Words and Phrases We Lost in 2023

Let’s take a moment to mourn some popular words and phrases we lost in 2023. Like those year-end lists of celebrities who made their exits, I’ll stick with some of the more familiar performers. Unlike those lists, the candidates need not be dead, merely damaged.

When I say, “words and phrases we lost,” I mean those no longer available for routine use without considering the risk of sending an unintended message. Their meanings or connotations have been neutered, altered or even turned upside down through repetition or misuse.