And Now For Something Completely Different!

Most of these terms annoy me. Many more not mentioned here also annoy me. I very much dislike what we used to call “cliches,” and other trendy terms and phrases that get used as if they’re proof of membership in some sort of club, or something. It really messes up language and clarity, IMO. “Woke” is one that just irritates me so much I need calamine lotion. I remember I first saw the term in 3d grade, reading a biography of a runaway slave who used the Underground Railroad. The term started out in slavery times, with people of color-slaves, newly freed people-telling each other to stay woke, meaning be aware of your surroundings at all times because of danger. That was passed down the lines for generations, always meaning to be aware of potential danger always. Look at it now. I don’t believe woke should be retired, simply given back to those who need it. IMO! Anyway, on with the article; everyone’s mileage will vary (and maybe that phrase ought to be in here; I use it frequently) on these. Enjoy!

27 words and phrases that people agree are overused and need to be retired in 2026

“Every term invented to get around TikTok censors.”

Heather Wake

It’s pretty customary for humans to collectively latch on to certain words or phrases for a time, only to grow tired of them once the trendiness wears off. That’s by and large how we get generational slang in the first place. One man’s “rad” is another man’s “bussin.” The linguistic circle of life, as it were.

But the rapidity of social media has certainly seemed to make this turnover move at the speed of light, hasn’t it? It takes a fraction of the time for words to get overused, misused, change meaning, and lose meaning altogether.

That’s probably why when someone on Reddit asked, “What overused word or phrase needs to be retired in 2026?” there was no shortage of passionate answers. From warped psychology terms to nonsensical Gen Alpha brainrot words, people delivered.

Keep scrolling for our favorites.

Sensational journalism words

1. ’Slammed’ by the news.”

2. “Also while we’re at it, ‘bombshell,’ ‘destroyed,’ ‘meltdown,’ and ‘disaster.’”

3. “Blasted. Clap back.”

“Those are telltale signs that what you’re about to read is heavily biased and was written to evoke emotions instead of giving just the facts so it’s basically trash.

Therapy speak

4. “Gaslighting. People love to use this term wrong. It doesn’t mean ‘lying,’ it means ‘manipulating somebody into believing they’re crazy.’ That involves lying, but they’re not the same thing. Also every term invented to get around TikTok censors. ‘Unaliving,’ ‘graped,’etc.”

5. “Calling anyone who does anything slightly annoying a narcissist.”

6. “Similarly, anytime someone feels just a little proud of themselves for something and/or compliments themselves, it’s ‘ego.’ Not hating and constantly putting yourself down isn’t ego. It’s healthy.”

7. “Trauma.You don’t have trauma from the Starbucks barista mispronouncing your name, Djoeffreigh. And if you do, I am not interested in hearing about it.”

Aggressively passive-aggressive phrases

8. “People who use ‘the ick,’ ironically enough, give me the ick. Now I’ve given it to myself.”

9. “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

10. “Louder for the people in the back.”

11. “‘Let that sink in.’ ‘Read that again but slowly.’ ‘I don’t know who needs to hear this, but…’”

12. “‘Just saying’ after being very aggressive.”

Social media buzzwords and phrases that have been run into the ground

13. ”’Let’s normalize this.’ please no.”

14. “Tell me you’re Y without saying it.”

15. “I’m begging people to stop saying’”its giving.’”

16. “I’m literally obsessed”

17. “X lives rent free.”

18. “That’s iconic, she’s iconic, they’re iconic.”

19. “Today years old”

Weird, cutesy parenting terms

20. “Boy mom”

21. “I also hate ‘littles.”

Words that do not mean what people think they mean

22. “’Underrated’. Sick of seeing ‘OMG! This band/singer/guitarist/drummer is so underrated’ when they’re clearly millionaires from the musical success they’ve enjoyed for years.”

23. “‘My truth.’ I like this one because it lets me know the next words out of their mouth are going to be bullshit.”

24. “According to AI.”

Phrases that kids today use that all us olds hate

25. “The grandkids are slowing down on 6 7 (FINALLY), and I haven’t heard them say ‘sigma’ for a while, so HOPEFULLY those are both going away forever!!

26. “‘Lowkey’ we’ve run it into the ground.”

“The new ‘literally.”

“Omg it’s low key every second word my teen says.”

And finally…

Words that have lost their original meaning due to overuse

27. “‘Absolute game changer .’ I do product reviews, and I want to smack people for this one. Everything is a ‘game changer’ or a ‘holy grail.’ Bullshit, it is. That 5 star game changer is usually an overpriced piece of crap lol.”

How Trump turned the presidency into a lucrative business

They are trying to defame her

https://www.tumblr.com/reagan-was-a-horrible-president/805308872103542784/there-was-never-going-to-be-an-excuse-so-now-they

Let’s talk about Trump’s $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget and what it might mean for NATO….

