𝕱𝖔𝖗𝖇𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖊𝖓 𝕻𝖍𝖗𝖆𝖘𝖊𝖘

19 Oct 2021/updated 24 Oct

(along with some cool new ones!)

“That’s a good/great question” — this is possibly the most overused “response bridge” during TV, radio and podcast interviews. A Freaknomics podcast actually devoted a show to this back in 2015 but we (meaning “I”) have been noticing it for quite some time. In fact, It’s become so automatic that it’s actually been heard when a person (cited on Freakonomics by Bill McGowan)  was asked “So, how long you been with this organization?” As linguist Arika Okrent says, “It buys you a little time. And then you just jump right in with the point you wanted to make.” Essentially, it serves the dual purpose of allowing you to stall for time while flattering the interviewer.

The worst abuse, however, comes when an author asks a question in their own book and then compliments himself on his own question.¹

“I mean…” — This is another type of verbal bridge or filler, also sometimes called a “spacer” if you want to be generous, or a “verbal tic” if you’re not so inclined. This is so outrageously common that I remember starting to hear it a dozen times a day, and often a dozen times during a given interview for at least the last 5 years. In fact, I called it out to my community college students a few times and they came back to complain that they now couldn’t stop hearing it.

“like” – This is, like, the perfect way to sound like a California teenage middle schooler, especially when combined with “uptalk”…which is just fine if you’re a middle school girl chatting it up with your besties in the cafeteria? But when adults use it? Like incessantly? as part of their podcasts it becomes, like, super-grating on the, like, ears? Worst offenders are probably the duos on two unrelated podcasts — Sunday School Dropouts and You’re Wrong About — where they’ve been clocked at a totally unrestrained 12-likes-per-minute.“forensic audit” – in fact, we could probably just declare a moratorium on anything with ‘forensic,’ which actually means “pertaining to legal proceedings or argumentation” (Amer. Heritage Dict.), but nowadays is commonly used specifically as “the application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation of crime.” The term is from the Latin forensis.²

“breakthrough” – when used to indicate someone has picked up COVID after having been vaccinated. The the term has always been used in a positive sense–unless you happen to be playing the schoolyard game of “Red Rover Red Rover” — so it makes no sense outside of some weird medical terminology to use it in a negative way

Dis-honorable Mention

“reconciliation” – we probably all know that this is some kind of partisan political term that means, well, I’ve heard it a couple hundred times and still don’t know. One thing we do know is that it has absolutely nothing to do with opponents coming together in a kumbaya moment.

And on the lighter side, here are a few new COVID’ian words that are making the rounds

(that I may have made up myself)

“covidian” (adj.) relating to COVID 19, as in “That’s such a covidian thing to say!” Or “Please don’t go and get all covidian on me!”

“vaccinut” or “anti-vaccinut” — someone who thinks vaccines are silly, useless or (apparently unlike seat belts and running red lights) against our rights as Americans. Our linguistics team hasn’t quite decided which one to go with

“alcorithm” — a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations about drinking alcohol. (The term, like most math that begins with “al” was first described by the 9th-century Persian mathematician and non-practicing Muslim, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī)

“trumvermectin” –  despite its name, this anti-parasitic wonder drug is fast becoming the remedy of choice for ridding your mind of wormy won’t-go-away politicians

Just a reminder that we de-platformed two pesky phrases back in February 2021:

“defund the police” (which is simply an Xmas present to the right wing vigilantes…now that Xmas is supposedly un-cancelled)

“cancel culture” (a “loaded term” used by people upset that their crappy behavior, disinformation, and unwanted commentary has caused stores or stations to discontinue their product)

 

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NOTES

“Don’t Sound Stupid” poster from https://stephenliddell.co.uk/2016/10/25/overusing-the-word-like/

Honorable mention (courtesy of my sister): “Y’know…” or just “You know…”

¹ As in “When Brains Dream” where the authors (Bob and Tony, as they like to be called) have the distinctly annoying habit throughout the book of asking a question and then exclaiming, “This is a great question”

² Interestingly (to us word-nerds), it goes back to the Latin forensis: ‘market’ or ‘forum.’ Back in our high school days, the term was used for the extracurricular Forensics Club where we got together for debate, argumentation and dramatic reading. So “forum” kinda makes sense as the place where ancient public debates might take place

 See also How to Stop Saying “Like” All the Time