- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
I thought this article was quite amusing. Read it for laughs. 
What do metrosexual, shock and awe, and bling-bling have in common? They should be banned! So says the public relations staff of Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, which annually takes on the role of word police by collecting a list of words and phrases that we use so much they become annoying. The solution? Ban them!
This is what they do--in the university's own official-speak: "Every New Year's Day since 1976 the University has issued an annual 'List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use or General Uselessness' compiled from nominations sent from all over the world, covering all manner of word or phraseology which some consider to be worthy of exile. For more than a quarter-century our list has rooted out grammatical subterfuge at the source. Doublespeak and sloppy talk continue to flourish. Now is not the time to drop our guard."
Here are some of the 17 banned words and phrases on the 2004 list, complete with definitions, that were winnowed down from some 5,000 entries:
Metrosexual: An urban male who pays too much attention to his appearance. As one submitter wrote, "It sounds like someone who only has sex downtown or on the subway."
X: Last year it was "extreme." This year, it's "X" as in Generation-X, Xtreme, Windows XP, and X-Box.
Punked or Punk'd: As in bamboozled, duped, flimflammed, hornswoggled. An old noun given new life as a verb because of the television show.
Place Stamp Here: It appears on almost every return envelope provided by our dear creditors in their monthly billings. Many even include a drawn square in case we can't locate the proper space on our own. As the submitter of this phrase questioned, "Can we legitimately claim to be a superpower if we need to be reminded to put a stamp on an envelope?"
Companion Animals: In plain English, they're called pets.
Bling or Bling-Bling: It's street slang for items of luxury, especially flashy jewelry. But it's been abused and overused to such a point that your mom might actually say it!
LOL: A favorite Instant Message and e-mail shorthand symbol. As one submitter who is just bored by it all says, "OMG! u r chattin to sum1 then...lol this and lol that...Get it away!"
Smoking Gun: What's wrong with hard evidence instead?
Shock and Awe: A Pentagon favorite from the war in Iraq. Can Shock and Awe Laundry Soap or Shock and Awe Pool Cleaner be far away?
Captured Alive: Could anyone ever be captured dead?
Sweat Like a Pig: To be anatomically correct, pigs don't have sweat glands. So they can't sweat. That's why they roll around in the mud to cool themselves.
Sanitary Landfill: If you've ever been to a landfill, you learned this if nothing else: It's not a clean place. Call it what it really is: The dump.
What do metrosexual, shock and awe, and bling-bling have in common? They should be banned! So says the public relations staff of Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, which annually takes on the role of word police by collecting a list of words and phrases that we use so much they become annoying. The solution? Ban them!
This is what they do--in the university's own official-speak: "Every New Year's Day since 1976 the University has issued an annual 'List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use or General Uselessness' compiled from nominations sent from all over the world, covering all manner of word or phraseology which some consider to be worthy of exile. For more than a quarter-century our list has rooted out grammatical subterfuge at the source. Doublespeak and sloppy talk continue to flourish. Now is not the time to drop our guard."
Here are some of the 17 banned words and phrases on the 2004 list, complete with definitions, that were winnowed down from some 5,000 entries:
Metrosexual: An urban male who pays too much attention to his appearance. As one submitter wrote, "It sounds like someone who only has sex downtown or on the subway."
X: Last year it was "extreme." This year, it's "X" as in Generation-X, Xtreme, Windows XP, and X-Box.
Punked or Punk'd: As in bamboozled, duped, flimflammed, hornswoggled. An old noun given new life as a verb because of the television show.
Place Stamp Here: It appears on almost every return envelope provided by our dear creditors in their monthly billings. Many even include a drawn square in case we can't locate the proper space on our own. As the submitter of this phrase questioned, "Can we legitimately claim to be a superpower if we need to be reminded to put a stamp on an envelope?"
Companion Animals: In plain English, they're called pets.
Bling or Bling-Bling: It's street slang for items of luxury, especially flashy jewelry. But it's been abused and overused to such a point that your mom might actually say it!
LOL: A favorite Instant Message and e-mail shorthand symbol. As one submitter who is just bored by it all says, "OMG! u r chattin to sum1 then...lol this and lol that...Get it away!"
Smoking Gun: What's wrong with hard evidence instead?
Shock and Awe: A Pentagon favorite from the war in Iraq. Can Shock and Awe Laundry Soap or Shock and Awe Pool Cleaner be far away?
Captured Alive: Could anyone ever be captured dead?
Sweat Like a Pig: To be anatomically correct, pigs don't have sweat glands. So they can't sweat. That's why they roll around in the mud to cool themselves.
Sanitary Landfill: If you've ever been to a landfill, you learned this if nothing else: It's not a clean place. Call it what it really is: The dump.
