotation, so they are not fully interchangeable, are they?

  41. DCD says:

    Mommy Blog

  42. diana says:

    daily outfit
    sustainability
    fail
    “the boy” referring to boyfriends
    negging
    bridezilla

  43. Cristine says:

    My list is dated: “my bad”, “been there, done that” & worst of all, “you GO girl” which I heard on a daily basis last year when I was dealing with a broken hip-walking my dalmatian while using a cane & dragging my leg behind me. People would give encouragement by yelling “You GO Girl!” & while I realised they meant well I had an overwhelmong desire to slam them over the head with my cane.

  44. patni says:

    Squee! is it me or does it sound vaginal?

  45. annemarie says:

    The husband and I always joke about the lameness of “you GO girl!,” and we often use it in inappropriate situations because we think it’s funny. [example: “wait two seconds while I take a pee…you GO girl!”].

    But the other day when I was at work my psychic boundaries failed me, and private and public merged in a bad way. I was having trouble with the photocopier, and a woman I don’t know came and helped me fix it. We high-fived each other because neither of us had ever fixed a photocopier before. Five minutes later, after I had finished and was leaving, I saw the woman who had helped me busy making her own photocopies and, without thinking, I shouted “you GO girl” in her ear as I walked past.

    I’m fucking mortified now and haven’t set foot in the office since.

  46. kate says:

    sunnies. perhaps soon we will wear shoosies and hold baggies.

  47. Braindance says:

    Sister, that guy from Maroon 5 is the poster boy for douche, he is douche times 10 to the power of 9.

    I hope you won the argument, if it rears up again, to prove your point, just squeal in his face the chorus of his douche anthem song, moves like Jagger, who I also think is a massive douche, I like to call him Prick Jagger

    I don’t think I could have fit in any more commas if I tried, I obviously type like I speak, slowly with pauses.

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