There should be no more ‘circling back’ to a prior topic in the new year, according to Lake Superior State University’s influential annual list of banned words.
The work term, a modern alternative to ‘I’ll get back to you on that’, has been used frequently by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki over the past year, as she repeatedly dodged questions from reporters.
Her overuse of the term has led to several conservative memes and even a rap song compiling all the times she has uttered the phrase.
But the term ‘treats colloquy like an ice skating rink as if we must circle back to a prior subject,’ researchers at the Michigan university advised in their most recent list.
And one grammarian says it is ‘the most overused phrase in business, government or other organizations since ‘synergy,” which the university also banned in 2002.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki has been mocked for her overuse of the term ‘circle back’ at her press conferences. That term is now on Lake Superior State University’s annual list of banned words
Many of the other words on this year’s list were also banned for being overused, including ‘Wait, what’ and ‘No worries.’
‘Say what you mean and mean what you say,’ LSSU President Rodney S. Hanley said in a statement. ‘Can’t get any easier, or harder, than that.
‘Every year, submitters play hard at suggesting what words and terms to banish by paying close attention to what humanity utters and writes,’ he added.
The Michigan-based college has released its list of banned words and phrases every year since 1976, receiving thousands of entries each time. It releases its new list each year on New Years Eve to ‘start the New Year on the right foot, er, tongue.’
Over the past year, people have submitted more than 1,250 suggestions for consideration, with nominations coming in from not just the United States, but also from Norway, Belgium, England, Scotland, Australia and Canada.
‘Most people speak through informal discourse,’ said Peter Szatmary, executive director of marketing and communications at LSSU. ‘That’s the distinction nominators far and wide made, and our judges agreed with them.’
Though terms that related to the COVID pandemic dominated last year’s list, LSSU officials say this year’s lineup is more conversational, with only three words on this year’s list applying to the coronavirus.
‘One possible takeaway from all this about the act and art of disclosing something is the more things change, the more things stay the same,’ Szatmary suggested. ‘At the very least, it’s complicated.’
The Michigan-based college has released its list of banned words every year since 1976, receiving thousands of entries each time
The school received over 1,250 words for its Banished List this year from countries like the United States, Norway, Belgium, England, Scotland, Australia and Canada
Topping this year’s Banished Words list was the phrase ‘Wait, what,’ often used on social media, which those who nominated the term say is a failed ‘response to statement to express astonishment, misunderstanding or disbelief.’
Critics say it is overwrought.
The term ‘No worries,’ came in second place, as it has been used as an incorrect and often passive-aggressive substitute for ‘You’re Welcome.’ Contributors to the list also said the term could be insensitive. ‘If I’m not worried, I don’t want anyone telling me not to worry,’ they wrote. ‘If I am upset, I want to discuss being upset.’
Other words on this year’s list related to current events, including the overused phrase ‘the new normal,’ when describing living through a pandemic, and ‘You’re on mute,’ with one contributor writing: ‘We’re two years into remote working and visiting. It’s time for everyone to figure out where the mute button is.’
Also on this year’s list was ‘supply chain,’ which dominated the news cycle at the end of the year as COVID-related staff shortages led to a backlog in supplies and goods.
But as one nominator wrote: ‘Supply chain issues have become the scapegoat of everything that doesn’t happen or arrive on time and of every shortage.’
Lake Superior State University’s 2022 Banished Words List
- ‘Wait, what?’ – Most frequently found in text or on social media, this ubiquitous imperative question is a failed ‘response to a statement to express astonishment, misunderstanding, or disbelief,’ explained a wordsmith. ‘I hate it,’ added another, because the command query is an inexact method to convey the utterer’s uncertainty or surprise. ‘I don’t want to wait,’ either, continued the second impassioned nominator.
- ‘No worries’ – Nominated by writers nationwide for misuse and overuse, this phrase incorrectly substitutes for ‘You’re welcome’ when someone says ‘Thank you.’ A further bungling relates to insensitivity. ‘If I’m not worried, I don’t want anyone telling me not to worry,’ a contributor explicated. ‘If I am upset, I want to discuss being upset.’ Despite its meaninglessness, the term is recommended to emailers by Google Assistant.
- ‘At the end of the day’ – Twenty-plus years after original banishment of this phrase in 1999, the day still isn’t over for this misused, overused, and useless expression. ‘Many times things don’t end at the end of the day—or even the ramifications of whatever is happening,’ observed a sage. Others consider ‘day’ an imprecise measure. Today? Present times? Banishment in 1999: overused synopsis of a conversation or debate, often by politicians and pundits.
- ‘That being said’ – Nominators cited this phrase as verbal filler, redundant justification, and pompous posturing. For instance, ‘however’ or ‘but,’ – even ‘that said’—does the job as a transition instead of the wordiness. ‘Go ahead and say what you want already!’ demanded one entrant. That being said, its usefulness is certainly in doubt. As a commentator philosophized, ‘At the end of the day, if you will, it already has been.’
- ‘Asking for a friend’ – Misuse and overuse through deceit—because the friend is a ruse. This cutesy phrase, often deployed in social media posts in a coy attempt to deter self-identification, isn’t fooling anyone. Paraphrasing one sage, ‘Once used to avoid embarrassment, as in, ‘Do you know a good proctologist? I’m asking for a friend.’ Sometimes an occasional sitcom joke. Now an overused tag with absolutely no relationship to its antecedent.’
- ‘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’s circle back about why to banish this jargon. It’s a conversation, not the Winter Olympics. Opined a grammarian, ‘The most overused phrase in business, government, or other organization since ‘synergy”—which we banished in 2002 as evasive blanket terminology and smarty-pants puffery.
- ‘Deep dive’ – ‘The only time to dive into something is when entering a body of water, not going more in-depth into a particular subject or book,’ admonished a petitioner. Another stipulated that people who float the phrase aren’t near pool, lake, ocean, or sea; thus, rather than dive deeply, they flounder shallowly. An editing whiz wondered, ‘Do we need ‘deep?’ I mean, does anyone dive into the shallow end?’
- ‘New normal’ – Overused catchall for ways COVID-19 affects humankind—and banishment finalist last year for similar reasons. ‘Those clamoring for the days of old, circa 2019, use this to signal unintentionally that they haven’t come to terms with what ‘normal’ means,’ a monitor elucidated. ‘After a couple of years, is any of this really ‘new?” another speculated. Banished in 2012 for imprudence, defeatism, and apathy stemming from societal missteps.
- ‘You’re 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: ‘We’re two years into remote working and visiting. It’s time for everyone to figure out where the mute button is.’ Or as a quipster summarized, ‘Hello? Hello?’
- ‘Supply chain’ – Word-watchers noticed the frequent, unfortunate appearance of this phrase toward the end of this year as the coronavirus persisted. ‘It’s become automatically included in reporting of consumer goods shortages or perceived shortages. In other words, a buzzword,’ concluded one analyst. ‘Supply chain issues have become the scapegoat of everything that doesn’t happen or arrive on time and of every shortage,’ noticed another. The adverse result: overuse ad nauseam.
