These Words Need to Be Retired in 2022

Question: When is the “new normal” just ….. normal?

Answer: 2021

If you thought 2020 was a year; well, check out 2021. 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary named “vaccine” the 2021 Word of the Year (while over in the UK, the Oxford Dictionary hailed “vax” as its Word of 2021.) 

Whichever side of the pond you live on—and probably WFH from—COVID and the vaccines not only influenced the way we’ve lived and worked these last 12 months but also the language we used to talk about this “new normal” (ugh).

As per tradition, I consulted with my networks to crowdsource for this annual post. The results were fast and furious and fell into three buckets: workplace, culture, and business/technology. They reflect trends that have been coined and then overused this year, terms we maybe don’t understand well enough, slang, frustrations and business realities. 

And we’d very much like to say goodbye to them, so we can usher in 2022 with fresh, positive vibes. 

Without further ado, here are the contenders for the words and phrases we think have jumped the shark, deserve to be canned, kicked to the curb, purged, disposed of and generally discarded in 2022.

Workplace:

• New normal 
• The Great Resignation
• Future of work
• Back to the office
• “Can you see my screen?”
• Hybrid work
  
  

Culture:

• Cheugy (explainer here; also check out #cheugstagram)
• Sheesh
• No cap
• Schlubby (thanks, Wall Street Journal)
• Guys
• Sus
• Girlboss
•  “Tell me you’re _____ without telling me you’re ____” 
• Double click
• Cancel culture
  
  

Business/technology:

• Metaverse (does anyone yet truly understand - or is it another flavor of cloud?)
• Supply chain disruption (remember the Ever Given in the Suez Canal?)
• Unicorn
• Clubhouse
• Meme stock

Can you believe we’ve been publishing Inkhouse’s Words to Retire blog posts since 2010? That’s a LOT of words. If you fancy a stroll down memory lane, below is where you can find them all. 

Side note: I just re-read the very first post from 2010 and well, it's still very relevant. 

TL:DR: “At Inkhouse, we plan to revolutionize communications by providing next-generation PR 2.0 services based on disruptive, best-in-breed social media tools so we can facilitate a paradigm shift for our clients.”

• “You’re On Mute” And 9 Other Words And Phrases To Retire In 2021
• 20 Words to Retire in 2020
• 15 Words And Phrases We Should Retire In 2019
• Covfefe And Other Words That Must Be Retired In 2018
• The Bigly List Of Words To Retire In 2017
• 10 Words And Phrases To Retire In 2016
• Words To Retire In 2015: The Millennial Edition
• Words To Retire In 2014: Why Twerk Must Go But Selfie Can Stay
• Words To Retire In 2013
• Words To Retire In 2012
• 10 Words We Can Retire in 2011