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Pedants' corner

« Wait list »

14 replies

wobblychristmastree · 17/05/2026 18:19

It’s all over Mumsnet! Is this now an accepted English term? What happened to waiting list?

Just a rant from me

OP posts:
RaraRachael · 17/05/2026 18:27

I've noticed this creeping in too. Is it American?

milkeyway · 17/05/2026 18:28

I will never not say waiting list.

GuelderRoses · 17/05/2026 18:29

I agree, it is horrid. Not quite as bad as 'needs gone' though.

wobblychristmastree · 17/05/2026 18:32

RaraRachael · 17/05/2026 18:27

I've noticed this creeping in too. Is it American?

I believe it’s an Americanism

OP posts:
Buscobel · 17/05/2026 21:44

It’s a waiting list. It was always a waiting list and it will always, for me, be a waiting list.

EmpressaurusKitty · 17/05/2026 21:47

Yes. Like ‘waiting in line’ replacing queuing.

RaraRachael · 17/05/2026 22:06

It's a waiting list because you're waiting for something.
You're not wait for something.

PinkCatCushion · 17/05/2026 22:10

It’s awful. Waiting list, waiting list.

Viviennemary · 17/05/2026 22:11

So annoying.

Perfectnightssleep · 17/05/2026 22:12

I am so relieved it isn't just me who loathes this.

Pinknotpurple · 17/05/2026 22:13

Hate it too! 😬

RitaIncognita · 18/05/2026 15:35

Y'all are going to clutch your linguistic pearls over this, but in the US, it's now one word: waitlist. It's also a verb as in "I was waitlisted by Harvard." Some guides suggest a hyphen for the verb form.

wobblychristmastree · 18/05/2026 16:25

RitaIncognita · 18/05/2026 15:35

Y'all are going to clutch your linguistic pearls over this, but in the US, it's now one word: waitlist. It's also a verb as in "I was waitlisted by Harvard." Some guides suggest a hyphen for the verb form.

pearls clutched!

seriously though, it’s absolutely fine in the US but absolutely not in the UK IMO

OP posts:
tartyflette · 18/05/2026 16:36

Is it part of a current tendency to shorten everything to gobbledegook — eg you’re on a waiting list/ wait list/ waitlist? (And to invent new words à l’americaine? Even though a perfectly good word already exists)

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