Skip to main content

Words "viral" and "epic" consigned to college trash

BOSTON (Reuters) – This story might be epic, and could even go viral, but not if Lake Superior State University has anything to do with it. Just sayin.'
The small college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, released on Friday its annual list of "banished words" -- terms so overused, misused and hackneyed they deserve to be sent to a permanent linguistic trash can in the year ahead.
"Viral," often used to describe the rapid spreading of videos or other content over the Internet, leads the list for 2011.
"This linguistic disease of a term must be quarantined," Kuahmel Allah of Los Angeles said in making a nomination.
Runners-up included "epic" and "fail," often twinned to describe a blunder of monumental proportions.
A total of 14 words were on the list.
Cliched terms such as "wow factor," "a-ha moment," "back story" and "BFF" (Best Friends Forever) rated highly. The very au courant use of "Facebook" and "Google" as verbs got a thumbs down as well.
As usual, election-cycle zingers and catchwords quickly look as worn out as last year's campaign posters.
In that vein, voters suggested the banning of "Mama Grizzlies," used to describe right-wing female politicians in the mold of Sarah Palin, and "man up," famously used by Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharon Angle in a testy debate with Democrat Harry Reid and a favorite Palin expression as well.
"A stupid phrase when directed at men. Even more stupid when directed at a woman, as in 'Alexis, you need to man up and join that Pilates class!'" said Sherry Edwards of Clarkston, Michigan.
LSSU began its popular list in 1976, when it named "at this point in time," as substituted for the concise and elegant "now," as a linguistic dud. The college now receives well over 1,000 nominations each year through its website, lssu.edu/banished.
Previous winners and nominees include the terms "shovel ready" for 2010, "battleground states" for 2005, "24/7" for 2000 and "family values" for 1995.
(Reporting by Ros Krasny; Editing by Jerry Norton)

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Blake Griffin with his head at the rim

After knocking himself out of the 2009-10 season after hurting his knee during a dunk attempt, it's still OK to cringe a bit every time you see Blake Griffin (notes) readying a launch. And apparently, now we have to worry about his head knocking the rim just as much as his knees handling the descent. It speaks to the level of credibility that the Dunk Contest owns these days that when word hit Wednesday that Blake Griffin was open to the idea of entering the NBA's annual stuffing show, we were actually more concerned than excited. Would Griffin, clearly the master of the in-game dunk just two months into his NBA career, be able to in any way match his prowess in an exhibition setting? Was there a risk of him needlessly hurting himself in the process? About 11 minutes into Wednesday's Rockets/Clippers matchup, the worries became outright fears. Because Blake went and did this. That's a 6-9 guy jumping off a surgically repaired kneecap with his head at th...

Payroll tax cut worries Social Security advocates

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's plan to cut payroll taxes for a year would provide big savings for many workers, but makes Social Security advocates nervous that it could jeopardize the retirement program's finances. The plan is part of a package of tax cuts and extended unemployment benefits that Obama negotiated with Senate Republican leaders. It would cut workers' share of Social Security taxes by nearly one-third for 2011. Workers making $50,000 in wages would get a $1,000 tax cut; those making $100,000 would get a $2,000 tax cut. The government would borrow about $112 billion to make Social Security whole. Advocates and some lawmakers worry that relying on borrowed money to fund Social Security could eventually force it to compete with other federal programs for scarce dollars, leading to cuts. Social Security taxes "ought to be held sacrosanct," said Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., chairman of the House Ways and Means subco...

Look at Kim Kardashian's Engangement Ring

Behold, the $2 million, 20.5 carat ring Kris Humphries gave to Kim Kardashian . Humphries designed the ring with jeweler Lorraine Schwartz, who is a "longtime Kardashian friend." Kardashian gushed about the rock to People . "In high school I went to Macy's and bought this fake ring, my 'perfect' ring, and this is almost the exact same," she said. "It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It's perfect." Kim said she wanted something that would be "her own," distinct from sister Khloe's $850,000, radiant-cut ring. So they went for an emerald cut, with a 16.5-carat center stone and a couple of two-carat trapezoid stones surrounding it. As for Humphries, it seems the basketball player had one thing on his mind in selecting the perfect ring. "I just knew I wanted it to be big!" he told People . And in that, he undoubtedly succeeded. Bauergriffinonline.com has more photos of Kim Kardashian and ...