The 10 Words You Cannot Say In 2026

Hey there, folks.

It is Sunday, January fourth, and we certainly hope you left a certain number of words.

Back in twenty twenty five.

Yes, we have an annual list of banished words that you should not be using this year.

And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and Tday.

We got ten on the list, right off the bad I agree with seventy eighty percent of the list, right.

The same and thankfully Same is not on the list, but maybe it should be because I've annoyed myself by saying that.

But yes, I agree with this list.

It made me laugh, and I have to admit I did not know this was a thing. There was a banished words words list, and this is the fiftieth annual list.

Yeah, we've been waiting for a big year to do that, so once they got to the fiftieth, we thought this was a good time. But no, give them credit for this, and there is value and it is interesting to see how words kind of evolve over time. But this is out of Lake Superior State University up in of course, uh Michigan. But they've been doing this for fifty years now.

Exactly yes, and like, this is a list that basically are words that are either misused or are useless or maybe just annoying.

Correct, That's that's how it makes the list.

Okay, Another one for you here to tease Robes, is of the list, are there any that you would say, you know what that one can stay?

Yes?

Oh wow, more than one.

I would say that.

I know that.

I say that doesn't mean we should keep it, That's what I say.

No, no, no, no, not based on your usage.

I think I can only think of one that I feel like is okay to say, okay, so only one?

Anyone?

You not to keep? Only one because it doesn't annoy me. So, but we will get into that.

Only one. It's the most boring one on the list. Probably.

Let's start at the bottom. And this is one that took us a second that what are they actually talking about here? But we'll go with number ten LEAs on their list on the words that should be banished reach out.

Yes, So I think the concept is it just means you don't really care whether or not you ever talk to that person again.

So it's a dismissive way to leave someone.

Like, yeah, you should reach out instead of saying here's my number, or if would you want to text me or email me and actually make a real connection with a real way to actually communicate afterwards?

If you just say reach out, it's so generic.

Do you hear it that often?

Oh?

Yeah, now that you describe it is pretty vague and it seems whip it. Yeah, like I really don't care to hear from you ever that maybe.

It actually means the opposite of what it sounds like.

You should reach out TOOM, to your assistant, to your mom when wow.

How there's a lot of questions, okay, follow reach out And so that's why people want it vanished.

It should be banished because it's rude. Basically, it's kind of rude. The next one here isn't this this will never go away? Haven't people been saying this forever? Number nine on the list.

My bad, Yeah, I've been saying that for as long as I can remember, But everybody.

Says that, it seems, and I guess it.

Feels like it's a fun way to say I was wrong or I'm sorry.

So maybe that's why it's just too again, flip it.

Instead of saying I'm sorry or you know, my apology is saying my bad is definitely flippant.

So rude. Yeah, I guess we're getting to the heart of this.

Rude.

What's another way? Okay, how about this? We'll give alternatives along the way. Instead of saying reach out, you could say.

Here's my number, I'd love to hear from you.

Nice, okay, instead of saying my bad.

What could one say I'm so sorry?

Oh that was easy. We'll keep wording up the list. That was number ten, number nine, let's get up to number eight. I hear this quite often, and now that I read some of what they're saying about it, it makes sense that it's annoying.

Because you're turning a noun into a verb.

Yes, people don't like that.

So hey, I gifted you this, Yes.

Gifted is on the list.

Gifted as a verb is annoying as all get out, And I guess that makes sense this was gifted to me by I've.

Never thought about it, but yes, because it's I guess what they're saying grammatically technically incorrect. You can't just turn a noun into a verb. Yes, and when people do it, it's annoying. My mom used to get on and I don't even know the origins of this. My mom was an English teacher. She would get really upset. And there's no way this is ever going away. When people say you disrespected me, she's like respect and disrespect like disrespected me.

Well's the other one that really annoys him. Nauseous and nauseating.

Okay, I hope she's not listening because she's getting pissed just hearing when people are getting She'll.

Now know about this list and will start putting in her her two cents and she has quite a few.

Okay, So hey, give me an example of the en robe. Besides saying this was gifted to me, This is.

An easy one.

I guess this was given to me.

Period point play.

Keep going up the list here we have made it now. It's in nine eight seven number seven on the list. This is my one.

Same, okay, this is my one.

We might have the same feeling because look, it's a positive word. I understand that. So the word is perfect. Let's go ahead and say what it is. It's perfect. And I do fully acknowledge I say this a lot. So if you said, hey, lunch is set four twelve, I would say perfect, and that's it would just be like, couldn't have you know, had it happen any better? Is it too aspirational or too annoying, or they're too untrue?

They're taking a little literally here.

