brandembalming
/ˈbrændɪmˌbɑːlmɪŋ/nounVerified NewThe process by which corporate adoption of a slang term or meme preserves its corpse while ending its life.
The phrase appears in an ad campaign and is instantly over. It will keep circulating for years exactly as the brand used it, but as quotation, never again as speech.
Etym. — brand + embalming — the marketing department as mortician of language.
Rel. — slanglarceny
Novelty check: NEW · checked 2026-11-08
review evidence: wordstoreview/review-batch-3-10-media.md
Evidence log
No query log recorded.
Method: Editorial batch review — per-word exact-form web search (WebSearch/Tavily) per docs/REVIEW-criteria.md §2