ForumGarden

Dec. 31, 2006, 5:55PM





Irritating, worn-out words of '06 banned

By SVEN GUSTAFSON Associated Press Writer

© 2006 The Associated Press





DETROIT — If the media's habit of combining celebrity names didn't cause word watchers enough heartburn in 2006, the past year had plenty of other words and phrases that language purists wish had "gone missing."

Lake Superior State University on Sunday released its annual "List of Words and Phrases Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness."

The Sault Ste. Marie school in the Upper Peninsula has been compiling the list since 1976 to attract publicity. A total of 16 words or phrases were selected by a university committee from more than 4,500 nominations.

The list reads like a lexicon of popular culture.

Take "ask your doctor," the mantra of pharmaceutical commercials. The university called it "the chewable vitamin morphine of marketing."

Critics piled on the media's practice of combined celebrity names such as "TomKat" or "Brangelina." One said, "It's so annoying, idiotic and so lame and pathetic that it's "lamethetic.'"

Real estate listings were targeted for overuse of "boast." As in "master bedroom boasts his-and-her fireplaces _ never 'bathroom apologizes for cracked linoleum,'" quipped Morris Conklin of Portugal.

It wasn't hard to find the phrase "gone/went missing" in 2006. "It makes 'missing' sound like a place you can visit, such as the Poconos. Is the person missing, or not?" asked Robin Dennis of Texas.

The university's word watchers had no use for "truthiness," the word popularized by Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert. It was selected as the word that best summed up 2006 in an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.

The list, which in recent years has included such gems as "show me the money, "erectile dysfunction" and "holiday tree," is closing in on its 1,000th banishment. And despite the university's vigilance, university spokesman Tom Pink said he's not aware that any dictionaries have followed its advice.

"Sometimes people write us and tell us, 'This isn't working,'" Pink said. "I tell them we need an enforcement division."

___

On the Net:

Banished words: http://www.lssu.edu/banished

Holiday tree????

AussiePam;501893 wrote: Holiday tree????


Presumably because it's not PC to call it a Christmas tree anymore.

I loved the "ask your doctor" part. And I'd like to nominate "revolutionary." Anybody who's been awake at 2 AM watching TV knows how revolutionary a mop, spray-on hair or dryer balls can be. :wah:

That explanation never occurred to me. I thought maybe this was some new American eco-holiday. Instead of staying in a hotel, or camping out, you took your vacation (holiday in Australian) sort of nested in a tree. Sounds like fun, actually.

:wah: Yes, it does!

I saw this piece in today's paper and wished it had included "like" and "go" in the abominable useage they're so often given today.

The word GO does NOT mean "to speak," and "like" shouldn't be inserted into every sentence as in "I was, like, ready to go "Oh, how cool!"

ARRRRGH.

Perhaps I've caught the pedantic "bug".....?

I knew it was only a matter of time before the government started telling us what words could come out of our mouths.

I think it's meant in good humor, sort of like the Darwin Awards.

I seriously wish they had considered "my bad"!

It IS just satire, B'R! Otherwise you'd've seen "anti-war" and "impeachment" on that list!

:wah:

RedGlitter;501866 wrote: On the Net:

Banished words: http://www.lssu.edu/banished


COMBINED CELEBRITY NAMES -- Celebrity duos of yore -- BogCall (Bogart and Bacall)


Now, that's funny !

Diuretic;502256 wrote:

University in Sault Ste. Marie eh?




Think of it as much like the University of Woolloomooloo, only it's etymology, not philosophy that reigns supreme.

Lulu2;502352 wrote: It IS just satire, B'R! Otherwise you'd've seen "anti-war" and "impeachment" on that list!



:wah:
It's also free speech. Something that means a lot, especaily to Bikers.

To me, too!

Yes it was a good list, thankfully we don't use as many abreviations and acroynms as the US, though we all do it nowadays.

Here is my suggestion, why not completely ban the use of the words terrorism, and terrorist in any circumstances, and see what happens. It would be interesting wouldn't it?

So, who's gotta problem with Woooolllooooomoooooloooooo then? Come out and say it to me face!!!! :sneaky:

'BallyBaby....if a thing exists, it needs a word. We could stop using the word TROLL, for example....but the behavior still exists.

BabyRider;502373 wrote: It's also free speech. Something that means a lot, especaily to Bikers.


Galbally;502379 wrote: Yes it was a good list, thankfully we don't use as many abreviations and acroynms as the US, though we all do it nowadays.



Here is my suggestion, why not completely ban the use of the words terrorism, and terrorist in any circumstances, and see what happens. It would be interesting wouldn't it?




