Polar Vortex Of 2015's Cray-Cray Banished Words
As always, as we usher out the old year, our thoughts and browsers turn to the Lake Superior State University in beautiful Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan to see the newly-posted banished words list (the 40th anniversary list!). So I invite all "wordies" (oh, I'm a-gonna get some grief for that) to join in the fun!
Here is the full list of banished words for 2015:
Bae
Polar vortex
Hack
Skill Set
Swag
Foodie
Curate / Curated
Friend-raising
Cra-cra (cray-cray)
Enhanced interrogation
Takeaway
[...] -Nation (sports)
I have to admit, this year's list made me feel my age a bit, since there were several terms on the list that I either just flat-out didn't recognize or that I had to read the definitions for, in order to understand what they were talking about.
Take "bae" for instance. I'd seen it hovering around online, but never bothered to figure out that it means "before anyone else." Or "swag," which now is apparently a catchall word for what folks used to call "cool." To which, I can only say: "Groovy, man."
To put it a different way: "Dang these kids today." Anyway, as usual the comments from people proposing words for the banished list were pretty amusing at times:
[Bae] -- "It's overused. I heard someone refer to their ramen noodles as 'bae'! If I was putting someone 'before anything else,' I would respect them enough to use their name."
"The most annoying term of affection to show up in years. Also, the concept 'before anybody else,' developed AFTER the word became popular. Reason enough for it to be banned."
[Polar vortex] -- "Wasn't it called 'winter' just a few years ago?"
"What happened to 'cold snap'? Not descriptive enough?"
[Hack] -- "I just received an e-mail for a book called 'Marriage Hacks.' I have seen articles about life hacks, home improvement hacks, car hacks, furniture hacks, painting hacks, work hacks and pretty much any other hack you can think of. There are probably even hacking hacks."
[Skill set] -- "A skill is a skill -- that is it. Phrases such as 'I have the skill set to do that properly' or anything resembling that phrase, shows the speaker is seriously lacking skills in the art of conversation. Please try this, 'I have the skill... do you have the skills... this requires certain skills... he is very skilled... that was a skillful maneuver... See? No need for a skill set."
[Swag] -- "The word 'swag' has become a shapeless, meaningless word used in various forms (such as 'swaggy') but with no real depth."
"Whether it's a 'free gift' (banished in 1988) or droopy clothing, this word is neither useful nor fancy."
[Foodie] -- "It's ridiculous. Do we call people who like wine 'winies' or beer lovers 'beeries'?"
"Someone who enjoys food' applies to everyone on Earth. What's next? 'Oh, I'm an airie; I just love to breathe.' 'Could we do it at 11, instead? I'm kind of a sleepie.'"
[Curate / Curated] -- "It used to have a special significance reserved mainly for fine art and museums. Now everything is curated. Monthly food and clothing subscription boxes claim to be finely 'curated.' Instead of abusing curated, why don't they say what they really mean: 'We did an online search and posted the first 25 items we found' or the 'curated selection of items in your box this month are a mix of paid placements and products that have failed to sell elsewhere.'"
[Takeaway] -- "It's used all too frequently on news programs, as in, 'What is your 'takeaway' on a given situation.' 'What is our 'takeaway' on Congress' vote?' 'Is there any 'takeaway' on the recent riots?' I have heard Jon Stewart use it. I've heard Charlie Rose use it, as well as countless numbers of news talking heads, usually for all the wrong reasons. For me, a takeaway is a sports term, where one team is controlling the ball (or puck) and the other steals it, or took it away - a 'takeaway.' In the U.K., 'takeaway' food is known as 'to go' here in the Colonies."
[-Nation] -- "Although a devout Wisconsin sports fan, I do not belong to Packer-Nation, Badger-Nation, Phoenix-Nation, or Brewer-Nation. Further, I am not aware of any team or mascot that has the carrying capacity to be a nation."
To which I'd like to add a few personal observations. "Polar vortex" is really the continuation of two trends. The first is the rediscovery by the national news organizations of "weather." Used to be, national news would ignore most weather events that were purely local in nature, even big events where a few people died. This is no longer the case, and every single weather disruption gets top billing nowadays (mostly because they all have dramatic videos to show the folks at home). The secondary trend -- and this is my own theory -- was when the East Coast got jealous, about 15 or 20 years ago, with the "El Niño" and "La Niña" weather patterns in California and the Pacific Ocean. The East Coast had blizzards, floods, storms, and other outdoor calamities, but the Left Coast was so hip they had cool names for weather trends. Obviously, they've been trying to catch up ever since. But maybe that's just me....
