This is a very belated posting of my 2025 list.
It’s time for the banned words and phrases for 2025. The popular list
from Lake Superior State University is out. For the first time in years, there
are no overlaps between our annual lists. So here comes mine.
Word Salad
Word Salad is one of my favorite
entries this year. We hear it in the media all the time. A true word salad
makes no sense to anyone, including the speaker. We take it to mean that he has
spewed out a verbal potpourri. Maybe he thinks we won’t pay attention to
something simple and direct, but we’re not likely to digest a word salad
either. Best to just scrape it down the garbage disposal.
Bingo Card
Bingo Card is my other favorite
entry. I may be the only one who has it on a 2025 banned list. My entry was
inspired by its use by a lot of media personalities, especially during the
election. The most common usage? When contenders perform beyond expectations,
the speaker says, “I didn’t have THAT on my Bingo Card!” It also works when couples
like Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck announce they’re getting a divorce.
Pale Pastels
As in previous years, some
entries have political connections. Pale
Pastels is one of these. This appears
on my banned list because
Ron DeSantis used it to insult Nikki Haley in the Republican primary. Haley
was wearing a pale suit. Unless the intent is to insult, just say “tint.”
That’s all a pale pastel really is.
Nasty
Staying in the political arena, I’m
banning Trump’s favorite word for women who disagree with him. He should bring
a thesaurus when he moves back into the Oval Office because he won’t be allowed
to use “nasty” any longer. This ban
will probably get me labeled nasty. I can live with that.
Some People Say
Another favorite Trump phrase that
we’ll likely hear more of is “some people say” (or “people are saying”).
This is how Trump makes outrageous claims. He simply tells us he’s quoting some
unspecified other person. As with “nasty,” I’m banning this phrase. Some people
will say that makes me doubly nasty.
Misinformation
“Some people say” is a good lead in to the
next entry: misinformation (or
disinformation). It was submitted by my friend Wendy and it accurately
describes a lot of what is presented as what people have said (usually without
attribution). Broadcasting misinformation is a bad habit of politicians on both
sides of the aisle.
Coconut Tree
This entry began with Kamala
Harris (or more precisely, her mother). Kamala and her sister did not fall out
of a coconut tree, but the graphic
image had legs. It’s sprouting up all over. It was fun when it started, but
enough already. I’m banning it unless it’s part of a botany course.
My last three entries are examples of popular aphorisms.
Hope Springs Eternal
I should probably consider Hope
Springs Eternal to be a political entry. I found myself saying it a lot
during the presidential election when nothing seemed certain about the
outcomes. But I think the phrase during a lot of non-political situations, too.
Maybe if I ban it this year, I can purge my brain of the notion of hope except
when it relates to health, where hope always springs eternal.
An Idea Whose Time Has Come
This phrase makes me cringe. It
reminds me of an event I attended decades ago for company executives. I’d had
too much to drink and started describing my latest systems project to the CEO. I
was developing the support systems for his “pet” venture. Most of us knew it
was doomed, but I told him—you guessed it—it was an idea whose time had come. I’d forgotten about this until the
phrase became the tag line in a commercial for The Farmer’s Dog fresh dog food. It’s a long way from a
Fortune 500 CEO’s “pet” venture to fresh dog food.
God Willing
This aphorism is the last banned
phrase for 2025. God willing has so
many reasons to be banned. The corollary of “God willing” is that God wasn’t
willing. Let’s not lay the blame on God for everything that’s gone wrong. A
substantial percentage of folks either call their guiding entity something
other than “God” or don’t believe in a higher power at all. Then there’s my
former roommate from Kentucky who used to say “God willing and the cricks don’t
rise.” Cricks or no cricks, let’s ban “God willing” altogether.
This completes our 2025 banned
words and phrases list. Keep in mind that it’s never too soon to start
collecting ideas for 2026!
Copyright 2025 Business Theatre Unlimited
