The Worst Words of 2012
(copied from dictionary.com)
http://hotword.dictionary.com/worst-words-of-2012/
2012 has been an interesting time in the life of our lexicon. From new coinages to new usages, English has had a nice growth spurt. Some words or phrases quickly outgrow their usefulness, or through overuse, they become meaningless, like an overplayed song on the radio. Here are a few terms that many people have grown tired of in 2012.
Fiscal Cliff — the most-used term in 2012 politics.
This phrase rose to prominence when Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, used it in a speech in February. “Fiscal cliff” is meant to describe what will happen to America’s tax policy and spending plan in 2013 if Congress fails to address certain plans that are already in motion.
Selfie — a picture you take of yourself by holding the camera at arm’s length, recognizable by the fact that your arm is in the picture.
Epic — hyperbolic synonym for incredible, great, important. This word is so overused that it has been on banished word lists three years running. But epic refuses to be banished.
Humblebrag — using humility to cover up the fact that you’re actually bragging. This technique often backfires, making the brag worse, e.g. “People just won’t stop texting me, you’re lucky you have so much time to yourself.”
TLDR — acronym for “Too Long, Didn’t Read.”
To trend/trending — to become popular.
To curate – to organize information on a web page or other non-museum entity. Museums have curators, galleries have curators–are you a curator because you found 10 cute puppy photos and posted them on your wall? Probably not.
Bubble — used as a suffix to describe any group or community - the college bubble, the liberal bubble, the conservative bubble, the California bubble, the American bubble…if we get to the “Earth bubble” something is going to pop.
Hashtag — When the kids start saying #hashtag you know this term is overused.
Hipster — the flannel-wearing, liberal arts-educated, indie music-listening, director name-dropping, craft beer-drinking, 20-or-30-something dude or dudette that you’ve definitely seen. Since the early aughts, the word “hipster” has become more and more prevalent and simultaneously more and more annoying to many English speakers.
YOLO – acronym for “You Only Live Once.” Thanks Drake. Thanks a lot. The fun catch phrase born in the rapper’s single “The Motto” has spread like a forest fire through the vocabularies of what feels like every English speaker under 25, and now the term is just an excuse for teenagers to act like idiots. Sure, go ahead and YOLO. As far as science can tell us, you do only live once. But before you eat that live tarantula, take a minute and think about how long you want to be YOLOing for.