You'll Never Guess Which Viral Phrase Topped 2026's 'Banished Words List'
- - You'll Never Guess Which Viral Phrase Topped 2026's 'Banished Words List'
Will SayreJanuary 2, 2026 at 12:31 AM
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There's a chance you're using a certain phrase these days that you probably never said before this past year.
Modern society welcomes soon-to-be words and expressions all the time — and in honor of the trend, Lake Superior State University releases a Banished Words List each year. The 2026 version is particularly special since it's the infamous survey's 50th-anniversary edition, the public college boasts.
Can you guess which phrase topped LSSU's top-10 list, released Thursday, Jan. 1 in honor of New Year's Day? Probably.
"67" became so engrained in our culture this year that it even seeped into popular media consumption, becoming the central plot line of the recent Halloween episode of South Park. Go back and watch as the Emmy-winning show's infamous Cartman character becomes possessed (in a spoof on The Exorcist) once his obsession with 6-7 drives him to insanity — to hilarious results.
Overall, the entries into LSSU's Banished Words List are continuing a tongue-in-cheek commentary on language, catchphrases and corporate jargon. More than 1,400 submissions were entrusted to LSSU this year, pouring in from all 50 U.S. states and as far as Uzbekistan, Brazil, Japan, the U.K. and more.
Here's the college's Banished Words List in full:
10. Reach Out9. My Bad8. Gift/Gifted7. Perfect6. Full Stop5. Incentivize4. Massive3. Cooked2. Demure1. 67
And just as Americans became obsessed with 67, so, too, have they remained fascinated with the true-crime realm of film and television this past year. Variety just put together a list of the top documentaries from 2025, and Netflix's Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer topped the spread, spotlighting the hunt for a killer in a certain part of New York through the perspective of his victims, their loved ones and the police.
Netflix projects held the second and third spots on Variety's list as well, with The Perfect Neighbor ranked at No. 2 and Unknown Number: The High School Catfish trailing right behind it.
This story was originally published by Parade on Jan 1, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