BabyRider, it's not for real- it's sort of like that guy Mr. Blackwell's Celebrity Worst Dressed List. It's almost an honor to get on it. Believe me, if it were about banning words for real or telling us how to talk I would have typed in fire!



Galbally- YES!

Lulu2;502382 wrote: 'BallyBaby....if a thing exists, it needs a word. We could stop using the word TROLL, for example....but the behavior still exists.


Yes Lu, but words are weapons too, and language can be a dangerous thing.

AussiePam;502381 wrote: So, who's gotta problem with Woooolllooooomoooooloooooo then? Come out and say it to me face!!!! :sneaky:


University Of Woooolllooooomoooooloooooo

Faculty Rules

1. No Pooftahs.

2. No member of the faculty is to maltreat the "Abos" in any way whatsoever - if there's anyone watching.

3. No Pooftahs.

4. I don't want to catch anyone not drinking in their room after lights out.

5. No Pooftahs.

6. There is NO rule 6.

7. No Pooftahs.

God bless the Aussies! :-6

"Yes Lu, but words are weapons too, and language can be a dangerous thing."

++++++++ If it's inaccurate or misleading, certainly. If it's accurate, it's a powerful tool to communicate, yes?

Al Quaida is a terrorist group. Yes? What else would be call them? Obviously, to themselves, they're noble. Who should define them, and with which words?

I actually LOVE the human ability for ongoing language creation. Of course I guess it's more obvious these days with mass media to distribute this 'creativity'. And the advertising industry has think tanks constantly working on newer, bigger superlatives. And the spindoctors are constantly meeting to work on newer, bigger ways to cloud issues. And slogans can act like mantras: removing the need to form an individual thought.

Agreed! Advertising is an interesting phenomenum. How many words on that list are the result of it?

Lulu2;502401 wrote: "Yes Lu, but words are weapons too, and language can be a dangerous thing."

++++++++ If it's inaccurate or misleading, certainly. If it's accurate, it's a powerful tool to communicate, yes?

Al Quaida is a terrorist group. Yes? What else would be call them? Obviously, to themselves, they're noble. Who should define them, and with which words?


No Pooftas?!!! Thanks, Richard. Woooloooooomoooooloooo does have gay areas, but no university. Grin. But in case they ever do decide to put a campus out there (pun intended), the rules are worth knowing, in advance. Grin.

And words as weapons!!! Ain't that the truth, Galbers. And Lulu. But it's always been thus. Which is why people employ people who know how to manipulate words, who know big confusing words, who can twist and turn black into white with words. Or just confuse, humiliate, insult and demolish other people in ways that are more subtle, less accountable and much safer for the wordsmith than actually standing toe to toe with them and throwing a punch.

And history is written in words ...........

Al Quaida is a terrorist group. Yes? What else would be call them? Obviously, to themselves, they're noble. Who should define them, and with which words?



Yes they are, and your questions are very pertinent, thats my point.

AussiePam;502407 wrote: No Pooftas?!!! Thanks, Richard. Woooloooooomoooooloooo does have gay areas, but no university. Grin. But in case they ever do decide to put a campus out there (pun intended), the rules are worth knowing, in advance. Grin.

And words as weapons!!! Ain't that the truth, Galbers. And Lulu. But it's always been thus. Which is why people employ people who know how to manipulate words, who know big confusing words, who can twist and turn black into white with words. Or just confuse, humiliate, insult and demolish other people in ways that are more subtle, less accountable and much safer for the wordsmith than actually standing toe to toe with them and throwing a punch.

And history is written in words ...........


Quite, language is the framework in which all human ideas live, thats why its control has always been a life and death issue.

Why, AussiePam--that's brilliantly said! Somehow...it seems applicable to many parts of life, even here at FG!

:yh_worshp

AussiePam;502407 wrote: No Pooftas?!!! Thanks, Richard. Woooloooooomoooooloooo does have gay areas, but no university. Grin. But in case they ever do decide to put a campus out there (pun intended), the rules are worth knowing, in advance. Grin.




It's from Monty Python's "Bruces" sketch :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruces_sketch

I thought every Aussie knew the "Bruces" sketch, just as Canadians know the "Lumberjack " sketch.

Diuretic;502932 wrote: I always thought there should have been a uni at Wangaratta, I would have like to have graduated from the University of Wangaratta....but as in Sault Ste. Marie - correct pronunciation is everything (there isn't a "k" in Wangaratta).


:wah:

Years ago, I had a friend who owned a sweat shirt emblazoned with the crest of the fictional University of Tutoyaktuk. Tutoyaktuk is an Inuit settlement in the Canadian arctic.

The back of the shirt simply said "Tuk U".