Celebrities, let me fix this for you – you’re not ‘humbled’ to win something, you are ‘honoured’ | Arwa Mahdawi

If you can't tell the difference, I have a horrible punishment in mind for you - whether you're the boss of Apple TV or the president of the US

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.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist