Anyone reading this blog is probably like me\u2014fascinated with words. Writers spend their lives attempting to come up with a better word to make a point, describe a situation, create a mood, introduce a character, illustrate a scene, portray a moment, explain an occurrence or express an emotion. Writers are all about words. We enjoy learning new ones, stringing familiar ones together to create visual images, trying out words in different situations and sometimes we develop a dislike or disdain for particular words or phrases. <\/p>\n
I just read this year\u2019s list of “Words to Be Banished from the Queen\u2019s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.” This list is compiled each year (for 34 years) by folks at the Lake Superior State University in Michigan. Here are some of the most hated words and phrases of 2008\u2014may they never be uttered in the New Year:<\/p>\n
Going Green
\nMaverick
\nFirst Dude (Sarah Palin\u2019s husband should she become president)
\nMain Street (related to the middle class)
\nStaycation (stay-at-home vacation)
\nCarbon Footprint<\/p>\n
I guess the problem with these words is repetitiveness. It might be a great term the first few times around, but when every newscaster on every TV station, every blogger, every journalist uses it in every broadcast or writing, the word gets old.<\/p>\n
So what were some of the banished words presented by LSSU that first year? In 1976 they suggested banishing \u201cmeaningful,\u201d \u201cmacho\u201d and \u201cat this point in time.\u201d It didn\u2019t seem to do much good, though, did it? At this point in time, some folks still think macho is meaningful. Actually, I really, really cringe when I hear \u201cAt this point in time.\u201d What\u2019s wrong with \u201cnow?\u201d Other personal dislikes are: \u201cwent missing,\u201d \u201cvery unique\u201d and redundancies such as \u201coverused clich\u00e9s.\u201d <\/p>\n
What words\/phrases would you like to see banned? Are there words you will refuse to use this year? Leave a comment.<\/p>\n
One of my most loyal blog readers is Kathleen Ewing of Prescott, Arizona. Kathleen is, among other things, a working freelance writer and I\u2019m seeing her articles sprinkled all over the Internet these days. Here\u2019s one you might want to read. It\u2019s called, \u201cIncome Loss Prevention.\u201d And it was published in the December 30, 2008 edition of Writing For Dollars newsletter. Read it by following this link and then click on \u201cCurrent Issue.\u201d http:\/\/www.writingfordollars.com<\/a> <\/p>\n Congratulations, Kathleen and thank you for your sage advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anyone reading this blog is probably like me\u2014fascinated with words. Writers spend their lives attempting to come up with a better word to make a point, describe a situation, create a mood, introduce a character, illustrate a scene, portray a moment, explain an occurrence or express an emotion. Writers are all about words. We enjoy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t