
Ban the phrase "Lake Superior State University"
It's 3rd rate anyway.
Michigan's Lake Superior State University has issued its 2010 manifest of 15 words and phrases consigned to the lexicographical dustbin in the 35th "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness". Or rather, "word 'czars' at Lake Superior State University 'unfriended' 15 words …
Hey, watchit, pal. Many of us speak and write just fine. At least we know how to spell "furor" over here. (;^> Besides, it seems many of those words and phrases have been banished _because_ of their poor and incorrect usage, especially the use of nouns as verbs ("He texted me").
Actually, I just realized that they've forgotten another one: "step up". I'm not a violent guy by nature, but every time I hear some government or business drone talking about how people need to "step up" for whatever they want people to "step up" for, I just want to beat the shit (shite) out of them.
Still, while we're on the subject, I saw a reference in an El Reg science report to scientists (boffins) being "chuffed as ninepence" over the positive confirmation of a body of liquid on Titan via the sun glint in a photograph. Now, "chuffed" I've figured out a while back by reading it in context, but "chuffed as ninepence"? Is this value adjusted for inflation? Is this expression pre- or post-British currency "decimalization"?
The closest we have to that over here is one that's an old favorite (favourite) of my Dad's and mine, "drunker than seven hundred dollars".
You may be able to spell the word "furor" but I fail to see why you are making such a furore over it. You do, of course, realise that the terminal "e" in furore is pronounced, or do you?
I do however agree that the expression "step up" with or without the addition of "to the plate" should be banned forthwith. All English speakers know that the expression should be "walk to the middle" or "take guard" (please note the "u").
Also to be banned:
All references to American field wrestling with a ball somewhere as "football".
The naming of the ultimate letter of the alphabet as 'zeee". It is of course "zed". There are already too many letters ?ee without adding more and creating greater confusion.
p.s. can this funny looking device be exchanged for a classic Mills 36 grenade, this is of course an English site.
1. Actually, I _didn't_ know that. I'd assumed it was a "silent E", as English (The Queen's, as well as American) is full of them. Thanks for the tip.
2. "Field wrestling" is putting it kindly. It reminds me more of Rollerball, especially since about the mid-1980s. As long as we're on the subject of "stepping up", though, I'd be even happier with the banishment of sports-related expressions used by non-athletes. Before freelancing, I spent nearly twenty years working in corporate in-house design shops and had to listen to fat, balding, pasty middle mangers -- who'd never participated in any sport in their lives -- using (American-rules) football metaphors in meetings. "U" duly noted; we were also still using that in "guard" last time we looked, but then, I don't get a lot of text messages on my "mobe".
3. "Zed"? Huh. Sure, I can work with that. Of course, we'd have to come up with a new expression for napping, as "catching some zee's" would be out.
4. Fair enough, but don't forget your neighbors/neighbours in the EU. The Germans aren't still using "potato mashers", are they? Of course, there's also your universally-recognizable, good old-fashioned dynamite stick.
But that's something else. Perhaps we could ask BRMB to host such a debate!
"Chuffed as ninepence" isn't a phrase that I've heard of, though "chuffed" is a word I have used in the past (as in "I'm chuffed" being used for "I'm pleased"). The difficulty is that "chuff" means something else entirely, so I suppose it has dropped out of use in the former example. For example, somebody acting in a miserly fashion could be describe as being "as tight as a gnat's chuff" (as opposed to a gnat's arse - not exactly something you would used in mixed company!)
Hmm... wonder if this could be used as a topic for our own version of Qi?
In Germany we have some highly concerned linguists nominating the "Unwort des Jahres" every year.
Good to know that somebody polices that critical part of humanity. Horrible things could happen if those words were not wholly condemned forever !!!!
Public funding for those lazy social engineers should be cut off and they should be made doing some real work at McDonald's.
How about those 3 letters which is actually 9 syllables. You hear web sites being described many times on the radio or the telly; Double-U Double-U Double-U Dot the register Dot Co Dot You Kay.
One day, I heard a site being described one time like this and it stuck:
Dub Dub Dub Dot...
That was more efficient -like a bit of morris code.
Finally, somebody's put their foot down on this bullshit.
I'm especially pleased to hear about the banishment of "teachable moment", although I'm a bit disappointed to hear they haven't banished the phrase "post-9/11 world"... or, the use of the phrase "I/we have a (insert concept) gene", as in Hillary Clinton's infamous excuse for our remaining mired in Iraq: "We have a responsibility gene."
The only downside I can see here is that along with the classic "in harm's way", "teachable moment" is one of my key phrases for determining whether or not a newspaper op-ed columnist or TV pundit has ever had an original thought in their lives and is worth the time reading or listening to (these days, my choice defaults to "no").
