Longtime readers know I don't make New Year's resolutions; why make a promise I'm unlikely to keep? However, since the Lake Superior State University Banished Words List isn't due to be released until later today, I thought I'd share some goals we could all stand to keep in mind for the new year.

Speaking of words, be sure of their meaning(s) before castigating someone. I still recall the guy who, when I was mourning my brother Corey's imminent death (as a result of his refusing vaccination for covid), posted on my Facebook wall, "The fact you would openly criticize your brother is testament to your misogyny." When a friend defended me, he called her a misogynist as well.

Dude, to quote Inigo Montoya (because I will always quote Inigo Montoya), "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

There are also those who insist that certain words have only one meaning when they don't, or who re-define words to meet their purposes. Words and their meanings evolve naturally over time, but lately there have been an awful lot of people who want to rush the process. Just don't. Buy a dictionary, or look up the definition online in a reputable dictionary (Merriam-Webster, Oxford Languages, Cambridge, etc.) before you get on your high horse.

For that........

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