Kevin's Watch

Lake Superior State University Banished Words List

• PERFECT STORM
  WEBINAR
  WATERBOARDING
  ORGANIC
  WORDSMITH/WORDSMITHING
  AUTHOR/AUTHORED
  POST 9/11
  SURGE
  GIVE BACK
  'BLANK' is the new 'BLANK' or 'X' is the new 'Y'
  BLACK FRIDAY
  BACK IN THE DAY
  RANDOM
  SWEET
  DECIMATE
  EMOTIONAL
  POP
  IT IS WHAT IT IS
  UNDER THE BUS

Any others? Oh, and sorry EL. You will now be known as simply Leper.

Global Warming
Bush Did It

's a fair court.

back in the day? damn, just when i am getting old enough to use that line with my kids.

Syl wrote:PERFECT STORM
WEBINAR
WATERBOARDING
ORGANIC
WORDSMITH/WORDSMITHING
AUTHOR/AUTHORED
POST 9/11
SURGE
GIVE BACK
'BLANK' is the new 'BLANK' or 'X' is the new 'Y'
BLACK FRIDAY
BACK IN THE DAY
RANDOM
SWEET
DECIMATE
EMOTIONAL
POP
IT IS WHAT IT IS
UNDER THE BUS

Hmm, there are several of those I haven't heard in the context the list refers to, such as 'perfect storm' (only the film) and 'under the bus' (only in the sense of "Argh! I dropped my Pepsi Max! Did you see where it went?" "Under the bus.") I do have to own up to saying 'random' a lot. Well, I don't so much now, but I was the co-originator of excessive use of that word in my area. It amused me. I also say 'back in the day', mainly to refer to the 1980s (one of the benefits of being at university with people who are eight years younger than me). I have to object to 'back in the day' being on that list though; after all, it's not like the current popular usage is inaccurate - 'back in the day' is a vague enough phrase that it could refer to last week.

While I'm confessing, I might as well admit to not actually knowing the meaning of 'decimate'. I always thought it meant 'to divide into ten'.

I like one of the comments about 'it is what it is': 'It accomplishes the dual feat of adding nothing to the conversation while also being phonetically and thematically redundant.' I approve.

EDIT: Just checked the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, and its second definition of 'decimate' is 'to exact a tax of 10 percent from' - that certainly adds a new dimension to decimating enemy forces.

Prompted by a post I just made in Video Games, I'd like to nominate 'literally' for the banned list. An unfeasible (literally unfeasible? No.) number of people say 'literally' when what they really want to do is say something figurative but emphasise it. One of my favourites is, "I was literally blown away by Tool's new album!" No, you were not, unless a gale erupted from the stereo when you pressed play, and carried you bodily down the street. Another favourite, because it's quite subtle, is, "I literally can't wait to see this movie!" Yes, you can. You are not physically incapable of enduring the delay. If you were, you would presumably die. You will wait, because you have to. So you literally can wait, but you figuratively really can't wait.

I motion to ban 'literally' until everyone learns how to use it. Not literally everyone, of course.

Ah, the irony.

Wordsmithing banned beside a bunch of smithed words...

wait, is smithed a word?

-B

Where do words get banished to? Is there an island off the coast of Washington called "Word Island" that they are sent to?

they get sent to the ABC Creative Banned Words thread.

I love this list -- it's so totally random. I wish I had authored it myself. Then I could promote it in a wordsmith webinar and create my own Black Friday -- wouldn't that be sweet? Ah, well, there goes my idea, under the bus. It is what it is.

(Totally. They forgot to add totally. Wait, maybe it was on an earlier list. *You* know -- back in the day. )

LMAO Ali.

--A

<ali takes a bow>

I literally agree with Cov Jr about literally.

NOM

(Ok, it's a name, but still...)

Holsety wrote:NOM

(Ok, it's a name, but still...)

Oh, Gods, he said it.

Emotional Leper wrote:

Holsety wrote:NOM

(Ok, it's a name, but still...)

Oh, Gods, he said it.

Come ON Holsety! Maaaaaaannnnnn!

*dives beneath some pre-existing rubble, hoping Nom will spare us.*

Balon wrote:

Emotional Leper wrote:

Holsety wrote:NOM

(Ok, it's a name, but still...)

Oh, Gods, he said it.

Come ON Holsety! Maaaaaaannnnnn!

*dives beneath some pre-existing rubble, hoping Nom will spare us.*

Well don't you think that quoting me saying it will just amplify the damage?

It's like that movie that's out/coming out where the murderer kills more when he gets more hits (or something?). YOU CAN'T HELP BUT AID MY CAUSE!

In the words, or maybe thoughts, of TC in the Wounded Land:
veNOMveNOMveNOMveNOMveNOM

I love you, Sarge!

I like wordsmith. . . I don't hear it all that often.

Emotional Leper wrote:

Holsety wrote:NOM

(Ok, it's a name, but still...)

Oh, Gods, he said it.

Don't worry about it. If Sandgorgon Herbst's speed is representative of his species, Nom won't get here for at least 35 years.



(Nooooooo! A mildly obscure in-joke! Let the self-flagellation commence! At least it's a Watch-based joke...)