A university in the United States compiles what they call the Banished Words List, updated each New Year’s Day. Folks around the world submit suggestions for words or phrases that they believe deserve to be banished from the English language, due to overuse, misuse, or general uselessness. Over the years, the list has accumulated such gems as ‘metrosexual’, ‘thinking outside the box’, and the practice of expressing distaste by calling something ‘gay’. I’ve got a suggestion for a new addition that is already somewhat overdue.

“emo”

The noun-adjective emo has been around for years, and it has been fairly innocuous in that time, mostly found in the context of describing bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and whatever fans they had that had managed to stay alive. Lately it has been co-opted by troubled, introverted LiveJournal types and it makes me frown.

“i don’t want to sound emo, but here’s an essay on how emo my life is at the mo”
“so she calls me emo and i’m like whatever, you don’t know me”
“my mum still shops for me so I guess being emo was the natural choice”
“haha, man these emo chicks are easy!”

The example is a little contrived perhaps, but you know what I mean. Word used to mean one thing; taken, reclaimed, and bastardised into meaning something entirely different; now, with all its lexical potency sucked dry, it must go, so that the rest of the language may live.