Throw out your New Year's resolutions! No more "New year, new me!" No more major life changes you'll abandon in 72 hours. Instead, let's just stop using certain words that are terrible.
Not just any old words, though. Only the most irritating words: the ones on Lake Superior State University's annual List of Banished Words for Mis-Use, Over-Use, and General Uselessness.
LSSU published their first list in 1976, which means next year will be their 50th. And this year is my 20th consecutive year writing about it — out of the 29+ years I've been writing this column — which means my LSSU list era continues uninterrupted.
Except "era" has been banished by the Lake Superior Language Sheriffs for overuse, saying it "has made every fleeting moment feel like it demands a historical marker." Personally, I blame Taylor Swift, and I realize saying that will undoubtedly earn the hate and animosity of millions of Swifties. Or it would if anyone actually read this column.
Just like they have for the last few years, LSSU only came up with ten words for this year's list, which is just bush-league because there are dozens of words I'd like to banish. I feel like they're not even trying anymore. Hopefully, their 50-year anniversary will be a real game-changer.
But no, "game-changer" got the chop, too. As they said in this year's press release, "This phrase, often used to describe anything remotely innovative, is as tired as a well-worn cliché."
I blame marketers for overusing it to the point of uselessness — pretty much everything they do is useless anyway, and I say that as a professional marketer.
They call every new development in their me-too app a game-changer, and they're so breathless about their praising that they get light-headed and pass out.
"Our best-of-breed new blue logo is a real game changer!"
"We optimized bleeding-edge functionalities into our platform as a real game changer."
"AI, AI, AI, blah, blah, crypto, AI, blah, game changer."
"Skibidi" made the list, and I could not be more excited. I first learned about the word last year and hated it the moment I heard it. If there was ever anything that made me weep for the future of our planet, it was learning that Gen Alpha used this word with a straight face. If LSSU does an all-star list for their 50th, Skibidi is my choice for Dumbest Word Ever, 100%.
Or I would, but "100%" has been banned because "its overuse has left no room for nuance or doubt."
"Since when should a percentage be used to describe your agreement in a conversation?" affirmed Stephen from Sudbury, Ontario.
I'm 50/50 on whether to ban it based on that argument. I, uh, completely agree without exception that it has been overused, but I'm six of one, half dozen of the other over whether it needs to be banished altogether. I'm also 99% sure that Stephen has used a percentage to describe a conversational agreement before, so his take on this is just cringe.
Except "cringe" has also been banished. Last year, LSSU banished "cringe-worthy," but didn't actually tackle "cringe," so now they're cleaning up the leftovers.
To be clear, they are not banishing the word completely — the verb usage is OK, the adjective is not. That is, "I cringed that the word 'skibidi'" is in; "a 57-year-old man saying 'skibidi' is cringe" is out, so they haven't dropped it completely.
"Dropped" has been dropped this year for overuse. It seems that everything from albums to books to movies is dropped when they actually mean available for order. It's the word people use when they want to sound cool, but they should just utilize a whole different word instead.
But they can't because "utilize" finally made the list, and I'm surprised it took this long.
I could have sworn "utilize" was banished years ago, but apparently not. It's one of the words I refuse to ever use except to make fun of people who utilize it just so they can sound smart. When I worked in state government, there were plenty of people who misused and overused this one, and it was pretty useless to begin with.
Just say "use." It's shorter, and it means the same exact thing. Don't make things more useless than they already are.
"Sorry, not sorry."
Or I would be if the non-apology apology hadn't been one of LSSU's Terrible Ten. They said it "feels as disingenuous as it sounds," and they recommend just saying what you mean or even trying to be a little kind. As Sabrina from Minnesota said, "(It's) giving people another reason to be jerks to one another."
So, either apologize or show the other person your "driving finger."
If you know, you know.
But guess what else has been banned: "IFYKYK" was booted for being both irritating and nonsensical. It doesn't add anything to the conversation except as a wink and a tap on the side of your nose to people who are in on your obscure references.
And so that's LSSU's take on banished words for 2025. "Period."
Uh-oh.
Photo credit: Bronyfireman (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons 3.0)
My new humor novel, Mackinac Island Nation, is finished and available from 4 Horsemen Publications. You can get the ebook and print versions here.