Annual List of Banished Words 2019

It's the most wonderful time of the year! LSSU has just issued its list of banished words for 2019.

In the increasingly humble opinion of yours fooly, the choices were/are apt. Do you agree or disagree with the dubious honorees? What trendy words or idioms (clichés or freshly-coined) would you send to the battleground state formerly known as Siberia?

If you know me, you'll know that I've got quite a few addenda:

The first is non-verbal. That is, when a political pundit is asked a question and the first utterance is an exaggerated sigh. Or even more irritating, when he or she is asked a question not requiring a yes or no reply but the first word he or she says is "Sure!" (Is everybody Irish all of a sudden?)

I don't wish to see the folks stop reprimanding others who deserve it, but I'm surely sick of hearing the practice referred to as "calling out." That's what a mother does when she wants to summon her kid for supper-- or somebody practicing his yodeling skills in the Alps.

Same with "I'm old enough to remember. . ."; "off-ramp"; and "stepping down." Why can't we jus say "quit"? "D'ya hear that Jennifer down at the Dollar Store is stepping down?"

And nobody can say "majority" without putting the word "vast" in front of it. They go together like "dire" and "straits."

I don't ever want to hear "double down" again, and especially don't want to hear "double dog down."

That goes for the perennial malady: "going forward."

Hope all of these odious expressions go backward into oblivion!










https://www.lssu.edu/banished-words-list/

"Been there, done that" is immensely irritating. "Plethora" and "myriad" also annoy me, unless I'm using them, of course.

I wrote my list before reading yours, Aunty. Not surprisingly there is some overlap.

Push back (especially as a noun)
Call out (as anything but an imperative, especially to one lost in the fog)
Slam (when meaning "to offer criticism")
Own (when meaning "to do well in a selectively edited debate")
Destroy (see above)
Crush (see above)
Crushed it (as anything except "got rid of the spider")
Double down (as anything but a tennis accident)
Anything ending -xit except Brexit

Grab a chair Aunty. Are you comfortable? Then I will begin.

1. Is there an “issue?” You mean a problem?
2. “I hear you.” Bugger off.
3. “When I was in ------” From the Wheni tribe.
4. “Me and my partner.” I’m gay / lesbian.
5. “Share if you agree.” Fake news.
6. “He is a horrible person.” Donald Trump. My vocab limits the range of my epithets.
7. “Have you heard the good news. He lives.” Elvis?
8. “Have you got a few minutes to answer some questions?” Bugger off.
9. “Awesome.” Try “marmalade.” It’s got 9 letters.
10. “Street cred.” An urban crook.
11. “Hey bro.” A hustler.
12. “That’s two double negatives.” So, you can count?
13. “Have you got an attitude problem?” Macho cop.
14. “He has his mothers’ eyes.” His father is ugly.
15. “He is at rest now.” He is dead.
16. “He passed away.” He kicked the bucket.
17. “He had a good innings.” He is still dead.
18. “She has a fine neck. (19th Century)” Great knockers (21st Century)
19. “In my day.” When dinosaurs roamed the earth.
20. “Have you got some small change?” I’m begging. Give me money.
21. “It has come to our notice.” Stand by for incoming.
22. “I’m afraid we will have to let you go.” Your fired.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN

"She has a fine neck. (19th Century)"

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"...but I'm more of a proud carriage man myself." :)

There was one story of Churchill at a dinner party in the States when asked by his hostess what part of the chicken he preferred, he responded "breast please."

"Oh Mr Churchill, we don't say that. We say white meat or brown meat."


On a later function, he had occasion to present her with some kind of medal, with the words, "Congratulations. Now pin that on your white meat."

Quote:

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Quote Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN

19. “In my day.” When dinosaurs roamed the earth

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What's even worse is the phrase, "I'm old enough to remember [blah,blah,blah]" when the reference is a mere year or two old. And by the bye, I deplore the use of "reference" as a verb when "refer" is more precise. When I previously complained about that, my fellow NitLetters thought I'd kicked a dog. (Which, by the bye, would most likely stir moral outrage in these shire than say, throwing a toddler into a filthy cage.)

Quote:

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22. “I’m afraid we will have to let you go.” Your fired.

