ChrisWeigant.com

The Absolutely Amazing GOAT Banished Words List

[ Posted Monday, January 2nd, 2023 – 17:23 UTC ]

A new year dawns, and as always, we look to the north... way north... so far north it's almost Canada! Yes, it is time once again for our annual pilgrimage to the shores of Gitche Gumee to see what words and phrases the learnèd language mavens of the Lake Superior State University (in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan) have deemed so offensive that they have officially banished them.

This year they seem to be continuing a new trend where they limit the list to only ten entries. We understand it's a nice round number, but have to wonder if it isn't a bit limiting -- since there are so many misused or overused or just plain trite things being said on a routine basis these days.

This year's top entry (in both the voting and the headlines the list generated) is "GOAT" (which is acronymically the "Greatest Of All Time," of course). This certainly presents a challenge, when writing about the list. Will this be our own GOAT column about the banished words list? Well, probably not, but we soldier on nonetheless.

You can follow along here or check out this year's press release, or read individual explanations for the awards at the Banished Words List home page. Such as their explanation for the greatest/worst of the year, which points out the contradictory nature of adopting the term in the first place:

The acronym for Greatest of All Time gets the goat of petitioners and judges for overuse, misuse, and uselessness. "Applied to everyone and everything from athletes to chicken wings," an objector declared. "How can anyone or anything be the GOAT, anyway?" Records fall; time continues. Some sprinkle GOAT like table salt on "anyone who's really good." Another wordsmith: ironically, "goat" once suggested something unsuccessful; now, GOAT is an indiscriminate flaunt.

[Editorial note: While we did appreciate and applaud the succinct and poetic nature of: "records fall; time continues," we were truly tempted to toss a few "[sic]" notations in there, since by our stylebook everything from "ironically" to the last word should have been enclosed in quotation marks (since it is a direct quote). Additionally, we also would have capitalized "Of" in the spelled-out phrase, since the initial letter is indeed part of the acronym (Otherwise it would be "GAT"). But in the end, we decided it was better not to annoy the powerful L.S.S.U. poobahs, and so we decided to refrain from editorializing.]

Kidding aside, let's take a look at the full list for 2023:

GOAT

Inflection point

Quiet quitting

Gaslighting

Moving forward

Amazing

Does that make sense?

Irregardless

Absolutely

It is what it is

Inflection point, it is pointed out, is a pointless way to say "pivot." One "quipster" remarked: "inflection point has reached its saturation point and point of departure," which is certainly on point (and to the point). A salient point was also made that quiet quitting is not, in actuality, quitting; it is merely what used to be called in America "normal job performance."

Gaslighting has been both overused and misused, but we have to agree that it deserves banishment solely for the fact that it is so outdated -- whom among us has ever used a gaslight (not counting Coleman lanterns, of course)? And few have ever seen either the play or the movies where the word originated (although PBS did air it last year as one of their weekly movies).

Both amazing and absolutely were included on the list for rampant (and, apparently, ongoing) overuse. Amazing is a "glorious word" which "should be reserved for that which is dazzling, moving, or awe-inspiring," while absolutely is frequently "said too loudly by annoying people who think they're better than you." Ouch!

We are downright astonished that "irregardless" seems to never have made the list before now, seeing as how the list's tradition spans over four decades. As one nominator put it: "It makes my hair hurt." We would tend to agree.

Overall, we have to say we found this year's list to be somewhat redundant if not skating right up to the edge of what the list was created to fight in the first place -- overuse. Three (count them, three) out of the reduced list of only ten are repeat offenders previously banished in earlier lists. Amazing (2012), absolutely (1996), and it is what it is (2008) all took the places that could easily have been occupied by more recent and egregious offenders (such as one that has been personally annoying us for the past few weeks: using "elected" as a noun equivalent to "elected officials," as in: "our party's electeds did well in this year's midterms"... or, even worse, the overuse of "election-deniers" to mean "conspiracy theorists who are completely divorced from reality").

 

It is what it is, we suppose. Every year's list -- by definition, in fact -- can't be the GOAT. Irregardless, we absolutely do hope that the list will start moving forward a bit next year and avoid all the redundant repeat offenders -- or we're going to suspect the entire L.S.S.U. team of doing a bit of quiet quitting themselves. After all, such repetitiveness just smacks of gaslighting us all into believing that these terms hadn't already been banished. In fact, if the list's authors were to announce that no phrase can ever make the list a second time -- how could it, when it has been banished? -- we would agree that this would be an amazing inflection point. Does that make sense?

-- Chris Weigant

 

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

 

26 Comments on “The Absolutely Amazing GOAT Banished Words List”

  1. [1] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    I hope it's still okay to use - not overuse - one of my favourite phrases ... absolutely, positively, unequivocally! ... at least until Biden is president no more. Heh.

  2. [2] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Only a few have ever seen the Gaslight movies? Really?! I admit I haven't seen the play but, those movies are great!

  3. [3] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    Nice finish!

  4. [4] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    "on the same page" is a phrase i could do without.

  5. [5] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    There is and always shall be only one "greatest of all time"

  6. [6] 
    andygaus wrote:

    If you're going to act superior about other people's capitalization, can we have a full apology for saying, "Whom among us...?" That doesn't just make my hair hurt. It makes my lunch undigest.

