Updated 2 July 2022
I stole the idea for this page from Richard Stallman. It's simply a list of words and phrases that I recommend not using, and why. I try to give useful alternatives.
artist: usually better to say "painter," "sculptor," etc.
bougie: mispronunciation of "bourgeois."
bowl: a vessel for serving food, not a type of food itself. Restaurants selling "bowls" make the food sound like interchangeable slop.
coding: like programming, but includes softer tasks like writing Excel formulas. Often used in the sense of "we should teach more X to code." Can be condescending, because it implies that X have the ability to "code" but perhaps not to "program."
conspiracy theory: an innuendo used to ridicule an idea and imply that it's false. Does not literally refer to a theory about conspiracies, since of course some conspiracies do happen. Better to say "false," "discredited," "speculative," as the case may be.
hype: often incorrectly used instead of "hyped."
problematic: an innuendo for some form of bigotry. Better to say what the problem is, rather than hint at it.
STEAM: science, technology, engineering, art, and math. This term lumps together unrelated things without being exhaustive. (It leaves out history and literature, for example.) Better to say "sciences and humanities," or "a well-rounded education."