I think anytime I've used the word perfect, it was it was not It was figurative in some way. It was fantasy in some way. When you say perfect, this means that's ideal for me. That's I mean you look at someone and say, oh you look perfect, your ideal. Like it doesn't mean no imperfect no imperfections. So yeah, that was the one I didn't have much of an issue with.

I love that we had the same one.

Oh my goodness, here you go, so making it up the list number six. I guess when I do hear it, this does maybe it's because who ends up saying it I don't know those gen z.

Yes, full stop. It's even the way I just said that made it extra annoying, just instead of saying stop full stop. It feels like something you would see on social media when someone's performing to try and you know, end an argument.

They're compared it to it's like saying period point blank about it, like you're just putting something. The one they use is period. They just period. Then people used to say that for a while. Do they still?

I think I have recently.

I'd say, you know, instead of mic drop or whatever, you would just say period.

Okay, this is a more difficult one for you. Then what can people say instead of full stop?

Please stop?

No, that's not how it works.

Full stop check yourself.

Oh this is going great. Lake Superior State University is listening. We're giving you some new goals for next year.

You need to stop.

But the way it's used full stop is to like to put emphasis on something dith is I'm going to go here and then I'm going to graduate, and then we're going to this party and then we're going to hit out here fullstop. That's how it was used. You're using it literally like put pumping the brakes on the Bronco right full Oh, let's go up the number five. This is another case is this is a made up word? How does this work? Incentivized?

I honestly didn't even recognize that incentivize was again taking a nown an incentive and turning it into a verb, even though it actually isn't one. I have said this word plenty we get incentivized. What's the incentive that would be the correct way to put it instead of how could you incentivize me?

I hear that? Okay?

That one is why we hear all the time. The next one on the list, number four. As we make our way up this one, we actually just got off the phone with Sabine asking about I don't hear this one, but she says they do.

Oh so, and because there are plenty of ways to use it literally and figuratively, And the way that Sabine was talking about it was differently than even how I would use it massive. So the argument is it's way overused, and often incorrectly. The words massive overuse has secured its place on this year's list is how they put it. But I'll bomb but I would say something was massive because it actually was huge.

But maybe it wasn't that big.

I do tend to exaggerate, or even some might say over exaggerate.

But Sabine's use was I've heard the kids say this as well.

Oh I this is not one I've picked up. They just talk about something is important, this is going to be a big deal. That's how she just said it. This is not one, So I don't have a beef with it because I haven't seen it.

Yeah, she was like that party's going to be massive, not that there's going to be a lot of people there, but that it's a big deal to be at the park. And I could see how that could get confusing, because if a kid told me a party was going to be massive, I'd think probably not going to go because we're thinking at least three hundred people. Yeah, that's not what they meant. That's kind of funny.

The next one up to number two and number one here, these will be obvious, don't you think?

Yeah?

Or was three three two? It was massive?

Yeah, and that massive was four so three two one.

Ah, I didn't go out. I took number one off my screen. It was it wasn't even being considered here. But obviously, yes, three two one will be I think fairly obvious. I think number three here out of the entire list, is the one I might hear most often.

Cooked. Everything cooked. If you get in a little trouble, I'm cooked.

My brain is cooked.

The security lines long, don't know if I'll make my flight, Man, I might be cooked. That's how it's used non stop, because I do hear this from Sabina.

Yes, yes, they say that parents and guardians led the charge on this one. So in terms of who wrote in to say please, this is my word that needs to be banned, a lot of grown ups were really sick of hearing that from kids. I haven't heard that as much. It's totally an age thing, a thing that's funny. So I had not yeah wow, only from like Sabine's age.

That's jen a wawa awful. She's walking on the street. She forgot her umbrella. Oh see some raine clouds. I might be cooked.

It's constantly every little thing if I'm in.

Trouble, might be cooked.

I need to pay more attention. I have not heard her say that that's hilarious annoying.

Number two took us a while. I remember when it was big in the headlines and whatnot. I didn't necessarily get it, then don't get it. Now it's annoying to people.

It is annoying demure because of the phrase very demure, very mindful. Yes, it's just annoying. So now it's said a lot more than it should be very demure, very demure. I mean I've only heard it said in just like laughing, making fun of the whole thing that people were saying. But yeah, if you have somebody who's saying that a lot, that could get super annoying.

All right, folks, we're up to number one on the list, the number one words that most people want banished for twenty twenty six. We're going to tell you right after the break. Frankly, you already know what it is, and it won't take you long to figure it out, but we're going to use this as a tease anyway. Also, we'll explain why there's a reason you might have heard some of these words and thought, oh, surely that was going to go away, that was going to go away. Well,

It certainly was six seven?

