Posted on 01/01/2002 7:04:53 AM PST by Tazlo
Lake Superior State University Issues 2002 List of Banished Words
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. - Lake Superior State University released its 27th annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use, and General Uselessness. The compilation draws from hundreds of nominations received from all over the world by mail and through the Internet.
LSSU forms a committee in December to review the year's entries and decide which of them will be included on the list. Word-watchers pull nominations from everyday speech, as well as from the news, fields of education, technology, advertising, politics, and more.
The complete 2002 list follows:
Politics and the Media
DISENFRANCHISE - "Somewhere along the line, somebody stumbled into it thinking he was saying 'disfranchise.' It caught on, and for more than 30 years we've been subjected to this negative-positive abomination. What's next? 'Disenable'? - Mike Bunis, Key West, Florida.
"The term has been frequently applied to describe voters who have experienced difficulty in following directions." - J. H. Jaroma, Sault Ste. Marie, Micihigan.
"Our country cannot possibly hold that many victims." - Linda, Kansas City, Missouri.
SURGICAL STRIKE -- Over-used in the news media to describe bombing campaigns. "As in bombing a Red Cross building by mistake?" - nominator from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
FRIENDLY FIRE -- "Would unfriendly fire be less painful?" - nominator from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
BRING THEM TO JUSTICE or BRING THE EVIL-DOERS TO JUSTICE - "Practically every news reporter and our President has uttered these words. Now, hearing this phrase is almost comical, even under these most serious circumstances that profoundly affected my hometown..." -- a proud New Yorker from Queens.
FAITH-BASED -- "All it means is religious entities, but I presume 'faith-based organizations' will elicit less recoil." - Michele Mooney, Van Nuys, California.
"I'm just tired of hearing it. Bombard the phrase with guided Missals." - Elaine Hampton, Burbank, California.
BI-PARTISANSHIP -- "Bipartisanship, to most politicians, only seems to happen when one side gets its way and the other goes along with it. I didn't vote for my guy to submit to the will of the opposing party. I want lots of partisanship!" - Michael Bush, Jersey City, New Jersey.
Anything modified by DOPPLER -- Stems from when TV newscasts began using new doppler weather radar. Now 'doppler-fication' has become a badge of excellence with local newscasts, regardless of whether it involves weather. Even the stations are amused by it. The Morning Crew at YES-FM in Sault Ste. Marie predicts sweet forecasts with its "Hobbler-Dobbler-Peach-Cobbler." Claire Rynders of Madison, Wisconsin, asks, "If my TV station uses 'Doppler 2001,' does that mean weather forecasts are more accurate because it has bigger doppler?"
FRIG and FRIGGING - A sneaky way of getting a version of the dreaded 'F' word on the radio and TV. Is there anything one can't say on the airwaves these days? - Merri Carol Wozniak, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
NINE-ELEVEN (9-11) and its variations -- We received many nominations for this annoying abbreviation that refers to Sept. 11, 2001, the day terrorists attacked and killed thousands in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Those who sent nominations said they were in no way trying to make light of the day's events, or the subsequent events. Most of them asked if finding a 'cute' abbreviation for the day makes the attacks any easier to accept.
"Last year, we had Y2K and 24-7. This year, we have 9-11. This new digital language (digitalk?) should be banned no later than 1-1-Y2K-2…Do we refer to the Chicago Fire as 10-8 because it occurred on Oct. 8, 1871? How about the sinking of the Titanic - it is not called 4-14. A tragic event of such proportion should not be confused with a telephone number. The name will be remembered as long as there are people who can read." - nominator from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
"I can't believe people are abbreviating the worst act of war this country has seen since Pearl Harbor. I've never heard anybody refer to the attack on Pearl Harbor as Twelve-Seven, or 12-7." - nominator from Colorado Springs, Colorado.
"It was September 11." -- nominator from Ishpeming, Michigan.
"It's over-used and sounds ridiculous when used to represent what happened on September 11. - nominator from Madison, Wisconsin.
"It's worse when people play on the ambiguity with '911' in the emergency phone number context." - nominator from Los Angeles, California.
IF…THEN THE TERRORISTS WIN or THE TERRORISTS WILL HAVE WON - "Since Sept. 11, we've heard countless variations of this phrase, usually from politicians, encouraging us to get back to our normal way of life. It has become so over-used as to become almost meaningless, especially when, for example, the Smallville Chamber of Commerce says, 'If you don't come to the annual parade, then the terrorists win.' I can't imagine al-Qaeda cares whether we attend parades…Sorry to have taken up so much space, but if I can't complain about things that bug me, then the terrorists will have won." - nominator from Chicago, Illinois.
