 |
| |
|
|
Tingkai
|
|
To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001
time: 13:24
|
|
Lake Superior State University has published its annual list of "words and phrases that should be banished from the Queen's English for mis-, mal-, or over-use, as well as general uselessness."
What do you think? I'd say these university profs are wrong about two of the words.
POLITICS AND THE MEDIA
MATERIAL BREACH -- “Suggests an obstetrical complication that pulls a physician off the golf course,” says a nominator from Washington, D.C. Sounds like contract lawyer-speak rather than the world-worn parlance of war planners and diplomats. At one time, UN resolutions were violated. Violators were held in contempt. How long until treaties are ripped up in the presence of attorneys?
MUST-SEE TV -- “Must find remote. Must change channel,” laments Nan Heflin from Colorado Springs, Colorado. Television once pitched entertainment. Apparently now it’s taken on a greater imperative. Assumes herd mentality over program taste.
UNTIMELY DEATH -- Balky attempt to make some deaths more tragic than others. “Has anyone yet died a timely death?” asks Donald Burgess of South Pasadena, California.
BLACK ICE -- From the weather and news reports. Ice is ice. Watch your step.
“Ice is usually clear and shiny when you see the black pavement through it.” Robert Irving, Tahoe City, California.
ON THE GROUND -- Media hip-speak and frivolous dramatization. David Cheng of Rockville, Maryland, points out that humans live on the ground, “not suspended 100 feet in the air or 100 fathoms beneath the ocean.”
“Especially annoying during the presidential election recount, but still shows up in major news stories,” Robert Prince, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“Where else would you be?” Ken Finkel, Dundas, Ontario.
“Only in a few situations is it necessary,” Andrew Makepeace, Vancouver, British Columbia.
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION -- Used more and more (and just too much according to James of Canberra, Australia) as a card that trumps all forms of aggression. In danger of becoming a push-button buzzword. Many nominators point out that any weapon, used effectively, does a lot of destruction. “A few thousand machetes in the hands of an army in Africa can lead to mass genocide,” writes Howard Stacy of Atlanta, Georgia.
Jack Newman of Cypress, Texas, often hears the hybrid, “wepuhmadistricshun.”
“Over-used, over-wrought.” Michelle Gill, Chicago, Illinois.
MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT IT – Nominated by many, including Angela Wood of Anchorage, Alaska, for over-use since the 2000 election.
“Generally used instead of ‘don’t underestimate’ or ‘understand,’” says John O’Connell of San Jose, California. Are listeners really going to mistake what the questioner is saying?
“Who’s mistaken, anyway?” asks Barb Keller of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
HOMELAND SECURITY – A new and improved buzzword. With billions of dollars at stake, perhaps “national security” is just plain blasé.
“What happened to the Department of Defense?” asks Rick Miller of Champaign, Illinois.
BUSINESS/INDUSTRY/MARKETING/TECHNOLOGY
EXTREME -- This over-used word in advertising and marketing drew the ire of citizens throughout North America, from coast to coast.
Al Slang of Duncan, British Columbia, said “It’s used 24/7 (we banished that in 2000, Al) on everything from store sales to deodorant ads.”
“Extreme sports, extreme cars, extreme soft drinks…I’m tired of hearing it.” Doug Hagen, Newton, North Carolina.
Razors aren’t extreme. Neither are deodorants or cheeseburgers.” Cliff of Pensacola, Florida.
“I saw a church billboard advertising ‘Extreme Adventures’ at their vacation bible school. What the heck does that mean?” Cheril Lin D. Abeel, Detroit, Michigan.
NOW, MORE THAN EVER -- Many, including Valli Irvine of Austin, Texas, thought this should have been included on the 2002 list. Matthew Lowe of Kew Gardens, New Jersey, summed it up for the many who nominated this tiresome phrase: “It has become over-used since the terrorist attacks…from warnings to be safe, to stores having sales…It has to go!”
Lowe’s neighbor, Mike Bowers of Lebanon, New Jersey, agrees: “What’s next? ‘Now, more than ever, Americans need 50% more raisins in their cereal?’”
“This precious way of saying, ‘Now that we’ve had a terrorist attack on U.S. soil, we have a duty to recognize the important things in life’ seems to be the recent darling of advertisers and politicians…What simpering balderdash!” Josh Mandel, Colonie, New York.
BRANDING -- “This word, once properly associated with marking livestock to prove ownership, has been co-opted by the MBA crowd and now seems to refer to any activity that supports a company’s desire to clearly define its products and/or services. Can’t we just say ‘Promotions and PR?’ Nancy Hicks, Fairfax, Virginia.
MISCELLANEOUS
HAVING SAID THAT and THAT SAID -- Nominated by many for over-use, especially in the news media, according to Kay J. Jauch, Edmonton, Alberta, and William Hamlin of Wappingers Falls, New York.
“I heard you the first time,” said David Patrick of Lafayette, Indiana.
“Annoying useless filler,” said Sadie Campbell of Scarborough, Ontario.
“It seems like the intellectual form of ‘ya know.’” Shelley Gaskin, Scottsdale, Arizona.
PEEL-AND-EAT SHRIMP -- “Do they think that, if the name did not contain instructions, we would peel-and-throw-on-floor?” Miguel McCormick, Orlando, Florida.
CHALLENGE -- “No one has problems anymore, they only face ‘challenges.’ Sonia Jaffe Robbins, New York, New York.
“I think it’s a weasel word. ‘Challenges’ only have to be met. Problems require solutions!” Ray Lucas, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
IT’S A GOOD THING -- “This phrase is ‘ramped up’ (banished in 2002) for over-use,” says Mark Dobias of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. “The question is: good for whom? For example, insider trading may be a good thing, but only if one does not get caught. Then it is a bad thing.”
