University Releases Annual Banished Words List, and It’s the GOAT!
January 12, 2023
Have you ever been gaslighted into thinking that a word you’re using means what you think it means — only to find out that it doesn't? You’re not alone. Every year, the Lake Superior State of Michigan releases a list of words that’ve been overused or misused — this year, the university released its annual Banished Words List for 2023. Here are a few words you might’ve been using but you shouldn’t — at least not too much!
2023’s List of Banished Words
GOAT
Who do you think is better? Muhammad Ali or Rafael Nadal? Cristiano Ronaldo or Khabib Nurmagomedov? Usain Bolt or LeBron James? That’s right! It’s impossible to rank who the GOAT (acronym for "Greatest of All Time") is when there are far too many athletes who excel in their own respective sports — and there’s a high likelihood that new and better athletes will come after them. Peter Szatmary, the spokesperson of the Lake State said, “The singularity of 'greatest of all time' cannot happen, no way, no how. And instead of being selectively administered, it's readily conferred,” — the university wants this word banished because deeming the Greatest of All Time is quite impossible.
Gaslighting
We’ve all been tricked, deceived, or bamboozled before, but — hopefully — not everyone has experienced gaslighting in its truest and most sadistic form. The overuse of the word “gaslighting” found its way into many people’s vocabularies to the point that it practically lost its true meaning. Because of that trend, Lake Superior State wishes this Merriam-Webster’s 2022 Word of the Year were banished from our day-to-day conversations.
Quiet Quitting
Another word that made it to the Banished Words List is “Quiet Quitting.” If you ever refused to go above and beyond the call of workplace duty, you might be a quiet quitter. However, Lake Superior State University said that it practically means to work like any employee should — they emphasize that it’s not an act of defiance where employees refuse to be “exploited.”
Irregardless
Are you Team Regardless or Team Irregardless? Despite “irregardless” becoming a word recognized by dictionaries like Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster (albeit considered non-standard), many who submitted to the Lake State’s annual Banished Words List are still not on board with the idea of officializing “irregardless” as an addition to everyone’s vocabulary — they claim that “regardless” works just fine.
It Is What it Is
This is not the first time “it is what it is” made its way to the list. (The phrase already debuted in the list of banished words back in 2008.) If you ever used this conclusion to end an argument, then you might be disappointed to know that the university doesn’t want you to keep on using that all the time. One user who submitted the word said that the phrase is simply just an “excuse not to deal with reality or accept responsibility."
Ultimately,
The words that made it to this year’s Banished Words List are merely submissions from different nominators — and your ways of expressing your sentiments and how you voice out the statements you make are still up to how you want them said. However, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to be more articulate with your words. At the end of the day, it is what it is!
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.
