Buh-Bye, Baby Bump: The Banished Words of 2012

Earlier this year, Lake Superior State University published their annual list of “banished words.” The college accepts nominations each year for words and phrases people wish would disappear from the English language. The big winner for 2012 was “amazing,” which received more than 1,500 nominations from across the world. Said one of the nominators, JP from British Columbia, Canada, “The word which once aptly described the process of birth is now used to describe such trivial things as toast, or the color of a shirt.”

Talk show hosts and reality show contestants were cited as frequent “amazing” abusers. “Anderson Cooper used it three times recently in the opening 45 seconds of his program,” said Sarah Howley of Kalamazoo, Michigan. “My teeth grate, my hackles rise and even my dog is getting annoyed at this senseless overuse.”

Here are a few of this year’s dishonorable mentions: “baby bump,” “man cave” and “blowback.” You can read the complete list on the university’s site.

I’m in accordance with all these word exiles. I’d also like to nominate “turnkey,” “real-time” and “bleeding edge” (sounds disgusting). Like the official 2012 banished words, these words have been overused to the point where their meaning is diluted. Let’s ration these words so that when one is actually applicable, it has its full power.

If you were the Word Supreme Ruler (hello, your Excellency!), what words would you banish from the language?