‘Amazing,’ ‘baby bump’ among words added to Michigan school’s banished list
If you’re thinking of setting up an amazing man cave or showing off a ginormous baby bump next year, think again.
A northern Michigan school on Friday released its 37th annual list of words and phrases that it believes should be “banished” from the English language, and it suggests that some classic — and perhaps hackneyed — should get the ax.
Lake Superior State University once again solicited people online to nominate terms they consider tired, overused or simply annoying. Based on those submissions, the arbiters at the school decided to put the following on this year’s chopping block: “amazing,” “baby bump,” “shared sacrifice,” “occupy,” “blowback,” “man cave,” “ginormous” and “the new normal.”
“Pet parent,” “win the future,” “trickeration” and “thank you in advance” also have been unofficially sentenced to linguistic exile for the crimes of excessive and inappropriate usage, according to the university in Sault Sainte Marie on the Canadian border.
“Worn-out words and phrases are the new normal this year, but with some shared sacrifice, we can clean up the language and win the future,” a school representative said in a written statement. “With the addition of this year’s nominations, the list of words and phrases banished over the years has become ginormous.”