Every year, Lake Superior State University comes up with a list of banished words – words and phrases they say have become overused. This year’s list includes the words “stakeholder” and “manspreading.”
The top word on this year’s list is “so” – as in beginning a sentence with “so.”
A few of the banished words and phrases are things you hear in public radio. Like the word “conversation” – as in “join the conversation.”
The list has been an annual thing since the 1970s and lately LSSU has been “breaking the internet” with it – that’s a banished phrase, by the way.
LSSU Professor John Shibley helps compile the list. He joined IPR Reporter Aaron Selbig to talk about how the banished words are chosen.