Banished Words (Overused, Abused, etc.)

Taken from a thread at my old Ezboard, "The Kickass Resource"

Banished Words (Overused, abused, etc.) This is kind of funny. A university makes a list of words and expressions every year that they think needs to be "banished" for overuse and misuse, etc. Here's some of their list: Quote: METROSEXUAL - An urban male who pays too much attention to his appearance. Bob Forrest of Tempe, Arizona, says it "sounds like someone who only has sex downtown or on the subway." Fred Bernardin of Arlington, Massachusetts, asks, "Aren't there enough words to describe men who spend too much time in front of the mirror?" X - Last year it was 'extreme.' This year, 'X' follows in its footsteps. "Marketers have latched onto this letter to grab the 'Generation-X demographic. X-files, Xtreme, Windows XP and X-Box are all part of this PR-powered phenomenon," said John Casnig of Kingston, Ontario. PUNKED - As in bamboozled, duped, flimflammed, hornswoggled. Nominated by the Frank and Johnnie Show, WGN, Chicago. An old noun given new life as a verb because of the television show. Kill it before it grows. PLACE STAMP HERE - Dennis K. McDermott of Oneida, New York, says, "It appears on 99% of the return envelopes provided by creditors with monthly billings. It's especially annoying when enclosed in a rectangle drawn in the upper right corner. (What if you miss?) And then…they inform you that 'The Post Office will not deliver without postage.' Can we legitimately claim to be a superpower if we need to be reminded to put a stamp on an envelope?"Eric Hooper of South Lyon, Michigan, agrees: "If I'm too stupid to figure out where to put the stamp, then paying the phone bill is probably the least of my worries." COMPANION ANIMALS - "They're called PETS." Nick Leach, Bloomington, Indiana. BLING or BLING-BLING or any of its variations - "Hate, hate. Grate, grate," says Steven Phipps of Pueblo, Colorado. Received many nominations from across the United States. "This once street slang for items of luxury has now become so overused and abused that (everyone) has incorporated it into their vocabularies. Yes, your mom might say it. Nothing could kill the mystique of a word faster." Todd Facklas, Chicago. LOL and other abbreviated 'e-mail speak,' including the symbol '@' when used in advertising and elsewhere - Alex G. of Warsaw, Poland, says, "It's everywhere on the net! OMG! u r chattin to sum1 then…lol this and lol that….Get it away!" "I wonder if anyone really laughs out loud when they use this short-hand Instant Messenger slang?" Rachel Rose, Pickford, Michigan. EMBEDDED JOURNALIST - Nominations for this Iraq War II phrase came from throughout the U.S., Canada and overseas. "I'm a journalist and until the war started, I'd never heard this term. In the interest of objectivity, journalists probably shouldn't be embedded with any organization they regularly cover." Ken Marten, Hamtramck, Michigan. "It seems to be a hip way of saying, 'at the scene,'" said Tim Bednall, Tokyo. "The next time I hear it used by the media, I'm going to embed my foot in the TV!" Ellen Brown, San Diego. SMOKING GUN - Another one that came to us from Iraq, but is widely used elsewhere. "Let's give the 21-gun salute to this overused analogy," says Andrew Pagano, Montgomery Village, Maryland."Remember the television show 'Gunsmoke'? Now THERE were smoking guns!" Scot Moss, Madison, Wisconsin. "What's wrong with 'hard evidence'?" Kevin O'Sheehan, Bangkok, Thailand. SHOCK AND AWE - Still another from Iraq. "I'm just waiting on 'Shock and Awe Laundry Soap' or maybe 'Shock and Awe Pool Cleaner,'" says Joe Reynolds of Conroe, Texas. LINK
Old Comedywriter Registered User Posts: 329	Re: Banished Words (Overused, abused, etc.) Two that I hope made the list: "fair and balanced" and "spin"...
Queen Uhuru ezOP Posts: 15625 ezSupporter	Re: Banished Words (Overused, abused, etc.) ha ha