  7. [7] 
    nypoet22 wrote:
  8. [8] 
    andygaus wrote:

    "Who" for "whom" is not so terrible. In many cases, it's the way most people speak. But "whom" for "who" is intolerable. It leaps off the page and spits in your face. It's especially irritating because "whom" suggests that somebody is trying to be super-correct, and in this case doesn't appear to know that "who" is used for the subject of a sentence, about the most basic grammar around. So, Chris, do we get an apology? I'm serious. If you nitpick about other people's capitalization or punctuation, you should be willing to acknowledge a major goof in basic grammar.

  9. [9] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    joshua,

    There wasn't. Any doubt in the universe, I mean.

  10. [10] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    any version of "step up" - be it to the plate or the occasion, ought to be banned.

  11. [11] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    [5]

    Why, Muhammad Ali of course.

  12. [12] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Full disclosure: Lake Superior State University gave my tall niece a volleyball scholarship, it turns out. And it’s in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Like many Detroiters I wouldn’t care if Canada invaded and annexed the U.P. It wouldn’t even be America’s Crimea to me. Have at it, Elizabeth!

  13. [13] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    RCMP is conducting a SMO to de-nazify Yooperville.

  14. [14] 
    Elizabeth Miller wrote:

    I'm not a fighter, I'm a lover. :)

  15. [15] 
    MtnCaddy wrote:

    Hey, CW. Don’t you wish that you saved Republicans in Disarray for today’s festivities? I know, I know, whodathunk that the GQP clown show would start out this way.

    **NEWS FLASH**

    Jeffries falls short of Speakership — leads rival McCarthy 211-202 on first ballot.

  16. [16] 
    Kick wrote:

    CW

    It is what it is, we suppose. Every year's list -- by definition, in fact -- can't be the GOAT. Irregardless, we absolutely do hope that the list will start moving forward a bit next year and avoid all the redundant repeat offenders -- or we're going to suspect the entire L.S.S.U. team of doing a bit of quiet quitting themselves. After all, such repetitiveness just smacks of gaslighting us all into believing that these terms hadn't already been banished. In fact, if the list's authors were to announce that no phrase can ever make the list a second time -- how could it, when it has been banished? -- we would agree that this would be an amazing inflection point. Does that make sense?

    Without gaslighting you or whining about how it is what it is, you're the GOAT when it comes to addressing these banished words and have composed an absolutely amazing piece of writing here, but irregardless of that and moving forward, if you could reach an inflection point contained in one sentence versus a meandering paragraph, perhaps no one would ever accuse you of quiet quitting or deign to ask you a question like, "Does that make sense?"

    So, to recap: One and done. *winks*

  17. [17] 
    Kick wrote:

    Elizabeth Miller
    1

    I hope it's still okay to use - not overuse - one of my favourite phrases ... absolutely, positively, unequivocally! ... at least until Biden is president no more. Heh.

    You do you... just learn how to spell "favorite" while you're doing it. ;P

  18. [18] 
    Kick wrote:

    nypoet22
    4

    "on the same page" is a phrase i could do without.

    It seems the Democrats are on the same page while the GQP and Trumplicans have got that civil war they keep prattling on and on about. Poor Qevin.

  19. [19] 
    Kick wrote:

    nypoet22
    5

    There is and always shall be only one "greatest of all time"

    I presume you're referring to Ali? If you're not, you should be.

  20. [20] 
    Kick wrote:

    nypoet22
    7

    and in case there was any doubt in the universe about who i meant...

    Exactly! :)

  21. [21] 
    Kick wrote:

    andygaus
    8

    But "whom" for "who" is intolerable. It leaps off the page and spits in your face.

    That's exactly what happened to me when I read your [6] andygaus, and it's all your fault.

    So, Chris, do we get an apology?

    You first... and quickly too, before the saliva drips off my rosy cheek.

    I'm serious.

    I'm not. :)

  22. [22] 
    Kick wrote:

    MtnCaddy
    15

    I know, right!? McCarthy had 19 defectors on the first ballot and by the third ballot he's now got 20! Moving in the wrong direction, and I would wager Democrats aren't going to help him... but we'll see.

    So, I'm talking to you, Qevin; I sure hope you didn't unpack those boxes you already moved into the Speaker's office because it looks like you'll be following your buddy Donald and moving out.

    No offense, but anyone who bows to Trump looks like an ignorant asshole to me, and Qevin was already certifiably stupid.

  23. [23] 
    nypoet22 wrote:

    @kick,

    [Loosely paraphrased]
    Anyone who thinks it could be someone else must be dreaming, and they should wake up and apologize

  24. [24] 
    Kick wrote:

    Heh.

  25. [25] 
    ListenWhenYouHear wrote:

    Kick,[16]

    I believe you left one thing off; a “(drops microphone)” at the end of your post! Another overly used phrase that deserves the “old heave-ho!”… that someone should “stick a fork in it, because it is DONE!”

    Love ya! A belated Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to you!

    R

  26. [26] 
    Kick wrote:

    Love you, Russ! :)

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