‘Bigly,’ ‘On Fleek,’ ‘Dadbod’: 2017 List of Banished Words

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI — “Bigly,” which President-elect Donald Trump may or may not have said during a campaign debate in September, is among 19 words and phrases the wordsmiths at a state university in Michigan think should be banished in 2017. A viral firestorm followed Trump’s (alleged) use of the word:

Did Trump just say “bigly?” He either said he was going to cut taxes “bigly” or “big league.” Is that even a word? Yes. Bigly is archaic — or was until Trump brought it out of obscurity — but it’s a word. Did he use it correctly? Probably not, but if he did, that in itself is pretty darned funny. The 19th Century words means “in a swelling, blustery manner.” So he’s going to cut taxes in a swelling, blustery manner — that is to say, bigly? Sounds about right.

But the wordsmiths at Lake Superior State University prefer that “bigly” be consigned again to the dungeons of Medieval castles, including it among 19 on the 42nd annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.” The first list of banishment-worthy words was compiled in 1975 by the late W.T. Rabe, a public relations director at the university, and it was so popular among language purists that the university has kept it going. Since 1977, the cringe-worthy list has been curated from nominations received from around the world.

Nominators must have had election fatigue (who didn’t?). Could there be a call to the president-elect to “ghost” his presence on Twitter? The word, according to the list’s editors, means “to abruptly end communication, especially on social media.”

“Is it rejection angst, or is this word really as overused as word-banishment nominators contend? Either way, our committee feels the pain,” the lists editors wrote.

However, if Trump were to suddenly “ghost,” on social media, it might “get the dandruff up” of some of his supporters (or at least of Trump impersonator Alec Baldwin and the writers for “Saturday Night Live”). We’re just supposing here. Regarding “Get your dandruff up,” the selection committee “is not sure why this malapropism got nominators' dander up in 2016.”

Also on the 2017 list, along with the committee’s comments and a few of our own.

You, Sir: This phrase harkens back to a civilized era when disagreements — for example, “You, sir, are behaving bigly” — often ended in duels. Today, it’s a phrase that betrays the true motives of online trolls and internet shamers.

Focus: This is a useful word, but too often used as a synonym for “concentrate” or “look at.” This is the second time — the first was in 1983 — LSSU has urged it be banished. Focus, people.

Bête Noire: Admit it, you’ve heard someone say this and have no idea what they’re talking about. Some synonyms for this over-rused phrase are bugbear, pet peeve, bug-boo, pain, or pest to nominators.

Town Hall Meeting: “Candidates seldom debate in town halls anymore. Needs to be shown the door along with ‘soccer mom(s)’ and ‘Joe Sixpack’ (banned in 1997).”

Post-Truth: “To paraphrase the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, we are entitled to our own opinions but not to our own facts.”

Guesstimate: “When guess and estimate are never enough.”

831: The inclusion of this on the list is anecdotal evidence of the collapse of the Queen’s English. “A texting encryption of, I love you: 8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning. Never encrypt or abbreviate one's love,” the editors wrote.

Historic: Apparently, we in the contemporary media toss this word around entirely too much and should leave it to historians to decide if a thing is historic or not. Consider us properly shamed. At least the editors didn’t say, “You, sir, use ‘historic’ entirely too much.”

Manicured: The act of clipping one’s fingernails and cuticles has become an analogy for mowing the lawn and the nominators don’t like it. “Golf greens are the closest grass comes to being manicured,” the editors wrote.

Echo Chamber: “Lather, rinse, and repeat. After a while, everything sounds the same.”

On Fleek: “Anything that is on-point, perfectly executed, or looking good. Needs to return to its genesis: perfectly groomed eyebrows.”

Dadbod: “The flabby opposite of a chiseled-body male ideal. Should not empower dads to pursue a sedentary lifestyle.”

Listicle: “Numbered or bulleted list created primarily to generate views on the Web, LSSU's word-banishment list excluded.”

Selfie Drone: “In what could be an ominous development, the selfie — an irritating habit of constantly photographing and posting oneself to social media — is being handed off to a flying camera. How can this end badly?”

Frankenfruit: “Another food group co-opted by ‘frankenfood.’ Not to be confused with other forms of genetically modified language.”

Disruption: “Nominators are exhausted from 2016's disruption. When humanity looks back on zombie buzzwords, they will see disruption bumping into other overused synonyms for change.”

Want more? Here’s a link to the full list.

Photo by Zeh Fernando via Flickr/Creative Commons