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Management no longer uses terms such as "you're fired." More likely one knows he (or she) is out of a job when one hears "We're moving into a different direction, going forward." Nor is it ever said that "So-and-so fouled up"; it's "Mistakes were made."

Flip. This flips that. A flipped the other thing. Flipping a red state. If you're not talking about Flip Wison then put a lid on it.

"Swap out" for "substitute."

"Its all about perceptions." (My boss). = "Lie like a bastard."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN

"Its all about perceptions." (My boss). = "Lie like a bastard."

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Related: "What's the message?" (also anything about dog whistling) = "Thought criminals are guilty if we say they are."

"Radio silence" for lack of communication.

And the word "further" is used for both "farther" and "further."

There's times when I can't stand a word because someone infamous has fouled it up. So it isn't always necessarily the meaning of the word or phoenetics or sound. Some celebrities try to use rare and unique words to sort of "tag" your memory so that when you hear that word again you "think of them". On the other hand some celebrities overuse a single word or phrase for the same effect. Either way, those words or phrases usually end up being a huge turn off and personally, if I was using the same words or phrases myself I would quit doing so.

I agree with many of Manichaean's list.

I know what you mean. A while back the Trump haters started calling him "feckless". Okay, fair enough, everyone's got the right to an opinion. But pretty soon the croaking chorus of our political savants began to apply their new SAT word to anyone they didn't like. The problem was that most didn't really know what it meant and typically used it as a synonym for "f---ing" (in its adjectival sense). So Melania became a "feckless c---", Brett Kavanaugh a feckless idiot, etc. I haven't exactly abandoned the word (a few days ago I called John Durbeyfield "Tess' feckless father"), but I'm definitely more spare with the feckless thing. Swearing is so vulgar.

Also mispronunciations. Unless you're using the word as a very specific legal term, "reprise" isn't "re-prize;" it's "re-preeze." (No Frank Sinatra fans left anymore?)

"Formidable." The accent is on the first syllable. It's "FOR-midable," not "for-MID-able."

The "t" in "often" is silent. You don't say ""Lis-TEN" or "Has-TEN." So don't voice the "t" in "often."

effect/affect -- often confused.

There are also lazy internet spellings. I'll confess to the occasional I dunno. When admitting ignorance, it seems reasonable enough to play the part. But I am revolted when prolly is used for probably. You don't talk like a baby, so don't write like a baby. As for R U?, etc., res ipsa loquitur.

Unlike last year when yours fooly posted a seasonally-themed piece of light verse, I've got no Halloween offering for today. That is, if I don't count the message that just came up stating I was "banned." Darn the luck, but I want to tell you that lately our rapidly deteriorating language can be downright frightening.

For instance, a recent newspaper review of a movie about lighthouse keepers stated it "stunk" -- literally because of odor-inducing images. The reviewer's spelling however, was far from sweet-smelling, as he confused the word "reeks" with "wreaks." (Akin to weather reports predicting "peaks" of sun.)

Additionally, there continues to be conflation between the concepts of "suspect" (both as adjective and noun) and "suspicious." Similarly, tv pundits have lately bounced around synonyms for believability. A person can be "credulous," but I don't think the testimony itself-- or any other inanimate object-- could be described that way. Or am I wrong?

But my bitter half and I had to chuckle last night when a commentator remarked about a witness who was "incredibly credible." That's difficult to do, even on Halloween.

This is the sort of English, up with which, I will not put.

WC.

[QUOTE=MANICHAEAN;1365711]Grab a chair Aunty. Are you comfortable? Then I will begin.

16. “He passed away.” He kicked the bucket.

People tend to say, "He passed," these days, which annoys me a bit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AuntShecky

"Swap out" for "substitute."

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I have a slight problem with 'substitute'. I cannot remember when you substitute player X whether player X comes on or goes off. I suppose if player X is on the field and you bring on player Y, then player X was substituted by player Y, but player Y was the substitute. There is the Who song 'Substitute' which has the lyric, "I'll substitute you for my mum, at least I'll get my washing done."

You are joking, of course!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MANICHAEAN

This is the sort of English, up with which, I will not put.

WC.

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that was Winston Churchill after somebody "called him out" for ending a sentence with a preposition. He said, "This is one pedantry up with which I will not put."

Correct Aunty.

Top of the class.