Dictionary.com Publishes List of Words You Must Stop Using Because #Woke

Things so stupid only a (fake) intellectual cold believe them.

[M]ost of us unknowingly use problematic words and phrases from time to time without thinking about their origins or how they could hurt some groups of people. What's not OK is to keep doing it once you know it's wrong.

There are plenty of words out there to choose from in the, ahem, dictionary. But, to help narrow it down, we rounded up some commonly misused words and phrases that have the potential to offend.

We’re not going to leave you verbally high and dry either. We’re providing some better alternatives for each. Take a look and see how many you may be misusing.

Spirit animal
Beyond mere animals, today people claim their spirit animal to be everything from avocado toast to the movie Deadpool. They mean to imply that they relate with something or deeply love something. But using the term spirit animal in such a way is not only overdone, it's also offensive.

The problem is that spirit animals are an important part of the belief system of some cultures and refer to a spirit that "helps guide or protect a person on a journey and whose characteristics that person shares or embodies." Referring to Baby Yoda as your spirit animal is actually cultural appropriation, so next time you go to type this on social media, try one of these fun synonyms instead.

...

Sherpa
If you don’t hail from Tibetan stock and live in the Nepalese Himalayas serving as a porter on mountain-climbing expeditions (yes, we know, that was very specific), you're not a Sherpa. Nope, not even if you lead your friends to the best burrito spot at 2 a.m. or help your roommate pass their chemistry test.

Sherpa is actually an ethnic group and attributing the title to others is disrespectful.

Guru

Guru is used in a similar way as Sherpa to refer to someone who's good at something or an expert in a subject matter.

The word guru, however, comes from Buddhist and Hindu religions and refers to a spiritual guide or leader who is held in high esteem. Throwing the term around casually--as in referring to yourself as a marketing/love/business guru--is disrespectful because it diminishes the importance of the title and its origins.

Better alternatives:

They are a doyen in the marketing world.

By the way, doyen is a French term, derived from their culture. But they're white so fuck their culture, right?

I have learned so much from my uncle, who is a virtuoso in the kitchen.
I am an authority when it comes to raising puppies right.
The mechanic is truly skilled; he is a maestro.

Virtuouso and maestro are both Italian. But once again: Fuck white people. Appropriate whatever passes for a "culture" among those garbage people.

Ninja Yep, cultural appropriation is the issue again with the word ninja. The term's origins refer to "a member of a feudal Japanese society of mercenary agents, highly trained in martial arts and stealth (ninjutsu), who were hired for covert purposes ranging from espionage to sabotage and assassination."

Yet few who throw the word around today pay any regard to the original culture and context of the word. Much like guru, people use the term to claim expertise in an area, such as legal ninja or writing ninja, and the concern is that the word’' origins aren't being respected in such cases.

One must respect the Ninja Culture.

Bingeing Whether it's that new Netflix series or several handfuls of M&Ms from your coworker’s candy bowl, you may be tempted to say you binged, but try to refrain (both from using the word and eating too much sugar).

We throw around terms like binge-watch and cleaning binge all the time when, in fact, the word binge originates from serious eating disorders, including Binge Eating Disorder and bulimia, and should be reserved for discussions about them. Choosing to watch every episode of The Crown in a weekend is a choice, whereas bingeing disorders are not a choice and their severity shouldn't be diminished.

In other words, don't use the word "binge" to mean what it actually means, because it's also used as a bit of a euphemism in other cases.

These people really love words, huh?

... Hysterical

If you find something or someone to be hysterical, meaning funny, that's OK. If you’re calling someone’s actions hysterical because they’re being emotional, then you may want to reconsider.

Far too often women are dubbed hysterical for being outspoken or showing their feelings, and that wades into problematic, sexist territory due to the history of the term.

...

Plus, have you ever heard a man being called hysterical … we're guessing not.

...

While plenty will claim people are being too sensitive in finding these words objectionable, we’ll take a moment to remind you that a synonym for sensitive is understanding. If your words have the potential to hurt others, why wouldn't you try to find better words? There are plenty of them to choose from, after all, and we're always here to help.

Here's some other words to choose from: Suck my dick, Nazis.

posted by Ace at 12:50 PM

| Access Comments