"The phrase makes a mockery of those extremely tragic events of that day." - nominator from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Business/Technology
BRAINSTORM/BRAINSTORMING - "Bureaucrats and bosses often use it to sound hip instead of dry. 'We brainstormed.' Didn't you simply 'think'? 'We had a brainstorming session.' Didn't you simply have a meeting?" - Ken Marten, Hamtramck, Michigan.
"If you've ever been on a committee for anything, you've heard this." - Thomas Heilman, Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
SYNERGY - nominated by many, including John from Medicine Hat on Lindy Thorsen's CBC radio show out of Regina, Saskatchewan.
"It's used as a weasel-word, as in, 'There might be some synergy between our companies,' instead of 'We want to make some money off of you.' It's one of those words that's used by salespeople the way a parrot uses profanities - they blather away without a clue as to its meaning." - Gervase Webb, London, England.
"A favorite of politicians and bureaucrats, and used to make one sound smart. It comes from the Greek sunergos, which means 'working together.' Why not just say that? I'll bet most people using the word can't define it." - Ken Marten, Hamtramck, Michigan.
"It's a blanket term used by people so they won't have to actually articulate their business case in a meaningful way." - T. Conte, Woodstock, Ontario.
RAMP UP - Often used to suggest an increase in productivity or your product's effectiveness. "Whatever happened to the word 'increase'? - Lance Rivers, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
"Whoever started it should be made to ramp up (walk) the plank." - Howard E. Daniel, Kailua, Hawaii.
EDGY - "Supposedly referring to creative work that is provocative and interesting, the word now has become a signal that someone is trying to 'market' yet another piece of contrivedly offensive hack work. We should limit the word to physical things that have edges, such as an 'edgy coffee table.'" - Ron LaLonde, Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada.
INFOMMERCIAL - "Is everyone else as tired of this as I am? If a commercial lasts for 30 minutes, it's a PROGRAM. It's also boring!" - John King, Oceanside, California.
MAKING MONEY -- As a caller into a radio program on Detroit's WJR pointed out, only counterfeiters make money. Honest people earn it.
'BOTS -- A fashionable construction that refers to robots. "Please restore the neglected 'ro-'," pleads Bob Forrest of Tempe, Arizona.
Does Not Compute
FUNCTIONALITY - Nominated by many, including listeners of Lindy Thorsen's show on CBC-Regina. "The word is used in the computer field when people don't seem to know how to explain a software feature. It's used as a crutch, and it's used way too much!" - Scott Watson, Oxford, Michigan.
"Used all too frequently in the information technology industry to describe attributes and capabilities … Product 'upgrades' are said to feature 'enhanced functionality,' whatever that is." - Terry Shannon, Ashland, Massachusetts.
KILLER APP -- Used to describe an outstanding computer program. "If its function doesn't approximate that of the HAL 9000 computer from 2001, it's not really a killer application," says Peter Lynn of Toronto, Ontario.
SOLUTIONS -- The Banishment Committee pines for the days when our economy offered merely goods and services. Its usage especially miffs Greg Arens of Brainerd, Minnesota, who points out that "problems demand solutions; needs demand fulfillment."
Miscellaneous/Overuse
REALITY TV and REALITY-BASED TV -- "Banish the words, banish the shows, banish the people who came up with the idea for the shows, because there is nothing real about this form of television." - Mary Li, Toronto, Ontario.
CAR-JACKING - "Throughout my long career in law enforcement, there was a name for the forcible taking of an auto from the driver. It's called armed robbery." - John King, Oceanside, California.
IN THE WAKE OF… - "What was ever wrong with the word 'after?'" A caller on WJR Detroit's David Newman Show wondered if we should all take one tablet in the wake of each meal.
NO-BRAINER -- Charles VonHout of Climax, Michigan, wonders, "Who doesn't have the brain in this transaction, you or me?"
Sports
ATHLETICISM - instead of saying that an athlete is very good.
"Not yet in the dictionary, but no doubt on the way…exceeded only by 'tremendous athleticism'!" - Keith, Edwardsville, Illinois. "This word is so over-used by coaches and players that it has ceased to have any meaning (if it ever did). He's graceful. She can jump. She's strong. He's accurate. Give me details." - Sarah Kickler-Kelber, Columbia, Maryland.
RUN THE TABLE - "Sneaking into sports programming to refer to 'winning all games.' For example, 'The Jets have to run the table to make the playoffs.' It's football, dough head, not Casino Royale." Sent by Brian Giffen, Burnaby, British Columbia, who is also bothered by what he calls the proliferation of 'gangspeak' in sports broadcasts, e.g. 'deuce' for 'two,' 'rock' for 'ball.'
