Elizabeth Beach

A White House podium flanked by two United States flags
20 December 2017

Political doublespeak dominated our 2017 list as things became seriously Orwellian in the US. At the top of the heap was the worrying ‘alternative facts', suggesting that politicians can be right even when they're wrong.

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt pose together at a gala. Brad wears a tuxedo and bowtie and Angelina wears a formal gown.
20 December 2016

Noxious Frankenword 'Brangelexit' topped our 2016 list. Combining Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's celebrity moniker 'Brangelina' with the recent 'Brexit' vote, this elevates a celebrity divorce to the level of a major world event.

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23 December 2015

In a particularly bad year for corporate spin doctoring, 'possible emissions non-compliance' topped our 2015 list. Volkswagen’s CEO used this phrase to describe what was actually cheating when regulators tested how much pollution its cars emit.

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Headshots of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin
23 December 2014

'Conscious uncoupling' was our 2014 winner. Gwyneth Paltrow used this phrase to describe her separation from husband Chris Martin.

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An office worker carries a box of items from their desk
19 December 2013

In 2013, HSBC got our vote when it announced it would be 'demising the roles of 942 relationship managers'. This meant that nearly 1000 employees were losing their jobs.

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Three fried chicken drumsticks
20 December 2012

When KFC chose 'goodification' as the slogan for its marketing campaign, we had to choose it as our Worst Word of the Year, along with its cringe-worthy cousins - 'gooderer', 'goodest' and 'goodify'.

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Clouds of emissions coming out of cooling towers
19 December 2011

2011 was a banner year for corporate evasion and euphemistic spin, with 'fugitive emissions' (more commonly known as pollution) topping our list.

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Sneakers on a bitumen road point in the same direction as an arrow that is painted on the road
23 December 2010

2010 was filled with Manglish and gobbledygook, but we couldn't get past 'moving forward'. Julia Gillard repeated this slogan more than 20 times when she announced the federal election.

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