One footnote on "swag," in its original banished meaning (free stuff): being of Germanic ancestry, I've always used either the pronunciation "shwag" (or even "schwag") because it sounds better to my ears. This has nothing to do with anything, I fully admit, but I thought I'd toss it out there for discussion. Also up for pedantic pondering: I've always seen "cray-cray" written with trailing Y's. It just looks better that way, at least to me. But then again, I am not a hip young user of social media, so what do I know?
"Foodie" has long irritated me, just because it sounds so downright silly. Haven't noticed the rise of "curated" or "friend-raising" (shudder), which seems to be the practice of hitting up your pals for dough. "Takeaway" never really bugged me, but I can see how it could be considered annoying.
On a more serious note, I think we can all agree that 2014 was the year that "enhanced interrogation" was fully de-euphemized back into the easier-to-understand "torture."
And lastly, before I cram these all into a final paragraph, I lay the blame for "-nation" at the feet of New England fans. The first time I ever heard the term was in reference to the Boston Red Sox, and it is indicative of a peculiar delusion of this region's fans -- many of whom are confidently convinced that their team is equally beloved by everyone across this great land. Kind of like the delusion the Dallas Cowboys fans went through back in the 1970s, when they all wanted everyone to use "America's Team" to describe their local favorites. This is nothing more than thinly-disguised sports arrogance, folks. It now seems to be spreading beyond New England (to be fair, some Californians have used "Raiders Nation" for a long time, too), and I agree it should be banished. You love your team. We get it. But not everyone does -- and you cannot claim nationhood, unless you want to look silly. Get over it.
In fact, since I'm on a roll, I think I'll just end with the sports theme for our big finish.
I, of course, expect everyone in America to now consider themselves part of Giants Nation, after their stunning World Series win this year. Our bae Madison Bumgarner certainly showed everyone what a swag pitcher is capable of, with a skill set no other pitcher can match. I mean, was his nine-inning performance cray-cray, or what? The takeaway was, of course, that everyone else in America got the chance to become a San Francisco baseball fan this year. All of whom are invited to come to the city by the Bay (even if they have to friend-raise the money for the trip) to see a game and check out the Giants ballpark -- the best in the league as well, with concessions even foodies rave about! OK, I fully admit that, football-wise, San Francisco is in dire need of some life hacks, or perhaps a curated list of 25 available head coaches to fill Jim Harbaugh's departing shoes. But it's not like Harbaugh is going to face any enhanced interrogation techniques to divulge his coaching secrets in his new gig at the University of Michigan or anything -- although he might have to get used to a polar vortex or two. And no matter how much you use and abuse language (and no matter which sports teams your hearts and passports belong to), we'd like to wish everyone a very happy new year!
-- Chris Weigant
Cross-posted at The Huffington Post
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
[Editor's note: Comments 1 - 10 from Speak2, below, are very similar. We did this on purpose, because the spam filter went a bit overboard. We wanted to approve all these comments to reset the spam filter to be Speak2's friend, but it does make for some repetitive reading, we do have to warn you (which is all our fault... mea culpa maxima). In any case, read any one of them and then skip down to comment 11 for my response.]
Thanks for your last reply to me (McL Awards pt 2). On a lark, a few of us went to WA to check out what it was like. It was extraordinary, except for the $29/g price. Very nice, overall, but OR will be drawing lots of business down from WA with our prices when we have shops.
Oh, and we pumped our own gas while in WA. It is better to DIY.
While not an original idea, excellent is the resurgence of the guaranteed minimum basic income idea.
Finally, a thought about "foodie." We had a convo about the word when I was at a top place with group tables. A starred chef was there and he didn't use the word, but several other people at the table did. People use the word to describe themselves. I think it arises from the social media changes with online profiles and the like. Personally, I'd love to see the word gone.
Oh, and I joined the crew and made my donation to your work, just in time before year's end.
Thanks for another great year. Keep up the good work.
Weird, submitted a comment, didn't go through. I'll try it again.
Thanks for your last reply (McL Awards pt 2).
On a lark, a few of us went up to WA recently to see what it was like. It was extraordinary, exc for the $29/g price. Very cool, overall.
And, we did pump our own gas. Better when it's DIY.
Not an original idea, but still extraordinary, is the resurgence of a guaranteed minimum basic income. Would definitely go a long way to raising people from poverty and closing some inequality gaps.
