Wait, what? According to Lake Superior State University, that is the number one offender on its annual list of words and phrases that need to be banned in 2022.
“Most people speak through informal discourse. Most people shouldn’t misspeak through informal discourse. That’s the distinction nominators far and wide made, and our judges agreed with them,” said Peter Szatmary, executive director of marketing and communications at LSSU.
This year, more than 1,250 words and terms were nominated for banishment from people in the U.S, Norway, Belgium, England, Scotland, Australia, and Canada.
The new list is made up of 10 words, including three related to COVID-19.
- Wait, what?
- No Worries
- At the end of the day
- That being said
- Asking for a friend
- Circle back
- Deep dive
- New normal
- You’re on mute
- Supply chain
LSSU has been releasing its list of banned words since 1976, according to the school in what starter off “as an imaginative publicity stunt.” Since then, it’s grown into an opportunity for people around the world to air their grievances.
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: “detente,” “surely,” “classic,” “bromance,” and “COVID-19,” plus “wrap my head around,” “user friendly,” “at this point in time,” “not so much,” and “viable alternative.” The Banished Words List has become such a cultural phenomenon that comedian George Carlin submitted an entry that made the annals in 1994: “baddaboom, baddabing.”
“Say what you mean and mean what you say. Can’t get any easier, or harder, than that,” said LSSU President Dr. Rodney S. Hanley. “Every 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?”
