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MICHIGAN — If you could choose to ban a word from the English language, which one would it be?
The annual list of words people wish they never heard again, dubbed the "List of Words to be Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness," was released Tuesday by Lake Superior State University in Michigan. The school fielded nominations from people around the world to find out which words they wished would just disappear in 2014 the most.
"Selfie" topped the list of words people disliked. Interestingly, the word used to describe a picture taken of yourself was also deemed the word of the year for 2013 by Oxford Dictionaries.
Nominators appeared to have a bone to pick with social media, with the words "hashtag" and "twittersphere" also making appearance on the list.
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In these hyper-connected, over-shared times dwell two kinds of people: those preoccupied with taking and uploading photos of themselves and those who have never heard of the selfie.“A technical term for a useful means of categorizing content in social media, the word (hashtag) is abused as an interjection in verbal conversation and advertising. # annoying!” wrote Bob of Grand Rapids, Mich.
They also seem to be unamused by people who add the suffixes "ageddon" or "pocolypse" to every situation.
“Every passing storm or event is tagged as ice-ageddon or snow-pocalypse," wrote Rob of Sellersville, Penn. "There’s a limited supply of ...ageddons and ...pocalypses; I believe it’s one, each. When running out of cashews becomes nut-ageddon, it’s time to re-evaluate your metaphors.”
In fact, nominators didn't seem to be a fan of politics at all, with the word "politics" itself making the list. Another notable word they never wanted to encounter again was "Obamacare."
When running out of cashews becomes nut-ageddon, it's time to re-evaluate your metaphors.
–Rob
People also quickly grew tired of another word newly admitted into the Oxford Dictionary in 2013 — "twerk." Sean, from New Hampshire, said it was "the fastest over-used word of the 21st century.”
This year is the 39th year Lake Superior State University has released the list of banished words. Nominations for next year's list can be made on their website. Keep your ears peeled for nominations.
The complete list of banned words and phrases:
- Selfie
- Twerk/Twerking
- Hashtag
- Twittersphere
- Mister Mom
- T-Bone
- __ on Steroids
- Suffering Suffixes
- -ageddon
- -pocolypse
- Politics
- Intellectually/Morally Bankrupt
- Obamacare
- Sports Adversity
- Fan Base
