Lake Superior State University's Banished Words List for 2009
April 21st 2009 16:25
According to Lake Superior State University, 2009's list of banished words include many pertaining to the American economy, as well as environmental trends. Some of them I don't really understand or hear/read often; others are in my opinion long overdue for making the list.
Here are some of the words (and phrases) on this year's list:
First Dude - Wow, this one went over my head. Apparently, this term is used to refer to politicians or leaders? I don't think I have ever come across this one.
Bailout - Overused, of course. But it was so entrenched in daily discourse that the term inspired the homonymous term Bale Out.
Staycation - A staycation is when you have a pseudo-vacation (i.e., holiday) at home instead of travelling somewhere else. Silly concept, sillier word. I'll bet that this term is almost exclusively used in North America.
Not so much - This is supposed to be a dismissive or snarky way to pooh-pooh something. I first heard it on a fashion makeover show a few years back. The woman being made over was constantly saying, "Not so much," to the outfits that she didn't like. (But she wouldn't say it with a preamble. She'd just look at an item of clothing and say, "Not so much.") Even the hosts of the show were confused: "'Not so much'? What does that mean?!"
"Monkey" - Alas, I didn't even know that this word was overused and scorned enough to make this list. Would I have taken over the Cooking Monkey blog here at Orble had I known? Not so much. (Just kidding!)
<3- This is the heart symbol used in lieu of the word 'love', e.g., "I <3 Robert Pattinson omg omg!" I've grown so used to the <3 from my years of blogging at LiveJournal that it's not a big deal to me. What's much more annoying is the usage, "I less than three him!" UGH.
It's that time of year again - This one's puzzling. Don't people say this all the time? Why did it make the list suddenly this year? I swear that I hear/read this phrase every year, at every time of year...of course.
Icon/iconic - Aw, I like this word. But I do agree that it's used too much, and inappropriately. Read any arts or entertainment section of the paper and you're bound to read about numerous musical, theatre, cinematic, style, and fashion icons. Are there really so many icons?
Note: See my post about last year's list.
Here are some of the words (and phrases) on this year's list:
First Dude - Wow, this one went over my head. Apparently, this term is used to refer to politicians or leaders? I don't think I have ever come across this one.
Bailout - Overused, of course. But it was so entrenched in daily discourse that the term inspired the homonymous term Bale Out.
"Stop saying bailout, damn it!"
Staycation - A staycation is when you have a pseudo-vacation (i.e., holiday) at home instead of travelling somewhere else. Silly concept, sillier word. I'll bet that this term is almost exclusively used in North America.
Not so much - This is supposed to be a dismissive or snarky way to pooh-pooh something. I first heard it on a fashion makeover show a few years back. The woman being made over was constantly saying, "Not so much," to the outfits that she didn't like. (But she wouldn't say it with a preamble. She'd just look at an item of clothing and say, "Not so much.") Even the hosts of the show were confused: "'Not so much'? What does that mean?!"
"Monkey" - Alas, I didn't even know that this word was overused and scorned enough to make this list. Would I have taken over the Cooking Monkey blog here at Orble had I known? Not so much. (Just kidding!)
<3- This is the heart symbol used in lieu of the word 'love', e.g., "I <3 Robert Pattinson omg omg!" I've grown so used to the <3 from my years of blogging at LiveJournal that it's not a big deal to me. What's much more annoying is the usage, "I less than three him!" UGH.
It's that time of year again - This one's puzzling. Don't people say this all the time? Why did it make the list suddenly this year? I swear that I hear/read this phrase every year, at every time of year...of course.
Icon/iconic - Aw, I like this word. But I do agree that it's used too much, and inappropriately. Read any arts or entertainment section of the paper and you're bound to read about numerous musical, theatre, cinematic, style, and fashion icons. Are there really so many icons?
Note: See my post about last year's list.
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