Anyone reading this blog is probably like me—fascinated with words. Writers spend their lives attempting to come up with a better word to make a point, describe a situation, create a mood, introduce a character, illustrate a scene, portray a moment, explain an occurrence or express an emotion. Writers are all about words. We enjoy learning new ones, stringing familiar ones together to create visual images, trying out words in different situations and sometimes we develop a dislike or disdain for particular words or phrases.
I just read this year’s list of “Words to Be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.” This list is compiled each year (for 34 years) by folks at the Lake Superior State University in Michigan. Here are some of the most hated words and phrases of 2008—may they never be uttered in the New Year:
Going Green
Maverick
First Dude (Sarah Palin’s husband should she become president)
Main Street (related to the middle class)
Staycation (stay-at-home vacation)
Carbon Footprint
I guess the problem with these words is repetitiveness. It might be a great term the first few times around, but when every newscaster on every TV station, every blogger, every journalist uses it in every broadcast or writing, the word gets old.
So what were some of the banished words presented by LSSU that first year? In 1976 they suggested banishing “meaningful,” “macho” and “at this point in time.” It didn’t seem to do much good, though, did it? At this point in time, some folks still think macho is meaningful. Actually, I really, really cringe when I hear “At this point in time.” What’s wrong with “now?” Other personal dislikes are: “went missing,” “very unique” and redundancies such as “overused clichés.”
What words/phrases would you like to see banned? Are there words you will refuse to use this year? Leave a comment.
One of my most loyal blog readers is Kathleen Ewing of Prescott, Arizona. Kathleen is, among other things, a working freelance writer and I’m seeing her articles sprinkled all over the Internet these days. Here’s one you might want to read. It’s called, “Income Loss Prevention.” And it was published in the December 30, 2008 edition of Writing For Dollars newsletter. Read it by following this link and then click on “Current Issue.” http://www.writingfordollars.com
Congratulations, Kathleen and thank you for your sage advice.