Redundancies
'Uniquely Unique' has been on the list for many years. Some variations have been showing themselves.
TOTALLY UNIQUE - Jeremy Mulliss, New Westminster, British Columbia.
VERY UNIQUE - Alastair Forbes, Buckinghamshire, England.
SWORN AFFIDAVIT - "If it is not sworn, it is not an affidavit." - Smitty Landry, New Iberia, Louisiana.
Miguel McCormick of Orlando, Florida, should take his redundancy act on the road. He sent us some beauties.
POSSIBLE CHOICES - "No need to include the impossible choices, I'm sure."
FOREWARN - "But if not, then warn after the fact."
UNPRECEDENTED NEW - "Not to be confused with the unprecedented old one."
RENAME IT SOMETHING ELSE - "Be sure not to rename it the same name."
DELAY DUE TO AN EARLIER ACCIDENT - "Now in standard use…As distinguished from the delay caused by an accident yet to occur."
FORESEEABLE FUTURE - Just how long is foreseeable? "What about the unforeseeable future?" ponders James Hartman from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
CONTACT: Tom Pink 906-635-2315, tpink@lssu.edu OR John Shibley, 906-635-2314, jshibley@lssu.edu
But I'd let 'em all stay if we could just get rid of the word "Hillary" forever.
Person too, for that matter.
Even so, a couple of the phrases mentioned, while cliche, aren't as worthless as they might appear. Comparisons between "9-11," Pearl Harbor and the Titanic are not truly valid. On 12-7, ONE military base was attacked. On 4-14 (or 4-14/15 if you're pickier,) only ONE ship sank. On 9-11, the World Trade Center Towers were brought down, part of the Pentagon was smashed, and scores died in a Pennsylvania field. To focus on one group of victims has the effect of ignoring the other two, who died just as horribly. And no one is going to casually refer to the "WTC/Pentagon/Pennsylvania field attacks. If James J. Kilpatrick will forgive me: injunction denied.
Synergy, or "synchronous energy" was introduced by Stephen Covey, in his 1991 book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People." Probably 20 percent of all middle managers read that book, and the other 80 percent are trying to pretend that they did, so a word that originally had real meaning is twisted beyond recognition because of its overuse by people who don't know what they're talking about. Were it to be retired, I wouldn't shed a single synergetic tear.
In the wake of an earlier accident has meaning when one realizes that rush-hour traffic (now THERE'S a silly phrase) continues to be affected even after the tow-trucks have hauled away the wreckage. But the reason for it involves phrases such as "domino effect" or "ripple effect," both of which are now highly suspect.
Everything else on the list can surely be put in the dumpster. It's a no-brainer. We've got to start thinking outside the box.
For example if a debate commission has four Republicans and four Democrats it is bipartisan NOT nonpartisan.
Re: Reality TV
If you are just following someone around with a camera(like COPS) then calling it "reality" tv might be appropriate but sending someone to the outback and having them run obstacle courses for cash prizes is not reality. Call it "unscripted tv" or call it what it is, a gameshow.
That is how the thoughts of the "rabble" are altered. Redifine the words and terms used, there-by altering the thoughts of those targeted. Now you can begin to understand the erosion process in thought and the purpose for capturing information decemination systems. This is why "they" seek to controll the internet and secretly bash their own heads against the wall for underestimating Talk Radio.
HEAR ME NOW. BELIEVE ME LATER.
Speaking of words. There is a little town in Maryland that could not decided on the issue of which end of the town to build the post office, so they named the town, Issue. I wonder how the Michigan town got its name?
BTW, it will always be 9-11 to me also.
i've always wondered about "family restaurant", as if there are restaurants for the opposite.
also, is this a politically coded phrase? in virginia it seemed to be a coded phrase for a christian restaurant, amongst my fellow employees who were "full gospel" christians!
oh boy, i asked them: are their churches preaching only part of the gospel?
praise the lord, and let's kill some arabs! (/sar)
A thoroughly nuclear term currently used to identify the site of the ruins of the WTC.
Ironically, this term is being widely used by people who would be horrified for the United States to actually use an atomic weapon, thereby creating a REAL ground zero.
A Killer App is an application of a new technology that is so obviously useful that it leads to mass acceptance of the technology. Railroads were the Killer App for steam engines. Automating the spreadsheet, a time consuming, error prone task if done by hand, was the first Killer App of the personal computer. Now, when nanotechnology becomes more feasible it's Killer App will be food replication.
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