Posted on 12/31/2007 8:13:17 AM PST by ricks_place
A "surge" of overused words and phrases formed a "perfect storm" of "post-9/11" cliches in 2007, according to a U.S. university's annual list of words and phrases that deserve to be banned.
Choosing from among 2,000 submissions, the public relations department at Michigan's Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie targeted 19 affronts to the English language in its well-known jab at the worlds of media, sports, advertising and politics.
The contributors gave first prize to the phrase "a perfect storm," saying it was numbingly applied to virtually any notable coincidence.
"Webinar" made the list as a tiresome non-word combining Web and seminar that a contributor said "belongs in the same school of non-thought that brought us e-anything and i-anything."
Similarly, the list-makers complained about the absurd comparisons commonly phrased "x is the new y," as in "(age) 70 is the new 50" or "chocolate is the new sex." "Fallacy is the new truth," commented one contributor.
Some words and phrases sagged under the weight of overuse, contributors said, citing the application of "organic" to everything from computer software to dog food.
In the same vein, decorators offering to add "pop" with a touch of color need new words, the list-makers said.
Such phrases as "post 9/11" and "surge" have also outlived their usefulness, they said. Surge emerged in reference to adding U.S. troops in Iraq but has come to explain the expansion of anything.
Other contributors took umbrage at the phrase to "give back" as applied to charitable gestures, usually by celebrities.
"The notion has arisen that as one's life progresses, one accumulates a sort of deficit balance with society which must be neutralized by charitable works or financial outlays," one said.
"Back in the day" raised hackles for being applied to recent trends rather than historical events.
Other teenage linguistic indiscretions such as the often meaningless use of "random" and "sweet" raised the ire of list-makers, as did the pointless "it is what it is."
Reporters were chided for skipping out on detail by describing an event or parting as "emotional," and for misapplying "decimate" when they mean annihilate or destroy, not the word's true meaning of to lose a fraction.
Sports announcers were urged to drop "throw under the bus" when assigning blame to a player. "It is a call for the media to start issuing a thesaurus to everyone in front of a camera," a contributor said.
And finally, any self-respecting writer would groan at being labeled a "wordsmith" who engages in "wordsmithing," the list-makers said.
Arte Johnson should send half of his royalties to crossword-puzzle writers.
I’m sick of issues.
At work, my boss will ask, “Do you have issues with that?” I reply, “No, Dr. Phil has issues, I have PROBLEMS!
How about “Awesome!”
Or the variant- “to be perfectly truthful,” after which should mean that you have to shut up...
Just pray that he never runs for political office!
Now it’s “here’s a phone card, call someone who cares.”
I *heart* someone
Dude...
“Spot on” should be on the list.
My current linguistic pet peeve seems all of a sudden to have become the norm.
One of the very first grammar lessons in grade school is not to say “the man *he* went to the store.” I remember thinking “why in the world do they find it necessary to teach this? Who ever says that?”
Now everyone on TV who speaks says “the man he went,” “the car it hit,” “the killer he stabbed,” “the mother she cried,” “the apartments they burned.”
Sometimes they try to hide it with “The criminal? He was nabbed.”
The list it goes on.
No kidding - we have several TV weatherpersons who always say “we’ll have rain issues on Monday” or “there may be some wind issues with the storm” or “if you’re traveling, there will be some traffic issues”. Every weather condition is an issue.
> You can never “completely decimate” anything. There will always be 90% of it left. <
Amen!
(My high school Latin teacher would no doubt have swooned in the presence of your learnedness!)
Actually I think actually is actually the most
over used word today.
"Thanks for all the support you've given Hillary and I."
It's possible, I suppose, to forget "At the end of the day..."
But, at the end of the day, would it really make any difference?
Bottom line: Just go with the flow.
That one makes me shudder as well.
Que sera, sera.
“Speak truth to power”. Whenever I hear someone use that phrase, I know they’re an empty-brained moron.
Totally.
Not just any old fraction though.
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