Why I dislike the term ‘New Normal’

I had no idea that universities had annual banished words lists. But apparently they do and every year the list is compiled from contributions made by the public who submit them with their reasons for wanting them banished. There are ten that have been banished for this year. These are: Wait What!; that being said; Asking for a friend; new normal; at the end of the day, supply chain, no worries, deep dive, circle back and you’re on mute.

In fact, I was rather chuffed when I saw one particular phrase on this year’s list, although I didn’t agree with the reasoning. The phrase ‘new normal’ was submitted because people were getting tired of hearing it over and over again in the last two years. I don’t believe they disliked it when it was first used, though I did, but now they seem to be since it’s become ‘old’ to them, because, after two years surely it can longer be considered new. I disliked the phrase for two reasons. Firstly, any measure that has been implemented during Covid is not what we’re used to and, therefore, not normal, and people should stop trying to normalise it. After thousands of years of human existence such measures can never be considered normal. Secondly, to me, the pairing of ‘new’ to ‘normal’ is a bit of an oxymoron; in terms of definitions, new is never normal, nor is normal ever new.

I’ve never quite understood the use of ‘at the end of the day’, another phrase that people want banished. I often asked, at the end of which day? What does the phrase actually mean and in what context is it being used? The phrase seems to imply ‘when everything is taken into consideration’. This explanation is a surprise to me because I thought the phrase meant ‘no matter what’. To me a more apt phrase would be ‘all things being considered’.

Ever seen a social media posting starting with ‘Asking for a friend…’ followed by the question? They are everywhere. Well, this is now the new way to say ‘I’m not asking for me but for someone else who wishes to remain anonymous.’ But everyone knows that the question is not from someone anonymous. Everyone knows that the post is from the poster. In fact, I think it’s a sarcastic way of asking a tough question to which the poster knows full well that answers won’t be forthcoming any time soon.

People also got fed up with the phrase ‘supply chain’. This is, in fact, a legitimate term in the fields of logistics, transport and procurement and, most likely, shall remain so. But what annoys people is when shops use it as an excuse for when something is not in stock. But I’ve often heard the phrase, ‘it’s our supplier’, something that’s equally annoying.

I’ve often used the phrase ‘no worries’ and I wonder if I should be worried that it’s now on the banished list! It’s on the list because people think that when someone says to them ‘no worries’ they are being told not to worry or because there is nothing to be worried about. They want to be in charge of whether or not they should worry about something because they are the best judge of knowing if something related to them is worrisome or not. Also, telling someone not to worry is not going to stop them worrying! Again, I think they’ve got that interpretation wrong. I’ve used the phrase not to imply that there is nothing to worry about but to say that even though I did not receive the answer I was expecting or it is worrisome, it’s okay with me.

To be honest, aside from the ten that have been banished I think that there are a few more that should be too. I would start off with ‘hey’ which, for decades, has been a colloquial alternative to saying ‘hello’. But as someone once said, ‘hey is for horses’. And why have profanities in every language not been banished? They are offensive to everyone on the planet and often used in the middle of sentences even when someone isn’t cursing at someone. And how about the phrase ‘you know’ in the middle of sentences, or even at the beginning of a sentence? It’s often used as a filler between sentences or as some way to start a new topic in an article. People who find the phrase annoying often say, don’t say you know because if I did know I wouldn’t be asking you.

But at the end of the day, banished words do not imply that they are obsolete. People will likely still use them with some being used more than others.