Hope you have got some sensible shoes on because I am about to take you on a hike up a hill I am prepared to die on. Ready? Here we go: anyone who uses the word “humbled” when they really mean “honoured” ought to be immediately thrown into solitary confinement and not allowed out until they have read a dictionary.
That may sound harsh but desperate times call for desperate measures: an epidemic of humbled-bragging appears to be sweeping the world. Every time a celebrity or sportsperson or LinkedIn thought-leader accepts an award or announces a new job these days, they trot out a line about how “humbled” they are. Just this week, Apple TV boss Zack Van Amburg responded to Ted Lasso’s Emmy wins by saying: “We’re so grateful and humbled.” Even heads of state aren’t immune. When Joe Biden won the 2020 US election he announced he was “honoured and humbled”. Respectfully, Mr President, becoming the most powerful person in the world is very much the opposite of being humbled.
It humbles me to say I am not the first person to get annoyed by all the humbling that’s happening lately. Researching this piece, I found a Medium article from 2017 urging people to Stop saying you’re humbled and an Atlantic article from 2014 analysing Why Oscar winners say they’re ‘humbled’. It appears that this horrible trend has been going on for a while now. However, your humble columnist has only just noticed it, which is all that really matters.
I get irrationally irritated by lots of trivial things, just ask my wife. However, I’m not normally a grammar fascist or a pedant. On the contrary: I think the most brilliant thing about the English language is its dynamism, its constant shape-shifting. When people complain about English being used incorrectly I often roll my eyes and think to myself “This is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put.” But all rules have exceptions and it seems I have met mine. It is a humbling experience.
Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist