I have recently developed an intolerance to the word “whimsy.” I can’t say when it started, but I know I can’t stand hearing it. This word became popular near the end of 2025 and was circulated in many New Year’s resolutions. While I love the spirit behind whimsy (we should definitely make an effort to make our lives more fun), every time I hear the word I can’t help but cringe.   

Words have ever-decreasing shelf lives in our modern culture. Due to rapid trend cycles proliferated by social media, we are constantly popularizing, overusing and eventually abandoning new words. I saw this firsthand throughout the length of my finance class last semester. From August through October, whenever our professor happened to say the numbers six and seven, the boys in front of me would snicker and look at their friends. By November, only one or two of them would react, while their buddies pretended not to notice. Finally, by the time we had gotten back from Thanksgiving break, I could tell the bit was completely dead.  

While we have recently been rotating through words at a rapid pace, there are some slang words that have stood the test of time. “Fire,” “GOAT” and “sus” seem here to stay, and words like “cool” and “legit” have been around so long, I forget that they are considered slang. So, what makes a word live longer? What separates the “LOLs” from the “yeets?” Why are we going to fade “fade” soon, but “vibe” is still the vibe?  

I think a word loses its meaning when it fails to slip into our common language without effort. If I tried to explain six-seven to my parents, we would be there all night. However, if I offhandedly say dinner was fire, I don’t think they’d bat an eye. The reason “whimsy” rubs me the wrong way is because it feels forced. I can’t envision a world where people are still saying, “that’s so whimsical” in two years, or even six months. I am so in support of making our everyday lives extraordinary, that hearing this idea compressed into a fad word makes me sad. I know “whimsy” will die, and the idea behind the word will be gone with it.