2) Robust
In the season 2 episode “Hostages,” Selina is set to deliver a speech at a Marine Corps Base, and at the last minute, Dan changes a line to include the word “robust.” They can’t stop talking about what a great word this is, which apparently sticks in Sue’s head; later, when she freezes up at a congressional hearing, Sue says “robust” three separate times. The media goes crazy with the story that both Selina and Sue used the same word, with headlines like “Robusted! It’s Washington Wordshare” and “Who you gonna call? Robusters!”
Half the episode is spent debating the difference between calling for a “robust response” and a “considered response,” and the storyline points to the ludicrousness of politicians so carefully calculating every sentence to manipulate voters and then repeating the talking points over and over.
Years later, during the 2016 election, CNN assembled a wonderful mashup of politicians saying “robust” in speeches, and it’s one of those things that you can never stop noticing once it’s pointed out. Seriously, they say robust all the time. As executive producer Frank Rich explained, “Now, you literally cannot hear a politician speak…without using the word ‘robust.'”
