Banished Words for 2011

Recently on Jane's Ride there was a great discussion on annoying words and phrases.  This weekend I came across this...

Each year Lake Superior State University releases a list of  banished words .  These words/phrases are to be banished from our collective vocabulary for being chronically overused and misused.  Here's the list for 2011 (with sample quotes from the LSSU web site).

viral - "...it is no longer enough to give such offerings their 15 minutes of fame, but they must be declared to 'go viral.'

epic - "Standards for using 'epic' are so low, even 'awesome' is embarrassed."

fail - "Fail is not a noun. It is not an adjective. It is a verb."  "...anything that is a mistake is a 'fail'."

wow factor - "Done-to-death phrase to point out something with a somewhat significantly appealing appearance."

a-ha moment - "...a point at which you understand something or something becomes clearer. Why can't you just say that?"

backstory - "This should be on the list of words that don't need to exist because a perfectly good word has been used for years. In this case, the word is 'history,' or, for those who must be weaned, 'story.'"

BFF - "...call each other BFF (Best Friends Forever) and it lasts about 10 minutes. Now there's BFFA (Best Friends For Awhile), which makes more sense."

man up - "A stupid phrase when directed at men. Even more stupid when directed at a woman..."

refudiate - "Adding this word to the English language simply because a part-time politician lacks a spell checker on her cell phone is an action that needs to be repudiated."

mamma grizzlies - "Unless you are referring to a scientific study of Ursus arctos horribilis , this analogy of right-wing female politicians should rest in peace."

the American people - Every political speech refers to the 'American' people as if simply saying 'Americans' (or 'people') is not enough." 

I'm just sayin' - "'A phrase used to diffuse any ill feelings caused by a preceded remark..."

Facebook/Google as verbs - "...the trend can only get worse, i.e. I'm going to Twitter a few people, then Yahoo the movie listings and maybe Amazon a book or two."

live life to the fullest - "It's an absurdity followed by a redundancy. First, things are full or they're not; there is no fullest. Second, 'live life' is redundant."


I had to cringe because I have an "A-Ha Moment" video link on my blog, but it was named by the people who made the video, not by me.  Some of these rang no bells for me.  I'm definitely guilty of using Google as a verb (aren't we all?).  And I believe "backstory" is a useful word, especially for writers.

How about you?  Any you agree with?  Disagree with?  Any you'd like to add?

I'm currently enjoying: The Fate of Katherine Carr by Thomas H. Cook

Groaner of the Day: (It's a bit long but you've got to read it.) 
The great German actress Zelda had done everything but for one thing; she'd never won an Academy Award. She was known for being terribly temperamental and choosy about her parts, but was also known to soften for the promise of the elusive award.

One day she was called by the great director, Meyer Schmidt, and asked to review a new script he had. She read the script and immediately rejected it. "Iss Nicht my type of script, Meyer, and I'll not do it."

"But Honeykins," he cried, "It's a wonderful script."

"I didn't say it vasn't vunderful or goot, but I'll not do it."

"But Sweetiekins," Meyer continued, "with my direction and your acting and name, it will make us millions."

"More geldt I don't need. Ich do nicht like the script."

"But, Darling, don't you see? With my connections, I can almost guarantee you an Academy Award with a good performance."

Zelda thought a moment then agreed, saying, "Oh, I'd luff to be an Oscar veener, Meyer!"

(I'm sorry. I can't help myself.)