IreneLake Superior State University's Banished Words List for 2008 (LINK)
April 23rd 2008 20:10
Do you see anything wrong with this bag of greens? Apparently, Lake Superior State University does.
Early this year, the university published its list of banished words for 2008. Why banish words? you might ask. Well, they're not just any words, but rather words that are overused, misused, or simply just bad. The university also claims that it was the first entity to come up with these banished word lists.
I agree with some of the words being on the list, but many of them are befuddling. Perhaps I don't read or watch enough American media to understand it all (what's wrong with "surge"?). Anyway, here are some of the words that made the cut--how many of these do you know (or use)?
webinar - Ah, yes. I know this one very well. I used to write webinars; consequently, this word doesn't annoy me much.
organic - They've nailed it with this word. It's overused. I remember one of my film professors calling a movie "organic". Hmm.
wordsmith/wordsmithing - Hah, someone asked me to 'wordsmith' something a few months ago at work.
post 9/11 - I actually don't see anything wrong with this term, but maybe I don't see how it's overused. It's probably used a lot more in the States than here in Canada.
give back - I was complaining to my husband about this term: "What does that mean, 'give back'? That phrase is so meaningless!"
random - YES. Why do people use "random" so, well, randomly? In a way, though, it's also amusing that the dictionary meaning of the word itself defines this new usage.
decimate - People have long complained about the misuse of this word. Most people use it to mean 'completely destroy' when it means 'to reduce (a population, etc.) by a tenth'.
emotional - Good call. I never would have thought of it myself, because I'm used to "emotional" meaning overtly sad.
pop - Before I read this list a few months ago, I didn't understand this one. Afterward, I noticed the annoying use of "pop" at least once a week: "The cherry red paint really makes the room pop!" Arrgh.
If I could add my two cents, I'd add the two words that raise my ire the most:
literally - It drives me nuts when it's used to mean "'figuratively", which is an antonym of "literally".
overly - Drop the -ly, please. "Over" is already an adverb. Would anyone say 'underly'? Didn't think so.
I agree with some of the words being on the list, but many of them are befuddling. Perhaps I don't read or watch enough American media to understand it all (what's wrong with "surge"?). Anyway, here are some of the words that made the cut--how many of these do you know (or use)?
webinar - Ah, yes. I know this one very well. I used to write webinars; consequently, this word doesn't annoy me much.
organic - They've nailed it with this word. It's overused. I remember one of my film professors calling a movie "organic". Hmm.
wordsmith/wordsmithing - Hah, someone asked me to 'wordsmith' something a few months ago at work.
post 9/11 - I actually don't see anything wrong with this term, but maybe I don't see how it's overused. It's probably used a lot more in the States than here in Canada.
give back - I was complaining to my husband about this term: "What does that mean, 'give back'? That phrase is so meaningless!"
random - YES. Why do people use "random" so, well, randomly? In a way, though, it's also amusing that the dictionary meaning of the word itself defines this new usage.
emotional - Good call. I never would have thought of it myself, because I'm used to "emotional" meaning overtly sad.
pop - Before I read this list a few months ago, I didn't understand this one. Afterward, I noticed the annoying use of "pop" at least once a week: "The cherry red paint really makes the room pop!" Arrgh.
If I could add my two cents, I'd add the two words that raise my ire the most:
literally - It drives me nuts when it's used to mean "'figuratively", which is an antonym of "literally".
overly - Drop the -ly, please. "Over" is already an adverb. Would anyone say 'underly'? Didn't think so.
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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people use "post 9/11" when they should just say "in the last 10 years" or "in recent years" or stop being lazy and research the specific year they are speaking about
saying "post 9/11" implies that the thing being spoken about hinges on the results of the terrorist attack
"post 9/11 airport security has been increased" YES
"post 9/11 techno music has become more popular than grunge rock" NO (an unrelated coincidence with no correlation to specific years)
"post 9/11 the divorce rate amongst new yorkers has sky-rocketted" hmmm not unless you are trying to imply the trend is directly due to the mood of fear - if you mean the last 5 years just say the last 5 years or else the statement is weighted with assumptions
so johnny when did your parents get divorced? ummm well post 9/11 haha
its like the new BC vs AD as if every aspect of daily life changed to a polar opposite on that precise day, it is false causation
Comment by Irene
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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