Here are this year’s class of banishments and rationale courtesy of the university.
1. 6-7 (six seven): “There are six or seven reasons why this phrase needs to be stopped,” says Paul E. from Wis. The top banishment this year, Scott T. from UT adds, “it’s time for ‘6-7′ to be 86’ed.”
2. Demure: “It’s very said more than very done, and we’re all very done hearing it!” remarks Tammy S. Often used in the phrase ‘very demure, very mindful,’ Madison C. shares that the overuse “waters down the real meaning.”
3. Cooked: Parents and guardians led the charge on this one, with some feeling this isn’t enough. James C. from Wash. suggests a ban of “all forms of the word cook,” hoping that hearing them will become rare.
4. Massive: “Way overused! (often incorrectly),” exclaims Don and Gail K. from Minn.
5. Incentivize: In the longstanding effort to turn nouns into verbs, this is another culprit. Two separate submissions likened hearing this word to “nails on a chalkboard.” Patricia from TX asks, “What’s wrong with motivate?”
6. Full stop:“ For the same reason ‘period’ was banished… redundant punctuation,” explains Marybeth A. from Ore.
7. Perfect: “There are very few instances when the word actually applies,” notes Jo H. from Calif. Often heard during customer service interactions, Char S. from OH wonders: “How do they know it’s perfect…what does that mean?”
8. Gift/gifted (as a verb): “I found this on the 1994 list, but it will make me feel better to recommend that it be included once again,” reveals James S. from Okla. Another case of a noun being used as a verb.
9. My Bad: In the 1998 banishment, Elizabeth P. from Mich. suggested, “students and adults sound infantile when using this to apologize.” The phrase hasn’t matured in credibility since then. Andrea R. from OH shared, “It does not convey much meaning in the way of an apology.”
10. Reach Out: First banished in 1994, this saying has strayed from the positive message it once intended to deliver. “What started as a phrase with emotional support overtones has now become absurdly overused,” asserts Kevin B. from the United Kingdom.
To nominate a word or phrase for 2027, or for more information on the tradition, visit lssu.edu/traditions/banishedwords.
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