Aussie slang among one of the world’s ‘Banished Words’ of 2021 — here are some of the phrases that made it at the top of the list
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Aussies are famous for their unmistakable twist on the English language and creative slang. It seems that we have another way of saying almost anything.

Petrol station becomes servo, the sandwich becomes sanga, afternoon becomes arvo, the list is endless.

Aussie slang may not be in the dictionary, but it's certainly something that has become part of the everyday vocabulary of most Australians. Credit: Getty Images.​

However, on the other side of the pond, Lake Superior State University in the USA conducts an annual survey of terms that they deem to be overused yet useless.

The school has notably conducted the survey since 1976 and has been publishing the results at the end of each year.

The survey, which amassed responses from English speakers around the globe, including Australia, Canada, Norway, Belgium, England, and Scotland, revealed that the phrases that dominated this year's list are more conversational compared to last year's list which was dominated by phrases related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

LSSU Executive Director for Marketing and Communications Peter Szatmary said that the results may be a reflection of how Western society has adapted to the ongoing pandemic.

LSSU President Rodney S. Hanley in a statement: "Say what you mean and mean what you say. Can't get any easier, or harder, than that."

"Every year submitters play hard at suggesting what words and terms to banish by paying close attention to what humanity utters and writes. Taking a deep dive at the end of the day and then circling back make perfect sense. Wait, what?"

If you're curious which phrases made it at the top of the list, here are the top 10 phrases that need to be banished.

“Wait, what?”, “supply chain”, and “no worries” are some of the phrases that made it to the list of Banished Words of 2021. Credit: Getty Images.​

1. 'Wait, what?'

The phrase is used to convey surprise or uncertainty. The survey suggests that some found this phrase to be "inexact", with one person complaining "I don't want to wait" whenever they hear this phrase.

2. 'No worries'

This classic Aussie slang is a substitute for "you're welcome" or "sure thing". But did you know that a number of English speakers nominated the phrase for its ubiquity?

The school noted that this phrase is "truly meaningless".

Check out some of the classic Aussie slangs in this video:

Credit: mmmEnglish​

3. 'At the end of the day'

The phrase first appeared on the Banished Words list way back in 1999. However ‘at the end of the day’ nothing seems to have changed.

4. 'That being said'

Nominators argued that this phrase is a redundant verbal filler.

One person said: “Go ahead and say what you want already!"

5. 'Asking for a friend'

This phrase has been used as a joke on social media, mainly by users who don't want to admit that they are asking the questions for themselves.

Although the phrase is meant to be humorous, some nominators said that the phrase is overused.

6. 'Circle back'

The school said: "It's a conversation, not the Winter Olympics."

7. 'Deep dive'

A number of people pointed out that diving is for bodies of water and not subjects or materials. Hence, the reason why they think this phrase is useless.

A person asked: "Do we need 'deep'? I mean, does anyone dive into the shallow end?"

8. 'New normal'

This phrase emerged to describe the societal changes that we're going through as we try to cope with the impacts of COVID-19. But, did you know that the phrase was actually banished back in 2012?

The nominators argue that the pandemic isn't "new" anymore so there's no reason for this phrase to still exist.

9. 'You're on mute'

As we shift from physical meetings to virtual conferences, this phrase has been used numerous times since the start of the pandemic.

10. 'Supply chain'

We are guilty of this. We used this term a lot last December, as the pandemic made supply issues over Christmas a bit of a hot topic.

The nominators pointed out that the phrase has been used as a scapegoat for any kind of shortage. Meanwhile, others argued that the term has been used as a buzzword.

Do you think that banishing common terms such as ‘no worries’ is important? We would love to hear your thoughts. ‘At the end of the day’, if you're getting the message across kindly and clearly, it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[KatKop]

"I got off OF the chair","I gave him a clip upside the ear" or "Hey, y'all" - or worse, "Aluminum" and "nucular bomb"?

... and I would of gone, but ...

 

[Howie]

Seriously… what a crop of…? Corn maybe!
Anyway, whatever yah reckon! All this talk is Malin’ me as dry as a dead dingos donga!

 

[Howie]

Seriously… what a crop of…? Corn maybe!
Anyway, whatever yah reckon! All this talk is Malin’ me as dry as a dead dingos donga!

* Makin’ me*

 

[Sue Lay]

I hate that Americanisms have crept into our unique language! Leave our language alone Yanks and learn to spell, Colour, Flavour, Neighbour, Paediatric etc

 

[Howie]

I hate that Americanisms have crept into our unique language! Leave our language alone Yanks and learn to spell, Colour, Flavour, Neighbour, Paediatric etc

Labour

 

[Joan Paterson]

These people obviously have nothing better to do with their time and possibly trying to justify their wages. LEAVE OUR AUSSIE SLANG ALONE!!! We are unique and our slang is ours.....if you don't like it POQ as one of our sayings go.

