Respondents to an annual Michigan college survey of overused and misused words and phrases say ” 鈥� is 鈥渃ooked鈥� and should come to a massive full-stop heading into the new year.
Those are among the top 10 words on the 50th annual 鈥淏anished Words List,鈥� released Thursday by Lake Superior State University. The tongue-in-cheek roundup of overused slang started in 1976 as a New Year鈥檚 Eve party idea, and is affectionately called the list of 鈥淨ueen鈥檚 English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.鈥�
Around 1,400 submissions came from all 50 states and a number of countries outside the U.S., including Uzbekistan, Brazil and Japan, according to Lake Superior State.
Also in the top 10 are 鈥渄emure,鈥� 鈥渋ncentivize,鈥� 鈥減erfect,鈥� 鈥済ift/gifted,鈥� 鈥渕y bad鈥� and 鈥渞each out.鈥� 鈥淢y bad鈥� and 鈥渞each out鈥� also made the list decades ago 鈥� in 1998 and 1994, respectively.
鈥淭he list definitely represents the fad and vernacular trends of the younger generation,鈥� said David Travis, Lake Superior State University president. “Social media allows a greater opportunity to misunderstand or misuse words. We鈥檙e using terms that are shared through texting, primarily, or through posting with no body language or tone context. It鈥檚 very easy to misunderstand these words.鈥�
befuddled parents, teachers and others over the age of, say 40, more than 鈥�6-7.鈥� Dictionary.com even picked it as their , while other dictionaries chose and 鈥� .鈥�
But what does 鈥�6-7鈥� actually mean? It exploded over the summer, especially among Gen Z, and is considered by many to be nonsensical in meaning 鈥� an inside joke driven by social media.
鈥淒on鈥檛 worry, because we鈥檙e all still trying to figure out exactly what it means,鈥� the dictionary’s editors wrote.
Each number can be spoken aloud as 鈥渟ix, seven.鈥� They even can be combined as the number 67; at , some fans explode when a team reaches that point total.
The placement of 鈥�6-7鈥� at the top of the banished list puts it in good company. In 2019, the was the top requested phrase to ban from popular use. In 2017, ” ” got the most votes.
Alana Bobbitt, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, is unapologetic about using 鈥�6-7.鈥�
鈥淚 find joy in it,鈥� Bobbitt said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit silly, and even though I don鈥檛 understand what it means, it鈥檚 fun to use.鈥�
Jalen Brezzell says a small group of his friends use 鈥�6-7鈥� and that it comes up a couple of times each week. But he won鈥檛 utter it.
鈥淣ever. I don鈥檛 really get the joke,鈥� said Brezzell, a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see what鈥檚 funny about it.鈥�
But banning it, even in jest, might be a bit of a stretch, he said, adding that he does use other words and phrases on the list.
鈥淚鈥檝e always used the word 鈥榗ooked,鈥�” Brezzell said. “I just think it got popular on the internet over this past year. It鈥檚 saying, like, 鈥榞ive it up, it鈥檚 over.鈥欌��
Some of the phrases do have longevity, Travis said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think they鈥檒l ever go away, like 鈥榓t the end of the day,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚 used 鈥榤y bad鈥� today. I feel comfortable using it. I started using it when I was young. A lot of us older people are still using it.鈥�
Travis said that while some terms on the list 鈥渨ill stick around in perpetuity,鈥� others will be fleeting.
鈥淚 think 鈥�6-7,鈥� next year, will be gone,鈥� he said.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
