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Although vaccines are in the fight against COVID-19, wordsmiths at Lake Superior State University in Michigan say they want to kick any trace of the term out of the English language. Seven of the leading words or phrases selected for 2021 for the school’s annual light composition of banned words and phrases are related to the virus, with ‘COVID-19’ leading the way. ‘Unknown’, which was banned in 2002, has been restored to the list, according to the AP. ‘Coronavirus’ and ‘social distancing’ are thrown, along with ‘we are all in this together’, ‘in an abundance of caution’ and ‘in these uncertain times’. Of the more than 1,450 nominations sent to the school, about 250 words and terms proposed for banishment due to overuse, abuse or uselessness have something to do with the virus.
“To be sure, COVID-19 has wreaked unprecedented havoc and destroyed lives,” Banished Words List committee members said in a release Thursday. “But also the excessive reliance on ‘unprecedented’ to frame things, so it should go too.” The school in Sault Ste. Marie has compiled the list every year since 1976 to ‘maintain, protect and support excellence in language by encouraging the avoidance of words and terms that are overworked, redundant, oxymoronic, clichéd, illogical, absurd – and otherwise ineffective, staggering or irritating. “The non-virus-related words and phrases that made the top track include ‘pivot point’, ‘Karen’, ‘sus’ (abbreviation for ‘suspicious’) and ‘I know, not true?’ “In a small way, perhaps this list ‘helps to flatten the curve’, which has also been considered for banning,” said Rodney Hanley, president of the LSSU, in a release. normally ‘- another candidate under nominations – for next year no longer has to include it. “
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