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– Even as vaccines are being rolled out to combat COVID-19, wordmakers at Lake Superior State University in Michigan say they want to kick any trace of the term out of the English language. Seven of the best words or phrases selected for 2021 for the school’s annual light-hearted compilation of banned words and phrases are related to the virus, with “COVID-19” leading the way. “Unknown,” which was banned in 2002, has been restored to the list, according to the AP. “Coronavirus” and “social distancing” are covered, along with “we’re all in this together”, “with an abundance of caution” and “in these uncertain times”. Of the more than 1,450 nominations sent to the school, about 250 words and terms suggested for banning for overuse, abuse, or uselessness had something to do with the virus.
“Certainly, COVID-19 is unprecedented at wreaking havoc and destroying lives,” members of the Banished Words List committee said in a press release Thursday. “But that also applies to the excessive reliance on ‘unknown’ to frame things, so it must also disappear.” The school in Sault Ste. Marie has compiled the list every year since 1976 to “uphold, protect and sustain excellence in language by encouraging the avoidance of words and terms that are overworked, redundant, oxymoronic, clichéd, illogical, nonsensical – and otherwise ineffective,” be baffling or annoying. ”The non-virus words and phrases that topped the list include ‘pivot’, ‘Karen’, ‘sus’ (short for ‘suspicious’) and ‘I know, right?’ “In a small way, this list may help flatten the curve that was also considered for exile,” said LSSU president Rodney Hanley in a press release. “We trust that your ‘new normal’ – another contender among the nominations – will no longer have to contain that for next year.”
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