Right before the end of 2011 I saw on a national news broadcast a brief list of the most overused words that are to be stricken for the New Year. As it turned out it came from the Lake Superior State University’s 37th annual List of Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness. LSSU started their tradition on New Year’s Eve in 1975 with a “word banishment” list for the following year.
There are certain words I found on the list I thought were heavily overused in all forms of the media such as “Occupy.” If I see that word one more time I will scream. A number of them were unheard of like “Trickeration.” Where did they come from? Of course there were the useless ones, for example “Thank You In Advance.” Is that sarcastic enough or what? Here are some other words I was sick and tired of seeing. Not only that, I was surprised to see one word or phrase not mentioned on the list. Lastly, my prediction of the most overused word for 2012. Mark my word.
Man Cave
What happened to the more appropriate words of den or TV room? Granted, they may be outdated and used decades ago, but they are better word choices than “man cave.” Whenever I hear that word on television in commercials, sitcoms and DIY shows I automatically roll my eyes. It sounds we’re still living in the Stone Age. When I was a child there was a TV sitcom titled “It’s About Time.” The show centered on two astronauts who went too far back into time to prehistoric days. That is what this word reminds me of.
Winning Duh
Charlie Sheen’s antics may have kept his infamous line of “winning” followed later with “duh” out of the banished list of 2012. Perhaps LSSU didn’t want to give Sheen any more publicity. Like they say bad publicity is better than no publicity at all. It was certainly a useless word.
Mayan Doomsday Prophecy
More than likely this will be a heavily misused phrase for 2012 due to the ancient Mayan calendar ending in December on the Winter Solstice. Be prepared to hear a lot of it throughout the broadcast and print media. Only time will tell.
SOURCES:
Lake Superior State University 2012 Banished Words List, LSSU.edu
2012 Banished Words List, LSSU.edu
It’s About Time – Show Description, Cast and Crew, TV. Yahoo.com
Christine Fenno, “‘SNL’ Skewers Charlie Sheen with ‘Duh! Winning’ ,” PopEater.com
Mayan Doomsday Prophecy, DoomsdayGuide.org