Massachusetts Hates These Five COVID Words the Most

It's been roughly a year since any of us first heard the word "coronavirus," which was the first term the public used before COVID-19 caught on, which was eventually shortened to COVID by many.

Over the course of the year, we have started using words and terms regularly that, before 2020, we would have never imagined using. In fact, the list of these words is so long, that Maddie wrote an article about this back in September.

A public relations firm called PR Pioneer took it one step further. It polled people in Massachusetts about which of these COVID terms annoyed them the most, and I couldn't disagree more with the list.

According to the poll, "Flattening the curve" is the COVID phrase that irks Bay Staters the most. Which Dunkin' or Market Basket could the pollsters have been hanging out in front of to get that answer? There are way more annoying COVID terms than "flattening the curve," in my opinion.

The runner-up annoying COVID term in Massachusetts was "outbreak." OK. I guess? It's a timely word, but I wouldn't put it in my own top five, which I'll get to in a second. The PR Pioneer Top 5 was rounded out by "second wave," "unprecedented," and "bubble."

Here are my personal choices:

"Unprecedented times." I want to hurl every time I hear about the unprecedented times we're living in. It's ridiculous how many times these words appear in news stories or commercials.
"It's gonna look a little different this year." Talking about every event, every holiday, every aspect of our lives. I can't. Just. Stop.
"The Rona." I'm not a fan of this because I feel like it's far too casual for such a serious issue. I don't mean to be so stuffy, but let's not be so cavalier about a pandemic that has crushed so many families.
"The new normal." This one has stuck in my craw since the very first time I heard it. This offends me to no end; hey, it's 2021, so we're all entitled to being offended by just about anything. I refuse to bend on this. There is only one normal. And we'll eventually get there again. Forever is a mighty long time.
"Cohorts." If I had pulled you aside a year ago and told you how many times you'd hear that word in the next 12 months, you would have NEVER believed me.

Which list do you agree with more?