Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet.”

Earlier this week, Lake Superior State University in Sault St. Marie continued its decades-long tradition of banishing a list of popular words from the previous year.  To determine the words to be cut, they asked for nominations and these suggestions poured in from 20 different countries. Once the listed (this year’s list was over 2000 words), the English department decided which words will be banished.

In 2022, ‘GOAT’ – not the farmyard animal but rather “greatest of all time” — topped the list. Before that, it was, ‘COVID-19’ was banished in 2021. Here is the list of the banished words and terms for 2024:

• Hack — a popular buzzword, frequently utilized to impart an aura of innovation or sophistication
• Impact — used as a verb, as a synonym for affect
• At the end of the day — used as a rhetorical device to encapsulate the complexities of a situation summarily.
• Rizz[i] — a shortened form for “charisma,”
• Slay — term denoting exceptional accomplishment
• Iconic — worthy of distinction
• Cringe-worthy — embarrassing, awkward, or upsetting as to cause one to cringe
• Obsessed – describes a person’s interests or preferences
• Side hustle — second job.
• Wait for it – interrogative to add extra sparkle to the obvious?

Now banishing words is all well and good but let’s consider REPLACING this overused slag with some forgotten terms form Francis Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811) like the following:

• Dicked in the Nob – Silly or Crazed as in “There’s no point in reasoning with obsessed MAGA trolls on Facebook, they’re all just dicked in the nob.“
• Shipwrecked – slightly Inebriated as in “We went to the Admiral of the Blue Apron’s tavern and after a few warm Ale Flips, I was definitely shipwrecked.”
• Betwattled — Surprised, confounded, out of one’s senses as in “The question from today’s spectator about “real fire” left me entirely betwattled.”
• Wake Snakes — Provoke to the uttermost as in “You’re sure to wake snakes by continuing to spout political drivel after I have asked you to stop,”
• Gollumpus — A large, clumsy fellow as in “He might seem intimidating, but Clyde’s just a big gollumpus.”
• Gigglemug — A habitually smiling face as in “I don’t know what it is about that gigglemug, but I just can’t trust it.”
• Arsy Varsey — To fall head over heels as in “It was predictable, those kids were running atop the wall and stumbled arsy varsey right down to the moat.”
• Bottle-Headed — Void of wit as in “Some of these rules were clearly written by bottle-headed nincompoops.”
• Bone Box — The mouth as in “If that guy doesn’t shut his bone box, I’m gonna shut it for him.”
• Muffin-Wallopers — Scandal-loving women who meet over a cup of tea as in “All these morning ‘news shows’ are just a bunch of muffin-wallopers who don’t know what anything about the news they are reporting!”
• Screw Jaws — A wry-mouthed man or woman as in “Listen here, screw jaws, I’ve about had it with your talking down to my friends.”
• Skilamalink — disreputable business dealings or clandestine rendezvous as in “Hunter Biden’s business dealings are skilamalink, but are they illegal?”
• Fly Rink —A polished bald head as in “Some think a fly rink is a sign of virility but to put a tattoo on one suggests it’s not.”
• Oil Of Gladness – a stout beating as in “The private was given a full vial of Oil of Gladness from the sergeant for that cheeky remark.”
• Captain Queernabs — a shabby, ill-dressed fellow as in “Lieutenant Boddy is such a Captain Queernabs who can’t seem to every clean his uniform or shave.”
• Owl In An Ivy Bush  — a large frizzled wig as in “I bought a new wig but I fear it’s more of an owl in an ivy bush.”
• Whipt Syllabub – a flimsy, frothy discourse or meaningless conversation. Named after English dessert drinks that were “made from cream and wine and were served cold.”

Language should be fun.

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[i] Oxford University Press has named “rizz″ as its word of the year in 2023, highlighting the popularity of a term used by Generation Z to describe someone’s ability to attract another person.

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