AS PER -- “As per a conversation I had with a co-worker and ‘as per’ common decency to your fellow human beings, please substitute ‘according to.’ If I hear ‘as per’ ever again, I will need to take some ‘asperin.’” Greg Gibson, Tucson, Arizona.
REVERSE DISCRIMINATION -- “Discrimination is discrimination, regardless of who is being discriminated against.” Kristen of St. Paul, Minnesota.
SPORTS
THERE IS NO SCORE -- “It is inaccurate and misleading. There IS a score. It is 0-0.” Paul Jertson, Christmas Valley, Oregon.
GOT GAME -- “I hear this phrase used by sportscasters trying to be hip: ‘He’s got game tonight!’ They mean he’s playing well.” Scott Tolentino, Garden City, Utah.
MENTAL MISTAKE -- “Used often in the sporting world,” says Paul DeCarlo of Helena, Alabama. “What mistake is not mental?”
TAUTOLOGY AND OTHER CIRCUMAMBAGES
____ IN COLOR - “As opposed to green in size,” quips Janet Litherland of Thomasville, Georgia. Lends an empty air of precision.
FROZEN TUNDRA – “Tundra means a frozen land,” points out Michael Pittman of Cincinnati, Ohio. Usually used by sportscasters to describe the home field of the Green Bay Packers.
UNDISCLOSED, SECRET LOCATION – Redundant stacking of adjectives often used to describe Vice President Cheney’s whereabouts. “If it’s a secret, it’s pretty undisclosed, and if it’s undisclosed, it’s a secret,” says Bill Lodholz of Davis, California.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Guynemer
|
|
Irregardless--man, that one just burns the hair on my nether-regions. You mean "regardless," so quit wasting energy, time, and brain cells throwing in a redundant prefix.
Smegma--just because it's nasty.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
Dis
|
 |
Las Vegas, Nevada
Feb 2000
time: 21:24
|
|
I do dislike the word ain't. I still use it accidently sometimes. But I try very hard not to. It was something I used as a kid, and find it hard to shake.
Dictionary.com entry
ain't ( P ) Pronunciation Key (nt)
Nonstandard
Contraction of am not.
Used also as a contraction for are not, is not, has not, and have not.
Usage Note: Ain't has a long history of controversy. It first appeared in 1778, evolving from an earlier an't, which arose almost a century earlier as a contraction of are not and am not. In fact, ain't arose at the tail end of an era that saw the introduction of a number of our most common contractions, including don't and won't. But while don't and won't eventually became accepted at all levels of speech and writing, ain't was to receive a barrage of criticism in the 19th century for having no set sequence of words from which it can be contracted and for being a “vulgarism,” that is, a term used by the lower classes, although an't at least had been originally used by the upper classes as well. At the same time ain't's uses were multiplying to include has not, have not, and is not, by influence of forms like ha'n't and i'n't. It may be that these extended uses helped fuel the negative reaction. Whatever the case, criticism of ain't by usage commentators and teachers has not subsided, and the use of ain't is often regarded as a sign of ignorance. ·But despite all the attempts to ban it, ain't continues to enjoy extensive use in speech. Even educated and upper-class speakers see no substitute in folksy expressions such as Say it ain't so and You ain't seen nothin' yet. ·The stigmatization of ain't leaves us with no happy alternative for use in first-person questions. The widely used aren't I? though illogical, was found acceptable for use in speech by a majority of the Usage Panel in an earlier survey, but in writing there is no acceptable substitute for the stilted am I not?
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Tingkai
|
|
To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001
time: 13:24
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Dissident
I do dislike the word ain't. I still use it accidently sometimes. But I try very hard not to. It was something I used as a kid, and find it hard to shake.
|
I lived in Northern Manitoba for a year and picked up two phrases that I hate: "well, you know" and "you's guys". It drives me up the wall when I suddenly find myself saying these words.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Tingkai
|
|
To find the Northwest Passage
Aug 2001
time: 13:24
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by Hurricane
Black ice is IMHO a useful word. The difference between "ordinary" ice and black ice is that black ice is more or less invisible, which means that black ice is NOT clear and shiny. This is because it is so thin that the light don't reflect from it. Someone who claims "ice is ice" has clearly never left California or Florida. |
My thoughts exactly. A lot of road ice is cloudy and you can easily see it. Black ice is deadly.
The other word that I thought was okay is frozen tundra. To me, tundra just means a treeless area in the arctic. It can be warm in the summer.
|
|
| |
|
|
|
aaglo
|
 |
the contradiction is filled with holes...
Aug 2001
time: 07:24
|
|
I dislike all prepositions and postpositions (at, to, into, from, for, in, ect....)
Why can't english be a reasonable language like finnish?  
A disturbing word/phrase: when somebody explains something, the use of words "you know" and "like" make the person seem quite stupid.
Another disturbing word/phrase: when somebody replies to another person saying "oh really", what is the other person supposed to do? To say "yes, really" or "no, I was just joking"? Again, a quite stupid reply...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Jon Miller
|
|
a phrase of mine that everyone arround loves to hate is:
even through
Jon Miller
|
|
| |
|
| |
All times are GMT. The time now is 05:24.
Apolyton Time is 00:24. |
top of page
|
| archivepost |
|
Forum Rules:
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
|
HTML code is ON
vB code is ON
Smilies are ON
[IMG] code is ON
|
|
|
|
|
|
02-01-2003 09:43
Like flameable and inflamable.
.
|