What's it got to do with America... leave our sayings and slang alone it has nothing to do with anyones country but ours...

 

[Julie1]

I say let them (Americans) have their badly, lazy spelt words and we will have our Aussie slang and English language. It’s not rocket science oh dear, did I do a slang term? I only recently heard the term, ‘it is what it is’, it can be a lazy term or something that can not be fixed. I have a quite few American friends on Facebook and not all,’ say you-all’.
As for Yankees, this is what Google says,

Yankee, a native or citizen of the United States or, more narrowly, of the New England states of the United States (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut). The term Yankee is often associated with such characteristics as shrewdness, thrift, ingenuity, and conservatism.

Let’s put the Americans to rest and forget about the ones writing this
Julie1

 

[Pat T]

These people need to go and justify their existence somewhere else!

It’s a shame that so many intelligent people can be so THICK.

 

[Halona]

Next thing they will be telling us we have to say Y'all like they do. We love our slang and we will continue to use it regardless of what a bunch of nongs on the other side of the world say. They are only jealous because they never thought of it first

I see the "Y'all" coming in and another one that grates on me is "Mumma" eg she's a good Mumma...we've never said that in Australia - now even my Granddaughter uses it with her two babies

 

[0417128714]

No I do not think banishing “no worries “ is a good idea. Would never happen anyway. You could always say as my son does “no wuckas “

Then there’s no wucken furries

 

[Sunshine45]

Another word I hate is Diapers that seems to be creeping into our everyday vocabulary. It's Nappies a kid wears nappies here in Australia

Sooo right Kids wear napkins I wipe the food off my mouth with a serviette!!

 

[Sunshine45]

Then there’s no wucken furries

This is all so confusing I am getting in a mucking fuddle...do not say that when you have had a tinnie or 3.

 

[diesel dan]

I do believe that this thread has 'come off the rails' when I saw the title was about Aussie slang, a language I as a youngster used to love listening to, my father and some of our neighbors used a smattering of slang in most conversations, it was the way they talked, nothing forced it just flowed. I was expecting some of the classics such as, I'll just go and take a "Butchers Hook". They would refer to a job done poorly as a "dogs breakfast'', when inviting someone to sit down, they were invited to "take a load off". This list can go on and on, my only concern is that modern slang, to use the term loosely, is being lumped in with the slang of my childhood and it is being bastardised

 

[Ricci]

I do believe that this thread has 'come off the rails' when I saw the title was about Aussie slang, a language I as a youngster used to love listening to, my father and some of our neighbors used a smattering of slang in most conversations, it was the way they talked, nothing forced it just flowed. I was expecting some of the classics such as, I'll just go and take a "Butchers Hook". They would refer to a job done poorly as a "dogs breakfast'', when inviting someone to sit down, they were invited to "take a load off". This list can go on and on, my only concern is that modern slang, to use the term loosely, is being lumped in with the slang of my childhood and it is being bastardised

Butchers Hook is old cockney rhyming slang,

 

[diesel dan]

This is all so confusing I am getting in a mucking fuddle...do not say that when you have had a tinnie or 3.

The above statement is not in my opinion Aussie slang as used by our forebears. The statement above is just a little bastardizing of the English language, probably more for effect.

 

[Thecla]

Sooo right Kids wear napkins I wipe the food off my mouth with a serviette!!

Honour, neighbour, labour is another pet hate of mine.....you do realise that that our own political party is spelt LABOR!!!!!!! I didn't realise this till a couple of years back I had always written it labour, thought about it in my mind as labou,r I would like it back to labour....now that I have had my pacifier spit (hahahahahahaha) I can leave

 

[PossumBilt]

No I do not think banishing “no worries “ is a good idea. Would never happen anyway. You could always say as my son does “no wuckas “

A sticker on a car (FC Holden) I had in the 70's was a cartoon karate man saying " I'm a Fu Kung Aussie"

 

[Sunshine45]

Honour, neighbour, labour is another pet hate of mine.....you do realise that that our own political party is spelt LABOR!!!!!!! I didn't realise this till a couple of years back I had always written it labour, thought about it in my mind as labou,r I would like it back to labour....now that I have had my pacifier spit (hahahahahahaha) I can leave

Yes realised that long ago once told a telephone caller "when they learn to spell correctly I might vote for them!" let the Americans spell it their way but when in Rome/ Australia do it out way! They cant spell anyway and constantly get their/there, hear/here mixed up and out of context.