Search results for "banished"

Banished Words 2024

People have been hacking the English language for years but, at the end of the day, most of the attempts don’t slay. Instead, they are – wait for it – cringe-worthy. Since this is my side hustle, it’s time to obsess about the 2024 banished words. Since 1976, Lake Superior State University (LSSU) has compiled…

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Banished Words 2023

I’m not gaslighting you. We’re at an inflection point of people quiet quitting irregardless if everything is amazing and moving forward. Does that make sense? Absolutely! Since 1976, Lake Superior State University (LSSU) has compiled an annual list of words to be banned. For years, it was described as words to be “banished from the…

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Banished Words 2017

You, Sir are living in a historic time. Post-truth politics gets carefully manicured through fake news and propagated bigly via an echo chamber. By my guesstimate, everyone’s favorite bête noire is the overuse of the word ‘disruption’. Am I on fleek? There’s no reason to get your dandruff up. During a town hall meeting, Lake…

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Banished Words for 2012

I emerged from my man cave to discover it’s that time again.  Lake Superior State University (LSSU) released its amazing 37th annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness”.  The idea for the list was hatched at a 1975 New Year’s Eve party in an attempt to win…

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Banished Words for 2011

Lake Superior State University released its 36th annual “List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness”.  The list is based on more than 1,000 submissions on their Web site.  The winners (losers?) include the Sarah Palin-coined word “refudiate” and the popular online terms “viral” and “fail.”  LSSU’s complete list…

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Words Matter, Made-Up Edition

As my mantra is “Words Matter,” I’m fascinated by the etymology of words, how different cultures use language, and when people accidentally/purposefully misuse English. I’ve covered spelling bees, written about mondegreens and eggcorns, and advocated for the banishing of overused words. So, it’s probably not surprising that a friend caught my attention when he recently…

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