In an apparent nod to President Donald Trump, and to the great relief of newspaper editors near and far, the experts at Lake Superior State University announced Wednesday that “quid pro quo” topped its 45th Annual Banished Word List.
The small public university, located on Michigan’s northern Peninsula, began publishing its annual list of words and phrases that should be “banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness” on Jan. 1, 1976.
The university’s 2020 list of words worthy for banishment also included “artisanal,” “curated” and “influencer.”
The solons of the English department at Lake Superior State have been compiling the annual list from nominations sent in from far and wide for more than four decades.
Quid pro quo, which translates from Latin as “something for something” gained new traction when Trump famously insisted there was “no quid pro quo,” in his dealings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
It’s not the first time a Trumpism made the list.
Just last year, “fake news,” appeared on the list. In 2018 “collusion” — as in “no collusion” — was nominated for banishment.
But the president’s influence on the list goes back well before his appearance on the political scene.
The archive of annual winners recorded “You’re fired” as the top choice for banishment in 2005, just one year after Trump began pronouncing it boldly on “The Apprentice.”
Although the list is compiled by Lake Superior’s English Department, anyone can nominate a word or phrase at the school’s website.
