03 January 2012

2012 List of Banished Words

Bottle Tree, Folly Beach, S.C.

Beautiful blue bottle tree on Folly Beach unrelated to entry. 

Lake Superior State University 2012 List of Banished Words



  • AMAZING

  • BABY BUMP

  • SHARED SACRIFICE

  • OCCUPY

  • BLOWBACK

  • MAN CAVE

  • THE NEW NORMAL

  • PET PARENT

  • WIN THE FUTURE

  • TRICKERATION

  • GINORMOUS

  • THANK YOU IN ADVANCE

I sit in management meeting so I could come up with a lot more, but I would like to immediately offer up these words for banishment consideration:

 Clearly I've been reading too many blogs written by young women who squee, swoon over and are often smitten by noms.

11 comments:

Nancy Chisum said...

I think your proposed list is more worthy of banishment than those on the "banished list"! Except maybe swoon...that's an old folks term and it will fade with that generation so no real need for banishment there. Maybe let them keep their swooning. :-)

Lowandslow said...

I think it's an amazing list considering that so many of these words occupy such a special place in our lexicon. They have become the new normal for our language and have helped us overcome our difficult past so that we can today proudly go forth and win the future for ours and future generations. I commend you for your efforts to rid our language of such abysmal words that so many today are smitten with, whose only goal all along has been to decieve the masses into believing that verbal trickeration is somehow a gigantic improvement. I, for one, will never stoop or swoon at this deception. Now I must retire to my man cave to study the shared sacrifice our politicians insist is our fate, like it or not.

Um...what's a nom? ;)

S

Marcheline said...

Well, there is no "nom", in my experience. The word only exists in multiples. As in, "NOM NOM NOM!" (as in, I am eating something delicious) I'm sort of a fan of the NOM NOM NOM, so no hating on that here.

HOWEVER.

I am going to add to the list. "____ up", when used in lieu of "be brave" or "have a backbone". I have heard the phrases "man up", "cowboy/cowgirl up", among others, and it so completely rubs me the wrong way that I want to punch whoever said it right in the solar plexus. This phrase is generally used in extremely condescending tones in order to make the listener feel small and weak, and to point out how much cooler/stronger/in control the speaker thinks they are. Operative word: "thinks".

Kate said...

I saw my first bottle tree in Santa Fe two years ago; I like this one because of the blue theme.

I'm always interested in how the language breathes and changes with the times. Consider how far we've come from Old English and Shakespeare!! My PET PEEVE is so widespread, it is now an ordinary part of conversation...using "impact" as a verb.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe I have ever seen a bottle tree, but I have seen a bottle clothesline ( immortalised in a television advertisement ). I must ask, what is a "squee"? A swoon and smitten are quite Victorian in their usage but nom is a new one ( although seen often on facebook posts in multiples as in nom, nom, nom as mentioned in a previous comment. Another contraction that annoys me somewhat is "neg" when used in place of a simple and polite. "No".

Charlestonjoan said...

Squee is described as the "rabid squeal of a fan girl". Aaack! I even hate the definition.

I put links under the words so you should be able to click to get to the urban dictionary.

Swoon is being overused these days on fashion and design blogs. Everyone makes them swoon and they are constantly being smitten with the beauty of an item.

Okay, I admit. Nice people still nom, nom, nom. ;)

Bottle trees! Better subject. I've posted photos of them before but must not have tagged them. They are a southern thing. I think the original idea was to trap spirits. They are most often blue. I was going to try a mini bottle tree and in fact still need to drink some vodka so I can make it!

Leeds daily photo said...

I see nothing wrong with young women swooning, though I have not been the object of such for quite a few years now. I guess it was the uniform I wore, never happens since I left the military. Have a great 2012 Joan.

Charlestonjoan said...

I see all of my links don't work so here is the urban dictionary definition of Swoon:

swoon

To be overwhelmed by ecstatic joy, a state of ecstasy or rapture. Used online as an action, to show that someone is attracted or interested in someone or something.
She is so hot... Swoon...

Marcheline said...

Aside: The word "nom" actually comes from the Yoruban "nyam" or "nyahm", meaning "eat". So it's really a word descended from another word! 8-)

Susan said...

I do like swoon. Maybe keep that but ditch awesome and epic.

LeeAnne said...

I must not read enough. I haven't ever heard of some of these until reading this post, especially "squee," "trickeration" and "nom." I agree with banning "awesome" (even though I use it sometimes), "epic," "baby bump," "man cave." I'm sorry but I love "ginormous" (although I don't use it in writing and only sparingly in speaking). I never read fashion blogs so I suppose that's why I think "smitten" and "swoon" are still charming and useful.