Bad words? Language purists aim to ban the banal

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: December 31, 2007 - 12:44 PM

Organic, webinar, "a perfect storm" and "it is what it is" -- they are among the words and phrases that send shivers up and down the spines of English language purists who say they are overused, misused, have no use, and should be banned.

The 19 words and phrases included on the 2008 List of Words Banished came from more than 2,000 nominations sent to Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., which has been publishing its list of affronts to the English language for 33 years.

At the top of this year's list is the phrase "a perfect storm," which contributors lambasted for it being used to mean just about any coincidence. Close behind is webinar, a non-word combining web (the Internet) and seminar attempting to gain a foothold in the English language.

"It belongs in the same school of non-thought that brought us e-anything and i-anything," a contributor from Texas said.

The phrase "it is what it is" made the infamous list because "it's pointless and means absolutely nothing" list makers said. Equally irksome was the way people overuse and misuse words such as sweet and random and organic, which is now used to describe everything from dog food to computer products to shampoo.

Contributors took umbrage with the terms "Post 9/11," which is used more than A.D., B.C., or Y2K time references and they longed for the days when the word "surge" referenced storms and electrical power rather than a military buildup.

On Dec. 31, 1975, former LSSU Public Relations Director Bill Rabe and his colleagues cooked up an idea to banish overused words and phrases and issue a list on New Year's Day.

Much to the delight of language enthusiasts everywhere, the list has stayed the course into a fourth decade. This year's list derives from more than 2,000 nominations received through the university's website, www.lssu.edu/banished.

Word-watchers target pet peeves from everyday speech, as well as from the news, education, technology, advertising, politics, sports and more. A committee makes a final cut in late December. The list is released around New Year's Day.

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