As a person who has always loved words, there are many in today’s society that I do not like at all.
At top of the list would probably be cancel culture. First of all, you cannot cancel a culture. Getting rid of statues and monuments does not change history either which is what I believe is the ulterior motive. Those statues and monuments get people to thinking for themselves and asking questions about the story behind the moment and do research. Doing away with them may stop people from doing research or asking questions or doing research but it does not change the facts at all. The people removing statues and monuments are the same people who are offended by a plastic potato.
Another word I dislike, actually always have, is normal. What is normal anyway? Depends on your perspective and one person’s normal is not the same for another person. I’ve always said normal was just a setting on the washing machine and dryer. So we need to quit talking about a new normal. No such thing.
Next one up is “woke”. Really? You are awake, not woke. This has nothing to do with the great awakening. Not sure who came up with that, but it blows my mind. It actually is a word but I don’t think it should be one.
Oh, I realize language evolves and slang is used a lot, but some words should never become actual words and I don’t have to like them or use them. That includes the word “amirite”. It is an informal spelling of am I right? Geeze. I can’t even comment on that one because it’s so ridiculous.
The Dunning-Kruger effect is the theory that a person who lacks skill or expertise also lacks the insight to accurately evaluate this deficit, resulting in a persistent inflation of estimated competence in self-assessments.” In other words, the Dunning-Kruger effect explains why a boss doesn’t realize how bad a boss he/she is.
As if anxiety doesn’t explain things already we have “ecoanxiety”. This is a specific form of anxiety caused by a dread of environmental perils, especially climate change, and a feeling of helplessness over the potential consequences for those living now and even more so for those of later generations. Really?
“Empty suit” is a slang term for “an executive, manager, or official regarded as ineffectual, incompetent, or lacking in leadership qualities such as creativity and empathy.” A manager who can’t get anything done and then blames someone else until they break down in tears is an empty suit.
Yes, I’m old fashioned, I know but I don’t like the words gender reveal. A “gender reveal” is “a party, online video, or other way in which the gender of an unborn baby is publicly revealed.” Some people, like me, think gender reveal parties are tacky, but plenty of parents-to-be are still hosting them. But if that’s what you want, then so be it.
We all definitely know what a “goat” is, but “GOAT”—note the capital letters—is an acronym meaning “greatest of all time.” Michael Jordan and President Donald Trump have both been called this. I don’t need this acronym to describe anyone and like the original meaning just fine.
“Ish” is not only a little hard to explain, but it’s an adverb “used to modify or moderate something previously stated or as a vague reply to a question.” If you thought your food was just OK and someone asks, “Did you enjoy your meal?” you could simply answer, “Ish.” Why won’t a simple yes or no suffice in this case?
“Information bubble” is another way of saying “media bubble,” which means “an environment in which one’s exposure to news, entertainment, social media, etc., represents only one ideological or cultural perspective and excludes or misrepresents other points of view.” If you’ve carefully curated your social media feed to just be people you agree with, you might be in an information bubble. When I hear those words, I think about a bubble over someone’s head with words in them.
“Janky” can mean “inferior in quality,” but also “untrustworthy; disreputable.” You might call someone a janky man or a car janky. Okay. Why not just say it’s inferior?
“Nothingburger” is slang for “an often highly publicized event or situation that is said to have less impact or significance than expected.” Mainstream news programs, in my book, are nothingburgers, but I don’t use that word. Sounds more like some kind of diet to me.
We can thank social media for the word “Sharent”. It can be a verb meaning “to frequently use social media to share photos or other details and information about one’s child,” or a noun for a person who does so. If you’ve spent all day sharenting, you need to put that phone down and move on.
We can’t get away from the phrase and concept of “social distance”. Though it existed before 2020, now we also use it as a verb meaning “to maintain a safe or appropriate distance from other people, especially to slow the spread of a contagious illness or disease.” Amid COVID, we’ve all learned how to social distance from each other which in reality, is not a good thing and can actually do more harm than good. Science even proves this point, but I am not a scientist. I just happen to dislike the words.