Lake Superior State University in Michigan has come out with their annual “Banished Words List,” featuring words folks need to stop saying due to “"overuse, misuse, or uselessness.” Overall, 1,450 words and phrases were nominated, with 250 related to the coronavirus, seven of which made the Top Ten. There were also non-COVID words like “Karen,” and “sus,” short for suspicious.
2021 Banished Words List
- COVID-19 (and related-words COVID, coronavirus and Rona)
- Social Distancing
- “We’re all in this together”
- “In an abundance of caution”
- “In these uncertain times”
- Pivot
- Unprecedented
- Karen
- Sus
- “I know right?”