Why do people use the word counterplay when they have absolutely no clue what it means?

I see people talking about "just build tanky" as counterplay. Or "just use summoner spells" or "just use items."

I mean what?

While I will concede that summoner spells and items are counterplay, they're not exactly feasible forms of counterplay. When Riot talks about counterplay they talk about an inherent weakness in a champions reliability.

Think of a punch (a skillshot) as a play. Then the counterplay to the punch would be to dodge the punch or to catch the punch. With human error being the punch missing altogether (aka opponent being stupid). So while Ryze can accidentally Q a minion, you didn't do anything to make him Q the minion and thus there was no counterplay.

It's two words. Counter AND play. Meaning you have to counter it by outplaying it. If you wore a suit of armour and someone punched you in the face you wouldn't feel a thing. You didn't counterplay them because you didnt make a play to stop them from hitting you. They just didn't hit you because you had money to buy a suit of armor.

When Riot talks about counterplay, they mean it has to be realistic (so using zhonyas to dodge kats W is not reaslistic) and that there is an inherent flaw in the champions reliability that allows the opponent to make a play to avoid getting punished.

Nids cougar for example has 0 counterplay. It exists for 2 reasons.... As a 700 range gap closer and subsequent burstexecution.