Celebrities, let me solve this problem for you - you are not "humbled" to win something, you are "honored" | Arwa Mahdawi

Hope you're wearing proper shoes because I'm about to take you on a hike up a hill I'm ready to die on. Ready? Here it is: anyone who uses the word "humbled" when it really means "honoured" should be immediately thrown into solitary confinement and banned from leaving until they read a dictionary.

It may sound harsh, but desperate times call for desperate measures: an epidemic of humble bragging seems to be sweeping the world. Every time a celebrity, athlete, or thought leader on LinkedIn accepts an award or announces a new job these days, they say how "humbled" they are. Just this week, Apple TV boss Zack Van Amburg responded to Ted Lasso's Emmy Awards saying, "We're so grateful and humbled." Even heads of state are not 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 the very opposite of being humiliated.

It humbles me to say that I'm not the first person to be annoyed by all the humility that's been going on lately. While researching this article, I found a Medium article from 2017 urging people to stop saying you're humble and an Atlantic article from 2014 analyzing why Oscar winners say they're "humbled." It seems like this horrible trend has been going on for quite some time now. However, your humble columnist just noticed it, and that's all that really matters.

I'm irrationally irritated by a lot of trivial things, ask my wife. However, I am not normally a grammar fascist or pedant. On the contrary: I think the most brilliant thing about the English language is its dynamism, its constant change of form. When people complain that English isn't being used correctly, I often roll my eyes and think, "That's the kind of arrogant pedantry I won't put up with." But all rules have exceptions and it seems I've met mine. It is a lesson in humility.

Arwa Mahdawi is a columnist for the Guardian