Banished Words for 2008
Wednesday January 2, 2008
Lake Superior State University has released its annual List of Banished Words: worn-out, misused, unnecessary, and generally annoying words and expressions. Here are ten that caught our attention:
- perfect storm (for any sort of coincidence)
- webinar (a portmanteau word for a seminar on the web)
- waterboarding (characterized by former CIA director Porter J. Goss as a "professional interrogation technique")
- organic (in most cases, meaningless marketing jargon)
- give back (A contributor notes: "Various media have been featuring a large number of people who ‘just want to give back.’ Give back to whom? For what?")
- "BLANK" is the new "BLANK" or "X" is the new "Y"
- Black Friday (for the shopping day after Thanksgiving)
- random (vague teenage slang)
- sweet ("Youth lingo overuse, similar to ‘awesome,’" says a contributor to the list.)
- under the bus (a sportscasting cliché)
Little Lake Superior State, shivering on the Canadian border, has been conducting this harmless publicity stunt for more than 30 years now. So why don't we play along. Do you think these "banished" words and phrases are the most deserving? Let us know by clicking on the "comments" button below.
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Comments
I have not encountered most of the words listed, but I do find “organic” irritating. When informed that a substance is organic, implying that it is harmless or beneficial, I think of Deadly Nightshade.
Have you considered “seriously,” “actually,” or other adverbs that imply the remainder of your prose may be fictional? The one construction most grates on my nerves is “it goes without saying.” If this is true, why are you saying it? Thanks for the chuckle.
I’m guilty of not proofreading my entry. I meant to say “The one construction that most grates on my nerves is “it goes without saying.”
How about adding the word “change” it sure is being overused so far this year.
how about adopting an Asia child phrase, celebrities do it for compliments I guess
The expression “key aspect” always annoys me. I think it’s overused in business.
But the worst (someone said to me the other day) is “back at you”. I’ve never heard that.