Finally, a thought about "foodie." It's not a word used by pros. It really is used by "tourists" to describe themselves. I think it arises from the social media world with online profiles and the like.
Oh, and I joined your regular crew and made my donation just in time before year's end.
Keep up the good work and thanks for a great year. Looking forward to another with you.
Test. Please do not respond.
This will be my third attempt at this post. Don't really think it's worth posting that much, but what the heck. It's not late enough to be going out for NYE yet on the West Coast.
CW: Thanks for your last reply (McL Awards pt 2).
A few of us went to WA on a lark to see how they're doing it. It was extraordinary, except for the price ($29/g). Still, way cool. Oregon's prices will definitely pull many a WA resident down here when we go full legal next summer.
We did pump our own gas while in WA. DIY is best, after all.
While not original, another excellent idea is the resurgence of the argument for a guaranteed minimum basic income. Would go a long way to solving poverty issues and even make a dent in inequality. Hope it gets more play next year (enough to affect the 2016 race?).
One thought about the term "foodie." I think that people use the term to describe themselves. It's not a label one person gives to another. I think this arises from the social media environment, with online profiles and the like. Still, I'd be glad if the word got gone.
Finally, I did make the year-end donation to your cause. Thank you for the past year and keep up the good work in the next.
Happy and healthy everyone. Enjoy tonight safely (it's an amateur night on the roads, so be careful).
This will be my fourth attempt at this post (doing it in two parts, this time). Don't really think it's worth posting that much, but what the heck. It's not late enough to be going out for NYE yet on the West Coast.
CW: Thanks for your last reply (McL Awards pt 2).
A few of us went to WA on a lark to see how they're doing it. It was extraordinary, except for the price ($29/g). Still, way cool. Oregon's prices will definitely pull many a WA resident down here when we go full legal next summer.
We did pump our own gas while in WA. DIY is best, after all.
That worked. Must have hit some character limit.
While not original, another excellent idea is the resurgence of the argument for a guaranteed minimum basic income. Would go a long way to solving poverty issues and even make a dent in inequality. Hope it gets more play next year (enough to affect the 2016 race?).
One thought about the term "foodie." I think that people use the term to describe themselves. It's not a label one person gives to another. I think this arises from the social media environment, with online profiles and the like. Still, I'd be glad if the word got gone.
Finally, I did make the year-end donation to your cause. Thank you for the past year and keep up the good work in the next.
Happy and healthy everyone. Enjoy tonight safely (it's an amateur night on the roads, so be careful).
That worked. Must have hit some character limit or something.
While not original, another excellent idea is the resurgence of the argument for a guaranteed minimum basic income. Would go a long way to solving poverty issues and even make a dent in inequality. Hope it gets more play next year (enough to affect the 2016 race?).
One thought about the term "foodie." I think that people use the term to describe themselves. It's not a label one person gives to another. I think this arises from the social media environment, with online profiles and the like. Still, I'd be glad if the word got gone.
That worked. Must have hit some character limit or something.
While not original, another excellent idea is the resurgence of the argument for a guaranteed minimum basic income. Would go a long way to solving poverty issues and even make a dent in inequality. Hope it gets more play next year (enough to affect the 2016 race?).
While not original, another excellent idea is the resurgence of the argument for a guaranteed minimum basic income. Would go a long way to solving poverty issues and even make a dent in inequality. Hope it gets more play next year (enough to affect the 2016 race?).
While not original, another excellent idea is the resurgence of the argument for a guaranteed minimum basic income. Would go a long way to solving poverty issues and even make a dent in inequality. Hope it gets more play next year (enough to affect the 2016 race?).
One thought about the term "foodie." I think that people use the term to describe themselves. It's not a label one person gives to another. I think this arises from the social media environment, with online profiles and the like. Still, I'd be glad if the word got gone.
Finally, I did make the year-end donation to your cause. Thank you for the past year and keep up the good work in the next.
Happy and healthy everyone. Enjoy tonight safely (it's an amateur night on the roads, so be careful).
Speak2 -
OK, a few notes. First, my auto-spam-filter was catching you in its web. Because it does learn over time, I have approved all of your messages even though it will be somewhat repetitive for other readers (my apologies, to everyone else). Hopefully, in future, you won't get caught so often. We're in the midst of security upgrades here, so you inadvertently got swept up in this net, my apologies to you and my thanks for your patience.
As for the content of your messages:
$29/g? Well, seems like some free-market economics are called for from OR. Especially now that gas is cheap.