Also, while it's technically not a word or phrase but a concept, I've also self-trained to disregard the blathering of any columnist or pundit who uses in their commentary any references to Osama Bin Laden living in a cave.
...on behalf of any articulate fellow Americans who might remain, for failing to stem the tide of people saying "my bad". I've been trying to do my part to steer people away from it by saying "my goof" instead, but it's pretty tough going.
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I'm no expert on things over there, but how can it be added value when you don't get more beer?
1 question only.
Where does OBL live then, if not in a cave?
1 statement.
It is impossible to self train, one self educates if you must know.
1 muse.
If you know that OBL doesn't live in a cave, then you must be in possession of higher quality information than the entire worlds intelligence forces, and that's not saying much for either party,and therefore, why haven't you single handedly caught OBL for the $20mill reward, that is after all what the American dream is about, is it not, $$$$$$$$$$$.
I'd like to add 'redacted'. Why on earth the Goverment couldn't have used the correct term for censoring when the expenses scandal broke was spineless and deliberately confusing. Whoever used the term 'redacted' before the expenses scandal ? It was as if redacted was less serious than censored, so they weren't really being as dishonest. It makes me angry. Grrrr. No. Angrier than that. Grrrrrrrrrr.
First off, I don't see a problem with "tweets" or "tweeting" -- what would YOU call a message on twitter? Admittedly twitter is overhyped but this is a nice short term for a message via twitter.
"Too big to fail", I don't object to the actual term, I just object to the concept. These guys that f'ed up should absolutely have been allowed to fail -- I can't invest in the stock market, and buy junk loans, lose my money, and expect the feds to give ME money. Some of the cash could have just been pumped into FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) so people with a bank account with these jokers wouldn't lose their money, the banks and investment firms absolutely should have been allowed to fold.
My words that can go -- "Post-9/11". Enough said. "Strike a balance between privacy and security" (this is fascist terminology for "no privacy at all" so they should at least admit it). "Windows 7" -- I'm sick of hearing about it already, Microsoft will never get me back as a customer. "IPhone" -- I'm sick of hearing about it, I've seen one and it's not that great. In fact coverage of every Apple product should be only on Apple-fan sites. I could think of a few more but that'll do for now.
"First off, I don't see a problem with "tweets" or "tweeting" -- what would YOU call a message on twitter? Admittedly twitter is overhyped but this is a nice short term for a message via twitter."
That would be a "twit", named after the sender. You can't spell Twitter without "twit".
I'd like to see the term " Moving forward" added. The wankers that sprout this would be lucky to move anyware if it wasn't for the peons that accually do the moving. I have found it used a defence for " I don't want to know about the past , this is how we will do it now" . This normally precedes a period of pending FAIL!
You pretty much nailed that one, man. I don't know what kind of rhetoric is emitted these days by Used-To-Be-New-But-Now-Is-Just-Regular-Labour, but over here the Democrats are just full of that Moving Forward crap, especially when any progressives try to call bullshit on their record. Also, anyone from the Left who criticizes them for their miserably tepid record at attempting progressive reforms is mocked by the party leadership for "living in the past" (and I don't mean Jethro Tull, either).
"Looking at the record" is how we referred to it once, and it was considered a sensible method of deciding whether or not to re-elect a Congressman, Senator, or President -- at least back before this entire country went collectively batshit*.
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(Now, watch; some jerk is going to want to banish the term "batshit".)
and it's hideous cousin, "at this moment in time". Put them together with the rather bizarre use of the word "space" to denote a field of knowledge, expertise or competence and you wind up with me being asked in straight-faced seriousness whether I was, "moving forward into the virtualisation space at this moment in time". A small part of me died.
Quote (Toadygraph motoring section):
Meanwhile, staff at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) have been told not to use the word "unfortunately" along with the phrases "I'm afraid ...", "not possible" and "I can't".
Endquote.
Presumably they're just going to standardise on "fuck off" then.
I can see you're English.
'Piss' is a marvellous word of context-sensitive meanings.
'Pissed' = angry (American), drunk (British)
'Pissed off' = angry (British)
'To piss off' (British) =(transitive) to annoy, (intransitive) to go away
'Piss off!' means Go away (British and maybe American)
Oh yeah, and 'piss' (noun, British) = beer of course.
Have I got them all?
(This is why the USA will never invade Britain. They can't master the language :)
Buzzword Bingo?
You get a little Bingo card full of the latest bizbabble, with phrases like 'At the coalface', 'moving forward', 'real-time', 'at the end of the day', 'customer-driven', 'scalable', 'information superhighway', 'otherwise abled', 'upskilling', 'downsizing', 'added value', yadda yadda yadda, and take it to boring meetings and when you complete a line you yell 'Bingo' at the top of your voice.
(I've never dared but I wish I had :)
Paris because she probably doesn't know what they all mean either