Overused Words and Phrases to Banish in 2008

Lake Superior State University in Michigan has published its 2008 list of words and phrases that should be banished from usage. The annual list, in its 33rd year, is developed by soliciting submissions on the University’s website. A selection committee sorts through the thousands of entries to narrow the list, and it is published New Year’s Day.

Among the words and phrases that are suggested to be banished are: “perfect storm” (“Overused by the pundits on evening TV shows to mean just about any coincidence” says submitter Lynn Allen of Warren, Michigan), “webinar” (“Yet another non-word trying to worm its way into the English language due to the Internet. It belongs in the same school of non-thought that brought us e-anything and i-anything” says Scott Lassiter of Houston, Texas), and “[throw] under the bus” (“Since every sportscaster in the US uses it, is a call for the media to start issuing a thesaurus to everyone in front of a camera” says Mark Bockhaus of Appleton, Wisconsin).

“Decimate” is also on the list, as are the words “organic” and “emotional,” particularly when the latter is used by reporters to describe a news event.