Trump Targets West Wing for Next White House Construction Project

tRump is using the people’s house, the house for the president while he is in office as if it was one of his own properties. Like he was always going to stay there. He is acting like the White House should be a palace like the Saudi royalty or the English kings / queens. He wants the place to be spectacle and pomp instead of what it really is for, a work place for the president to live and work. He also spends the public treasury paid for by the taxpayer as his own private checking account when the laws say that is illegal. Congress approves the budget not the president, but the republicans in congress are too afraid of him to even say anything. I bet you they find their voice if a democrat wins the presidency. Hugs.

https://www.newsweek.com/trump-targets-west-wing-next-white-house-construction-project-11334169

By Aliss Higham

US News Reporter

President Donald Trump is continuing his renovations of the White House with potential new additions to the West Wing.

After demolishing the White House’s East Wing to make way for a new ballroom in 2025, Trump is now setting his sights on the colonnade linking the West Wing to the executive residence, where he wants to add a second level.

The administration unveiled the plan during a meeting of the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington this week.

Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email.

Why It Matters

The White House announced the East Wing ballroom project in late July, with demolition beginning in October, when workers were seen tearing it down.

The White House has said the project will be funded by private donations and no taxpayer burden, though the projected cost has increased from an estimate of $200 million to $400 million.

New Renovation Plans

In an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, Trump said he was calling the project the “Upper West Wing.” He said it was still in the design phase and that the space could be used for additional West Wing offices or serve as “first ladies’ offices for future first ladies.” These were previously in the East Wing.

The project’s architect, Shalom Baranes, said the White House was weighing up the one-story addition to the West Wing to restore what he described as the complex’s “symmetry” once the East Wing ballroom was finished.

Architect Shalom Baranes shows elevation drawings for a new $400 million ballroom at the White House to members of the National Capital Planning Commi… | Chip Somodevilla/Getty

“I did mention the potential for a future addition, a one-story addition to the West Wing,” Baranes told the commission. “The reason to think about that is so that we would reinstate symmetry along the central pavilion of the White House.”

He made the remarks after unveiling plans for a two-story colonnade that would link the East Room to the new ballroom. The ballroom is set to be about 22,000 square feet and designed to accommodate 1,000 seated guests.

In a statement released in July, the White House said the “much-needed and exquisite addition” would add “approximately 90,000 total square feet of ornately designed and carefully crafted space, with a seated capacity of 650 people—a significant increase from the 200-person seated capacity in the East Room of the White House.”

Backlash

The overall renovation plans have been met with some backlash in recent months.

In December, the National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit to stop the East Wing project, saying the administration had dodged a required review process for federal projects. During a hearing in the case, the administration told a federal judge it would submit the project’s plans to the appropriate federal oversight bodies. The judge said he would schedule a follow-up hearing in January to review the White House’s process and declined to halt construction in the meantime.

The trust said following the meeting on Thursday: “Today’s NCPC informational presentation about the White House ballroom was a good and necessary first step. The National Trust continues to urge the Administration to comply with all legally required review and approval processes before commencing construction, including the NCPC, the Commission of Fine Arts, compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, and approval by Congress.”

It added that it looked “forward to the American people having a voice in the process moving forward.”

‘The lies are easily disproven’: Hayes dismantles JD Vance’s ICE shooting claims

Live updates: ICE officer who shot Renee Good identified in court records as Jonathan Ross

I want to thank Mock Paper Scissors for the link. https://mockpaperscissors.com/2026/01/08/246190/

So much of what is reported is the tRump people trying to hide the truth. The fact is true it seems the US tRump government doesn’t want the truth to come out, they don’t want rogue officers investigated, they want to keep lying to the public and running illegal thug operation over the US people. There must be some way the local police can find evidence to send to a prosecutor over this event. Hugs

https://apnews.com/live/minneapolis-ice-shooting-updates-1-8-2026

Edited By CURTIS YEE, SAL CHRIST, LUENA RODRIGUEZ-FEO VILEIRA, NELL CLARK and SAM BURDETTE

Updated 6:24 PM EST, January 8, 2026

A day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good as she tried to drive away on a snowy Minneapolis street, tensions remained high, with dozens of protesters venting their outrage outside of a federal facility that’s serving as a hub for the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown on a major city.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has not publicly identified the officer who shot Good. But she spoke of an incident last June in which the same officer was injured when he was dragged by another driver’s fleeing vehicle. A Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed Noem was referring to an incident in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Court records from that case identify the officer who was dragged and injured as Jonathan Ross.

Court documents say Ross got his arm stuck in a vehicle’s window as a driver fled arrest in Bloomington, Minnesota. The officer was dragged 100 yards (91 meters) and cuts to his arm required 50 stitches.

The Associated Press wasn’t immediately able to locate a phone number or address for Ross, and ICE no longer has a union that might comment on his behalf.

Here’s what we know:

Videos of the shooting: Footage shows an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward, and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him. It is unclear from the videos whether the vehicle makes contact with the officer, and there is no indication of whether the woman had interactions with ICE agents earlier. After the shooting, the SUV speeds into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.

Renee Good: She was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado and appears to have never been charged with anything beyond a traffic ticket. In social media accounts, Macklin Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” Public records show she had recently lived in Kansas City, Missouri, where she and another woman with the same home address had started a business last year called B. Good Handywork. Trump administration officials painted Good as a domestic terrorist who had attempted to ram federal agents with her car.

Who will investigate? The Minnesota agency that investigates officer-involved shootings said it was informed Thursday that the FBI and U.S. Justice Department would not work with the agency, effectively ending any role for the state to determine if crimes were committed. Noem said the state has no jurisdiction. Gov. Tim Walz pushed back against the Trump administration’s decision to keep the investigation solely in federal hands, emphasizing that it would be “very, very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation that excludes the state could be fair. Mary Moriarty, the prosecutor in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, said her office is “exploring all options” to determine if a state investigation can proceed.

Murder in Minnesota

Murder in Minnesota

While Mock Paper Scissors and my blog have many of the same viewers it is important to note that TenGrains site has a forensic breakdown that is very important to understand the misinformation and how badly these ICE thugs acted. I keep saying one thing everyone misses is how angry the driver of the ICE truck is and how he charges the car immediately trying to get in the car swearing at the woman driver. It would have caused concern in anyone when an angry armed masked man charges your car and starts yanking on the door handle while swearing at you. As the other videos at the above linked site show the ICE officers were never in danger and they only fired because they believe that anyone not instantly obeying them or blocking them in any way is a capital offense they can deal with anyway they want including killing the offender. We are in a very dangerous situation because the ICE thugs are soon to be the largest armed military police agency with no controls on their behavior in the US. They are the US brownshirts or Gestapo. They are made up of militias, Proud Boys, 3 percenters, Oath keepers, and Jan 6th riot insurrectionist. They feel no laws or rules apply to them, they are on a white supremacists mission to remove the brown breeders from the US to save the white people from becoming a minority. Why does that bother some white people? Because they are afraid that brown people will treat them the same way they treated brown people all these years before. It won’t happen but that is their fear, the loss of privilege they never earned and don’t deserve. Hugs

I am SCARED

‘Dictator’ Trump Floats Idea of Canceling Midterm Elections

OK this is a yellow journalism site and make their money on sensationalism and trying to get the most click as soon as possible, but often I have found them to be really spot on when it comes to the tRump admin. So read with a grain of salt or the entire shaker but remember tRump keeps hinting at this all the time. He clearly doesn’t want to leave office. So he once did a riot insurrection to try to stay in power, what will he do now in his demented state of mind? Hugs

https://www.thedailybeast.com/dictator-trump-floats-idea-of-canceling-midterm-elections/

The president said he risked being accused of being an autocrat if he suggested the Dems weren’t worth running against.

Sarah Ewall-Wice

Political Reporter

Updated Jan. 6 2026 3:45PM EST Published Jan. 6 2026 1:39PM EST

Donald Trump mused about canceling the 2026 midterms during his appearance before a room full of GOP lawmakers.

The president visited the Kennedy Center for the House Republican retreat, where he spoke about the looming election while also going off on a series of other topics.

Trump, 79, complained about even having to run against Democrats before floating the idea.

“I won’t say cancel the election, they should cancel the election because the fake news will say ‘he wants the elections canceled. He’s a dictator.’ They always call me a dictator,” Trump said with a smile.

He argued that “nobody’s worse than Obama and the people that surrounded Biden.”

President Donald Trump speaks during the House Republican Party member retreat at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, on January 6, 2026.Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

It’s not the first time the president has made light of the idea of canceling a U.S. election.

Trump made the remarks on January 6, five years after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, as he continues to deny he lost the 2020 election.

Just before talking about calling for the midterms to be cancelled, Trump boasted about his first year back in office. He lamented that the party in power typically loses seats in the midterms.

“But even if it’s successful, they don’t win. I don’t know what it is. There’s something psychological, like you vote against,” Trump said.

The president went on to tout his 2024 election results, which included winning every swing state.

“But they say that when you win he presidency, you lose the midterm,” Trump told the lawmakers.

He told the group of Republicans that he wishes they could explain to him “what the hell is going on with the mind of the public because we have the right policy.”

Trump claimed during his more than an hour speech that he had provided Republicans with a “roadmap.”

“It’s a roadmap to victory. You have so many good nuggets. You have to use them,” Trump declared. “If you can sell them, we’re going to win.”

Trump encouraged Republican lawmakers to focus on favored nations, the border and take the health care issue “away from” Democrats as they look ahead to the midterms.

There were plenty of Trump’s signature hand gestures and ad-libbing during the event.MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

The president claimed GOP lawmakers can own the issue of health insurance by giving the money to the people rather than insurance companies. However, he still has not provided specifics on a plan or a path forward in Congress.

Instead, Trump urged Republicans to be flexible, and it could be their issue.

“You could own health care. Figure it out!” Trump declared.

However, the president specifically mentioned flexibility when it came to the Hyde Amendment which bans using federal money for abortion. The comment has already gotten pushback from conservatives.

The president also issued a warning to Republicans. During his more than an hour-long remarks, Trump slammed Democrats for impeaching him twice during his first term.

“You gotta win the midterms,” Trump said. “Because if we don’t win the midterms, it’s just going to be, I mean, they’ll find a reason to impeach me. I’ll get impeached.”

Sarah Ewall-Wice

Political Reporter

sarah.ewall-wice@thedailybeast.com