Considering the ongoing dirge for the printed word and the fact that many news sites now seem to feature more videos than stories, it's easy for an ink-stained wretch and devoted bibliophile like myself to become discouraged. So it was heartening to receive kind words from so many of you regarding my recent column about the power of language and the bravery of those who defend and protect it. It was a nice reminder that there are many left who value words.
Sure, the main selling point of the new iPhone X appears to be singing cats and poop emojis, but on the bright side, independent bookstores are experiencing a resurgence. Plus, Twitter upped their character count to 280. That has to be worth something, right?
Yet for all the potential power and beauty of words—some of my favorites are "wisteria," "cacophony" and "nozzle" (yes, nozzle!)—there are plenty that I would happily strike from the record. I'm looking at you, "pantsuit."
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The New Yorker asked readers to propose a single word that should be eliminated from the language. Here's their summary: "People who like words, as it turns out, also hate words…One woman challenged anyone to think of a case in which a deleted 'actually' changed the meaning of the sentence…Popular objects of dissatisfaction included 'awesome' and 'epic' (pointlessly inflationary), 'phlegm' and 'fecund' (pointedly ugly), 'bling' and 'swag' (self-conscious slanguage), 'impacted' and 'efforting' (boardroom blather), 'like' and 'but' (only taking up space), and 'irregardless' and 'inflammable' (are they even words?)."
"Boardroom blather" hit close to home. As a regular conference call attendee, I fight an inadverdent eye roll every time I hear a nonsensical bit of business speak. I'm clearly not the only one. When Forbes ran a piece on the most annoying business jargon, least favorites included "buy-in," "move the needle," "leverage," and (shudder) "scalable." I'll drink to that! Although if anyone utters the words "dilly dilly" when I do, I'll immediately leave the room.
Anyway, we thought it would be fun to ask benefits professionals what word or phrase they'd like to see eliminated from the industry. Nominations poured in. Click here see the results (spoiler alert: "voluntary benefits" and "high-deductible health plans" may want to start clearing their desks.)
What word or phrase makes your skin crawl? I really need you to "drill down" on this. So "take it offline" and then "circle back" with your nominations. Send them to [email protected] (or drop them in the comment section below).
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Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson is the editor-in-chief of BenefitsPRO Magazine and BenefitsPRO.com. He has covered the insurance industry for more than a decade, including stints at Retirement Advisor Magazine and ProducersWeb.
