The Over-Used Tells
Why "heard it a lot" is not the same as "past it."
Tell 1: the word that has stopped being specific: a word is alive while it describes a particular thing - the exact kind of feeling, the exact kind of moment. The moment it becomes the default you reach for when describing anything at all, the word has stopped being about the thing. It is now just the thing people say. That is the over-used point.
Tell 2: the word you have to explain: the alive word works in the context - everyone in the room knows what it means without a setup. The over-used word is the one that needs the "you know what I mean" tacked on, because the context has worn so thin that the word no longer carries it. If you are spending a sentence explaining it, you are already past it.
Tell 3: the word that is the joke: the last sign. The word is no longer the description - the word is the thing that is funny to say. That is the whole point of the reset. When the word is the joke, the word is not doing the job of the word anymore. It is just the decoration on top. That is the one that goes on the list.