Excerpt:
[Boston Globe opinion writers were asked to comment on a notable term from 2019. My reflection on "squad" appears below. To read my colleagues' thoughts on "impeachment," "OK Boomer," and more, please click here.]
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IT WASN'T that long ago that the only "squad" anyone talked about was Taylor Swift's high-powered gaggle of gal pals. "Squad goals" became a catchphrase; it meant, Swift explained, being with women who "motivate you, thrill you, challenge you, and inspire you."
So when four Democratic congresswomen-elect — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Ilhan Omar — emerged from a freshman orientation meeting in November 2018 and posed for a snapshot that landed on Instagram, it needed only a one-word caption: "Squad," Ocasio-Cortez wrote. The photo went viral and got tons of love.
Alas, the new squad's goals were nothing like Swift's. . . .