Yeah.

Yeah, And because you even have to say it a certain way when you say it makes it even more annoying. So yes, a lot of people had some fun with it, saying it's time six seven should be eighty six. Yes, I think that is a consensus vibe just about everybody as the most annoying word of twenty twenty five, so no one should be saying it in twenty twenty six.

The last several times you've heard it, has it been from an adult or someone under twenty.

I've actually heard it more from adults, laughing about the fact that they now know what it means, because they only found out when it made Word of the Year, and then it all made more sense to them, and now they're trying to own it, which means it's totally passe and completely uncool to say done now, so.

It should be done.

It should be cooked absolutely out of here. This was interesting to me. They've been, like we said, they've been doing this for fifty years. Some words, right, you put it on there, it's supposed to be banished, you would think, okay, that's probably done, or a word gets its run. But there are several words they have given us over the years here that have been on the list more than once. One of them has been on the list three times

It's so funny.

Most of them were fairly close to each other with the number five on the list is a is a hilarious one that you would normally think about.

Yep, it reminded me of another one that probably has made the list before too.

But we can get into this. So these are I love how they call these repeat.

Offenders words that refused to stay banished.

Number five.

Should we start with like we did the last Okay, hot water heater and you might think, well, what's wrong with that?

So think about it a little longer. We'll give you one more second here.

Hot hot water heater.

Why would there be a problem with that?

Just needs to be a water heater because if it's hot water, it doesn't need to be heated.

So it makes zero sense.

So that was a banished word in nineteen eighty two, and then somehow it made a resurgence and it came back in twenty eighteen.

So it made the list twice.

Someone made the or a point or asked the question, since when does hot water.

Need to be heated?

I always think of that as an ATM machine, because I have done that before. ATM stands for automated teller machine. What's still so ATM machine is hilarious because you're basically saying machine machine.

Well, that's like RBIs in baseball runs batted in. But we still a lot of people say RBIs. Yes, I'm not mad at you for it.

I get it.

I'm looking for an ATM machine. I am that.

I immediately was like, oh, I might not have said hot water heater, but maybe I have.

What about cash machine? I'm still on.

The cash machine?

Yeah, you ever say that a cash machine?

No?

Okay, ATM machine please? Okay? Number four on the list. This is funny.

So this made its debut as a banished word in two thousand and nine and then came back again last year in twenty twenty five game changer.

Have you heard that a lot this year or last year.

I don't know if that is that's a game changer. It's gonna be a game changer.

I watch.

I want a lot of watch a lot of sports, so maybe. But yeah, that one doesn't bother me so much.

They said nothing is a game changer, if everything is a game changer, the point being it's overused all the time, like it's not really a game changer, but we just like to say it is because well, yes, so many of us like to exaggerate.

Number three is one.

I guess we just pick and choose when we get annoyed by it because we hear it all the time. Awesome, awesome, Okay, it depends on who says it, how they say it.

Awes and they say it well, yeah.

Eighty four and then in two thousand and seven, so a pretty big gap between those two years. It annoyed us all. Number two of it was okay, every ooh.

Heard this one coming out of my mouth, and it's certainly been said a lot in this house, and this is the one that made it for three years in nineteen ninety nine, in twenty twenty two, and then again in twenty twenty four, because it seems like it just won't go away at the end of the day.

Stop, why does that want annoy you so much?

It's just filler. That means nothing. It means it's just filler for emphasis.

At the end of the day. We all see things differently.

Yeah, so they say that that phrase has the unique distinction of triple banishment. So yes, many people share your disdain for that phrase. And number one, this is actually a word that I know as a news anchor.

I think I've said this to.

You when I when it comes out of my mouth or out of like go anchor's mouth, I know that the person has nothing to say because the word is hilarious. Absolutely nineteen ninety six and twenty twenty three.

It's just a default.

There's no actual reaction when you just say absolutely, I.

Got nothing, or I wasn't listening to you.

I don't know what to say. I have no way to further the conversation, so I'm just going to say absolutely.

Folks, don't don't just break the bad hapbits, Okay, I should.

I wouldn't say these are overly annoying necessarily to six y seven. Yes is, but it's interesting, and they make a point. Look, it just it does, it helps us learn understand I think it's just fascinating. It's part of our education and just language evolving, yeah, all over the place.

So I do think it's cool and I love that you pointed it out to me because I had never seen this list be for so very happy to at least bring it to our listeners here on their fiftieth anniversary. So thank you to Lake Superior State University for that very cool banished words list.

Folks.

Well, always appreciate to you spending a little time here with us. For my dear Amy Rollbock, I am TJ.