That "pump your own" was just a cheap shot from a Californian, sorry 'bout that. I think you guys and New Jersey are the only states with the "save the gas pump jockeys' jobs" laws left...
On "foodie" I think there's a corollary to the comedy law that "K sounds are always funny" -- the one that says "words that end in 'ie' or 'ey' or 'y' always sound silly."
I thank you profusely for the donation, we are getting AWFULLY close to reaching our goal for the year, so I heartily encourage everyone else to spread some holiday cheer... in the name of keeping the site ad-free!
Again, sorry to everyone else for the multiple comments, but I'm trying to train my spam filter so Speak2 doesn't have this problem again.
-CW
Speak2,
Is Independence still a dry town??? :D
Michale
424
Don't have much to say for the words..
Never heard of "bae" either...
But my newly learned "word" is OTT :D
Ya'all will be hearing a LOT about OTT in the coming year...
Michale
425
And... Just because it's funny...
http://sjfm.us/temp/beedoo.mp3
:D
Michale
427
[Polar vortex] -- "Wasn't it called 'winter' just a few years ago?"
"What happened to 'cold snap'? Not descriptive enough?"
THAT is also funny.. :D
But...
[Skill set] -- "A skill is a skill -- that is it. Phrases such as 'I have the skill set to do that properly' or anything resembling that phrase, shows the speaker is seriously lacking skills in the art of conversation. Please try this, 'I have the skill... do you have the skills... this requires certain skills... he is very skilled... that was a skillful maneuver... See? No need for a skill set."
I have to disagree with this one...
In today's multi-tasking world, a skill SET is a necessity...
For example, look at a CIA Station Chief for any given country.. The SC would have to have MANY skills to be effective in his (or her) job. He (or she) would have to be a skilled diplomat to maintain their diplomatic cover. They would have to be a good soldier, an effective leader and have good management capabilities...
A Station Chief would require a skill SET to be effective...
A single skill won't cut it...
Michale
428
I wholeheartedly agree with you, Michale, as far as 'skill set' is concerned.
Everyone needs a skill set ... heck, you need one of those just to get through the comments sections around here. Sheesh.
Everyone needs a skill set ... heck, you need one of those just to get through the comments sections around here. Sheesh.
hehehehehehehehe
Michale
429
i heard from my wife that swag was initially an acronym for "stuff we always get"
JL
I'd like to pull two words out of the list and add one.
Polar vortex is a legitimate meteorological term describing a cyclone circling one of the poles. As valid (IMHO) as hurricane or typhoon, which are both cyclonic storms forming up in different places.
Swag? Come on! Lots of words have multiple meanings. Get rid of swag, and there goes Waltzing Matilda, and what other song is half that good at summer camp? Might as well get rid of "billabong" while you're at it. Math modelers use "swag" for a quick and dirty approximation (Scientific Wild Ass Guess). Or so it its often said, but I think this application comes from the curve of a drooping piece of fabric, also called a "swag." A swag is just a hypothetical function, go see how well you can make it fit the data. My well worn, coffee and sweat stained CRC book of math functions is a swag repository only partially replaced by the internet.
Banish "utilize" !!!! It's pure Pentagon-ese circa 1980's and utterly equivalent to the 3 letter "use".
Must have hit some character limit or something.
Now, THAT was funny!
Speak2,
Thanks for your last reply to me (McL Awards pt 2). On a lark, a few of us went to WA to check out what it was like. It was extraordinary, except for the $29/g price. Very nice, overall, but OR will be drawing lots of business down from WA with our prices when we have shops.
Things may have changed since I lived in Salem (it's been quite a while, to be sure..) but I seem to recall that a lot of Oregon residents would travel up to WA for large purchases with no sales tax...
On the other hand, WA State residents would lug their cans and bottles down to Oregon because Oregon has (had??) a 5cent PER CAN/BOTTLE return refund... You could make big bucks with a few large leaf bags of cans and bottles!! :D
Ahhhhh, the memories.... :D
Michale
Polar vortex is a legitimate meteorological term describing a cyclone circling one of the poles.
Guess I'm not the only one who saw DAY AFTER TOMORROW
:D
Michale
As we look forward to 2015, let us all review our horoscope for the year...
http://tinyurl.com/n6knvq5
:D
Michale
Here's yer horoscope for 20145
http://tinyurl.com/n6knvq5
:D
Michale
Get rid of swag, and there goes Waltzing Matilda, and what other song is half that good at summer camp? Might as well get rid of "billabong" while you're at it.
What's yer point?? :D
Michale
Indeed.