Ask any copywriter, and they will happily tell you there’s at least one viral word or phrase that gets under their skin. Silent resentment builds as colleagues toss new terms found on 'Urban Dictionary' around the office.
They trend on twitter and fester like a wound.
And then, one shows up in a brief. ‘It’s contemporary!’ ‘It connects with our audience!’
But it’s grammatically incorrect. It’s not creative. It takes the joy out of writing.
That copywriter would rather cut off an arm than begin typing, but they also need to pay rent. So they sit there, squirming in their seat because they know that future historians will look back at these words as denotations of our culture. Will terms like ‘lit’ and ‘turnt’ be our legacy?
Fear not, pedants. We’re here to set the record straight on annoying colloquialisms that have slipped through cracks and lay these terms to rest, for a fresh start in 2018.
- Millennial
The constant scapegoats for anything previous generations don’t understand about the modern world, members of this group seem to share a singular criterion - that they will have reached adulthood at some point in the 21st Century. Is that enough?
- Legit
Unless your intentions are to affirm something’s legal validity, chuck this term out.
- Epic
Hyperbole is one of the great joys in writing. But this particularly exaggerated term symbolises a lack of creativity. Give other adjectives a chance!
- Sorry, not sorry
If malice is the root cause for which this phrase is prompted, don’t feign remorse. We all know you’re not sorry, so ditch the first one.
- Dead/dying
Did you actually die? Does every joke send you into cardiac arrest? Should we call 999?
- Living for
Congratulations. You’ve discovered the meaning of life. And apparently it’s this cheesecake.
- Vibe
Joann's got it
Leonice has got it
Theresa's got it
Tonia's got it
Every time this term is used, someone spontaneously starts singing R. Kelly.
- Sassy
This formerly fun word has morphed into a passive-aggressive way of insulting a woman when she stops playing ‘Suzie Sweetheart’, leaving a very bitter taste.
- ____gate
We’re waiting for an event truly comparable to the catastrophic Watergate scandal.
- Literally
This word is finite, so unless you really could manage to ingest an entire horse, steer clear of ‘literally’. It could get you into some interesting trouble.
- Alexa
We genuinely feel bad for anyone who shares a name with Amazon’s voice service.
- Woke
While it’s important to stay up-to-date on current affairs, it’s also important to use correct grammar.
- Authentic
An attribute? We think not. The term has been popping as a personal trait, but unless you’re not who you say you are, you’ll always be authentically you.
- Numbered lists
Erm, yeah.
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