DETROIT – Politics and the Internet hogged our 2010 chatter and turned lots of it to fluff.
So say the language pundits at Lake Superior State University as they consigned “the American people,” ”viral” and 13 other terms deemed overused and misused to their 36th annual List of Banished Words for 2011.
From 1,000 nominations sent nationwide via e-mail, the university issued a fresh batch of banished terms Friday that included some notorious for sheer overstatement: “epic,” ”wow factor” and “a ha moment.”
“We weren’t trying to pick on Sarah Palin,” insisted spokesman Tom Pink at the Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., university.
Still, the temptation was there after a year of Palin fixating on “mama grizzlies,” her term for Alaskan feminists. Pink figures the score is even because “last year we gave a shellacking to President Obama” for words like “ObamaCare.”
Nominator Sherry Edwards of Clarkston, Mich., zinged “man up” – calling it “even more stupid” when directed at a woman. The listers also chose cyber-networking spawn “I’m just sayin'” and “BFF” (Best Friend Forever).
One banished phrase should bring a wry smile to anyone making new year’s resolutions: “Live life to the fullest.”
BANISHED WORDS AND PHRASES
Viral: As in the spread of provocative content over the Internet. Example: “The video went viral.”
Epic: Almost always an overstatement, the university judges said. Use of this word has become “an epic annoyance.”
Fail: A perfectly good verb, but the university wordsmiths hate it as a noun, as it’s widely used on the Internet.
Wow factor: Beloved by cable TV’s worst talk-show hosts, applied to so many situations that it has little impact and meaning, they said.
A ha moment: A me-centric, pseudo-zen way to say what’s covered with a simple, “Oh, I got it. I understand now,” judges said.
Back story: A fluffy term with a simple synonym: “explanation.”
BFF: The acronym for Best Friends Forever.
Man up: A macho term overused in 2010 by bosses, politicians and too many others.
Refudiate: A conflation of repudiate and refute, committed by ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a tweet to followers, Lake Superior State University spokesman Tim Pink said.
Mamma grizzlies: Another Palin-ism, adopted by her followers, Pink said.
The American people: Overused by all politicians in 2010.
I’m just sayin’: “A phrase used to diffuse any ill feelings caused by a preceded remark,” according to the Urban Dictionary. Used by invariably anonymous posters in Web forums.
Facebook/Google as verbs: Part of a language trend to make verbs out of nouns, increasingly with commercial terms.
Live life to the fullest: Things are either full, or not full, but can’t be fullest.