Writers Tricks of the Trade VOLUME 10 ISSUE 1 | Page 17

than it is, especially when used in reference to
social media.”
Influencer. The university points to Urban
Dictionary, mentioning a word favored by
Instagram users "to describe themselves to
make them feel famous and more important
when no one really knows who they are or
care.”
Literally. Surprisingly, this word hasn’t
already been banished, says the university,
"but here it is, one of the few words in English
that has begun to serve as its own antonym.
Many of the nominators cite this word’s use
for figurative expressions or emphasis, which
is literally annoying.
I mean. It’s easy to see why this phrase was
nominated, right? I mean…
Living my best life. The phrase, making the
rounds for a while, means you’ve traveled
the world, landed your dream job, got
accepted to grad school. etc. The phrase
praises the finish line and ignores the work it
took to get there.
Mouthfeel. A word used by foodies to
describe the texture of food or drink in the
mouth, which the university committee feels
should be banished entirely from food reality
TV shows.
Chirp. No, it doesn’t refer to a happy canary.
The university wordsmith’s say “before we
get chirped for being out of touch...why don’t
we leave it to the birds?”
Jelly. An abbreviation of jealous, the
committee agrees with the nominator of this
word who suggested that it’s better left for
toast.
Totes. Another abbreviation, this one for
totally.
Vibe. A new use of the 1960s term, “good
vibes.” This one doesn’t vibe anymore, unless
the speaker is actually vibrating.
OK, boomer. This caught on in late 2019 on
the Internet as a response from millennials to
the older generation.
A BOUT THE A UTHOR :
Hal Morris spent two decades at Times-Mirror Co. — Los Angeles Times and Los
Angeles Mirror. Early bylines, while a young, full-time editorial staffer at The Times, were
as campus correspondent, Los Angeles City College, and frequent contributor to The Times’
glossy Sunday Home Magazine, writing mostly about plants and flowers. He was one of the
W INTER 2020
P AGE 12
W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE